Special Reader Project

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One Special Reader

RDG 4301

ASU Candidate: Heather Gentles
Reader “name”: Colin Age: 7
School: Santa Rita Grade: 1st Grade

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RDG 4301 Assessment Portfolio

 Activity Category Where Do I Find It? What is Measured?
Identify One Special Reader
A. Assessment Google! In class interests, motivations
____ Interest Inventory (2) Assessment examples
Assessment Blackboard Ideas, organization, voice, word choice,
B. Writing Sample sentence fluency, conventions
____ This document
D. Fluency Checklists (1-6) rate, prosody, automaticity, comprehension
____ Self and Teacher
E. Blackboard Letter recognition, alphabetic principle
Letter Sound Assessment
____ (Emergent Readers) Assessment Blackboard Spelling, encoding, phonics
Check out guides in Rm.128 phonological awareness, phonemic
F. Spelling Inventory (1-6) Intervention
DRA2 Word Analysis Tasks Assessment Link to Blackline Masters Awareness, alphabetic principle
____ Intervention This document,
G. 1-10 (Emergent Readers) Documentation comprehension; oral reading fluency;
Teacher Made Game Examples on Blackboard decoding, reading engagement
____ Green Boxes in 128; DRA2
H. Informal Reading Inventory
____ (DRA2) Sheets on Blackboard
I. In class, this document. Check
____ Matching Texts to Readers out books in blue tubs #128
J.
____ 5 Photos of child/child’s work Documentation Included in this document
K. (game, interest inventory, etc.) pgs. 3-6
____ Written
L. Completed Reflection Table Summary Rubric(s) included in this
____ & Intervention Questions document

Case Study Report

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RDG 4301 Reflection Table (pg. 1)

Interest Inventory Writing Sample

How did the The assessment went well, he drew a This assessment went well after I was able to get
assessment go?
picture of him and me in the back of him to sit. He really just wanted to run around
What did you the book! I learned that he does not like the room since all the other kids were gone to
learn about your to tell you what he is spelling so you can P.E. I learned that he likes to tell stories and he
reader as a help him. He likes to guess on his own loves to tell about how much he knows. He
person?
and prove he can spell words, even ones retains information very well and is smart in
What did you he can’t. He’s definitely resilient. About certain unconventional topics, he just struggles
learn about myself though, I learned that I am very with getting those topics and his thoughts about
yourself as an patient. I really wanted to help him spell them down on paper. I learned that it can be
educator?
things, but he wouldn’t let me, so I had frustrating to work with a child that will not take
What did you to sit and wait! your advice and not listen to you when you’re
learn about your trying to help. I did not know how to help him
struggling reader when he wasn’t spelling things correctly because
as a learner?
he wouldn’t listen.
Describe students’
needs/strengths, I learned that he wants to learn on his He was telling me all about the leopard gecko,
skills, strategies, own. I think this also has to do with but he could not write that down. He told me
etc.
the fact that he doesn’t know me too great details and facts and opinions, but when I
Use specific well, so he might not yet trust me to told him to write those things, he just said no,
language from the help him. Colin needs help with things and wrote four lines of very basic facts instead.
assessment in your like spelling, reading in general, and One thing I’ve noticed is that he does sound
reflection.
handwriting. His handwriting is very things out. He knows that he should, and he
messy and sometimes doesn’t even sounds out the letters out loud as he writes the
look like actual letters. They look made words, but it usually doesn’t transfer to the
up. But, he likes to try on his own and correct letter on paper.

he is definitely proud of his work!

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RDG 4301 Reflection Table (pg. 2)

Fluency Self-Assessment Spelling Inventory Informal Reading Inventory
Letter Sound Assessment DRA2 Word Analysis (DRA2)

How did the He really loved this assessment because Colin was very excited to take a I feel like this assessment went really well.
assessment go? he got to listen to himself on the “spelling test”. I learned that he He was able to read and point to the
recording. He listened to it over and really enjoys reading and writing, words like he was supposed to, and he had
What did you over. I learned that although he thinks he just needs more work and fun while doing it. He loved to hear his
learn about your he can write well, he knows he can’t support in these areas. I kept
reader as a read well, he told me so himself. He wanting to help him by telling voice on the recordings again and showed
person? rushes through the text and guesses at him hints for silent-e and things it to Ms. Elliott several times. I learned
the words based on the picture until you that I know he knows, but he that I really enjoyed working with Colin
What did you slow him down and have him look at just wasn’t stopping to think one on one during this time. I felt very
learn about each letter in the word and sound them about.
yourself as an out correctly. I learned that I really hate fulfilled to see him do better and to see
educator? to see the kids struggle. I learned that Colin doesn’t him understand things that he didn’t
often finish or even start his understand at first. I love to work one on
What did you I learned that he can’t read when he goes work in class, he has trouble one and give students that specialized
learn about your too fast, which is most of the time. But, concentrating and the noise level
struggling reader when he slows down, he can read much of other students frustrates him, push that they need.
as a learner? better! He needs help understanding that so when it’s just us he is much
reading isn’t about who can go faster or more willing to learn and listen DRA2 __2__ RR _2__
Describe students’ say more words, it’s about learning for and try new things. At this point Level: Level:
needs/strengths, yourself and understanding what that he knows me and he listens to
skills, strategies, text says. I also learned that Colin is very everything I have to say. I also Reading Engagement Score
etc. good at guessing what he thinks the learned that he struggles with
words say just by looking at the picture. rules- silent-e, when two vowels 9/ 9
Use specific So, I think that could be a strength if he go walking the first one does the
language from the didn’t rely on it so heavily to help him talking, etc. Oral Reading Fluency Score
assessment in your make up what he thinks the text could
reflection. say. The first time Colin read, he got 7/ 9
through 8 words correctly in the time
Percent Accuracy
Was accuracy level IND or ADV?

Yes/No
Comprehension Score

N/A

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recorded. The second time, he got
through all 15 words in the book. He got
through the book much faster, and I
think that is in part to his ability to
remember things extremely well. I did
notice that he marked the star for each
row in the self-assessment chart, which I
think is interesting because he usually
says he can’t read or he doesn’t know the
words he sees. So, he thought he did
really well even after he had listened to
himself several times. I think self-
assessment is great for children who
have had it enough to know how to
properly use it. I don’t believe Colin has
ever self-assessed, which is fine, but I do
believe it needs to happen often in order
to be effective.

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Intervention Questions (pg. 1)

Teacher Made Learning Game –

Game Title and Theme?

-Dinosaur Spelling!

Describe your game? How is it played?

-It is a basic board game, roll the dice and move that many, then do what the space says! There is a white board with permanent writing lines
to help improve handwriting, an erasure, a dry erase marker, dinosaur pieces, and a spelling list to go along with the game board.

What skills/strategies are taught by this game? Include the TEK(s).

-A lot of different things are taught since each space on the board has to do with something different. Some spaces ask for the word’s vowels
or consonants, while other spaces ask to simply spell a word or make a word a plural.
-ELAR TEKS-
1.b.21.A. (Oral and Written Conventions/Handwriting)
1.b.22.A-E. (Oral and Written Conventions/Spelling)

Why did you choose this game for this child? (Reference assessment results and your reflections.) How did you know your
student needed to learn the target skills/strategies?

-It is easy to see from his writings (especially the spelling inventory picture I have included at the end) that he really needs support when it
comes to his handwriting and spelling in general. He had issues with reading and writing too fast in most of our assessments, and I believe this
game really helped him slow down a bit and think about what he was writing. He knew that he couldn’t continue to the next space in the game
if he misspelled the word he was given!

Was your game a success? Did your child enjoy the game? How do you know if the student has improved/mastered the
skill after he/she has played the game?

-Yes! He loved it and so did Irma’s special reader. They played it together. I am confident that this game has helped in his ability to sound
things out correctly. I believe this because while reading for the “Matching Texts to Readers” portion of the portfolio, which I did after the
game day, he was able to sound out some words that I thought he would struggle with, such as “lifts”.

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Intervention Questions (pg. 2)

Teach Made Game Information Sheet

Purpose: The ASU candidate will design a game that teaches/remediates/extends learning for their case
study based on their child’s specific literacy strengths and/or weaknesses identified by the assessments
given during class. Games will be peer-reviewed during Game Day.
Criteria list for the perfect game:
Game Format: Board game, card game; other. Must have pieces/parts to manipulate. Colorful, neat,
thematic based on the child’s interests; appealing.
Game Directions: Included with/on the game. Written in child-appropriate language, includes step by
step how-to-play, includes explicit objectives. (Because the child needs to work on medial consonants, this
game teaches the rabbit rule.)
Playability: The game “works,” Can be played more than once and still “works.” Game is self-checking
and engaging.
Professionalism: Game is ready to go and shared on the date on the syllabus. A file folder report including
post-play statement on the ASU’s effect on student learning is included.
Professor Wow Factor (+1) Game shows extra effort and creativity.

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Matching Texts to Readers –
Book Title and Level (DRA 3 RR 3 ) Animals Work by Ted Lewin

Pick a book to read with your Special Reader. Pick a book you know they will enjoy. Pick a book they can read on their own with a little help
from you. The book should not be too hard (frustration) or too easy (independent). The book should be at an instructional level for the child.
That means the book will have a few challenges the student can learn from. Challenges can be in the vocabulary, phonics features, subject matter,
number of words on the page, lack of picture or pattern support, etc. I strongly recommend you use the DRA level (from the informal reading
inventory – IRI – to find a leveled reader in the blue tubs in Room 128. The DRA to RR correlations are included on page 16 of this document

Sit in a quiet space and guide the student’s reading of all or part of the book. Make sure you prepare them for reading as this should be a book
they have not read before. Preparing for reading might be a picture walk, a discussion about the topic, making predictions, etc.

Before reading with your child, answer these questions.

1. Why did you choose this book for your child? (Reference previous assessments – interest inventory, informal reading inventory, spelling
inventory, etc.)

-I chose this book because it has a lot of simple words that I know he can sound out and read easily. But, at the same time, there are a couple of
harder words that contain two or three syllables, or are sight words that are not possible to sound out, which I already know he has a difficult time
with. The thing I like about this book is that it is a patterned book, but the pattern changes a bit every few pages. There are quite a few pages, more
than Colin is used to reading, 26 to be exact. Each page only has about three words on it though. Although there are a few difficult words, there are
some really great pictures to go along with the text and that helped Colin out a lot. I also picked this book because I know Colin loves animals. His
writing prompt was about animals because of this and he talked to me forever about the leopard gecko, his favorite animal. He is full of animal facts,
so I knew he’d love this book on animals working.

2. What challenges does the text present for the child?
-The book itself is a bit longer than what he is used to. It has 26 pages, but there are very few words on each page, so it’s not overwhelming. While
the text is repetitive for a few pages, it does change up a few times. It goes from “A horse carries.” to “Camels carry.” to “A donkey carries.” then to
“A donkey pulls.” So, the text changes like that a few times, and Colin is used to reading books with one pattern throughout the entire book, so this
might be a slight challenge for him. The words themselves are mostly easy and I believe he can sound most of them out. There are a few words with
more than one syllable, a few words that cannot be sounded out, and a few words that have rules that go along with them to help us know how to
say them, and he always has a hard time remembering those rules.

3. How will you prepare the student for the reading and dealing with challenges? Mark and note 3 or 4 challenges with sticky notes.
-We will talk about how some of the words may be harder, but the pictures are there to help us and I can also help him sound out the words. We will
look at some of the pictures and I will point out the word “carry” that way when we come across the word “carries” he might remember what we
talked about earlier.

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4. Predict how will you encourage and support the reader through these challenges (encouraging inference, suggesting strategies, choral
reading, questioning, etc.)

-I will attempt to get him to sound out the word, I will section off parts of the word if he is struggling. I will remind him of strategies/rules such as the
silent-e and how it makes the vowel say its own name. If he has a hard time with a word that is in the picture then I will remind him that the picture
can help him with words he does not know.

After reading, with your student, answer these questions.

5. How did the reading go? Did you pick the right book? How do you know?
-The reading went really well! He struggled in some places, but he was able to sound out most words and use the pictures for clues. He was in love
with the book. Each time we turned the page he said, “wow!” at the new animal. I only had to help him with a few words. All the others he could
sound out when I pointed to each letter of the word. He was able to say each sound and then put them all together, which surprised me a few times,
because he generally has a hard time with that also. But I know I picked a good book for him. He was able to overcome a few of the challenges that I
knew he would have reading this book.

6. How did you support the reader as they read? Did you identify the right challenges?
-He did have a bit of a hard time focusing, he wanted to move around rather than sit still, but he did great. I had to ask him several times to read the
page as I pointed to the first word on the page, but he always paid attention when I asked him to and I could tell he was trying his hardest. As he
came to difficult words, I reminded him of strategies and rules. We chunked some of the words and he was able to read a bit better because of that.
He did have a hard time with the spots that I knew he would, and only one of those challenges proved to be too hard for him. He has a very hard time
with the letter W for some reason. He can never remember how it sounds and any word with a W in it confuses him. So, when the “Sheep mow” in
our book, he just didn’t know what to say. He got “sheep” from the picture, but “mow” really stumped him. It was the only word I had to actually tell
him. All the other challenges were overcome by looking at the pictures and sounding them out slowly.

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Case Study Report Rubric

Case Study Report Sections Score: 10 Score: 5-9 Score: 0-4
Lacks detail and adequate
Section 1- Introduction – Introduce the child; help the Highly detailed, well developed Moderately detailed, thoughts development,
reader to get to know a little about the child personally. No introduction included
Describe the setting for your sessions; take us there. thoughts, paints a picture with words; underdeveloped. Lack of detail on the
purpose and results of
Section 2 - Assessments – Choose 3 to focus on. Refer Three assessments described, results Less than three assessments assessments. No
back to your reflections. Include the assessment’s purpose, presented, what was learned described, detail a little hard to assessments included.
the results, and what you learned about the student from presented. Highly detailed and easy to follow or not complete. Lack of detail or clarity. No
each of the three assessments. understand. intervention included.
Ideas are moderately developed,
Section 3 - Intervention – Describe your and Teacher Game described thoroughly, well Discussion of intervention Lack of detail or clarity. No
Made Game and Matching Texts to Readers Lesson and developed thoughts. Student needs moderately detailed. Some recommendations included.
how they responded to needs identified in one or more of met by interventions identified. ASU reflection apparent.
your assessments. Discuss how successful the intervention candidate reflects on their effect on No evidence is provided to
was. student learning. back up claims. Little to no
statements on how teaching
Section 4 - Recommendations – Make at least 3 Recommendations make sense, are Fewer than 3 recommendations, can improve.
recommendations for further academic growth for this easily implemented, thoughts are clear ideas moderately clear.
student. Use the data/language from the checklist at the end and well developed. Little to no conclusion
of the DRA2 Scoring Sheets. Some evidence is provided to evident.
Specific evidence is provided to back back up claims. Ways to
Section 5 - Effect on Student Learning up claims. Statement of ways to improve are listed and clear.
Think overall with your experience with your assessment improve is elaborate and clearly Some “teacher language” is
focus. Did you make a difference? Provide evidence based stated. Appropriate “teacher used.
on assessment and intervention results. How can you language” is utilized.
improve your teaching?

Section 5- Conclusion – Complete your report by Well-developed thoughts, sincerity Conclusion is moderately
discussing your assessment/teaching experience - what you and earnestness conveyed. developed; some sincerity is
learned, what was surprising, etc. conveyed.

Required Format All format guidelines followed, Format guidelines are mostly Format guidelines are not
3 to 5 pages; 1.5 or double spaced excellent grammar and spelling, followed; some grammar and followed. Poor spelling and
1 inch margins; few spelling and grammar mistakes appropriate bolding, italics and spelling mistakes are noted. grammar.
APA style for headings/format. spacing.
Illustrations missing or lacking Lacks suitable illustrations.
Illustrations Illustrations help to illuminate points close connection to written text.
Five photos of child/child’s work with materials discussed in the text. Illustrations are referred to
in the report; sized and cropped appropriately within the texts.

Total Possible Points: 80 Sparkle Points _____/+10 Total for Report: ______

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Assessment Portfolio Rubric

Required Elements 21-25 points 18-20 points 17 and below

Assessments • All assessments and reading • Most assessments included. • Missing elements
• Interest Inventory (B)
• Writing Sample (D) recording included. • Most assessments complete. • Evidence of a lack of care
• Fluency Self-Assessment or
• All assessments complete. • Most scanned documents are easy • Incomplete
Concepts of Print (E)
• Spelling Inventory or DRA2 • Scanned documents are easy to to read. • Late

Word Analysis (F) read. • Some evidence of teacher
• DRA2 (H)
• Evidence of teacher reflection and reflection and student response is

student response is clear. clear.

• Evidence of careful planning, • Some evidence of careful planning,

preparation and carry-through preparation and carry-through.

Interventions • Teacher Made Game reflects • Teacher Made Game reflects a good • Missing elements
Teacher Made Game (G)
Matching Texts to Readers (I) creativity and careful planning. amount of creativity and careful • Evidence of a lack of care
• Teacher Made Game addresses planning. • Incomplete
Reflection Table and • Teacher Made Game addresses • Late
Intervention Questions needs identified in assessments.
Reflections
Intervention Questions • Photos (game) submitted are needs identified in assessments.

Photo Gallery (5) elaborate and easy to understand. • Photos submitted are mostly
Title Page (A)
This Rubric (Front Pocket) • QR code submitted (MTR) elaborate and easy to understand
*Parent Permission Form (if • QR code submitted (MTR)
applicable.)
• Reflections are concise and easy • Reflections are somewhat concise • Missing elements
to read. • Evidence of a lack of care
and easy to read. • Incomplete
• Intervention questions reflect • Interventions reflect some careful • Late
careful planning and connects

planning to assessment. Evidence planning and connects planning to

of reflective practice assessment.
• Some evidence of reflective

• Photo page provides evidence of • practicePhoto page provides some • Less than 5 photos or missing

careful planning and learner evidence of careful planning and entirely.

engagement. learner engagement. • Missing title page and/or rubric

• Title page and Rubric included

Total: _____ of 100

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Fluency Self-Assessment Directions

1. Ask the student to select a book they can read easily. Or you can ask the teacher for a good text for
a fluency assessment. Real literature is preferred over fluency passages.

2. Use a device to record student reading. Your phone will work.
3. Time the student reading for about a minute. Together mark how many words the student read in

that minute.
4. The student should listen to the recording and rate their reading based on the self-assessment

checklist on page 12 or 13 depending on your student’s grade level. The pictures to the right may
be help you modify for younger students.
5. Re-read and re-record student reading for about a minute. Again, mark the number of words the
student read in a minute.
6. Have student listen then reflect on improvement based on the first self-evaluation checklist.
7. As teacher, complete the Multidimensional Fluency Scale on page 15.
8. Complete your reflection for Fluency. Make sure you include your thoughts on the power of
student self-assessment. Also include the reading rates (WPM) for the child’s first and second
readings and how the child rates compared to the expected WPM at grade levels (chart on page
14).

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Multidimensional Fluency Scale

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Here, he started to write “my favorite color is..” where he was
just supposed to put his answer, which is blue. The “Blo” word
on the end is his answer after I let him know that the rest was
already written there for him. He wrote that his favorite food is

chicken.



On this page, he answers that he is 7 years old,
and that he wants to be a construction worker

when he grows up.





“Leopard geckos
can climb.

Leopard geckos can
crawl.

They can lay eggs.

They can eat bugs.