Reading Analysis:
Decoding:
Based on the assessments given in the beginning of clinic, Chace demonstrated a need for instruction on decoding strategies to assist him in reading unknown words. Chace is aware of what strategies are and can tell you some of the ones that he has learned previously. However, there seems to be a lack of transfer when he is reading independently. I noticed that one of the strategies he uses most often when he gets to a word he doesn’t know is he taps it out. This is due to a program Middletown uses called Fundations. Which is a multi-sensory approach that helps students be aware of each sound that makes up a word. Beyond tapping and sounding out words, Chace was not using any other strategies. Over the course of the clinic, Chace learned a variety of additional strategies to help him solve an unfamiliar word while reading. In context of that specific clinic session, with that specific strategy, Chace was able to successfully use the strategy independently when attacking a word. However, there was no going back to the strategy once we we moved on to the next one. “Students must learn to self-monitor their own reading, and when a word they read doesn’t look right, make sense, or sound like it would in text, they should cross-check it.” (Serravallo, 2015) As students begin to compile a ‘toolbox’ of strategies, it is important that they understand that proficient readers use more than one strategy when solving a word, and when one doesn’t work, they can try another. The goal is that these strategies become habitual where they will not require attention and the reader can shift its focus to fluency and comprehension. Lessons on specifically that, using multiple strategies to decode a word were also implemented to reinforce that point. Chace was also given a strategy chart with visual pictures and the different strategies to be used as a reference while he is reading to remind him to try more than one strategy until he decodes the word successfully. Towards the end of clinic, I observed Chace using these different strategies learned more, without being prompted. I have noticed a change in the way Chace is going about solving a word. He is not only using the different strategies to help him, but going back to double check and reread to make sure that what he has attempted makes sense in context of the sentence.
Fluency:
“Fluency is actually considered by many to be the bridge between decoding and comprehension.” (Pikulski & Chard, 2005) The skills associated with being fluent are important for developing readers. Chace is at the point is his reading development, where majority of his attention is still being placed on decoding. As Chace’s decoding skills increase, his attention while reading will be able to shift to his fluency. “Fluency enables learners’ word recognition to move from laborious to automatic. It also allows learners to apply elements of oral language to written text.” (Kuhn & Levy, 2015) Throughout this clinic, Chace worked on strategies that would help him build his expression, pacing, stress, intonation, accuracy; all components that build a fluent reader. Chace tries really hard and wants to read orally in an interesting way, however still gets tripped up when he is decoding words, making his reading still sound choppy. By the end of the clinic I really saw an improvement in Chace’s fluency because of his rereading of the text. Instead of reading a text one time, where naturally he is focusing on accuracy and decoding, we spent time rereading the same texts so he could see himself improving as a fluent reader. Once Chace already read it once, and knew the words, he was able to work on strategies that could build the other aspects of fluency like intonation, stress, and pacing.
Comprehension:
My goal for Chace this clinic was to attempt to move him beyond the surface level of the text and expand thinking to understand the characters and story at a deeper level. Initially, Chace was only focused on what was right in front of him; what was directly stated in the text or visually shown in the picture. Chace demonstrated need for instruction in building his metacognition to start to think beyond what was on the page. Building this metacognition, making inferences and connections to dig deeper was a significant part of the comprehension instruction during this clinic. Along with fluency, comprehension that also takes a back seat to decoding in Chace’s reading development. “Remind students, once again, to reread in order to learn even more about the character, noticing new details to help them understand characters in new ways.” (Calkins, 2006) As Chace reread stories multiple times, he was able to focus on thinking about the story itself rather than the words on the page. As Chace began to start shifting his thinking and paying closer attention, he was able to form opinions, make connections, and relate to the characters in the story. He was also able to look closely at the overall message that was not directly stated, and gain a deeper understanding of the stories.
Writing Analysis:
Although the primary focus of this clinic was on reading instruction, reading and writing go hand in hand. On the first day of clinic I obtained a writing sample to get a sense of how Chace writes. I discovered that Chase’s feelings about writing are not as positive as his feelings about reading. He told me right away without prompting that he does not like writing as much because it is harder and his hand hurts. Working on his writing skills and writing about reading can help his comprehension as well as build his confidence in writing. For the writing, I asked Chace to tell me any story that happened to him. He told me a story from the other day when he was playing bigfoot at his Poppy’s house and his Poppy was chasing him up and down the stairs. One thing I noticed is that Chace had no problems generating ideas. Chace wrote across three pages which was great, however he traveled off topic. He started out talking about the big foot game, and ended with him wearing orange sunglasses and how he knows he is crazy because it is in the winter. An aspect of his writing that I initially noticed is that he writes exactly as if he were talking to someone. For example, he said “It was tiring running up and down the stairs. No, I mean it!”, as if he was talking to someone and they were arguing the point. Throughout this clinic we continued to work on Chace’s writing skills, specifically writing about reading. Chace’s demonstrated a foundational understanding on phonics and letter sound relationships. Although not all words were spelled correctly, he was able to connect the appropriate sound while attempting to spell a word. A lot of our writing about reading during clinic was done through typing via chromebooks. Middletown is a Google district and utilizes Google Apps for Education into their instructional practices. When attempting to spell a word, Chace will sound or tap out the sounds to figure it out. He was able to formulate ideas about the texts he was reading and write sentences about them. However, Chace’s sentences are fairly simple and could benefit from instruction specifically on craft techniques to improve as a writer.