Vanessa Magi

Diverse Learners: Case Study

The Student

Anthony is a grade four student in a bilingual school setting. Anthony has had difficulties
with language since the very beginning of his elementary school years, especially with writing.
He has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and slight dyslexia which is
likely the cause of his dysgraphia.

The student is capable of managing his ADHD without disrupting the other students. He
does this by standing at his place when team or independent work is assigned. He sometimes
differs his attention from the task at hand and has to be motivated in ELA to complete his work.
Anthony is a very well-mannered student that wants to succeed but lacks self-confidents. When
faced with a writing task, Anthony is often under the impression that he has no ideas and often
answered guiding questions with I dont know. Anthony benefits from having someone help
with brainstorm his ideas. Once his ideas are on a scrap piece of paper, he is able to produce
some writing.

Anthonys writing is not very legible and he shows no sign of sentence structure in his
writing pieces. The student struggles with spelling, line and margin use as well as space issues.
He is constantly erasing his work which ties in with the lack of confidence. Antony does well on
his weekly spelling tests but struggles with it during writing tasks. When it comes to
mathematics, Anthony demonstrate excellent mathematical skills but sometimes has trouble
reading and understanding the instructions. Once he understands what the task is asking, he is
able to complete his work independently.

Anthony plays and interacts with the other students in the schoolyard and in physical
education but is often left without a partner when students are assigned academic partner work.
This does not seem to bother him as he prefers doing academic work on his own.

The majority of the time, Anthonys homework is completed. He receives at home

support from his mother. Anthony demonstrate above average computer and technology skills.
Currently, Anthony is entitled to have a reader for the end of cycle exams. His IEP does not call
for any adaptive measures to be taken.

Planning
Focus Academic: The main focus of this intervention is from an academic standpoint.
Subjects: Main: ELA - Secondary: Mathematics (end of cycle exams)
Barriers/Objective
Writing Tasks
-

Anthonys main concern is producing legible written work that properly capture his ideas and

thoughts.
Anthony must have a brainstorming session before producing a writing product. This will help
him gather his thoughts orally and then write them on a scrap piece of paper. The brainstorm
sheet should be categorized. Example: physical traits of the character and personality traits of

the character. Having his ideas down to refer to will help Anthony form his sentences.
Anthony would benefit from having access to a laptop to produce his written work such as
reading responses, journals and other writing tasks. Spell check would be disabled to avoid
having him being distracted by the underlined spelling and grammar mistakes. Spell check
may be enabled at the end of the writing task depending on evaluation criterias.
Reading Tasks

Anthony could use an electronic dictionary when he has a reading task. This will help him
with reading comprehension. The electronic dictionary should only be given when needed to

avoid turning the tool into a distraction.

Anthony is entitled to a reader for the end of cycle exams for both the mathematics and the
language exams. This task will be taken on by the resource teacher. During the year, the
teachers should go over instructions with the student to ensure proper comprehension.
Other

If Anthony stands while working independently, let him unless he is being disruptive to the

other students.
Give Anthony the opportunity to move around: Pass out or collect books and materials,
messenger, emptying out the recycling bin or going down to get the milk.
QEP Competency/
Goal

Barriers/
Objective(s)

Strategies

Person
responsible

Tracking
method/measure

ELA/ To write selfexpressive,

narrative and
information based
texts

Barrier: Produce
Written Texts that
are legible and
demonstrate the
students
understanding
and creativity
Objectives :
Anthony will
complete the
same written
assignments and
projects as his
classmates (with
adjusted
assessments).
Anthony will
organize his
thoughts and
ideas in a visual
manner which he
can refer back to.

ELA To read and

listen to literary,
popular and
information based
texts.

Barrier:
To read and
understand
simplified
instructions given
for an ELA or
Math assignment.

Anthony will use

a laptop for the
majority of his
written tasks.

Anthony will
always need a
brainstorming or
thought
organizing sheet
to complete
before he can
produce writing.

Teacher

Teacher

Teacher with
support of
resource teacher.

Use rubrics to
evaluate all
written work just
like the rest of
Anthonys peers
but evaluate
based on his
level. (Less
writing than other
grade 4
students).
Anthony will be
provided with a
reader for end of
cycle and other
ministry exams.
Home reading
Program

Resource Teacher
or CCW

Teacher/Parents

Anthony will require

individual attention
to be re-explained
the task at hand.

Teacher

By conducting
reading level tests
every term,
Anthony will know
what level books he
should be reading.
(The books are
classified by level).

Teacher /
Resource Teacher
or Specialist

All typed work w

be printed out an
kept in a subject
or themed specifi
duo-tang like the
rest of the class.
Ex. A response to
a text will be kep
in the reading
response duotang.

Keep
brainstorming
sheets with the
drafts and final
written products
evaluate
progression.

Keep records of
reading and
comprehension
level tests to
monitor Anthony
progression
( Running Record
Reading Logs