Child Literacy study

~Jerrin (name has been changed) , 4th Grade~

EDES 6358, Fall 2016 ~ Jacquelyn Sheehan

Statement of the Problem
Jerrin, as an English Language Learner
from the Netherlands, needs lots of
support in:
*Vocabulary (All subjects)
Spelling / Writing / Word
Patterns
Reading Fluency
Comprehension
Initial Whole Class Assessment
STAR Reading Enterprise:
33% PR, 3.3 IRL, 3.3 GE

STAR Early Literacy (Just Jerrin, ELL):

4.0 GP, 732 SS, Transitional Reader

Highest Categories: Alphabetic Principle, Concept of Word, Visual

Discrimination, Early Numeracy.
Lowest Categories: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Structural Analysis,
Sentence/Paragraph Comprehension

CORE Phonics Survey : Needs to work on:

(only students identified from STAR)

Irregularly spelled words, variant spelling patterns

Home visit
Jerrin walks to school with his mom and sister,
Marit (8th).
Mother and Father speak English as well as Dutch, Dad
more than Mom, but they try to speak only English at
home.
Jerrin has decorated his bedroom to be like a
classroom; he loves to play teacher at home.
Jerrin complains about homework, but is a very
self-motivated learner.
Math has been a big struggle because of number
pronunciation and math facts, but his parents help
him every night.
Jerrin brings home a book bag and reads books at his
level every night with a family member.
Specific Intervention Strategies
Differentiated Spelling/Vocabulary Homework
Picture/(Translation) Flashcards; color-coding vowels/consonants
Reading Book Bag
New books every week at his level.
Daily Intervention Reading Groups
20-30 minutes a day of Orton Gillingham or Recipe for Reading
Strategies for spelling, sentence comprehension, phonics, etc.
Guided Reading Chapter Book
MobyMax, Montessori/Simplex Spelling Apps (Universal Access)
Tutoring
Tuesdays and Fridays after school for 1 hour (reading and math)
General Education Classroom
Many visuals/gestures, preferential seating, including in the
conversation
 Follow-up Parent Questionnaire
Parents Feel the Jerrin:
Is improving greatly every week
Can speak much more English than when he started
Is doing better in math, but still struggling with math facts
Needs continued intervention and vocabulary-development to become like
a regular fourth grader
Parents are pleased with Jerrins progress and will
continue to work collaboratively with the teacher and to
help Jerrin with his homework and in using his vocabulary
words in context at home.
Final Assessment
STAR Reading Enterprise:
21% PR, 2.5 IRL, 2.9 GE (Down from August assessment,
but up from October assessment; STAR still gauging his level?)

STAR Early Literacy (Just Jerrin, ELL):

4.16 GP, 765 SS, Transitional Reader (Still a transitional
reader, but has improved greatly across all categories)
Highest Categories: Alphabetic Principle, Concept of Word, Visual Discrimination,
Early Numeracy.
Lower Categories: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Structural Analysis, Sentence/Paragraph
Comprehension

CORE Phonics Survey: Improved in all areas, but still needs

continued work on:

Irregularly spelled words, variant spelling patterns

Summary of Experience
Jerrin has made such impressive growth in all categories,
especially in Speaking English. His motivation to learn
and his great parent support helps him succeed so much.
He reads English with more confidence.
Spelling is improving, but will be a stronger focus in
this next trimester as Jerrins personal spellings and
pronunciations have become habits.
For example: FiFH for with or willy for really
Goals:
Continue working on the th and r sound pronunciation in English
Begin challenging Jerrin to complete more of the same tasks as his
peers, like Wordly Wise Vocabulary.
Continue Intervention Groups and Tutoring as well.
Repetition, repetition!