Ivelisse Gonzalez Lozano

ED 325/Fall 2017
Assessment Project

Tool Strengths Possibilities for Growth

Student: Alex Santos, 8 -Knows what kinds of books he enjoys. -If he doesn’t have the kinds of books he
Grade: 3rd -Reads everyday enjoys at home, have him check some out
Reading Level: P -Enjoys read aloud from the classroom library.

Reading Engagement Inventory: -Read one on one

Alex filled out the Garfield Elementary Reading
Attitude Survey. Out of the twenty questions only one
extra happy Garfield was circled--he enjoys read
aloud.
In addition, we completed a Reading Engagement
Inventory like Seravello’s in page 8. On this inventory
He stated that his mom has reading 15 minutes every
day (his book of choice); he doesn’t like chapter books
because they are hard and long. He also mentioned
he likes reading about sports and animals. Further he
mentioned that reading makes kids smarter.
My Conversation w/ student about reading :
Since I couldn’t observe partner conversation with Alex nor whole-class discussions, I decided to just talk to him about reading. I asked him a few
questions much like the ones in the engagement inventory. When I asked Alex how he felt about reading he stated that he liked reading very little. He
believed reading was hard because sometimes he was unable to read and pronounce certain words. He did mention however, that he loves having his
mom or other adult read aloud to him. I asked him if he would read on his own at home or would his mom/dad have to instruct him to read. He said his
mom always has to tell him to sit down and read.
Reading Observations/Engagement: -Makes verbal expressions while reading. -Ask the student where he would like to read
I told Alex to begin reading on his own for a bit while I -Connection: self to world in order to focus better. Does he like lying on
stepped into the kitchen for a bit. I stepped out but the tummy, in dim light, with soft music, etc.

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peeked at him through a crack in the door. I did this
because I wanted to get an idea of how focused and
engaged he was. For the first 5 minutes he was sitting
on the couch focused on reading. I heard him say
wow! I noticed that after the five minutes he began
turning the pages rather quickly-too quickly. I also
noticed that he began to put the book down for a bit
and played with a nearby toy car. He would play for a
few seconds then return to reading, but only to return
playing after a minute. He would also lie on the couch.
I could tell he was disengaged and bored. The book
was The Biggest Earthquake Ever (level o) which is and
independent read for him.
When I returned and asked Alex how his reading was
going, he said “fine”. He continued to say that in
Mexico there was an earthquake too. This showed me
that he was able to make a self-to world connection.
Informal Running Record:
I read the first few pages of A Whale is not a Fish
(level p) books alongside Alex.
I made a copy of the book and took an informal
running record on my copy of the notes.
In addition I administered two running records from
ReadingA-Z.com One was level O and the other was
level P. I also gave him the comprehension questions
-Self-correcting most words.
-Paused at commas and stopped at periods
-Used mainly visual and meaning cueing
systems. Example: In level p, for the word
spanned, Alex substituted for the word spent.
The word spent made sense (meaning) in this
particular sentence, and had the same beginning
blends (visual).
Ivelisse Gonzalez Lozano
ED 325/Fall 2017
Assessment Project
-Are the books of interest?
-Instead of retelling verbally, I could ask Alex
questions about the reading and have him
answer or give him a paper with the story
and have him answer questions as he reads,
open-ended questions.
-Re-reading for comprehension
-Reading sounds monotonous. We could
work on reading with expression.
-Vowel confusion
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 Ivelisse Gonzalez Lozano
ED 325/Fall 2017
Assessment Project

that were provided online. I will discuss those below

under comprehension.

During all of our readings, I noticed that Alex wasn’t

reading with expression. He did however, score and
independent reading level for levels o and p, with an
accuracy rate of 98-99%.
Fluency Test: -Automaticity -Reading sounds somewhat monotonous. We
I gave Alex two fluency tests because he read -Accuracy could work on reading with expression.
primarily in three-or-four word phrases. He had some -Can read high-frequency words -Re-reading
smooth reading with few pauses, but didn’t too much -Few pauses
with expression. One was level P and level Q. I -Good rate
decided to give him a level Q because I noticed that
level O he read with a 99% accuracy rate.

When I administered the test, Alex seemed confident

in his reading. In level P, he read with a 99% accuracy
rate, with 3 errors, and 86 words per minute.

In level Q, Alex read with a 98% accuracy rate, 6

errors, and 89 words per minute.
Comprehension: -Able to recall information based on his -Re-reading
I feel that in comprehension is where Alex struggled interests Drawing inferences
the most. I gave him a one in comprehension because Retelling
he reflected very limited understanding in all the
readings (two books, running records, and fluency

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 Ivelisse Gonzalez Lozano
ED 325/Fall 2017
Assessment Project

reading) He mentioned a few facts and ideas but did

not express the important information or ideas of the
text.

When I asked him to retell what we read he seemed

stuck and sometimes said he didn’t know. I could tell
he was trying hard to remember what he read
because he would state some parts of sentences from
the book. I had to tell him to keep mentioning to him
to just try his best to tell me what he remembered
from what he read and to give me his understanding
of it. He would give me some ideas of the text but
missed the essential/important parts.

Although he lacked fluency in reading A Whale is not a

Fish I could tell he was more attracted to the book
because when he read that a blue whale was as heavy
as 25 elephants, he made a shocked facial expression
and said “Whoa, that’s huge!” This connects to his
love of reading animal books.
Dictation Sentence: -sigh words/high-frequency words (except -Diphthongs
I gave Alex the dictation sentence provided by Mary; where)
however, we was able to spell every word of that -Memory; only had to re-read sentence once.
sentence with ease. Thus, I decided to give him my -Conventions: punctuation
own sentences, one more difficult than the other. -Decoding

I gave Alex the following dictation sentence:

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 Ivelisse Gonzalez Lozano
ED 325/Fall 2017
Assessment Project

1. A carrot is a healthy snack.

Everything was spelled correctly on this sentence.
Being the case, I gave Alex a more challenging
dictation sentence. The sentence went as follows:
2. Those boys were shocked when the mirror
crashed down on them.
Alex misspelled five words (where, shocket, marie,
done, nere)
I noticed that while writing the second sentence Alex
paused to think about the spelling of the words. I
could hear him trying to sound them out. On several
words he erased a specific word several times until he
believed to have the correct spelling.
Spelling Inventory -Digraphs -Long vowel patters/diphthongs
I gave all 26 words to Alex because I wanted to see -Blends -Review inflectional; endings
the spelling error patterns. He spelled 11/26 words -Beginning/ending sounds
correctly. One of his biggest challenges was spelling
words with common long vowel patterns and
diphthongs. I did notice however that he was once
again moving his lips and trying to sound out the
words. He also erased several times until he believed
to have had spelled the word correctly.
Writing Conversation
When I asked Alex about his thoughts and feelings about writing he said he enjoys writing because it helps me him write words correctly. If he misspells a
word writing help him correct it.

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 Ivelisse Gonzalez Lozano
ED 325/Fall 2017
Assessment Project

Writing Sample 1: Ideas:

I gave Alex a paper and told him to write about Conventions -Elaborate and develop ideas
anything he wanted; anything that came to mind. He -Capitalization
could write about sports, toys, food, games, school, -Punctuation -Review contractions
family, etc. He asked me how many sentences, and I -Most spelling -Add dialogue
told him to write as many as he thinks would be
enough for me to understand what he would be Organization
talking about. -Transitional words
-Beginning, middle, end
Alex wrote about a flying shoe that visited a friend’s
party and then returned home tired. While writing I Ideas:
noticed that Alex would pause to think of how to -Narrowed topic
divide the word flying, as he had reached the end of
the line/page. He used a hyphen to separate the Sentence Fluency
word, which informed me of his understanding in -Complete Sentences
regards to the same. Although Alex used his
knowledge of hyphens, he separated the word flying -Proper spacing between words
incorrectly (flyin-g); which informed me he didn’t
recall the rules.

In addition, Alex applied his knowledge of sequencing

in his writing. He used first, after,
then, and finally. This informed me that he
understood that stories had a beginning, middle, and
end; however, Alex failed in applying a comma after
the transitional words.

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 Ivelisse Gonzalez Lozano
ED 325/Fall 2017
Assessment Project

Alex also showed excellent conventional use, as he

used correct punctuation and capitalization.

Writing Sample 2: -Proper spacing between words Ideas

The third time I met with Alex I once again gave him a -Elaborate and develop ideas
paper to write about anything he wanted; anything Conventions -seems unfinished
that came to mind. He could write about sports, toys, -Capitalization
food, games, school, family, etc. -Punctuation Word choice
-Most spelling -stronger verbs
Alex wrote about his favorite sports. While writing I
noticed that Alex would pause to think of how to spell Organization
certain words. He was mumbling the words to himself -Transitional words
and trying to sound them out. He even looked at my -Beginning, middle, end
son’s hockey Xbox game to try and spell the word
hockey. Sentence Fluency
-Complete Sentences
In addition, Alex applied his knowledge of sequencing
in his writing. He used first, then, and finally; however,
once again, Alex didn’t put a comma after the
transitional words.

Alex also showed excellent conventional use, as he

used correct punctuation and capitalization.

I felt as if this piece of writing was not a complete

thought. He put what his first, second, third, fourth,

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 Ivelisse Gonzalez Lozano
ED 325/Fall 2017
Assessment Project

and fifth (knowledge of ordinal numbers) favorite

sport were but didn’t elaborate on why.

Other: San Diego Quick Assessment: -Able to read words without context clues Automaticity: Although Alex was able to
Because I did not have an idea as to Alex’s current -self-correct reach 4th grade independent level he lacked
reading level I administered this assessment which automaticity. He was sounding out words.
told me his independent reading level was 4th grade;
however, when I gave him a fourth grade book to -Vowel sounds
read (A whale is not a shark-level p) He greatly lacked
fluency; therefore, I began working with him on 3rd
grade books (level o). During our last meeting I had
him try once again A whale is not a shark-level p book.
He was as bit more fluent but lacked comprehension.

GOAL
I think Alex could use assistance in fluency and retelling in reading and developing and elaborating ideas in writing. I conclude this because in reading, I
noticed that Alex struggles in reading difficult words automatically, thus leading to poor comprehension, which leads to insufficient retelling of the text.
When retelling Alex tends to miss the essential focus of the text.

In writing, I noticed that although Alex has good conventional skills; however, he lacks in elaborating and developing his ideas.

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 Ivelisse Gonzalez Lozano
ED 325/Fall 2017
Assessment Project

ACTION PLAN

Large, overarching Goal that will take weeks to SKILLS-Behaviors, habits, process STRATEGIES-Procedural How-to’s to accomplish
accomplish goals

Working with fluency in reading, specifically
automaticity and expression.
1. Re-reading 1. Re-reading: Although Alex self-corrected
2. Expression most misread words, he failed in re-
reading the entire sentence. Therefore, I
would tell Alex that when he has to stop
and decode a words, or self-corrects
himself, he should go back and re-read
the sentence. This will help him
automatically read the word he is having
trouble with.
2. When reading, Alex is to pay attention to
punctuation. If he reads a word with an
exclamation point for example, and fails
to intonate the words, then he is to re-
read the sentence with proper
expression. I will also give Alex examples
of reading a sentence with proper and
improper intonation.

Retelling 1. Just right books 1. Just right books: Choose book that are of
2. Pause and monitor comprehension interest to Alex, such as sports and
animal books.

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Elaborating and developing ideas when writing
narrative.
Ivelisse Gonzalez Lozano
ED 325/Fall 2017
Assessment Project
2. Pause and monitor comprehension:
While reading, Alex could read one page
(or paragraph, depending on book length)
put book down and ask himself if what he
read made sense to him. If it did he could
retell in his own words what he read. If it
didn’t make sense, he needs to go back
and re-read.
1. Descriptive words 1. Having Alex think of his five senses when
2. Graphic Organizer writing will help him add more detail. For
example, in his story about the flying
shoe, Alex could write about how the
shoe felt and what the party sounded like
(music, etc.) thus providing a much more
detailed and interesting description.
2. Alex left his writing unfinished, as he
didn’t elaborate on his topic, especially in
writing #2. Alex could use a graphic
organizer to help him break down his
writing into smaller steps and organize
his writing. His graphic organizer could
include:
 What happened?
 When did it happen?
 Who was involved?
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 Ivelisse Gonzalez Lozano
ED 325/Fall 2017
Assessment Project

 How did it happen?

 Why was it
important/interesting?
 Conclusion:

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