Marla Leland / EDUC 5165

Literacy Case Study: Instructional Plan

During the assessments and interactions with Jayleen I have
determined that she can read phonically at a second grade level but she is
not able to comprehend at the same level. Her reading comprehension level
is approximately at a first grade level. In order for Jaylen to progress to her
next level of literacy she will have to build her comprehension level. Based
upon her assessments, her instructional plan should start with picking good
fit books for her at her comprehension level. The books should be high
interest to her because she tends to get bored if not engaged or interested in
the topic. She should be encouraged and be given time in class every day to
read for extended lengths of time. With more reading in books that fit her
level, she will start to become more interested in reading.
Another important aspect to Jayleens reading development would be
read expose Jayleen to more books by reading to her. This could happen in a
whole class group. This way she could access books that she might not be
able to read herself. These books should be high interest. The harder
vocabulary words should be pre-taught before reading the sections. When
reading these books, there should be frequent stops to discuss important
elements of the book. The teacher should model how to process the
information and answer who, what, where, when questions. The more
Jayleens exposed to the interesting world of books the more she herself will
learn the value and purpose of reading.

Marla Leland / EDUC 5165

To increase Jayleens reading comprehension and to help her get to

grade level Standards for Literature CCSS.RL.1-10, she should be explicitly
taught reading comprehension strategies. During our interactions, I modeled
the questioning strategy to her in a small group. She listened to the book
and did have a few questions that she contributed. To further help her she
would need individual scaffolding to practice this technique herself one on
one with a teacher, aid or another student. In addition I also modeled how to
retell and synthesize a book as you read. I believe this technique was more
engaging for Jayleen because it helped her understanding the story better
just by listening to the retelling of the story. She was able to hear the story
twice, so she was able to synthesize the information more thoroughly. Jaylen
should be encouraged to use this skill by reading her book in shorter slower
spurts and then record a recap to help her synthesize the information. Thus
will also give her the ability to re-read her summary and remember the
important portions of the text. Jayleen should continue to be taught the other
reading comprehension strategies visualization, accessing background
knowledge, inferring, etc.; as well as be able to practice these skills with
someone. These strategies help her have the tools to better understand her
readings.
In conjunction with the reading comprehension strategies, Jaylen
should continue to work on building her vocabulary. In my interactions, I
noticed that she does not have a very broad vocabulary base. It would help
her while reading to be taught to log the words she does not understand for
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further discussion with her teacher or to be researched independently.

Furthermore, she should have small group or individual lessons on how to
use context to understand word meaning.
Jayleen would also benefit from small group literacy discussions. She
has a tendency to shy away and not participate in whole class discussions. It
might benefit her to read a book in a small book group. The teacher could in
fictional books have either the same level students read a like books or
books from the same author book. The books can be the same topic but at
different levels, for example: authentic, abridged, etc. It would be important
for Jayleen to fill out graphic organizer to help her understand more fully the
books. In addition she should be allowed options for expressing her opinions
and thoughts about the books. Jayleen as mentioned in my interactions with
her was very captivated by the poem the Jabberwocky, she was very happy
acting out and saying the parts. In addition she mentioned that her favorite
subject in school was art. Since Jayleens likes more creative arts, she might
like to use art or acting to bring her ideas about the books she reads books
to light. However I must put in an important note, on creative art projects
explicit directions on expectations should be made clear by the teacher. I
actually recently tried to have Jayleen draw a picture of the book I read to
her Miss Suzy (see assessment portion of the notebook). I re-read the
description of Miss. Suzys treehouse and asked Jayleen to visualize and draw
it. Unfortunately I did not specify that I wanted her to draw a detailed
account of the inside of her house with all the information she could
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remember from the text. She ended up drawing more of the tree than
anything. I have enclosed this picture in the index. I learned my lesson
learned that when asking a student to draw something to reflect reading
comprehension make sure to relay what exactly you want them to focus on
in the drawing. It was a cute picture regardless but would not be reliable as
an assessment of her retention/visualization of the text.
Moving forward on the instructional plan to help Jayleen with reading
informational text (CCSS.RI.3.1-10), Jayleen should work in a small group of
students who are interested in a similar subject(s). The students could read
good fit books for themselves on the subject and bring different details that
they learned to the group. Again graphic organizers would help her focus and
organize her research. She would also have the support of the group to help
her focus on main points of the subjects. Group projects could also help her
become more interested in the topics. In fact during her class they did a
social study project in which they created a game board and game board
questions about the Miwok Indians. While I was in class I observed that
Jayleen was very engaged in working and contributing to the group. Through
collaborative engaging group projects, Jayleen will be better able to
synthesize her reading about informational topics.
During my interactions at the beginning of the semester I noticed
Jayleen was pretty reserved about expressing herself both verbally and in her
writing. As I have been interacting and observing Jayleen I have noticed that

Marla Leland / EDUC 5165

she has become a little bit more willing to contribute herself to

conversations. In addition, her writing has become a little bit more
descriptive. I have put some writing samples in the index for review. She is
now using describing words and transitions to express herself more fully. I
think this is a wonderful change and with more encouragement, she will grow
further as a writer. I believe the biggest effect on her writing has been that
she was taught how to brainstorm through mapping and the importance of
rewriting. In addition there was place an expectation for her to use
describing and transitional words. These tools are helping her put more
descriptive information into her writing. I think as Jayleen gets more
exposure to books, information and vocabulary through reading; her writing
will continue to improve by modeling what she has read and continued
guidance and instruction.
I think Jayleen will continue to develop with her literacy provided she
has the support and encouragement of teachers to assist her to meet her
educational goals. This case study showed me how important the role a
teacher is to help and inspire confidence in students that may not have an
educational support system at home.

Good fit books

Marla Leland / EDUC 5165

Graphic organizers
Vocabulary notes for difficult words
Reading Comprehension Strategies Modelled questioning & retelling
Shorten reading and summarize
Incorporate her interest of art & drama
Discuss readings with small groups not large
Encourage descriptive writing to help her extend her thought
processes/ critical thinking/creativity
Encourage her to read everyday
Read to her bigger books to help her see the joy of reading
RL.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a
text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
RL.3: Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or
feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of
events
RL4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in
a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language. (See grade 3
Language standards 46 for additional expectations.) CA
RL5: Refer to parts of stories, dramas, and poems when writing or
speaking about a text, using terms such as chapter, scene, and stanza;
describe how each successive part builds on earlier sections.