Elementary Reading Clinic

Spring 2016
Student Summary
Name: Ezra _______
Age: 7
Grade: First Grade
School: _________ Elementary
Tutor: Brook Esquivel
Attendance: 11/12 sessions plus Introductory Meeting and Conference

TUTORING RESULTS

Interest and Reading Attitudes

On our first meeting, I gave Ezra both a Reading Interests and Reading Attitude Survey. I learned
that he is not too excited about reading and often gets discouraged. However, when books are
about something he is very interested in such as dirt bikes or superheroes, his interest skyrockets!
I have found the best strategy to get him excited about reading is to get him to read about things
he already loves or stories that he can relate to such as stories with characters who have siblings
or characters who are adventurous and outside often.

Literacy Assessments
The data I received showed that Ezra is currently reading at a DRA level 3. As a first grader,
your child should be reading at a DRA level 10 in March. The assessment showed that Ezras
strengths are retelling the story with detail and using character names as well as making
connections to the text. Some areas to improve include accuracy, meaning reading words
correctly, and phrasing, which is reading words in groups to make it sound smooth like you are
talking.

I also received a phonics assessment that showed that Ezra is at Task 2, which includes two and
three letter words, for a Quick Phonics Screener. As a first grader, your child should master Tasks
2 and 3, which includes words with blends, by March of first grade. The assessment showed that
Ezras strengths are reading words in text and two and three letter words such as bat, if, pin or at.
Some areas to improve include words with blends.

I reassessed Ezra during the last week of out tutoring session. He was able to pass Task 3, which
includes words with blends, on the Quick Phonics Screener. This was a great improvement for
him and puts him back right on track for reading at grade level! I wanted to continue onto Task 4,
which includes diagraphs, however, I could tell that Ezra was being to get upset, and I did not
want to push him too far and make testing a bad experience for him. I also reassessed him using
the Reading A to Z program. I assessed him with the Level C benchmark book, which is
equivalent to a level 4 DRA, one level above where he was reading independently when we
started tutoring. He passed that assessment as well, and successfully moved up an entire level!

1
Word Work (Phonemic Skills, Phonics, Vocabulary)

The Quick Phonics Screener assessment showed a need for work on blends. These are words
like spin, snap or bled. His teacher also suggested a need for work on sight words. Sight words
are high frequency words that should recognize automatically by sight without having to sound
them out. For first grade, sight words include words like the, or and of. To work on these types
of words we played games such as sight word connect four, blend word memory games and
popcorn sight words.

Fluency

The DRA assessment showed a need for work on fluency, especially in the areas of phrasing and
problem solving of unknown words. Phrasing is the ability to group words together so that
reading sounds natural like talking. To work on this, we reread books that he was comfortable
with and listened specifically to how he sounded when he read aloud. Also, we reread parts of
the story when his reading became choppy and hard for him to understand.

Comprehension

The DRA assessment showed a need for work on comprehension, in particular, previewing
before reading and reflecting on a story after reading. Previewing is identifying and connecting
to the book from things like the title, cover, or illustrations before reading the book to help get
the student ready to read and think deeply about the book. Reflecting is identifying the theme,
moral or overall idea of a book as well as making a thoughtful connection that shows a deeper
understanding of the story after reading the book.

To work on this I taught a mini lesson with the reading strategy, Readers use pictures and titles
before and while they are reading to keep them engaged in the story, using the picture book The
Everything Machine by Matt Novak. After the mini-lesson students were able to practice this
strategy with guided practice and independent reading with the book Going to the Moon by
Joesphine Selwyn. Furthermore, to work on comprehension strategies I used the book By My
Brothers Side to teach a mini lesson focusing on making meaningful connections from the
students lives and experiences to the text. Finally, we worked on strengthening reflection skills
with a lesson focusing on theme and lesson learned with the book What Do You Do With an
Idea? by Kobi Yomanda.

Writing
We did not address writing during our sessions.

CONCLUSION
Overall, I have had a great experience working with Ezra! He has shown amazing improvement
by moving up an entire reading level and successfully mastering words with blends. To continue
his growth in reading, I would simply suggest encouraging his reading whenever possible. He
struggles with finding interest in reading, so including whenever possible, and finding books that

2
really interest him are key. Furthermore, incorporating phonics themed games may be helpful in
getting his interest, such as sight word bingo, or sight word car racing. I have included a link to a
blog that has many great, free resources that I think Ezra would enjoy. I hope this summary has
been helpful and insightful. Ezra is a smart, kind young boy and it has been my pleasure to work
with him over the semester. Thank you so much for your commitment to this program and
allowing me to work with Ezra! If you have any questions please feel free to email me at any
time at bje003@aquinas.edu

http://brainpowerboy.com/sight-word-games-for-boys/

3
 Elementary Reading Clinic
Spring 2016
Student Summary
Name: KeiBriel __________
Age: 7
Grade: First Grade
School: __________ Elementary
Tutor: Brook Esquivel
Attendance: 11/12 sessions and Conference

TUTORING RESULTS

Interest and Reading Attitudes

On our first meeting, I gave KeiBriel both a Reading Interests and Reading Attitude Survey. I
learned that she is excited about reading and loves to listen to stories. She loves animals and has
a passionate heart for helping others. I look forward to continuing to get to know her.

Literacy Assessments

The data I received showed that KeiBriel is currently reading at a DRA level 3. As a first grader,
your child should be reading at a level 10 in March. The assessment showed her strengths were
accuracy, which is reading words correctly, and self-correcting mistakes. Some areas to improve
included phrasing, which is reading words in groups to make it sound like you are talking, and
retelling the story after reading with detail.

I also received a phonics assessment that showed that KeiBriel is working at Task 2, which are
two and three letter words, for a Quick Phonics Screener, which includes words with blends,
such as spin, clip, or bled, both in isolation and in text. As a first grader, your child should master
Task 2, two and three letter words, by March of first grade. The assessment showed that
KeiBriels strengths included two and three letter words, such as bat, got and of, both in
isolation and in text. She also showed strength in words ending in blends.

At the end of our time tutoring I reassessed KeiBriel. During this reassessment, she passed Task
3, which is words with blends, on the Quick Phonics Screener. I continued onto Task 4, which
includes words with diagraphs, on the Quick Phonics Screener. She was not able to pass Task 4
but came very close with 70% accuracy rate when reading words with diagraphs. So, she moved
up an entire task and is making great progress on the next one. I also reassessed her using the
Reading A to Z program, at a level C, which is equivalent to a DRA Level 4. She passed this
assessment, meaning she has moved up an entire reading level!

Word Work (Phonemic Skills, Phonics, Vocabulary)

4
The Quick Phonics Screener assessment showed a need for work on diagraphs and words with
beginning blends. Blends are two letters that blend together. Words with blends include spell,
sled and club. Diagraphs are two letters that make one sound together. Words with digraphs
include shop, chop, and what. Her classroom teacher also suggested continued work on sight
words. Sight words are high frequency words that should be recognized automatically without
having to sound them out. For first grade, sight words include words like the, or and of. To work
on these types of words we played games such as sight word connect four, blend word memory
games and popcorn sight words.

Fluency

The DRA assessment showed a need for work on fluency, especially in the area of phrasing.
Phrasing is grouping words together to sound more like talking rather than choppy word by word
reading. To work on this we did a lesson on scooping words as we read to make them sound
like we were talking. I reinforced this lesson with the book Giraffes Cant Dance by Giles
Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees. KeiBriel practiced this strategy independently with the book
Lucys Loose Tooth by Su Ling Ng.

Comprehension

The DRA assessment showed a need for work on comprehension, in particular, retelling a story
after reading. She does give a retell after reading but it is often limited, rather than with much
detail and in specific order to the events of the story. To work on this we did lessons on both
retelling with detail and retelling a story in order. Our lesson on retelling with detail focused on
including character names and setting. To teach this strategy I used the book Smog the City Dog
by Adria Meserve. Our lesson on retelling in order focused on using the words first, next and last
when retelling. KeiBriel practiced this strategy independently with the book Escape from the
Zoo by Ben Smith.

Writing
We did not address writing in our sessions.

CONCLUSION

I had a great time working with Brie this semester! She is a joy to work with. She has such a
positive attitude and a love of reading. She did great work during our time tutoring, and her hard
work showed off by her moving up a reading level! To continue her growth at home, I would
suggest continued daily reading time with a focus on her looking at all the words on the page, as
sometimes she skips words or replaces them with other words that would make sense in context,
but are not the actual printed word. This is a common mistake, and with continued focus on
looking at each word she can work through it. Her progress has amazed me, and her joyful heart
has reminded me of why I love my choice in career. Thank you so much for your commitment to

5
this program and for letting me work with your daughter throughout this semester. It has been a
great experience! Please feel free to email me with any other questions at bje003@aquinas.edu