Case Study - Primary Tier Possible Next Steps

Hamza was born in Ottawa and has

been attending school since JK. He is
seven years old and currently in grade
2. Urdu is his first language. Both
his teachers and his parents describe
Hamza as having severe attention
issues. Both the teachers and his
parents describe him as being very
immature and having weak social
skills. According to his parents,
Hamza’s two-year old brother is more
mature than he is. When he becomes
frustrated at school, he will have
temper tantrums two or three times a
week. Hamza refuses to complete
written tasks. He requires one-to-one
assistance to complete any written
task. Orally, he does demonstrate a
good understanding in both math and
language arts, although abstract
concepts are more difficult for him.
 Case Study - Primary Tier Possible Next Steps
Michael was behind age peers in his
literacy skills in grade 1. This
continued in grade 2 yet he
demonstrated wonderful general
knowledge that he shared in class
discussions. Michael was on an IEP
so that his knowledge in the content
subjects could be fairly assessed
through scribing, oral testing, etc. He
received support for literacy
instruction through the LRT/SELC,
yet still made very modest gains. His
frustration in grade 3 is becoming
increasingly more evident.
 Case Study - Intermediate Tier Possible Next Steps
Tasha is a grade 7 student. On all her report
cards since grade 3, teachers comments have
regularly included the phrase, “She could do
better with more consistent effort.” The
teachers know that Tasha is gifted, and expect a
lot from her. Tasha’s parents are also frustrated
with her efforts. They do not understand their
daughter’s laid back attitude toward school. It
seems that when something piques her interest,
she puts tremendous thought and effort into it.
She has won numerous essay contests, as well
as public speaking contests this year. At times,
she has voiced the opinion “I know how to do
this, so why should I have to do the
assignment?” Parents have expressed a concern
with her attitude, but also wonder if the school
is doing all they could to stimulate her natural
talents and abilities. They have requested a
meeting to discuss her program.
 Case Study - Secondary Tier Possible Next Steps
Several members of the staff have
observed that Brandon appears more
sullen and angry. Lately, he’s been
arriving to school late and skipping
classes. Brandon is an only child
whose father committed suicide two
years ago. His mother reports that
Brandon is close to his grandfather,
but that she and her son are distant.
It’s Friday, and Brandon has disclosed
to his grade 10 tech teacher that life is
not worth living.
 Case Study - Junior Tier Possible Next Steps
Riya was born in Afghanistan and
speaks Dari as a first language. Riya
speaks only Dari at home with her
family. She immigrated to Canada
when she was in grade 2. Riya is
presently in grade 4 and is
experiencing difficulty with her
reading skills. She is currently
reading at the mid-grade 1 level. She
is beginning to write at the beginning
primary level. She speaks and
understands English very well but still
mixes up he/she when referring to
another child. Riya has difficulty
retaining simple information such as
sight vocabulary. She appears to have
better short term as opposed to long
term memory and with overall
memory of facts and themes.