Stepping In To Improve Reading Performance English Language Essay Example

further evaluation during the first session, but he declined due to the associated stigma. However, after three months into the current academic year, David's parents have finally agreed to have him evaluated. David was delivered without any complications and is in good health. He visits a pediatrician once a year. Typically, he experiences one or two episodes of normal illnesses per year.

David is the youngest child in a household of two brothers and two sisters. His siblings are aged 9, 14, 18, and 22 years old. The family emigrated from Spanish speaking Colombia in 1995 and currently lives in a first-floor flat with three bedrooms. David's father works as a superintendent in the building where they reside while his mother stays at home. Both parents share a close and caring relationship.

In his free time, David enjoys playing the guitar and football. He actively participates in soccer games every Saturday at the park alongside his 9-year-old brother.

David prides himself on his ability to learn how to play just by watching others at the park. Although he is considered average by his schoolmates, he has a larger circle of friends in his local area. While David's teacher believes that his peer relationships are satisfactory, there is still room for improvement. Additionally, David is known for being polite and well-behaved, often displaying reserved and introverted tendencies.

David did not reveal much personal information and presented himself as doing fine with no major concerns. He appeared motivated and enthusiastic about the testing and mentioned his enjoyment of reading. He patiently waited for instructions and seemed to be enjoying the evaluation, even after it was completed. No address issues were observed.

Furthermore, David stood out as being one of the tallest students in his class and had a healthy physique, falling within the range of normal to heavy side.

The individual was aware of his appearance and made an effort to present himself neatly and in a well-organized manner. He adorned fashionable attire, including a stylish hat, and wore glasses with a slight prescription. Furthermore, he displayed exceptional manners, behaved impeccably, and exuded enthusiasm. Collaborating with him proved enjoyable as he remained patient and responded to moments of frustration with a modest smile.

I asked him if he wanted to stop our proving session, to which he softly responded, "yes". It seems like he felt more confident working one on one with me rather than in a group. Two weeks later, when I went to his class for the final evaluation, he didn't want to leave the class and had to be given a candy as a bribe. After speaking with the teacher, she informed me that David had a difficult day. He couldn't complete two sentences and she was upset with him. Additionally, she mentioned that he had become the "example" of the school, and anyone who wanted to evaluate a struggling student was using him as a benchmark.

David's reading ability was a major concern for his instructors, leading to a referral for a reading assessment. His reading level is considerably lower than his peers. This study measures two important aspects of children's attitudes towards reading. The study uses a response format that is engaging and easy for students to understand. The popular comic strip character Garfield, depicted as ranging from very happy to very upset, is

familiar and relatable to young children.

Results

In the assessment, David selected a happy Garfield for 17 out of 20 questions. When asked about his feelings towards using a dictionary, David chose a slightly upset Garfield.

David appeared somewhat happy, according to his subtle smile Garfield, when discussing his reading habits. During a reading assessment, it seemed that David was trying to impress me by giving answers he thought I wanted to hear. His responses revealed a deep love for reading, to the point where he would sacrifice playing with friends or using holiday time to indulge in books. However, when I specifically asked him about his enjoyment of completing worksheets and using a dictionary, he hesitated. I reassured him that it was okay to circle the anxious Garfield if he found these activities undesirable, which helped him relax.

The Yopp-Singer Test of Phonemic Segmentation

The Yopp-Singer Test involves segmenting 22 words into their constituent phonemes. This assessment maintains a playful and game-like approach.

The pupil needs to segment words into individual sounds. For example, I said the word /cat/ and David was asked to say the word "easy" and tell me. On the Yopp Test, David scored a high mark of 20 out of 22 words, except for the words that he segmented as b/i/ and the word "ballad," which he segmented as l/a. This means he segmented almost all of the sounds correctly and he may be considered phonemically aware.

Roswell-Chall Auditory Blending Test

The Roswell-Chall Auditory Blending Test assesses a student's ability to blend sounds to form words. The test requires blending sequences of sounds spoken by the tester. I would say each sound as it is pronounced in each

word, for example n-o, and David had to say the word /no. Out of 30 words, David was able to blend 29 words except for the word t-oa-st.

The individual was quick in expressing the words and displayed a positive outlook regarding the evaluation. The testing process involved a fast-paced trial consisting of 10 Lists, beginning from List P (preprimary, or kindergarten) to List 9-12. Each list contained 20 words. David proficiently completed List P, except for the word "here," which he mistakenly read as "her."

In List 1, he was able to correctly read 12 words. In List 2, he correctly read 8 words. In List 3, he only managed to read 2 words correctly, which was his measure of defeat - the point at which he would consider himself defeated if reading independently. David's overall score was 41, meaning that 41:2=20.5 would place him in the second class degree. He seemed to appreciate this evaluation the most. He read List P within 3 seconds and appeared happy and proud that he read those words quickly. Although he wasn't as fluent and encountered some difficulties with the subsequent lists of words, he maintained a positive attitude towards this trial.

During every evaluation I conducted, he consistently expressed his desire to review word lists. The Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) features word lists that range from a primer to junior high readability level. The Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) includes a Word Recognition Inventory (WRI), which consists of eight word lists, each containing 20 words. On the Pre-primer level, David successfully completed 4 out of 20 words independently, with only four errors: "surface-to-air missile" instead of "and," "deer" instead of

"bear," "said" instead of "side," and "sunder" instead of "surprise." On the Primer Level, he scored 9 out of 20, indicating an instructional frustration level.

He misunderstood the following words: blow, bright, things, household, thank, cattles, please, draw, and work. We move on to the next level, First Grade Level. David got a score of 11/20, which means he did not do well. I must note that David enjoys reading word lists and always wants to read more. Oral reading - Rate One. The oral reading section of the IRI includes 8 passages of varying readability levels from Preprimary to junior high level.

The classes' scores are based on the number of mistakes (miscues) made and the accuracy of their answers to comprehension questions. Some answers can be found directly in the text, while others require the student to infer information from the passage. In the Preprimary passage, David made 3 miscues but answered all comprehension questions correctly. This story was at his independent level.

David successfully completed the Primer degree independently, making 2 errors but answering all comprehension questions. However, on the grade 1 level, David struggled and made 11 errors, indicating that the material was too difficult for him. Despite this challenge, David managed to answer 6.5 out of 10 comprehension questions correctly.

During the Silent Reading session, David achieved the defeat degree, responding only. He reached the independent level for comprehension when I read levels two and three to him. Additionally, he was introduced to the non-fiction book "The Zoo". While I read the title and introduction, David independently read pages 2 through 16, skipping every other page that contained images.

David had a total of 8

mistakes, a truth Rate of 94%, and an Eloquence Score of 1 (mark scope from 0 to 3). His unwritten reading places him in Grade 1 reading level. David scored a perfect 6 out of 6. Despite having difficulties reading, he surprised me with his complete comprehension in all his comprehension trials. When I presented him with transitions at higher levels (up to 4th grade level), he was able to understand the stories and answered correctly to all (or most, in the case of the 4th grade level) questions.

David struggled with reading, often pausing to think about difficult words or nodding in frustration. Despite these challenges, he persevered because he found the story enjoyable. David demonstrated a solid understanding of comprehension, vocabulary, reading, sight words, and decoding skills, equivalent to a Level 4 or Grade 1 proficiency.

Comprehension This Literacy Development Check List (LDC) provides an individualized record of the child's literacy development from kindergarten through 3rd grade. ECLASS-2 assesses the child in four literacy strands: Phonemic consciousness; Phonics; Reading and Oral Expression; Listening and Vocabulary. David's vocabulary score was 20 words out of 48. In phonics, reading, and oral expression, David achieved a level 4 benchmark, placing him in the appropriate grade level. In listening, David reached level 5, which placed him in Grade 2.

Reading and Oral Expression David read the story "Get the Booall 'Slim" by Marcia Leonard and omitted letters in the words "gets" and "hits" three times. He also made errors by reading "toast" instead of "flip", "good" instead of "good", and substituted "out" for "are" and "and" for the letter "I".

He demonstrated a high level of accuracy in answering questions and

effectively conveyed main ideas with minimal supporting details. During the test, he appeared calm and unhurried. While reading the passage, he encountered occasional pauses as he searched for the right words, but was able to correct himself and continue without major difficulties. This suggests that he was actively trying to comprehend the text as he progressed through it.

Formal and Informal Appraisals Diagnosis/Analysis

David's reading skills primarily involve decoding words. Although the word finding assessment focused mainly on convergent naming, it was also important to assess his ability to find words within a contextual communication context.

The results of all word recognition tests consistently showed that David performed poorly on all sections of the test, including reading at grade level, vocabulary, fluency and oral reading. David was unable to read words fluently, had poor decoding skills, and scored at a frustration level in word recognition at level 1 on all tests. This clearly indicates a lack of phonological awareness. In the SORT test, he correctly read 12 out of 20 words in list one, eight words in list two, and only two words in list three. His score was 20.5, clearly showing that he is far behind the grade level. The SORT result indicates that David requires additional diagnostic assessment.

The consequences of the SORT assessment do not demonstrate David's comprehension and word knowledge abilities. Although his comprehension scores are consistently high, his word recognition scores are lower. During the Informal Reading Inventory test, David struggled with the level 1 word list and achieved a score of 11 out of 20, indicating frustration.

In the section on unwritten transition, he encountered unfamiliar words but was able to correct some of

them himself. He reached a point of frustration based on the number of mistakes he made. He made a total of 11 errors, indicating that the material was too challenging for him. However, he had a desire to continue reading because he was enjoying the actual stories.

David is struggling with decoding skills; his decoding skills are excellent and he was able to succeed in segmenting sounds. However, when it came to blending sounds together in digraphs, he had difficulty. For example, he had trouble with words like "toast" and "slap". He couldn't decode the word "toast" when the sounds were pronounced to him, and he couldn't identify the word "poke" when asked to avoid pronouncing the letter /m/.

David's public presentation on the word analysis trial indicates his limited ability to decipher existing words. Therefore, it appears that David requires more opportunities to recognize common words. Additionally, he appeared to struggle with vowels: substituting "will" for "good", "allow" for "last", and "par" for "poor". Direct instruction in structural analysis as a word recognition strategy would be beneficial for David. The disparity between David's word recognition and comprehension performance is noteworthy. Even when he couldn't pronounce the words in the comprehension, he was still eager to continue with it because he enjoys the stories. Dr.

According to Rebecca Felton in the Journal of Learning Disabilities, it can be seen that the individual's ability to easily understand and comprehend the text improved due to consistent attention and support. This is evident from the individual's multiple self-corrections and repetitions of a certain line when stuck, showing their efforts to derive meaning from the text. Additionally, another issue apparent in

David's reading performance was his lack of fluency. He read the passages slowly and word by word.

Recommendation for redress and prescription program to address literacy issues

Kids with reading difficulties often embrace redress with a mix of anxiety and hope. David, for example, wishes to overcome his learning disabilities and dismiss any doubts about his abilities. Months of failed attempts to master spelling and reading have made him believe that he cannot learn and that his teachers are unable to help him. However, by openly discussing his specific challenges, such as articulating sounds and focusing on decoding skills, his teachers can help build his confidence from the very first meeting. It is also important for David's instructors to acknowledge and support his preference for a multisensory learning approach. By consistently addressing his foundational problem areas, such as language decoding, spelling, comprehension, and writing in every lesson, David will be less likely to feel the urge to give up when progress seems slow.

David's accomplishments will ultimately improve as he remains in the redress procedure for a longer period. Gradually, he will come closer to overcoming his significant difficulty in phonological skills. It is important to note that the negative impact of reduced phonological knowledge extends beyond poor spelling; it also affects the ability to decrypt words. Tests involving single syllable words and word parts reveal the clear restriction in David's sound discrimination ability. After conducting the test, the teacher should point out each individual mistake to David, such as a word he read as "par" instead of "poor." Then, the teacher conceals the printed text and asks David to repeat

the three words again: "par," "brace," and "poor."

During exercises, the main noticeable deficiency is in the reactivity of connections between sounds and phonemes. To enhance sectioning of words, visual cues like the use of items or counters provide both visual and tactile assistance. By moving the counter for each sound, a relationship between letters and sounds is established. Manipulating phonemes can also help in understanding letters and their corresponding sounds. For example, by adding "f-" to "are" we get "farm".

The game of word lotto can be used to increase his word exposure. When the instructor calls out a word, he will use his sense of hearing and sight to search for the word on his card (Vasday, Sanders and Tudor 509). This game is appealing as it can highlight both his strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, the instructor can provide him with independent level books that include the words he struggles with. By repeatedly reading these books, he can become more confident in his reading ability. David should be given books that match his current reading level, and as he improves, he can move on to higher level books. These books should focus on comprehension, word acquisition, and blending and digram skills. David may benefit from having someone read books to him that assist with his difficulties in digraphs such as ch-, sh-, th-, ck-, and qu.

Introducing words that pose difficulty for him before the reading can be helpful. Words that have certain sounds at the beginning or end are taught as sight words. Lessons that introduce one combination of two letters at a time can assist in his understanding of this information. Increasing awareness of

sounds is the first step in improving decoding skills, according to the National Adult Literacy and Learning Disabilities Center. For example, the letters "ch" do not retain their individual sounds of "c" and "h" but have a new sound when combined.

The instructor can introduce the concept of prior knowledge and inform the student that a train makes a "ch'' sound. By using spoken language, the focus can be directed towards the construction of sounds. Visual aids, such as images and objects, can be used to support the learning of specific sounds. The student can practice the letter-sound combination by repeating it multiple times. Worksheets can be used to reinforce the understanding of digrams, through activities like cutting and pasting images, tracing and writing, as well as searching for and underlining words that contain the specific sounds (such as "sh", "ch", "th", etc.). It is important to emphasize the spelling patterns since there is no direct correspondence between phonemes and letters. David encountered difficulties with words that have a vowel followed by a "e" (cvcv long vowel pattern).

The instructor can explain the concept of a vowel-consonant -e relationship, also known as magic-e. Teaching the rule that the first vowel in a word becomes long and the letter E becomes silent can be aided by using word types and spelling games. A useful exercise for the student is to read a short paragraph and highlight the magic-e words listed on the side. According to Sorbi (2010), a lack of pattern in reading can hinder the development of vocabulary, grammar understanding, and overall cognitive abilities.