(3 Students)
Rachel is:
16 years old
In 10th grade
From Silver Spring, MD
A native Washingtonian (born and raised in the metro region)
Woodlawn Elementary from K-3rd grade
(public)
Lowe from 4th-6th grade (private K-6)
Felds School from 7th-
10th grade currently
(private 7-12)
Rachel rated her Spanish literacy skills
(speaking, listening, reading and writing) at the novice level
Reported difficulty learning Spanish.
Specifically, she struggles to remember concepts she learns in class
Dislikes rating her abilities
Father has Ph.D. in
Economics
Mother has M.B.A in
International Relations and (DPH) Physical
Therapy
Both studied foreign languages in school
English is the primary language spoken in their home
Reading problems evident since 1st grade (received tutoring)
Educational Assessment conducted per request by director of
Lowe elementary in spring 2001 reported:
1. Rachel struggles with phonetic analysis and visual processing
2. Sometimes she transposes left-right order of letters and at times inserts letters inappropriately. For example, she read inspiration for interpretation
3. Has a tendency to “burn out” quickly
Accommodation granted: extended time on exams
Began studying
Spanish in 4th grade at
Lowe - after school program 1-2 hrs./week
Started with Spanish I at Felds in 7th grade and just completed
Spanish IV
1. Her parents wanted her to take a language class
2. To meet the requirements for applying to college
3. To learn about a different culture
4. To interact with and be of service to the growing Latino population in the
U.S.
To communicate with other Spanish speakers proficiently
To practice Spanish skills in Panama during 3-week service learning trip this summer
Rachel identifies herself as an auditory learner
She prefers material in the textbook explained orally. When reading a passage, she understands best when asked to summarize and discuss it aloud
June 8, 2006: Felds School, Washington, DC
K.and B. interviewed Rachel,[R], completed profile
R received reading sample (from Spanish textbook) and briefly looked it over
R read it aloud
R read it silently
K. asked R to recall article details, R responded in English
Reading sample was taken away; B. asked comprehension questions in English; R responded in
English
Decoding and visual processing errors
Missing a firm base in phonetic analysis, uses made up words (Nacimanito, festigo)
Guessed at words by general configuration (gatos, tradujieron, donda)
Transposed the left-right order of letters
Inserts/omits letters (trajen, famlia, gatos, español)
Failure to stop or pause after commas and periods
(more frequent towards the end of the article)
Rachel recalled much of the article
Identified most main points
Omitted minor details
Help develop a sight vocabulary of root words, prefixes and suffixes (flash cards, repetitious activities)
Teach word attack skills – common prefixes and suffixes (ción, miento, mente)
Incorporate the find/apply patterns learning strategy when working with word attack skills
Teach the monitoring learning strategy
Teach rhythm and spacing (books on tape, voice recordings, movies) www.readplease.com
Student should continue to point to syllables and words as she reads to help her recognize omissions, additions, substitutions and reversals
Student should continue summarizing after paragraphs when she reads
Continue to have her work on evaluation (task and self evaluation)
Student should practice self-talk strategy to build self efficacy
Teacher should vary activities; provide small group/individual instruction