Case Study Presentation:
Rachel
Karen Andrews
Bruna Genovese
Ruth Sysak
Personal Information
Rachel is:
16 years old
In 10th grade
From Silver Spring, MD
A native Washingtonian (born and raised in the metro
region)
Education
Woodlin Elementary
from K-3rd grade
(public)
Lowell from 4th-6th
grade (private K-6)
Field School from 7th10th grade currently
(private 7-12)
Language Learning
Self-Assessment
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
Parent’s Educational
Background
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
Learning Profile
Reading problems evident since 1st grade (received tutoring)
Educational Assessment conducted per request by director of
Lowell 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
Spanish Language
Background
Began studying
Spanish in 4th grade at
Lowell - after school
program 1-2 hrs./week
Started with Spanish I
at Field in 7th grade
and just completed
Spanish IV
Reasons for Studying Spanish
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.
Goals
To communicate
with other Spanish
speakers proficiently
To practice Spanish
skills in Panama
during 3-week
service learning trip
this summer
Learning Strategies
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
Case Study Procedures
June 8, 2006: Field School, Washington, DC
Karen and Bruna 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
Karen asked R to recall article details, R responded in
English
Reading sample was taken away; Bruna asked
comprehension questions in English; R responded in
English
Miscue Analysis
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)
Article Recall
Rachel recalled
much of the article
Identified most main
points
Omitted minor
details
Recommendations
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
Additional Recommendations
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