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LITERACY LEARNER ANALYSIS PROJECT
Literacy Learner Analysis Project
TE: 846 Accommodating Differences in Literacy Learners
Michigan State University
Jamie Vandenburgh
12/1/2013
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LITERACY LEARNER ANALYSIS PROJECT
I. Brief Background and Reason for Project Focus
The student I have selected is Savannah. She is a quiet 7th grade student who was chosen
based on her reading level. Savannah was benchmarked last year at roughly a 3rd grade reading
level. I have started the process of finding her instructional level using our schools Fountas &
Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System 2. Although her comprehension is very good her fluency
is very choppy. Once I am able to find Savannahs independent range we will be able to work on
fluency within this zone. I also would like Savannah to advance at least two grade levels within
our time of working together. We are currently working out a time to meet for regular lessons as
savannah rides the bus to and from school. I am waiting on confirmation from her parents about
possible after/before school meetings. However, I have savannah in homeroom which consists of
10 students and lasts for an hour. Up until this point I have coordinated with other 7th grade
teachers to work 1-on-1 with Savannah during this time once a week.
II. Home and Family
Savannah is 14 years old and is in the 7th grade. I am currently working to find her
reading level. At the end of 6th grade she was between a 3rd and 4th grade reading level. I started
her at this level and after 3 sessions we are still working to find her currently level as she has
greatly improved over the summer
She was chosen because of her low reading level and willingness to participate. Savannah
is very excited to work with me and is eager to participate. However, because of her financial
situation it is difficult for Savannah to get a ride to or from school. This limits the available time
we have to work together.
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LITERACY LEARNER ANALYSIS PROJECT
Savannah is a Caucasian female who is English proficient. Her families’ economic status
falls in the disadvantaged category. She currently lives at home with her mom, step-dad,
grandma and eight siblings. Savannah is the 3rd oldest child in the household. At home she is the
only child who likes to read and says that her mother also enjoys reading. Savannah indicated to
me that she reads the most out of anyone at home but is not the best reader. In the past few years
I have taught Savannah’s older siblings who struggled with the rigor and structure of school.
III.
Emotional Climate
Savannah is highly motivated to read. During Seminar she is always engaged in reading
and has expressed to me her devotion to reading at home. Savannah is given the opportunity to
read independently for 20 minutes daily during our Seminar class. She often reads exceeds the
required 20 minutes and reads for most of the class period. The class climate promotes
independence and cooperation as all students are reading during the first 20 minutes of class.
Savannah has indicated to me that she feels reading is important and should be a part of her
everyday life. However, she is hesitant to participate in group discussions involving reading or
share about the books she has read. During Seminar, Savannah typically chooses a seat away
from other students and is very secluded. During the Literacy Learner Project Savannah was
allowed to use her CD player and listen to the provided books on tape. I noticed during the first
few days she was hesitant to use the CD player and often wore her hair down, possibly to cover
the ear phones in her ears. After a couple of students in the class expressed interest in listening to
books on tape as well, she was more confident using the materials and did so almost every day.
It occurred to me that Savannah was worried about drawing attention to herself by using the
books on tape but seemed to gain confidence as it was socially accepted by her peers.
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IV. Literacy History
Savannah presented me with a few instructional challenges as her reading level was
actually higher than was previously recorded. After attempts at finding her instructional level I
began to hone in on the reason why she was inaccurately benchmarked. Savannah does not like
to read aloud because she believes herself to be a poor reader. When she begins to make mistakes
she sometimes takes the time to slow down and thinks about difficult words for a long period of
time, often getting the word correct. If Savannah was presented with the word after a few
seconds and it was marked as an error then her accuracy score on the lower level tests would
have been that of a lower level student. Also, she is a very smart girl and realized that the more
mistakes she made the quicker she could be done reading. However, during our work together
she was eager to participate and I did not present her with the correct word unless she expressed
the need for help. I believe this is why I was able to find her actual instructional level.
The habits and routines of Savannahs family also present challenges to her literacy
instruction. As previously mentioned, Savannah comes from a large family with 8 half or step
brothers and sisters. She rides the bus to and from school, and is unable to attend after school
functions as her family is not able to pick her. Currently, our school offers an after school Title I
tutoring program and Savannah has been recommended for participation. Also, Savannah has
indicated that she is the only child in the house who reads regularly and is interested in reading.
Savannah is the fourth member of the family that I have taught over the past 3 years and is by far
the most interested in school compared with her brothers and sisters.
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LITERACY LEARNER ANALYSIS PROJECT
V. Tests Given and Summary of Test Results
Pre-Tests
Assessments used to identify areas of strength and weakness were the Fountas & Pinnell
Benchmark Assessment System 2, Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile reading survey and a
Brigance Reading Test. These assessments were used to pin-point Savannah’s exact reading
level and areas of improvement. The reading survey was given to gain insight as to how she
perceives herself as a reader and how much value she places on reading.
The Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System 2 is a leveled literacy series used
to find students specific reading levels, comprehension ability, fluency status and analyze
reading errors (See Table 1 for a summary of scores). Savannahs instructional range is level T
(95% accuracy) which is a beginning 5th grade level. Using the running records to calculate
words correct per minute (wcpm) Savannahs automaticity level was assessed as 44wcpm which
is lower than a 1st grade level. She scored a 9 in Assessing Interpretive & Meaningful Reading
and needs a 10 to indicate making progress in fluency. Her automaticity score on a level R Nonfiction was 60wcpm (End of 1st grade) with 99% accuracy indicating that this is an independent
level but her fluency is far below that of her accuracy and comprehension.
Table 1: Fountas & Pinnell Summary of Scores (Pre-Test)
F & P Level
Accuracy
WCPM
Comprehension
60
Assessing Interpretive and
Meaningful Reading
8*
Level R
Non-Fiction
Level T
Fiction
99%
95%
44
9*
9/10
8/10
* A score of 10 or more indicates making good progress
Savannahs comprehension of texts is very good scoring and 8/10 or 9/10 on each test.
Her ability to self-correct through re-reading when passages don’t make sense is also a very
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valuable skill. However, Savannah’s fluency level is very low and her oral reading is choppy and
had very little inflection. She seemed more comfortable and fluent with Fiction as opposed to
Non-Fiction. As Savannah’s comprehension is very good and she enjoys reading, my focus for
instruction will be fluency. As she becomes more fluent she may gain confidence in her abilities
and openly participate in class and group discussions.
Savannah completed the Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile Reading Survey (Pitcher,
2009). This survey is used to assess student’s self-concept as a reader and their value of reading.
The results of this survey indicate that Savannah places a high value on reading. Her raw score
was 32/40 points possible for this category. Her self-concept as a reader score was significantly
lower rating at 22/40 points. In Savannah’s answers she indicted that she worries about what
other kids think her reading abilities daily. She also views herself as a poor reader when reading
out loud, almost never shares ideas when talking in a group and feels that she does not read as
well as her friends. This survey also reveals the need to improve Savannahs fluency and
confidence in her reading abilities so that she feels more comfortable and able to participate.
Savannah also completed a Brigance or Reading Vocabulary Comprehension GradePlacement Test. Savannah was not able to recognize which word did not belong with the group
of words past a 3rd grade level but her comprehension placed her at a 5th grade level. This is
consistent with the Fountas and Pinnell assessment results.
Post Tests
The first post-test given was the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System 2.
This test provides an array of data including accuracy, wcpm, and comprehension score.
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Savannah was also assessed using the Assessing Interpretive & Meaningful Reading Rubric
(Rasinski, 2000).
Table 2: Fountas & Pinnell Summary of Scores (Post-Test)
F & P Level
Accuracy
WCPM
Comprehension
55
Assessing Interpretive and
Meaningful Reading*
10
Level T
Fiction**
Level T
Non-Fiction
Level U
Fiction
Level V
Non-Fiction
97%
98%
59
10
8
93%
46
7
x
95%
55
8
x
9
* A score of 10 or more indicates making good progress
** Level T Fiction- Was given as a Pre-Test
Table 2 provides a summary of the assessed scores. Savannah was given the same Level
T Fiction text as in the pre-test. She increased her accuracy from 95% to 97%, meaning she
moved from an instructional level to an independent level. Her fluency increased from 44 wcpm
to 55 wcpm. She scored a 10 in interpretive and meaningful reading, indicating that she is
making good progress. Next, I administered a Non- Fiction Level T, in which Savannah’s
accuracy continued to increase, as did her wcpm and she scored a 10—indicating progress.
Savannah seemed more comfortable with this text than the Fiction text at the same level.
Although Savannah struggled with the Level U Fiction text, I noted twice during the text where
she read the dialogue with expression and inflection. I did not assess Savannah’s comprehension
as the text was difficult. Although this level is an instructional level for Savannah, I decided to
try the next level up in a Non-Fiction text. Savannah’s accuracy was 95% and her fluency
increased to 55 wcpm. Overall, Savannah showed signs of improvement and moved from an
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instructional level T to an independent level T. She also made progress in fluency and reading
with inflection and expression.
Savannah was also administered the Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile Survey posttest. Table 3 outlines the overall score and sub-category scores. Although Savannah’s scores did
not increase from the initial test, her answers on particular questions changed from pre- to posttests. In the Self-Concept as a Reader category Savannah changed her answers from, “I read not
as well as my friends” and “I am an OK reader” to “I read the same as my friends” and “I am a
good reader.” Both changes in these answers indicate a change in how Savannah views herself as
a reader. Also, in this category Savannah decreased her score in the question relating to how
easily she can answer questions, about the reading, to a teacher. I expect this may be a result of
me pushing Savannah to read the harder text and answer questions, right before she took the
survey.
Table 3: Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile Reading Survey Scores
Survey Categories
Pre-Intervention Scores
Post-Intervention Scores
Self-Concept as a Reader
22 / 40 = 55%
22 / 40 = 55%
Value of Reading
32 / 40 = 80%
29 / 40 = 73%
Full Survey Total
54 / 80 = 68%
51 / 80 = 64%
Savannah’s answers in the value of reading category decreased. Upon inspection of
specific questions it seems that questions related to what her friends’ think of reading, how often
she shares her interest in books and how she will spend her free time as an adult all earned a
lower score. However, Savannah now views a library as “a great place to spend time” as opposed
to “an interesting place to spend time.” (Surveys Located in Appendices)
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Table 4: Brigance Reading Vocabulary Comprehension Grade-Placement Test
Category
Pre-Test
Post-Test
Vocabulary/Word Recognition
Score: 9/24= 38%
Score: 12/24 = 50%
Grade Placement
3rd Grade Level
3rd Grade Level
Comprehension
4th Grade Level = 80%
4th Grade Level = 100%
A score of 100% or 80%
5th Grade Level = 100%
5th Grade Level = 100%
indicates the ability to move to
6th Grade Level = 60%
6th Grade Level = 80%
the next level
7th Grade Level = 20%
7th Grade Level = 80%
8th Grade Level = 20 %
8th Grade Level = 40 %
5th Grade
7th Grade
Overall Grade Placement
Savannah also completed a Brigance Reading Vocabulary Comprehension GradePlacement Test. Savannah was not able to recognize which word did not belong with the group
of words past a 3rd grade level in either the pre- or post-test. However, her overall score
increased from a 38% to 50% from the pre- to post-test. Savannah’s biggest gains were in the
comprehension category. As seen in Table 4 Savannah was scored at a 5th grade level initially
and progressed to a 7th grade level.
Overall Savannah made slight gains in all of the categories except the motivation survey.
A big reason, I feel, that she was able to make even these small gains in the short amount of time
we worked together is because of her dedication. Throughout this process Savannah has read
and/or listened to an entire series of books. This is in addition to the work we did in the
classroom. She diligently completed the comprehension tasks in her reading journal, asked
questions when she needed to and work hard during the lessons.
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VI.
Lesson Plan Matrix
Lesson Focus: Fluency Objectives:
and Comprehension
1. The student will
The student will listen build fluency skills
to sections of a book
including proper
on tape and re-read
phrasing and
specific portions.
expression.
The student will then
choose a
comprehension
question to answer,
from provided
questions, and record
in a reading journal.
Date: 10/28/13
The materials were
presented to the
student, she is
allowed to take the
materials home and
continue the activity
Lesson Focus:
Vocabulary
Savannah was given a
list of vocab words
identified as above
her level to look for in
the context of her
Materials:
1.Hunger Games
Book 1 on CD
2.CD Player
3.Reading Journal
2. The student will
build comprehension
through re-reading
text
On-going
assessment:
Running records and
use of the accuracy
and automaticy
scales. Here wcpm
will be calculated.
Savannah has been
given all 3 books on
tape in the hunger
games series and will
continue to re-read
and answer questions
in her journal on her
own.
CCSS.ELALiteracy.RF.5.3a
Use combined
knowledge of all
letter-sound
correspondences,
syllabication patterns,
and morphology (e.g.,
roots and affixes) to
read accurately
unfamiliar
multisyllabic words in
context and out of
context.
I will check in on her
progress and
response every 2 days
during our seminar
class.
Objectives:
Materials:
To identify key
vocabulary words,
define them within
the context of the
text and use in a
1.List of words
identified as above
the level of The
Hunger Games Book 1
and Book 2
On-going
Assessment:
Savannahs ability to
define the words
based on the context
of the story is
evaluated
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book. She also
complete sentence.
identified 5
CCSS.ELA“interesting words” of
Literacy.RF.5.4
her own.
Date: 11/4/13
On this day Savannah
had just finished book
1 and began book 2
after this lesson.
She was given the
vocabulary for the
second book.
Her recording journal
was evaluated and we
discussed the 4-5
entries. Savannah reread multiple
chapters on her own
and answered 5
questions. Her
responses were very
good and showed
good comprehension
and insight.
Read with sufficient
accuracy and fluency
to support
comprehension.
CCSS.ELALiteracy.RF.5.4a Read
grade-level text with
purpose and
understanding.
CCSS.ELALiteracy.RF.5.4b Read
grade-level prose and
poetry orally with
accuracy, appropriate
rate, and expression
on successive
readings.
CCSS.ELALiteracy.RF.5.4c Use
context to confirm or
self-correct word
recognition and
understanding,
rereading as
necessary.
Lesson Focus:
Objectives:
Materials:
Date: 11/7/13
11/12/13
11/15/13
Imitation Reading and
1. The student will
build fluency skills
including proper
phrasing and
Hunger games books
Catching Fire and
Mockingjay
On-going
Assessment:
11/15/13
Savannahs accuracy
while reading together
was 98%. Her words
correct per minute
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Choral Reading
expression.
was 88.
During all 3 lessons 56 pages of reading
(which savannah has
previously listened to)
were re-read
together.
2. The student will
build comprehension
through re-reading
text
Savannah’s reading
journal was evaluated
multiple times
throughout during this
two week span and we
discussed her answers
to the evaluation and
application questions.
First I would read a
portion of the text
using expression and
inflection. Savannah
was asked to mimic
my fluency. On
occasions we read
together if she
struggled with the
particular words.
CCSS.ELALiteracy.RF.5.4
Read with sufficient
accuracy and fluency
to support
comprehension.
Shortly after 11/12
Savannah started
reading the 3rd book.
Mockingjay.
CCSS.ELALiteracy.RF.5.4a Read
grade-level text with
purpose and
understanding.
I have begun the
process of finding
another series of
books slightly above
her level.
CCSS.ELALiteracy.RF.5.4b Read
grade-level prose and
poetry orally with
accuracy, appropriate
rate, and expression
on successive
readings.
CCSS.ELALiteracy.RF.5.4c Use
context to confirm or
self-correct word
recognition and
understanding,
rereading as
necessary.
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Lesson Focus:
Objectives:
Materials:
Date: 11/19/13
1. The student will
build fluency skills
including proper
phrasing and
expression.
1.Read aloud book of
choice
The student will
select a small read
aloud book to read to
a second grade
classroom next month 2. The student will
build comprehension
through re-reading
text
3. The student will
gain confidence
through reading to a
group of younger
students successfully
CCSS.ELALiteracy.RF.5.4
Read with sufficient
accuracy and fluency
to support
comprehension.
CCSS.ELALiteracy.RF.5.4a Read
grade-level text with
purpose and
understanding.
CCSS.ELALiteracy.RF.5.4b Read
grade-level prose and
poetry orally with
accuracy, appropriate
rate, and expression
On-going
Assessment:
Savannah’s ability to
read with inflection
and expression will be
evaluated.
Also her journal
entries for
Mockingjay will be
discussed. She will be
asked to re-read a
portion of the text and
her wcpm will be
recorded.
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on successive
readings.
CCSS.ELALiteracy.RF.5.4c Use
context to confirm or
self-correct word
recognition and
understanding,
rereading as
necessary.
VII.
Reflections on Your Differentiated Literacy Lesson Plans
Throughout the course of this project I have spent a considerable amount of time getting
to know my student, Savannah, and her educational needs in regards to reading. The insight I
have gained has not only benefitted Savannah, but her classmates as well. For example, I have
been starting each Seminar class by reading to my students for a short period of time. Savannah
indicated that she liked to hear her teachers read and wished they would do so more often. We
often may think that middle school students are too old for this type of activity but in reality they
enjoy it equally as much.
The reading instruction I provided to Savannah has made a meaningful contribution to
her overall reading progress. Savannah improved her accuracy and fluency on the Pre- and Posttext and showed signs of improvement on texts thereafter. She also made considerable gains on
Brigance assessment showing that her comprehension improved and vocabulary expanded.
Another meaningful contribution made to Savannah’s reading progress is the fact that she now
knows her level, understands how to find appropriate texts and has a means to improve. Before
starting our lessons, Savannah was benchmarked at a second grade reading level. After multiple
meetings and testing I eventually found Savannah’s actual level to be a beginning 5th grade level.
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Although I did not include all these tests it is worth noting that we spent a considerable amount
of time just finding her instructional level. This gave Savannah a starting point to work from
when finding appropriate text.
During the lessons Savannah was supported in a number of ways. The first being, I
provided her with a CD player and books on CD from the local library. This first lesson provided
a means for Savannah to work independently at home in addition to our meetings at school.
Although, now I wish I would have gone to the library with Savannah and shown her how to
check out the books on CD or order them through MeL. Similar to the old adage, “give a man a
fish and feed him for a day, or teach him to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.” Also, as Savannah
is in my Seminar class I was able to check in with her frequently, if not daily, on her progress
through the books and check for understanding. In subsequent lessons, I used multiple teaching
strategies including; direction instruction, provided cues and prompts, modeled correct inflection
and expression and engaged in choral reading.
One particular strategy, modeling, was the most important for Savannah. As Savannah is
rarely exposed to good fluency at home it was important for her to hear what a fluent reader
sounds like. During a particular lesson I read a selection from Savannah’s book. She then, reread what read and tried to imitate the expression and inflection. At first Savannah took this as
“read faster.” I quickly stopped her and we discussed the different between reading fast and
reading with expression and inflection. She tried the passage again but this time slower, she was
able to read the passage with more meaning. After this point, and for future lessons, I made sure
to read slower and more deliberate than with speed to accurately demonstrate the lesson.
Although, most of the lessons centered on increasing Savannah’s fluency the reading
journal brought in the comprehension element (See appendix C). Savannah was given 6 different
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colored comprehension cards, with questions ranging from comprehension to evaluation and
synthesis. While reading Savannahs responses in the journal it is evident that she was able to
answer the higher level questions and delve deeper into the text. The journal forced her to slow
down and think about the text while reading it, and maybe even re-read for answers. This
improvement is evident on her Brigance test where she improved on all comprehension tests and
increased 2 grade levels.
Savannah’s other achievements included an increase in her words correct per minute and
assessing interpretive and meaningful reading score on the pre- and post-test Level T reading.
She also increased her reading level and expressed a more positive view of herself as a reader.
All data for these statistics can be found previously in Table 2, Table 3 and Table 4.
Given another opportunity to teach these lessons with Savannah there are not many
aspects I would change. Savannah is very motivated and interested in learning. The lessons,
although fewer than I had hoped, were paced well and seemed to be effective. There are many
other activities I would like to have included but simply ran out of time. For example reading
poetry can be an excellent fluency lesson, and could even be assigned as homework. Also, given
the short amount of time we had together I thought it was best to refrain from multiple
assessments during the lesson. Often while Savannah would read passages, I would keep track of
the time on a stop watch and mark down the number of errors. This way her number of words
read correctly per minute could be easily calculated and tracked.
Whilst conducting these lessons, working with Savannah and implementing newly
learned techniques a universal concept continually came to mind. As a wise undergraduate
professor of mine used to say, “Students need to have knowledge of words and worlds.”
Throughout our course studies the underlying theme is that students need to be exposed to text to
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read fluently and gain cultural knowledge to build deeper comprehension. Students who are not
exposed to text in all shapes and forms struggle to read fluently, infer meaning, and make
analysis.
VIII. Recommendations to Teachers and Parents/Caregivers
Recommendations in regards to the literacy needs of Savannah to teachers and parents
are to help encourage her love of reading and help model good reading practices. Through the
course of this case study Savannah has become very interested in books on tape. They allow her
to read high interest books slightly above her level and hear accurate fluency and expression.
Through reading these books on tape she is exposed to new words and vocabulary which lead to
a greater understanding and ability to comprehend text. Parents are encouraged to take Savannah
to the local library where she can check out books on tape and have a wider assortment of books
to choose from. Savannah has indicated through survey that she believes a library is a great place
to spend time and would be delighted to receive books as a gift.
Teachers are encouraged to spend time reading to their students and listening to them
read. It is very important for students to hear fluent readers reading with expression and
inflection. Also, students should be exposed to wide range of vocabulary as they need knowledge
of words and worlds to become successful readers.
IX. Appendices of work
All appendices have been attached in a separate document:
Appendix A: Pre-Test Assessments
1. Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessments Levels R & T
2. Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile Survey
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3. Brigance: Reading Vocabulary Comprehension Grade-Placement Test
Appendix B: Post-Test Assessments
1. Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessments Levels
2. Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile Survey
3. Brigance: Reading Vocabulary Comprehension Grade-Placement Test
Appendix C: Student Reading Journal
X. Bibliography
Curriculum Associates, Inc. Comprehensive Inventory of Basic Skills—Revised.
Colandro, L. (2003). There Once Was A Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow. New York,
NY: Scholastic Press.
Collins, S. (2008). The Hunger Games. New York, NY: Scholastic Press.
Collins, S. (2009). Catching Fire. New York, NY: Scholastic Press.
Collins, S. (2010). MockingJay. New York, NY: Scholastic Press.
Fountas, I. C. & Pinnell G. S. (2011). Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System 2.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Pitcher, S. M., Albright L. K., DeLaney C. J., Walker N. T., Seunarinesingh K., Mogge S., ….
Dunston, P. J. (2007). Assessing Adolescents Motivation to Read. Journal of Adolescent
& Adult Literacy, 378-396
Rasinski, T. & Padak, N. (2000). Effective Teaching of Reading: From Phonics to Fluency.
Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.