Teaching Case Study Project

Student Profile:
The student I worked with is 9 years old and is in 4th grade. According to my mentor
teacher, this student is an average student that has a slight difficulty reading. My mentor
teacher believes his reading difficulty stems from the fact that his first language is Spanish
and he is an English language leaner. He moved here from Mexico in Kindergarten and
does not speak English at home. He does not have very good fluency or comprehension of
the text he reads. He does not meet with a reading specialist but is being watched and
occasionally tested in order to track his progress. His writing skills could also be improved.
He is a somewhat shy student that doesnt often raise his hand in class. He enjoys reading
but says that some books are too hard to read. He loves books but only ones he gets to
choose for himself, not ones that the teacher makes the class read. He knows he struggles
with reading but that doesnt stop him from trying.
Needs Analysis:
a. Phonics ability to sound out words: He is really good at sounding at words. He
understands how to decode a word and will try to do so for each word he doesnt
know.
b. Vocabulary word knowledge: He has below average fourth grade vocabulary.
He stumbled across a few words in the passage and wasnt sure what they were.
c. Fluency speed and ease of reading the passage: He reads somewhat slowly
without much fluency or expression.
d. Comprehension understanding what is read: He has a lot of trouble
comprehending what he reads. It is hard for him to retell something he just read
and isnt very comfortable asking questions about what he didnt understand.
e. Formal assessments administered and results:
Basal Reading:
48 WPM
Slosson Oral Reading Test:
3.1 (third grade, 1st month)
Phonological Awareness Test:
6/10 (8 out of 10 is passing)
Decoding Fluency:
12/20 (16 out of 20 is passing)

1)

2)

PRELIMINARY INFORMATION
Title of Lesson
Fluency, Comprehension, and Writing Using Cocoa Ice
Subject
Fluency, Comprehension, and Writing
Grade level
4th
Time frame for lesson
4 30-minute sessions
Language
Objective

The student will be able to read with sufficient accuracy and fluency in
order to support comprehension by the end of the lesson with 80%
accuracy.

Content
Objective

When asked, the student will be able to write relevant information

from the story, Cocoa Ice, by the end of the lesson with 80% accuracy.

Book

Title: Cocoa Ice

Author: Diana Appelbaum
Illustrator: Holly Meade
Publisher: Orchard Books
Summary: On the island of Santo Domingo, the sun bakes the earth until
it is hot and steamy like a roasted plantain. In Maine, cold can have so
hard a grip that rivers freeze thick and clear, and ice is a crop that families
depend upon for their livelihoods. Back in distant days of high-rigged
schooners, what could children from two such very different places ever
have in common? The deliciously satisfying answer, presented here with
cut-paper pictures of a tropical island of always-summer and a New
England village of very long winters, is given in the voices of two girls -linked together by a sailor, a gift for imagining life in faraway places, and
a taste for iced chocolate.

STATE STANDARDS
4.RF.4
Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
4.W.8

3)

Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant

information from print and digital sources.

LESSON ACCOMMODATIONS
3.1 Lesson Content
The teacher must be able to assess accuracy, fluency, and comprehension as well as ask
relevant questions from the text.
3.2 Multiculturalism and Diversity
This lesson has been modified in order to meet the needs of the ELL student its intended
for.

4)

LESSON FORMAT
***This lesson is intended to be used over 4 days in 30-minute sessions***

Set/Statement of Objective
(DAY 1)
Assess the student for fluency and comprehension with the basal reader and appropriate
materials.
(DAYS 1-4)
Tell the student youre going to take a picture walk through the book, Cocoa Ice. Browse
the pages with the student and look at the pictures. Ask the student what you think might
happen during the story.
Input
(DAY 1)
Go over the key vocabulary throughout the story (the definitions are in the text):
- Bargain
- Harvest
- Machete
- Pulp
- Schooner
- Support
- Trading
(DAY 2)
Read the story, Cocoa Ice. Say each sentence and have the student repeat the
sentence for accuracy and fluency. Do this as many times as needed throughout the story.
(DAY 3)
Review the story, Cocoa Ice. Ask the student what he remembers about the story.
(DAY 4)
Review the story, Cocoa Ice. Ask the student what he remembers about the story.
Ask these questions to help him remember:
- What two locations are talked about throughout the story?
- What happens to the cocoa beans before they dry up in the sun?
- Why is it necessary to dry the cocoa beans in the sun?
- In this story, Mama steams conchs and picks the meat. What are conchs?
- Why is it important to be the first person to see a schooner come into the bay?
- What must Jacob have traded to get the seashell on the mantelshelf?
Guided practice/checking for understanding
(DAY 1)
Read each sentence that the vocabulary is found in. Say the sentence and have the student
repeat the sentence for accuracy and fluency. Do this as many times as needed.
(DAY 2)
Ask these questions throughout the story for comprehension:
- What two locations are talked about throughout the story?

What happens to the cocoa beans before they dry up in the sun?
Why is it necessary to dry the cocoa beans in the sun?
In this story, Mama steams conchs and picks the meat. What are conchs?
Why is it important to be the first person to see a schooner come into the bay?
What must Jacob have traded to get the seashell on the mantelshelf?

(DAY 3)
Rereading the story helps with fluency. Choose a passage from the story to echo read.
Say each sentence and have the student repeat the sentence for accuracy and fluency. Do
this as many times as needed.
(DAY 4)
Rereading the story helps with fluency. Choose three different passages from the story to
echo read. Say each sentence and have the student repeat the sentence for accuracy and
fluency. Do this as many times as needed.
Closure
(DAY 1)
Ask the student to recall three of the vocabulary words that you went over and what they
mean. Have the student write these words down with their definitions.
(DAY 2)
Ask the student to think about what youve just read and answer these questions on a
piece of paper:
- Papa and Uncle Jacob worry when it snows on the river because _____________.
- The first step in harvesting the ice is _____________.
- Sailors cover the ice on schooners with sawdust and hay to ______________.
(DAY 3)
After rereading the passage, ask the student to write down everything he remembers from
what he just read (not the whole story, just the passage that was just read).
(DAY 4)
Review the story one more time. Ask the student everything he remembers from the
entire story. Ask him to write down everything he remembers on a piece of paper.
Administer another fluency test in order to test reading accuracy.
Materials/attachments
Cocoa Ice
5)

ASSESSMENT
Method Recall information about the story and fluency test
Criteria for Mastery 80 out of 100 possible points based on at least 8 things recalled
from the story and 50 WPM.

Session Descriptions
1) What I did: Talking and Assessment, Key Vocabulary and Picture Walk
How it went: I enjoyed talking with the student. We discussed books and I asked
about his reading preferences and got an understanding of his attitude towards
reading. I assessed him using the basal reading, Cocoa Ice, which the class will be
reading next quarter. I also assessed him using a Slosson Oral Reading Test, a
phonological awareness test on rhyming perception, and an Abecedarian decoding
fluency test to check his phonics knowledge and decoding skills. Him and I then
looked at the key vocabulary for the story, Cocoa Ice. I said the word and then he
said the word. We talked about what each word might mean and then looked at
the beginning of the story to find out if we were right. He and I also did a picture
walk through the story. We talked about the pictures and what might happen
throughout the story. I really think this helped him get an idea of what the story
might be about, which will make it easier for him to comprehend when he
actually reads the story. We did not finish the picture walk.
Plan for the next session: We will finish the picture walk and discuss the
vocabulary again. We will also begin to read the story.
2) What I did: Picture Walk and Reading the Story, Discussion of Story
How it went: The student and I finished the picture walk of Cocoa Ice and went
over the key vocabulary words again. I had him say the word and explain what it
meant. He remembered every word! We also began to read the story. I read,
modeling accurate, expressive reading at an appropriate rate and then I had him
read with me. It was really fascinating to see how he would read so expressively
once he heard me read. I started by having us both read one sentence, then two,
and have him read them back to me. We did not finish the story. He and I
continued reading Cocoa Ice. We did an echo read with me modeling fluent
reading when it was my turn. Once we finished the story, we discussed what we
liked and what our favorite parts were. I really liked this part because I was able
to see how well he comprehended what he was reading. I think this was because I
read the passages first so he was able to listen, and then he would read them in
order to practice fluent reading.
Plan for the next session: He and I will continue working on comprehension.
3) What I did: Discussed Story and Answered Questions, Reading Fluency
How it went: The student and I reviewed the story together by doing another
picture walk. I used the teacher book to ask him questions about the story. He
understood the story so well and was even able to make real-life connections. He
was able to answer every question from the story and remembered the vocabulary
we had talked about! I took a passage chunk from the story and modeled reading
it. He practiced reading it several times and then we read the passage all together
again several times. Each time he read the passage more fluently. We talked about
what fluent reading is and he practiced reading the passage with perfect fluency.
Plan for the next session: We will work on reading fluency and expression with
more chunking.

4) What I did: Worked on Reading Fluency and Expression, Picture Walk and WPM
How it went: I took three consecutive passage chunks from the story and modeled
reading them one at a time. For each passage, he read it after me. We reviewed
reading fluency and then talked about expression. He enjoyed reading
expressively because he could make up funny voices for characters and talk really
loud or soft. Once we went over each passage a couple times, I had him read them
all in order. He was able to read all three passages both fluently and expressively
with little stopping or mistakes! He and I reviewed Cocoa Ice through a picture
walk of the story. He was able to retell a lot of the story by just looking at the
corresponding pictures. He also made connections from one section of the book to
the other and talked about how there were a lot of similarities to the characters. I
think that these sessions really helped him with fluency, expression, and
comprehension. Since his class will be reading the story soon, he should have no
problem reading aloud or answering questions about the story (I hope!). I also
administered another WPM test using the same passage from Cocoa Ice. He was
able to read it at 57 WPM. Since we had been working on the text from Cocoa Ice
throughout our sessions, he was able to receive this high of a score. Im not sure if
he would receive the same score on a passage hes not familiar with. He was
really proud that he was able to read it so well, though!
Plan for the next session: No more sessions. I will miss working with him!

Anecdotal Record:
The student and I discussed books and I asked about his reading preferences and got an
understanding of his attitude towards reading. I assessed him using the basal reading,
Cocoa Ice, which is at a lower reading level. I also assessed him using a Slosson Oral
Reading Test, a phonological awareness test on rhyming perception, and an Abecedarian
decoding fluency test to check his phonics knowledge and decoding skills. After these tests,
I concluded that his main struggles were in fluency and comprehension. We looked at the
key vocabulary for the story, Cocoa Ice. I said the word and then he said the word. We
talked about what each word might mean and then looked at the beginning of the story to
find out if we were right. We also did a picture walk through the story. We began reading
the story by doing an echo read with me modeling fluent reading when it was my turn.
Once we finished the story, we discussed what we liked and what our favorite parts were.
He had a little trouble remember specific parts so we did another picture walk through the
story to help him recall certain events, which seemed to work really well. I also asked him
questions about the story and had him write the answers. This helped him with both his
comprehension and writing skills.
Evaluation:
This student definitely needs extra help when it comes to reading. Working with him for
this short period of time allowed him the support he needs when it comes to reading
fluency, comprehension, and writing skills. I would recommend him to see a reading
specialist every other day and then reassess his skills after two months. I think seeing a
reading specialist would allow him to catch up to his peers when it comes to
comprehension and fluency. This student might also benefit from one-on-one time with the
teacher during small groups in order to practice reading. Also, if the class is going to read a

story together, maybe this student should have the opportunity to read it through before the
class reads it together. By doing this, hes able to read the story twice which will further his
comprehension and fluency as well as make him more comfortable with sharing his
thoughts during whole group discussions. I also think it would be beneficial for the teacher
to help him with his writing skills in order to further both his penmanship and conventions.