Assessment Summary:  

Jenny, 9yrs old, sessions took place in her school library.

 Jenny exhibits various areas of strength and need. Her literacy development is helped by her positive, keep-your-head-up attitude. On the other hand, family difficulties have been a significant distraction along her literacy development continuum. She will continue to improve and I believe begin to excel as her number of paired / silent / and listening reading hours closes on that of her peers. As we know, reading prowess is the surest determinant of writing ability. Therefore focusing on how much reading instruction and what type is highly relevant to the entire spectrum or her literacy development. 

Strengths: Jenny successfully uses graphic clues to make meaning <Modified Miscue Analysis>. Jenny understands what kinds of books she enjoys <Interest Inventory>. Jenny knows what difficulty level of book she would be able to enjoy <Metalinguistic Awareness -Reading->. Jenny understands she needs to expand her passive and active vocabulary <Metalinguistic Awareness -Reading- -Writing->. Jenny has strong listening comprehension skills <retelling>. Jenny believes she has an aptitude for writing frightening stories < Metalinguistic Awareness -Writing->. Jenny is diligent in her efforts to comprehend and negotiate the meaning of text <Metalinguistic Awareness -Reading->.

Needs: Jenny needs to see herself as a good reader <Metalinguistic Awareness -Reading-> <Frame 1>. Jenny needs to see herself as a good writer <Metalinguistic Awareness -Writing-> <Frame 1>. Jenny needs to increase her exposure to various genres and story topics <Metalinguistic Awareness -Reading-> <Frame 2>. Jenny needs to chose books based on her reading level as well as her interest <Observations> <Frame 4>. Jenny needs to strengthen her sound symbol correspondence <Modified Miscue Analysis> <Frame 3>. Jenny needs to increase her world knowledge and utilize prior knowledge to make meaning of current and future text <Frame 2>. Jenny needs to learn how to pick up on syntactic and semantic clues <Modified Miscue Analysis> <Frame 3>. Jenny needs to develop her portfolio and see how a finished piece holds a place in the world outside school <Portfolio> <Frame 5>. 

Teaching Targets: Frames 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.  Decode by using all letter-sound correspondences within a word. Use root words and other structural cues such as prefixes, suffixes, and derivational endings to recognize words. Use knowledge of word order (syntax) and context to support word identification and confirm word meaning. Read regularly in independent-level materials. Read regularly in instructional-level materials that are challenging but manageable. Self-select independent-level reading such as by drawing on personal interests, by relying on knowledge of authors and different types of texts, and/or by estimating text difficulty. Read silently for increasing periods of time. Read from a variety of genres for pleasure and to acquire information. Develop vocabulary through reading. Use prior knowledge to anticipate meaning and make sense of texts. Establish purposes for reading and listening. Monitor his/her own comprehension and act purposefully when comprehension breaks down using such strategies as rereading, searching for clues, and asking for help. Make and explain inferences from texts such as determining important ideas, causes and effects, making predictions, and drawing conclusions. Identify similarities and differences across texts such as in topics, characters, and themes. Produce summaries of text selections. Respond to stories and poems in ways that reflect understanding and interpretation in discussion. Support interpretations or conclusions with examples drawn from text. Recognize the distinguishing features of familiar genres. Recognize the story problem or plot. Connect her experiences with life experiences, language, customs, and culture. Write to discover, develop, and refine ideas. Write in different forms for different purposes such as lists to record, letters to invite or thank, and stories or poems. Write with more proficient spelling of regularly spelled patterns. Write with more proficient use of orthographic patterns and rules. Use singular and plural forms of regular nouns and adjust verbs for agreement. Edit writing toward standard grammar and usage, including subject-verb agreement; pronoun agreement, including pronouns that agree in number; and appropriate verb tenses. Generate ideas for writing by using prewriting techniques. Review a collection of her own written work to monitor growth as a writer. Take simple notes from relevant sources. 

Instructional Recommendations:  Jenny demonstrates an extraordinary need for extra literacy development attention, she would benefit from a vast array of literacy programs and strategies. More important than which option or combination of options one employs is the presence of a long term personal literacy development plan and an understanding of how to integrate it into the classroom instruction. This observer's personal recommendations will follow  a short list of applicable instructional options and what they offer Jenny in particular: 

• Language Experience Approach > to observe use of conventions, text predictability, reread for fluency,  to build sound symbol correspondence, experience success. 
• Writing Text from Wordless Picture Books > to build sound symbol correspondence, predictable language, read for fluency.
• Shared Book Experience > engagement in reading process, prediction strategies, reading as a social supportive endeavor.
• Assisted Reading > supportive environment, increase risk taking.
• Guided Reading > focus on print, match voice to print, self-correction, strategic reading.
• Repeated Reading > fluency rather that word for word reading, independence in rereading. 
• Cloze > use meaning and language clues, take more risks, making sense of unknown words, become a critical and active reader.
• K-W-L > text to self  text to world connections, integrating new knowledge.
• Directed Reading- Thinking Activity (DR-TA) > self-monitoring, make predictions and justify them from the text, see sense making as goal of reading.
• Retelling > extend comprehension, summarize, recall important information.
• Response Logs > encouragement to express ideas, make inferences from text, integrate new and prior knowledge.
• Mind Mapping > text comprehension retention, metalinguistic understanding of strategies, express sequence and complex ideas.
• Think Aloud > extend thinking and metalinguistic ability, use background knowledge to build text comprehension, use strategies appropriately. 
• Literature Circles > sustain engagement of reading and discussion, grow into more active comprehension strategies.
• Reader's Theatre > use literacy for personal power, improve comprehension and attitude towards reading.
• Duolog Reading > increase fluency, improve attitude and comprehension, experience success and positive social interaction. 
• Silent Sustained Reading / Free Voluntary Reading > Self monitoring, pre and post independent comprehension strategies.

Jenny would benefit from access to a wide selection of books and print media, daily 20+mins read aloud time, 25+mins free voluntary reading time, 20+mins of shared reading or duolog reading, and 20min. mini-lessons focusing on comprehension and fluency strategies. Working with a writing team with the goal of producing non-fiction articles and diagrams (perhaps about butterflies) and other animals may give her the chance to experience the evolutionary process of writing and by contributing to it, raise her efficacy and world knowledge. 

1. Student Background
2. Assessment Instruments
3. Assessment Summary
4. Session Plans 1, 2, 3.
5. Final Summary
6. Parent, Teacher Letters