Final Blog/ Introduction

                My name is Mallory Blaine, I have had the pleasure of working with a third grade student through the month of June for our summer reading program at Grand View University. Over the past month, I have been able to assess different areas related to the level of reading in which the student currently performs. Some of those assessments include; word sorts, comprehension, visualization, spelling and questioning of text.

                During our time together, I have noted that Jason (psuedonym) has great visualization skills when reading. He is able to make assumptions of what characters, settings, and main events look like based on the little text we read in class together. I believe Jason is ready to tackle more complex comprehension strategies such as questioning. He loves to question the text and what is happening but still needs assistance in answering those questions. I believe with a little bit of work he will be able to easily tackle this task. We spent a few times working on spelling and word sorts to determine what level of speller he is at. Based on the Elementary Spelling Inventory I gave him and his score I would put him at the spelling stage of within word patterns with a focus on long and other vowels. Knowing this we focused some of our time on vowels and word blends and how the consonant effects the vowel in a word. This was a somewhat difficult concept at first so he may need extra assistance in the near future in this area.

                He seems to enjoy the Magic Tree House Series quite a bit so we focused most of our lessons together on the book Dragon of the Red Dawn. Based on his ability to read the text with great fluency and answer comprehension questions that come along with the book, I would leve him in the range of M-O on the Fountas & Pinnell reading leveling system.

                One recommendation I have for home is to maybe get a few books that are on the edge of his reading level. Be going to the Scholastic Book Wizard website you will be able to find multiple books at the O level that Jason may be interested in. This is a fairly easy website to navigate and all his books will be under the guided reading level O. I have taken the liberty to look up a few series that I feel Jason may be interested in; The Jigsaw Jones Mystery series would be a good fit for him as well as The Boxcar Children. I also suggest having you read along with Jason at home when you can. Have Jason read some to you and you read some to him. Encourage him to ask questions about the text and try to assist him in finding the answer in the book you are reading.

                During our time together I have learned a lot about my own ability to create lessons that specifically cater to the needs of a certain student. I have also learned that the little areas that teachers may not focus on when they have larger groups of kids are really key to whether students are able to become successful readers. By focusing my attention on smaller groups I will be able to help with the specific needs of individuals instead of trying to assume that the whole group will benefit from one type of instruction. During the tutoring sessions I have also been able to change my style of teaching and have become more comfortable with how I will teach small groups in my future classroom.