Helping a Student to Overcome Literacy Difficulties - Assignment Example

Running head: implementation plan and report Name: Course: Tutor: December 14th, 2010 Abstract Literacy can be taken to be a concept which is multifaceted and involves the exchange of information through means such as writing, reading, speaking and listening (Westwood, 2000). It is the capability of identifying, understanding, interpreting, creating, communicating, computing and using printed or written materials with varying content (Westwood, 2000). Literacy requires a range of learning which helps one in achieving set goal and to develop more knowledge and/or potential while participating in the society (National Health and Medical Research Council, 2000). A student with a learning difficulty can be defined as one with significant difficulty when acquiring literacy or numeracy skills and has no physical or intellectual impairment (Department for Education and Skills, 2007). This difficulty makes a student struggle while trying to keep up with classmates, the student may also find it hard in concentrating during lessons and he/she may even avoid tackling schoolwork as they find it difficult to understand what is required by the teacher (Swartz, et al, 2003b). This paper focuses on the procedure and methods that were used to help a student with a learning need in literacy. Introduction Literacy and numeracy difficulties are problems which need programmed intervention once they become apparent in a student. It is crucial for a teacher to have knowledge on the diagnostic features of the difficulties such that when a student is affected, early detections can be made and appropriate intervention are made. Such students need explicit instructions on how, why and when to make use of reading and numeracy methods. It is thus important to have readily available resource materials and instructional strategies appropriate depending on the age and requirements of each student. A learning difficulty in literacy and numeracy shows a lasting deficit and not just a lag in the process of development (Westwood, 2000). This necessitates the need to have intervention that aims to correct as it persists in the entire life if not corrected. Student’s profile The student that I chose to study is aged between six to ten years and in the lower level of learning. Despite having difficulties in comprehension and reading, the student further has problems in grammar and spelling. I chose this particular student because the level of education in which he is at is very critical. I also chose this particular student because the age in which he is at is a very active and requires further research. A student profile is a very crucial instrument in assessing the learning needs of a student (Clay, 2001). It is also important in the process of developing a program to help a student with learning needs. Some details in the profile are very important for a teacher as they give an idea of the type of student one is dealing with. Information such as age of the student, the gender and any physical disability are core in identifying the type of the student to deal with. In the intervention process the following student profile was used by the teacher (See appendix 1). This information was the major one that the teacher found important to help in the process of assessing the student problem. Other information such as his social interaction skills and participation in home activities were sourced from his parent. Process of identifying the learning need Identification of a learning need can be done both by informal or by formal learning inventories (Heinemann. National Reading Panel 2001). The student was identified to have a persistent difficulty in reading, spelling and writing despite his progress in other areas of his school work. The checklist that was used to diagnose the student was the one below (see appendix 2). During lessons, the student had difficulties in reading comprehensions whereby it would take long for him to start reading when asked to, he could not use the punctuation marks correctly and at times he would not use them at all. A survey of his notebook also showed his difficulties, he has a poor handwriting, a poor organization of his work, persistent poor spelling of some common words, poor use of punctuation marks and generally poor marks in his homework. The student was also noted to have a very low concentration in the class and difficulties in remembering the sequence of common words. These identified difficulties triggered the need to help the student deal with the literacy difficulty. The guardians of the student were also interviewed on this issue of the student and they provided information about his behavior with age and they also provided information on the family historical background. The information that the guardians provided was very significant in the program as it enabled the teacher to realize that the problem with the student was personal and not a family related issue. The information about the character of the student during various years was also crucial in handling the student. The plan used to achieve the student’s improvement The two schemes that were majorly used to achieve the improvement of the student were the reading recovery scheme and the parental involvement schemes. The latter was preferred to act as a follow up once the program ends but it was also used to help the student while at home during the intervention process (Brooks, 2002). The need with this student needed a one-to –one improvement program whereby the teacher directly deals with the student. Reading recovery method, a teaching method used to support literacy teaching (Clay, 2001), was opted due to its effectiveness in a situation where one student is involved. This method is an intervention program which assists students who are facing difficulties in reading and writing. The reading recovery method makes use of supportive dialogues between the student and the teacher and this forms the primary basis of instructions (Lowden, et al. 2000). Using this method, it was possible to form a framework of activities which made it easy to analyze the daily progress of the student. Each day the teacher and the student had a lesson which had 7 distinct parts. Rereading of at least 3 familiar books. Assessing the reading behavior on a book read in the prior lesson. Identification of letters and word work. Writing of a story with emphasis on the use of punctuation marks Rearrangement of words in a cut-up sentence in a story. The teacher introduced a new book from specific learning opportunities. Problem solving strategy whereby the teacher helped the student to read a new book. This program was followed for 12 weeks, having a 30 minutes session daily (Swartz & Klein, 2003a). Each of the distinct parts had a significant role in improving the student’s performance. Working with books and with stories increased the knowledge of the student about letters, sentences and words thus enabling him to have a mastery of prints used conventionally. Reading recovery provided an intensive one-to-one tutoring as it provided many components which enabled successful reading instructions. It was an effective scheme for the short term intervention (Heinemann. National Reading Panel 2001). This scheme had an effective implementation as it enabled the teacher to have intensive collection of data concerning the daily progress of the student thus monitoring was effective. The strategies that the reading recovery scheme provided such as, individualized instructions, working with books, accelerated learning, independent learning and working from the strength of the student, created the opportunity to sustain the improved literacy. Parental involvement was recommended as follow-up to ensure that the gains of the student are maintained (Brooks, 2002). This scheme involves the parents and the members in helping the student. The parents or the guardians work together with the teacher by helping the student while at home. Parental involvement includes activities such as helping the student with homework, discussing with the student about school or reading with the student while at home. The parent of the student was cooperative and this scheme worked during this activity. An account of the sessions with the student Each session was successful based on the performance of the student. Each session took 30 minutes per day and a session was used to provide a different skill from another. During the very first sessions, the main objective was to point out the student difficulties and the teacher offered little guidance when the student was reading or writing notes. Familiar books which are normally used in the lessons were used to identify the difficulties. Rereading of the books was emphasized as the teacher assessed the reading behavior of the student. When the teacher was done assessing the student, the student was helped by teacher in the rest of the activities. However, there were areas where the student faced a lot of difficulties and such required more time than others. For example, the session which involved the reading of comprehensions was allocated a lot of time. At the end of each session, the student was given an activity to do on his own such as rereading of a story, rearrangement of words in a cut-up sentence from a story or even reading a new book on his own. The impact of this intervention was powerful and it had notable achievement results for the student. Reflection and evaluation of the sessions Monitoring the progress of a student is the best way to evaluate the mastery of a student in a specific skill (Heinemann. National Reading Panel 2001). It is best done when predetermined and it can be done on a daily, weekly or on a monthly basis. The progress should be documented and advisably graphed after every assessment (Lowden, et al. 2000). This procedure was applied and the weekly progress of the student was documented (see appendix 3). The student was very cooperative with the teacher and this gave the teacher an easy time during the intervention. Although at first he could not understand the reason for the program, the teacher had an interactive session with the student and he admitted to have difficulties in literacy. The student showed the willingness to learn and this further motivated the teacher. The sessions were successful in that the student showed a lot of improvement. This activity however was quite involving since it required the teacher to be around in order to guide the student in every step. Before the student could go to the next stage of the session, it was ensured that he had passed the stage. The sessions were well organized such that no stage of the learning process was omitted. After the sessions were over, the student was given a test to evaluate his performance and a tremendous improvement was noted. A questionnaire was also administered to get first hand information on the experience of the student during the sessions (see appendix 4). This served to show the impact of the intervention process and it was realized that all the objectives of the process were met. Recommendations for the student’s future learning It is important that a follow up be done to help the student improve his literacy as he grows. The teacher has the responsibility to make a follow up of the student class work. It is important that the teacher evaluate the student’s performance even after the intervention sessions are over (Department for Education and Skills, 2007). This is crucial to avoid the reoccurrence of the difficulty and also for a progressive performance of the student. Parents or guardians also have a significant role in the learning process of a child (Westwood, 2003). A positive interaction with the child and the parent/guardian when the child is reading improves his/her reading achievements. It is thus important that the teacher and the parent or the guardian work together in helping a student with the learning difficulty (Department for Education and Skills, 2007). Conclusion Lack of effective literacy skills may hinder a student from accessing education and career opportunities due to poor performance (Department for Education and Skills, 2007). Helping a student to overcome literacy difficulties is thus an important step for the student both for present and future needs. Intervention schemes that were used to help this student, Reading Recovery and Family Literacy, were quite expensive in terms of both time and money used. However, they gave good value for the money. This is because this early intervention saved the social difficulties that would occur later in his life (Swartz, et al, 2003b). The ordinary teaching method whereby no intervention is done to students with learning needs is not suitable for students with literacy difficulties (Westwood, 2003) as it is hard for them to catch up with the other students. Early intervention is thus the best idea to help such students. A scheme aimed to help students with learning needs such as those with spelling difficulties needs to be highly structured for it to have a positive impact (Westwood, 2003). Improving the self-esteem of a child and reading in parallel gives a definite potential in improving the child’s performance (Swartz, et al, 2003b). LIST OF REFERENCES Clay, M.M. (2001). The early detection of reading difficulties. Auckland, NZ. Aerial press. Heinemann.National Reading Panel (2001). Report of the national reading panel: Teaching children to read: An evidenced-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. Washington, DC: National Institutes of Health. Swartz, S.L., Shook, R.E., & Klein, A.K. (2003a). Guided reading and literacy centers. Carlsbad, CA: Dominie Press. Swartz, S.L., Shook, R.E., & Klein, A.K. (2003b). Foundation for California Early Literacy Learning (technical report). Oceanside, CA: University Associates Press.   National Health and Medical Research Council. (2000). Learning difficulties in children and adolescents. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. Westwood, P. (2000). Numeracy and learning difficulties. Camber well, Victoria: Australian Council for Educational Research. Westwood, P. (2003). Commonsense methods for children with special needs (4th ed). New York: NY. Routledge. Lowden, W. et al. (2000). Mapping the territory, primary students with learning difficulties: Literacy and numeracy, Vol. 1, 2, & 3. Department of Education, Training, & Youth Affairs: Canberra, ACT. Brooks, G. (2002). what works for children with literacy difficulties. The effectiveness of intervention schemes. Nottingham. Aspen press. Department for Education and Skills. (2007). The Primary Framework: ensuring progress for children with literacy difficulties in Key Stage 1. New York: NY. Routledge. APPENDICES Appendix 1 age gender Class level pseudonym Classification of the students performance Last exam class position Class participation Age at which was admitted to school Any physical disability 9 yrs male 3 Clan Very poor 44/45 Very poor 3 years none Appendix 2 The student has a problem Remembering a list of instructions Organizing his work Processing information given at a speed Recognizing familiar words Has hesitant and labored reading Persistently omits or adds words when reading Reading without understanding Miss lines or reads a line twice without noticing Appendix 3 Appendix 4 Questionnaire on the session Gender……… Age………… Class level…….. Did you find the sessions helpful? a) Yes b) No Do you fill like you need similar sessions in the future? a) Yes b) No Do you think the sessions will help you to perform better in your school work? a) Yes b) No What other materials/help do you think you need to help you as you progress? Give details……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Appendix 5 Lesson plans Date Topic Objectives Learning activities Resources Lesson One Speech and Comprehension: Comprehension By the end of the lesson the learners should be able to gain metalinguistic skills that enable the teacher to analyze the language of the student. By the end of the learner is expected to exercise good cognitive skills i.e. that ability to visualize issues Learner familiarizes himself with the concept of speech and comprehension by learning the basic vowels and consonants in the alphabet. Learner repeats the words that have been given by the teacher so that he can internalize and process new information. Learner writes down the basic phrases and words that he has learnt and will use it to recite on his own. A Visual Memory Program Levels I-IV is a very important material. Some of the cues to be used include the blackboard or chart paper. The elementary English textbooks were also of great aid. Lesson Two Speech and Comprehension: Grammatical expression By the end of the lesson the learner should be able to mention some basic English words by joining the vowels and other words. By the end of the lesson the learners should be ale to differentiate the differences in the pronunciation of some close words like ‘th’ and ‘z’ Learner familiarizes himself with the concept of grammatical expression by learning the basic vowels and consonants in the alphabet. Learner writes down the basic phrases and words that he has learnt and will use it to recite on his own. Learner repeats the words that have been given by the teacher so that he can internalize and process new information. A Visual Memory Program Levels I-IV is a very important material. Some of the cues to be used include the blackboard or chart paper. The elementary English textbooks were also of great aid. Lesson Three Speech and Comprehension: articulation skills By the end of the lesson, the learners should be able to demonstrate articulate skills i.e. the pronunciation of some basic terms that will enable the teacher to analyze his language. Learner familiarizes himself with the concept of speech and comprehension by learning the basic vowels and consonants in the alphabet. Learner repeats the words that have been given by the teacher so that he can internalize and process new information. A Visual Memory Program Levels I-IV is a very important material. Some of the cues to be used include the blackboard or chart paper. The elementary English textbooks were also of great aid. Lesson four Speech and Comprehension: Test on oral and written language By the end of the lesson, the learners should be able to demonstrate the content he has learnt in the topic of comprehension and be able to understand spoken language. Learner repeats the words that have been given by the teacher so that he can internalize and process new information. Learner pronounces the various words that the teacher gives him and he repeats them so that the teacher finds out whether he still has a problem. -textbooks -classroom tests and assignments -C.A.T.S Lesson Five Speech and Comprehension: expressive vocabulary test By the end of the lesson, the learners should be able to demonstrate the content he has learnt in the topic of comprehension and be able to understand written words. Learner looks at the words written on the blackboard and repeats each one of them one by one as per the teacher’s instructions. Learner tries to pronounce the different words that have a close pronunciation and teacher notes the areas of improvement and those in which he has not perfected. -textbooks -classroom tests and assignments -C.A.T.S Read More