Student Information

Matt is a 3rd grader at Stanley Elementary. Matt is an extremely respectful student and is
very sweet to his peers and adults. He is out-going and always friendly to others. He is caring,
and is very well liked by all. Matt puts forth great effort in all of his work and wants to do well.
Matt has a learning disability and has difficulty in the areas of reading, math, and social skills. In
reading, Matt has strong skill at work recognition, sequencing, and sentence structure, but
struggles with fluency and comprehension skills. In math, Matt knows how to do some more
advanced skills like place values to the thousands and millions, adding two digit addition and
subtraction, but can struggle with concepts such as time, money, and word problems. Socially,
Matt struggles with blurting out, making comments, and noises, and keeping his hands to himself
in the classroom setting. According to Matts IEP, through observable data collection, he
averages 12 instances of blurting out in 30 minutes. He has been observed to have difficulty
paying attention in class and keeping his hands to himself in non-structured activities such as
standing in line, group work, and independent work. Matts difficulty with reading
comprehension, math concepts, and social skills impact his ability to be independent in the
general education classroom. Therefore, Matt does require direct instruction, supports,
accommodations, and modifications to continue to make progress in the general education
setting. I had the opportunity to observe Matt and work on some math skills with him in the
general education classroom. While we were working, he wasnt completely grasping the
concept of the addition word problem we were working on. I took out a couple of manipulatives
to help explain the process of the problem and he benefited greatly from this. Having hands on
material and a visual was a successful learning strategy for Matt on this math problem. I also
observed that Matt gets overwhelmed when there are a lot of problems on a worksheet,

especially in math. I decided to chunk the workload and provide a brief break prior to
completing the entire worksheet. This also helped tremendously for Matt and his ability to work
through math without being overwhelmed and feeling like he wanted to give up before starting.
Being able to pick up on little things like this during my observation provided me with
understanding on how to accommodate and modify material for Matt so he could be successful
and independent in the general education setting.

IEP Observational Data

Background on Matt:
Matt is a 3rd grader at Stanley elementary. Matt is a student with a learning disability and has
difficulty in the areas of reading, math, and social skills. In reading, Matt has strong skills at
work recognition, sequencing, and sentence structure, but struggles with fluency and
comprehension skills. In math, Matt knows how to do some more advanced skills like place
values to the thousands and millions, adding two digit addition and subtraction, but can struggle
with concepts such as time, money, and word problems. Socially, Matt struggles with blurting
out, making comments, and noises, and keeping his hands to himself in the classroom setting.
Observation Notes: I observed Matt during math time, which takes place in the morning. He
had his head down at his desk during the video for Envision. The teacher came up to Matt and
patted his back to cue him to sit up straight. After the video was over, the teacher was asking the
students various questions related to the topic. Matt began to blurt out answers to the questions
rather than raise his hand. Although he was participating and staying engaged in the
conversation, he was not following class expectations. When the teacher prompted him for a
second time to remind Matt to raise his hand, he didnt blurt out for the rest of the lesson. When
Matt began to independently work at his desk, he began to doodle on his worksheet that went
along with the Envision lesson. I used proximity, and he quickly stopped and started on the
assignment. The teacher told the students if they dont finish their assignment that they would
need to stay in with her during Wildcat time. I saw Matt quickly and accurately finish his
assignment after she said this. I observed that Matt works hard when there is a source of
motivation present.

Analysis of Student
After reviewing Matts IEP in more detail, I think that it is very informative and I could
easily plan my instruction off of it. If I do have more questions regarding anything on it, I will be
sure to ask my cooperating teacher for further clarification or information. This student works
with the resource room teacher and the general education teacher. Each service supports Matt it
several different ways in order for him to be successful in the classroom. His resource room
teacher works with Matt in the areas of reading, math, and social skills. In reading, Matt has
strong skills at work recognition, sequencing, and sentence structure, but struggles with fluency
and comprehension skills. The program that Matt works on to address his difficulty with reading
is called Horizons, Readworks, and AIMSweb. In math, Matt knows how to do some more
advanced skills like place values to the thousands and millions, adding two digit addition and
subtraction, but can struggle with concepts such as time, money, and word problems. The
program that addresses this content area is called Focus. Socially, Matt struggles with blurting
out, making comments, and noises, and keeping his hands to himself in the classroom setting.
The system that is used to help Matt in the area of his social skills is a chart (attached) used as a
reinforcement plan to address these incidences of Matt keeping hands to self and blurting out in
the classroom. The information that needs to be collected will be progress monitoring data for
the academic areas of math and reading and a collection of times Matt blurts out and keeping
hands to self to progress monitor his social skills goal. In Matts IEP, there are different types of
support that will be required in the general education classroom to ensure student success. Matt
requires in class support with adult assistance in the general education setting 90 min. /day 5
days a week to assist with guided practice to learn concepts, step-by-step instruction, guided
reading with questioning and discussion of what's being read, checking for understanding,

rewording questions, highlighting to find answers within the passage, organization, assignment
completion, small group test administration, and assistance with his behavior plan. Also, Matt
will use visual supports to supplement instruction, expected work behaviors, and classroom
routines for example, visual schedules, class rules, changes in schedule, and during instruction to
supplement verbal explanations. Communication is crucial when ensuring an IEP is being
implemented appropriately by all teachers/services involved. Matts IEP consists of the special
education teacher consulting with the general education teacher on social skill instruction, math
and reading goals, and discussing whether his reinforcement system (blurt chart) is showing
success and is being utilized in the general education classroom. The instruction that will be
provided in the learning center will consist of various things to help Matt reach his math,
reading, and social skills goals on his IEP. Horizons is a great program for students who struggle
with fluency and comprehension. The program is designed for small group instruction and is
very consistent, repetitive, and scripted. The students are very familiar with the program and how
it works. There are comprehension questions that follow every story to assess students
understanding of the story. Readworks is also a great reading program that is used for
comprehension. The website has nonfiction as well as fiction passages with comprehension
questions incorporated at the end of the reading. These questions include multiple choice, short
answer, and fill in the blank to add variety. In math Focus is used in the learning center. The
general education curriculum is based off of Envision and Focus covers the same material but
breaks apart the content at a deeper level. There are many visuals and manipulatives used to help
student understanding. Lastly, AIMSweb is a great was to assess whether students are making
progress on their goals. There are minute reading passages to assess reading fluency and math

probes to assess math concepts and application progress. AIMSweb can help teachers create goals
and it can also graph students progress towards their goals throughout the IEP year.

IEP MAPS Analysis

I had the privilege of interviewing Matt and his parents for my assignment. They were
extremely kind and amazing advocates for their son and his education. My first question I had
asked the parents was what Matts strengths are and his needs and they had listed several
wonderful strengths that Matt possesses. Their response was the following, Matt is beyond
sweet and respectful. He is very caring to others and is always kind to his peers and adults. Matt
gives his best effort and strives to be successful in all that he does. He loves sports especially
baseball, and is very athletic. Matt is a great drawer and loves to show peers and adults his sketch
book. He is quick to put a smile on anybodys face. Matts needs expressed by his parents were
that he requires extra support in the areas of reading, math, and social skills. They had told me
that he also needs to find a balance of working independently but knowing when to ask for
assistance. Matt works better with a visual schedule and an organization checklists. When asked
about parental concerns, they didnt have too much to say other than Matts difficulty with
phonics affects all aspects of learning which becomes frustrating for him in school. When I
asked the question, What is a day in the life of Matt like? both parents and Matt started to
laugh. They told me that a day in the life of Matt is far from boring, and that he is always stays
busy. They had told me that there isnt a day when Matt doesnt make us laugh. After school
Matt usually needs a few reminders to start homework before any type of sports practice or free
time (video games, computer, TV, etc.) is played. During the interview Matt was being a little
shy, but when I asked what his hopes and dreams were, he was quick to respond and I could tell

that he excited to tell me. He replied with, My hopes and dreams are to become a video game
creator or a Youtuber when I grow up. I also hope to make more friends in school. The parents
also responded to this question with their answer on what their families hopes and dreams were
for Matt. They said, Our long range goal and hope for our son is that he will attend and graduate
a university. We want him to keep working hard in school never let his determination stop him
from reaching his goals. We believe Matt can be anything that he sets his mind to, and we will be
there to support him throughout the way. They also want Matt to continue to close the gap
academically and live independently on his own one day.
I found this interview to be extremely helpful as a practicum student and novice teacher.
Matts family expressed their thoughts after the interview on how much they enjoyed this
experience. They loved brainstorming as a team and how everyone had a say to best help Matt be
successful in school and life. I quickly recognized the importance of family engagement in a
childs educational experience and how their support as parents will ensure and benefit their
childs success in school.

IEP Reflection
I have learned so much throughout this IEP assignment and have enjoyed learning more
about the IEP process and the importance of it. Even though I have written my own IEPs, it was
interesting to read my cooperating teachers and examine the way she writes them and her
reasoning on why she chose the various accommodations and modifications for her students. I
had a great time getting to know and work with Matt for the past eight weeks during this course.
I learned more about his strengths, interests, and how to meet his needs as a student with a
learning disability. The process of an IEP takes time and collaboration. Working as a team in the
IEP process is crucial, and making sure that everyone feels that they have an input in the decision
making for the student and the child. I especially enjoyed the MAPS assignment and so did the
parents of Matt. I was a little apprehensive about doing it origionally because I wasnt sure how
the parents and Matt would respond to it, but they had given me back so much positive feedback
when it was over. They had felt that it was a positive experience and they were all able to
collaborate together to best help their son. We discussed Matts hopes and dreams, strengths,
needs, supports, and goals. These are all things that are incorporated into the IEP, but the parents
said that they felt like they were included in the decision making more by creating that graphic
organizer together. This is something I will definitely utilize next year with my parents so that
they feel as included in the IEP process as possible. I want them to feel valued and heard when it
comes to designing an individualized plan for their childs academic success.
Another key aspect I learned from this IEP assignment was the importance of
implementation and parent communication. One of the hardest things that I have experienced this
year is implementing interventions and progress monitoring with my students. It is difficult to

implement a successful intervention that will work for a student. Each student I work with has
unique needs that need to be supported in different ways. Knowing the student and their
individual needs is very important when designing an effective intervention for a student. My
cooperating teacher did a great job with giving me resources that have worked for her when
creating a plan for parent communication. Since the IEP is designed as a team the parents
should frequently updated on anything that may occur within the IEP. They should be updated on
how the students are progressing on their goals, and if the student has a Behavioral Intervention
Plan, the parents should be communicated with daily on how the plan is working for the student
in the classroom. My cooperating teacher has attached to IEPs a parent to teacher journal that
goes to school and home to inform parents and the teacher on what happened that day or night.
This has been very beneficial to not only build a positive relationship but to make sure both
members of the team are on the same page if anything should arise.
Lastly, progress monitoring is an essential aspect of the IEP process and the students
academic or behavioral outcomes. Progress monitoring is taking data on how the students are
doing related to their goals. This drives instruction, because if the student is consistently not able
to identify odd and even numbers, their needs to be an increased in instruction in that particular
area of math. I know personally, this is something that I want to continue learning and becoming
stronger with for my students. It is also very helpful to graph the students progress monitoring
results as a visual representation for parents to see their childs IEP goal outcome and progress
throughout the year.
I have gained new knowledge on how to best support my students through the IEP
process throughout this course and observing my cooperating teacher. It was helpful to dissect a
students IEP and find areas of strength and areas that I had questions or concerns about. I hope

to continue writing strong IEPs and keep developing positive relationships with my parents to
ensure their childs academic success in my classroom.