Analysis of Data used to Determine the Need

Students at Central Virginia Christian School complete the Terra Nova standardized test

in grades three through eight. However, no formal assessment has been completed for first or

second grade until just recently. In March of 2017, the PALS assessment was administered to all

students in first through third grade. After completing the PALS assessment, it has been

determined that reading fluency and comprehension are areas in need of improvement for our

school, especially in first grade. In first grade, we have 71.4% of students reading below grade

level. This is a concern considering these students will need to be prepared for the Terra Nova

test in just a year and a half.

Section 2: Possible Solutions

Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated instruction is an approach to learning where teachers adjust the curriculum

to meet the needs of each student. After a students’ reading level has been assessed, the teacher

will group students according to ability and tailor their instruction to meet the needs of each

group of students. This is an effective program because it will allow students who need help

with decoding and word attack skills to focus on those skills while others who may be ready for

comprehension study to focus on that. The grouping will allow the teacher the opportunity to

work closely with the students because they will be in small groups. Some pitfalls associated

with differentiated instruction are it will take some training along with extensive planning and

preparation on the part of the teacher. Each group will need their own set of activities and

leveled texts to be used during instruction.

Open Court Reading Instruction: Phonics Instruction and Word Recognition

 Open Court is a research based basal reading program. The program is broken down into

several different units of study with stories and lessons that make up the unit. Each section

begins with a phonics lesson accompanied by a text that contains the sounds taught for that

lesson. The teachers begin with short vowel sounds to help the students work on word

recognition and move through the lessons at a steady pace building on the sounds and words of

the previous lesson the day before. Although this is a wonderful program with a lot of

enrichment activities and resources, there are some pitfalls teachers may face. There are so

many activities to choose from it can be a little overwhelming for the teacher. It also appears to

cater to the advanced learner as opposed to the struggling learner. Therefore, the teacher will

need to seek further knowledge on strategies to help a student who begins to struggle through the

lessons.

Teacher Designed Plan: Incorporating Comprehension, Fluency, and Word Analysis

This teacher designed program is a combination of several different literacy practices. It

incorporates differentiated instruction and addresses the areas of comprehension, fluency, and

word analysis. It is implemented in a small group setting, where students are grouped

homogenously based on their reading level. Each group may have up to six students, and there

should be no more than four groups. The groups will rotate through a center style setting

performing different tasks for thirty-minute intervals. One group will be working with phonics

instruction as well as guided reading practice with the teacher, another group will be working on

word recognition (adapted from Words Their Way) where they will be using word patterns to sort

and identify words, another group will be reading independently, and the fourth group will be

writing in their journals reflecting on a question of the day that correlates to the comprehension

strategy practiced during guided reading practice with the teacher.

 This program focuses on the individual literacy needs of each student. The teacher will

assess the students and adjust each center activity to match the abilities of the groups. The

teacher will use leveled texts based on the skill being addressed and readability. Any student

who is identified as needing intervention will also receive thirty minutes of additional instruction

daily. A possible pitfall of this program is the amount of work that it will take on the teacher’s

part to prepare lessons and coordinate with the teacher assistants to prepare for the intervention

lessons. The teacher will need to be continuously monitoring the growth of each student so

instruction can be adjusted each day. Many different approaches to the same task will need to be

created to meet the differences in ability of the groups. The students and the teacher will also

need to be flexible as groups should change as students’ growth is monitored and instruction is

adjusted.

Section 3: Solution

Description of Solution

The best solution is to use the teacher designed program because it incorporates

differentiated instruction as well as addresses the areas of comprehension, fluency, and word

analysis. It is implemented in a small group setting, where students are grouped homogenously

based on their reading level. Each group may have up to six students, and there should be no

more than four groups. The groups will rotate through a center style setting performing different

tasks for thirty-minute intervals. One group will be working with phonics instruction as well as

guided reading practice with the teacher, another group will be working on word recognition

(adapted from Words Their Way) where they will be using word patterns to sort and identify

words, another group will be reading independently and writing in their journals on a topic
connected to the comprehension strategy being modeled during guided reading. The journaling

activity will allow the teacher evidence of how the students are correctly spelling the words they

have been working on in the word recognition center as well as offer the opportunity to give

feedback and encouragement to the student on the comprehension strategies being taught. The

teacher will also administer timed reading tests to determine the student’s fluency level based on

the words per minute correctly read during a “cold” and a “warm :read. This fluency test will be

administered after the student has completed the text of the day during the guided reading center

with the teacher. Students who are identified as needing intervention will work with the teacher

assistant thirty additional minutes per day on activities that need reinforcement based on the

daily assessments.

Justification

Based on the Pals data collected this past spring, it was determined that instruction

needed to be focused on reading fluency and comprehension. Therefore, incorporating a

program that focuses on word recognition and fluency will help the students prepare to move on

to comprehension study. Through phonics instruction and guided reading with the teacher, a

student will be able to apply word knowledge to complete independent activities to increase their

ability to read and comprehend the text they are using for the day.