Case Study: Danny

EDU 612
Cynthia Morgan
Dr. Balajthy
Spring 2014

I. Heading

Name: Danny R. Sex: Male
Birth Date: August 2, 2003 Age: 11
Grade: 6
th
School: Livonia Jr. High School
Guided Reading Level: 740-875 (Lexile) Reading Instructional Level: 7
th


II. Background Information

Danny is an energetic, bright young male with a high motivation to attend school
and learn. He is a student who generally performs at an average ability level for all
subjects. Science remains the biggest weakness for Danny, though he does have
attention difficulties in all subjects. In switching classrooms and teachers for all subjects
at grade 6 in Livonia, his ELA teacher is Mrs. Sykes and she is only his teacher for this
course. Danny was tested and diagnosed with ADD at the beginning of his 5
th
grade
year, thus providing him with medication to limit his attention difficulties in the
classroom. Though he does not receive any additional services for ELA, he is given the
option for separate location and additional time on tests as stated in his 504. Danny has
not yet at this time used his test modifications in school, but does believe that he has
difficulty taking tests. Danny does not feel strongly one way or the other on the current
ELA book Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis, a book with an interest level of 5-
8 and a reading level of 5.2. The book centers on acts of God, fate and destiny, the
Depression, and segregation. Danny could talk about the story in detail, however, in
reading through a writing assignment for school he had completed, the details were
lacking and his knowledge and understanding seemed very low for a 6
th
grade level.
Dannys class has reading reinforcements in which they receive grade level incentives for
outside reading amounts. According to Danny and his mother, Danny has been on target
for reading times (completed 80 minutes a week) for the whole academic year thus far!

III. Summary of Interviews

Danny does not dislike reading, however he very seldom chooses it as an activity
when it is not assigned. His favorite book is Call of the Wild by Jack London, with an
interest level of grades 3-5 and a reading level of 7.3. He also is interested in the Harry
Potter series, books about football and lacrosse, and mysteries. Danny could not
remember a lot of details about the story, but knew he really enjoyed it when he did read
it. Danny does not enjoy writing as a post-reading assignment or activity about the book,
but does enjoy writing his own stories, though he would prefer orally sharing. He
somewhat enjoys having the teacher read aloud in school and having silent reading, but
does not ever voluntarily read aloud in front of his class. His favorite show is NCIS, and
he plays lacrosse, football, and loves the Chargers.
I asked Danny a series of questions about reading and he seemed to have little
emotion about any of it. However, he did respond to all of the questions. Danny feels
that a good reader is someone who can read hard stuff without struggling, and he does
not feel that he is really a strong reader himself. He also said that if he is struggling with
a word, he will sound it out, skip it, or ask for help if he can. He went on to say that he
can usually figure it out when he reads the rest of the sentence but if he cant figure it
out, he doesnt really think it is a big deal to the whole story. I asked Danny what he
wanted to improve on as a reader and he said he wants to be able to read better,
understand more, and not lose attention and get bored so quickly.
Danny believes that the reading he does for school is enough reading, and prefers
to choose other activities such as playing his Nintendo 3 D.S. (Developers System),
watching TV, or using his moms kindle in his free time. He says the only extra stuff he
reads is sometimes magazines, comics, or sports flyers. According to Dannys parents, it
is often difficult to steer Danny away from electronics and chose a more educational,
meaningful activity once he completes his homework. They believe his choices are
directly related to his ADD and that he is unable to focus on anything long enough,
unless he thoroughly enjoys it. On average, Danny watches four hours of tv a day (when
he is not in sports season), and he does have a tv in his room.

IV. Assessment Results

Basic Reading Inventory

Overall Scores:
Independent: 4
th

Instructional: 7
th

Frustration: 8
th


A) Word Lists (Independent: 5
th
, Instructional: 7
th
, Frustration: 8
th
)
The word lists of a BRI exam are used to assess a students identification of sight
words and decoding skills, as well as determine the starting point of the proceeding
exams. Danny did well on the word lists up to grade 7, and reached a frustration at 8
th

grade. These scores proved he is right around target for his grade, and there are no signs
of struggle in his word identification abilities. Danny was able to cruise through sight
words that were common in his everyday reading, but struggled with multisyllabic
words (predominant, panorama, gratify), and words starting with double consonants
(pneumonia, brigade, chauffeur) proving harder to sound out, a strategy used by him to
decode. Danny could use more practice and instruction with syllabication and decoding
strategies such as chunk it, blending wheels, and letter tiles.

B) Graded Passages (Independent: 4
th
, Instructional: 7
th
, Frustration: 8
th
)
The graded passages of the BRI are used to determine word recognition in
context, as the child reads orally and the administrator marks miscues. Danny was able
to read an instructional level up to 7
th
grade, however, was able to comprehend at the 8
th

grade level even though his miscues were frustration level. For this reason, it could be
argued that the miscues that he was making were purely due to his lack of quality
attention to word detail in the text rather than his ability to read. Because of his ADD, I
think that Danny would have been able to reach higher grade levels at instructional for
oral reading if he had slowed down just a touch and focused more heavily on the
passages rather than finishing the assessment.

C) Oral Comprehension (Independent: 4
th
, Instructional: 6
th
, Frustration: 7
th
)
For the oral comprehension assessment of the BRI, the results indicate the level
of comprehension the child is able to successfully reach when having a passage read to
them orally. Danny did not reach a 7
th
grade instructional level on this assessment as he
had on the previous two. For this reason, I believe that Danny has a much harder time
focusing when someone is speaking, than when he has to do work himself. This is
proven by the fact that Danny asked me to re-read the 5
th
grade passage, a passage he
scored independent on for comprehension after completed. He simply has a lack of
focus and attention on his work and this could be evident also in the idea that his school
grades are significantly lower than they should be for his ability level.

D) Silent Reading (Independent: 3
rd
, Instructional: 7
th
, Frustration: 8
th
)
The silent reading assessment demonstrates the ability of a child to read to self
and comprehend what they have read. For this assessment, Danny reached an
independent level at his current grade (6
th
) but was instructional for 4
th
and 5
th
. These
results indicate either shifts in attention level, or an inconsistent reading ability for
varied level texts. The cut-off for which oral comprehension and silent reading
comprehension surpass is 7
th
grade, however Dannys have already surpassed. I believe
this is due to the fact that when reading himself, Danny has the ability to re-read when
he realizes his focus was not there. However, when being read to, he does not have the
option to go back. Although proven by this test, sometimes he lacks the motivation to go
back when he knows he may not have gotten a complete understanding.

Greys Diagnostic Reading Test

Overall Scores (Reading Vocabulary):
Raw Score: 22
Scaled Score: 10
%ile Rank: 50
Age Equiv.: 11
Grade Equiv.: 6.0

The reading vocabulary assessment of Greys results in the scoring of a childs
ability for the student to understand two opposite words among a list of multiple words.
The task of choosing the two words among a group that are opposites proved Danny to
be an average level of ability for his grade level. He missed four answers sporadically
before reaching a ceiling at words 24. This task was a bit challenging for Danny even
though he received an average level score and appropriate grade and age level for his
actual age and grade level. The main reason for Dannys difficulty in this task was that
he was unaware of the meaning of many of the words in the lists which made it nearly
impossible to choose opposites.

Overall Scores (Meaningful Reading):
Raw Score: 21
Scaled Score: 4
%ile Rank: 2
Age Equiv.: 8.6
Grade Equiv.: 3.4

The meaningful reading section of the Greys assessment is used to assess the
ability of a child to understand the missing words of passage to make a meaningfully
accurate passage. The student demonstrates their comprehension and understanding in
completing this task as well. Danny reached a level that was 2.9 age levels below his
current age and 3.3 grade levels below his current grade. I do not think that Danny did
not have the ability to comprehend and understand these passages, I believe that he was
over focusing on the first letter of each word given to him for the fill in the blanks. I
believe this to be the case as the rest of his reading assessments have not been anywhere
near as low as his scores on this test. When given a fill in the blank word, Danny would
sit and repeat the sound of the letter given and think of as many words as he could with
that letter with disregard to what he had just read. I believe his flow of reading was
completely interrupted through the blanks, thus providing him with little focus to base
his answers off, instead of reading with a focused mind set as to what is the common
sense most fitting word for the blank. As a result, I much prefer the results and findings
proven through the BRI comprehension subtests.




Proposed Additional Assessments:

CARI:
I administered this assessment to determine Dannys reading abilities in other
content areas as his grades for his additional core subjects are low. I asked Danny is he
was able to bring a textbook home from any of his subjects, and he said the only class he
could take the book home was Social Studies, as Science and Math were classroom
copies that were shared amongst classes. Therefore, Danny was assessed using an
excerpt from his World History book. On the first list of questions for the CARI, Danny
scored a 67%, however I feel he really performed at about an 80% or better. Two of the
three questions he missed were dependent on the other regarding the copyright date,
and the other was genre of the text. Both of these questions surround lessons he should
have received in Library which indicate his lack of attention to detail, often present in
children with ADD and ADHD. Therefore, I did not feel this was a strong suggestion that
he was below grade level for textual knowledge. He should however, know this
information by now. Danny scored a 75% on the oral reading and interpretation, even
though he only missed one question. I do feel this score is accurate as he had a bit of
Strengths Weaknesses
- Word recognition
- Background knowledge
- Self-awareness (Re-reads when lost)
- Generally on grade level
- Word identification
- Structure (completed all
assessments without frustration)

- Attention to detail
- Focus
- Oral reading comprehension
- Syllabication
- Decoding strategies
- Comprehension
- Motivation

difficulty accurately reading the passage missing multiple words and reading at a very
slow pace. Just as well, he missed the first and most important question What is this
passage about? again confirming my worry of his comprehension abilities. Danny
received a score of 33% on the vocabulary section; however, his vocabulary score for the
Greys test indicated he was at a 6.0 grade equivalent. He also showed significant lacks
in his vocabulary for his writing sample as well. Lastly, he received a score of 57% on the
comprehension section getting two interpretive questions incorrect and one critical
incorrect. This enabled me to pinpoint the comprehension areas that I should work on
with him in my lessons.

6 + 1 Writing Test:
I administered this assessment to analyze a piece of Dannys writing. As the tests
thus far had not given insight into his writing abilities, this test was valuable in further
understanding his literacy skills. Upon administering this exam, I found that Dannys
writing abilities were below grade level. Having spoken with Danny about writing in my
interview, I found that Danny believes he has difficulty producing assigned writing for
school, but enjoys writing stories, though he says he often never finishes them. This lack
of sustained motivation shows in his assignments. Danny scored a 2.7 out of a possible 5
on the 6+1 writing test. The major lacks in his writing surrounding a few recurrent
errors: word choice and sentence openers, understanding of content, relationship of
explanations to quotes, conventions, and closing statement. Danny uses the same
descriptive words and sentence starters for almost all of his sentences throughout. This
could demonstrate a lack of vocabulary; however his vocabulary score for the preceding
test proved average thus making the correct application of vocabulary a possible cause.
Danny also showed gaps in understanding of content in his analysis of the quotes he
chose. Many of his explanations did not match the quotes purpose or meaning in the
text. This shows his lack of comprehension and again, application, however this time
application of understanding of content. Just as well, Danny showed difficulty in his
conventions with errors in tense and spelling, as well as capitalization and punctuation.
Lastly, Danny was unable to create a closing statement that related to his work. This
could also support the idea that he is showing gaps in comprehension and
understanding.

Nifty-Thrifty Fifty:
I administered this test to assess if Dannys morphology skills are similar to his
syllabic. As he will have to identify and define components of a word, this will have
benefits to his decoding of multisyllabic word identification. In giving the assessment,
Danny was unable to read some of the words in entirety, as well as identify the meaning
of any of the suffixes. He was able to correctly define some of the prefixes and root
words. Prefixes such as anti; differ; class; and non he was able to correctly identify and
root words such as freeze; courage; odor; forgot; hope; and legal. However, the only
suffix he was able to define was ful. He repeatedly described the suffixes as
transactional letters and endings that make the word sound better. I was unsure if
he had been told about transition words and misunderstood this for something called
transactional, or if it was just a made up word he was using to not have to sit and think
about them after a few passed that he didnt know. This test enabled me to understand
that Danny does have an average ability to decode when words are broken into parts,
however he does not understand suffixes and what they mean.

V. Diagnostic Hypothesis and Diagnostic Instruction

Danny is classified with a learning disability, Attention Deficit Disorder. His
overall independent level is a 4
th
grade, instructional is 7
th
grade, and frustration is 8
th
. I
would classify Danny as a Tier I reader, as he would benefit from the teachers
adjustments and accommodations for his unique academic needs. Though Danny has
many strengths in reading, he also has a few weaknesses. I am going to focus my further
instruction for Danny in our next sessions on oral reading comprehension, close
reading, and syllabication.

Oral Reading Comprehension: DRTA
Reading aloud to students is only useful if the students can take away what is being read.
Therefore, Dannies oral comprehension should be strengthened. Using the strategy
DRTA (Directed Reading Thinking Activity), will provide Danny with additional support
in this area by having a passage read aloud to him and then providing both open ended
questions enabling prediction making, specific questions to refine predictions, and then
finally allowing for prediction modification with supporting statements based on the
text. Dannys attention span will hopefully increase as well while the task is stop and go
and not just a straight through one task activity. The goal of this task would be to raise
his comprehension independent level from 4
th
grade to at least 6
th
grade as he is in 7
th
.

Close Reading: REAP
Close reading, a common strategy of todays classroom for literacy, is a necessary skill
for both reading comprehension and attention to important detail (both of which are
weaknesses for Danny). Implementing the REAP strategy into Dannys reading regimes
will enable Danny to become an active reader, activate prior knowledge and apply it to
the text, and have opportunities for him to be responsible for his own reading and
understanding. Using hands on materials such as highlighters, pens, and stamps, Danny
can use the REAP strategy to do a close reading of text that will hopefully hold his
attention longer than just reading a book. This strategy combines the use of reading,
encoding, annotating, and pondering while reading a passage to obtain full
comprehension.

Syllabication: SIP
In order to read at the 7
th
grade level, syllabication skills need to be at grade level. In his
reading, this was one of the biggest weaknesses for Danny as he completed his reading
passages. His inability to maintain focus could also be a factor, as reading difficulties are
multiple causation, not single. This lack of attention, particularly to detail, could be a
significant factor of his syllabication deficits. Through the use of of the SIP strategy
(Spelling In Parts), Danny can build this skill as well as fluency of the skill and also
hopefully maintain focus with a hands activity. The activity will consist of both reading
mutli-syllable words and also spelling them using a white board. The objective is to
break down the multi-syllabic words while spelling, and then reading them as a whole.

A.



- Danny was able to fully
comprehend and
summarize the article.

- Danny effectively and
actively marked up the
article and answered qs.

- Danny was spelling
words correctly by syllable
on his own.

- Danny was able to go
back and use already
finished words accurately
in senteces after the
activity.

B. For Parents

- Book Suggestions:
Growing Up Stories by Betsy Byars (level 4.75)
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George (level 5)
Around the World in a Hundred Years by Jean Fritz (level 5.3)
Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling (level 5.3)
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli (level 5.3)

-Writing Activities: (Journal Writing Prompts)
Record a summary of what you just read, including as many specific details as
necessary to clearly portray the reading.
Based on the events in the chapter, what do you think will happen next? Use
specific text evidence to support this hypothesis.
Chose a character from the story thus far, would you have done anything
differently if you were them at this point in the novel? Why or why not?
Pick a quote you feel best describes the theme, moral, purpose of the story thus
far and explain why you chose this quote based on the stories events.
-Reading at Home:
Danny should spend at least 30 minutes a day reading at home. It would also be
highly beneficial to ask a few follow up questions or give a writing prompt after each
session as he needs to build attention to detail and comprehension. This will give him
Desired Outcomes Actual Outcomes
- Increase
comprehension of read
aloud passages

- Attention to detail

- Increase fluently read
multi-syllabic words

- Vocabulary


Procedures
- DRTA



- REAP

- SIP


- Wordsplash

accountability for his reading.

C. Classroom Teacher

- Instructional level is at 7
th
grade level.
- Oral reading instructional level is at a 4
th
grade level.

- Suggested Readings (Instructional):
The Case of the Left-Handed Lady by Nancy Springer (level 7.7)
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle (level 7.5)
A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines (level 7.5)
Oddballs by William Sleator (level 7.3)
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (level 7.1)

- Suggested Readings (Read Aloud):
Disneyland Hostage by Eric Wilson (level 4.8)
Pirate Island Adventure by Peggy Parish (level 4.5)
Captive! by Gary Paulsen (level 4.2)
Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar (level 4.9)

- Individualizing Instruction:
Oral reading w/partner
Ticket out the door (checking for comprehension)
Journal writing assignments

D. Specialist

N/A

VII. Diagnostic Teaching Lessons

A) Reading Comprehension

1. Objectives: Danny will engage in actively listening to a reading of the first
chapter of Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling and engaging in the DRTA strategy.
a) The student will actively engage knowledge prior to reading the chapter
by answering prediction questions using the title, pictures, headings, and background
knowledge.
b) The student will be read to, until each pre-determined stopping point in
which he will answer specific information questions and then refine his prediction if
necessary, at each stopping point.
c) The student will modify their predictions using specific text details and
information.

2. Common Core Standards:
a. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a
text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text
distinct from personal opinions and judgments.
b. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.10 By the end of the year, read and
comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 6-8 text
complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
c. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis
of what the text explicitly says as well as inferences drawn from the text.

3. Materials:
a. Harry Potter Novel (Dannys favorite series)
b. List of comprehension questions based on DRTA

4. Procedures:
a. Read the title, chapter titles, subtitles, and look at the pictures.
b. Make a prediction based on this information about what will happen in
the chapter.
c. Read to Danny each piece according to the pre-determined stopping
points.
d. Ask Danny specific information questions about each piece of the
chapter. (Who are the main characters? What is happening to Harry at this point in the
chapter? Where does he live? Why does he live with the Dursleys? What background
information has been given about his real parents and life thus far?)
e. Ask Danny to re-state his prediction based on the information this far.
f. Finish reading the passage orally to Danny.
g. Ask Danny to use specific information from the text to support a
modified and final prediction of what happened in the chapter. (What do you think
about your predictions now? What did you find in the text to prove your predictions?
What did you read in the text that made you change your predictions?)

5. Evaluation:
Danny did well using the DRTA strategy while reading the first chapter of
Harry Potter. His attention was surprisingly of high focus, most likely because we were
using a story in his favorite series. At first, Danny was unsure about how to make a
prediction when he knew the outcome of the series from watching the movies, but he
was able to make a relevant and appropriate one when I reiterated that it was not a
series prediction but a chapter prediction based on the title, headings, etc. Danny also at
first struggled with not being able to use his book to gather specific information to
support his refined predictions, but seemed to quickly learn to pay more attention in the
proceeding sections to be able to answer this question. In summation, Danny was able
to include specific names, places, and important events to modify his prediction after
finishing the chapter! This activity seemed to benefit his ability to comprehend the
material being read, and hopefully he will apply it to future readings.

B) Attention to Detail
1. Objectives: Danny will actively engage in reading a passage in which he will
close read using the REAP strategy and also mark up the passage accordingly for
important details.
a) The student will read a passage and accurately label title and author.
b) The student will accurately encode the text by putting the passage into
his own words.
c) The student will accurately annotate the text by summarizing main
points.
d) The student will ask questions about the text and analyze and reflect on
related information gathered.

2. Common Core Standards:
a. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis
of what the text explicitly says as well as inferences drawn from the text.
b. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.4 Determine the meaning of words and
phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings;
analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.
c. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a
text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text
distinct from personal opinions and judgments.

3. Materials:
a. Social Studies Textbook (material at his instructional level)
b. REAP strategy questions
c. Smart Notebook software
d. Computer

4. Procedures:
a. Danny will fill out the author and title section of the Smartboard
document before beginning.
b. Danny will orally read the social studies passage.
c. Danny will put the main purpose of the reading into his own words on
the Smartboard document.
d. Danny will actively read the passage on the Smartboard document and
highlight, underline, and circle important details.
e. Danny will ask any questions he has about the text and reflect on the
new knowledge with connections to previous learned knowledge and background
knowledge.

5. Evaluation:
Danny really enjoyed taking part in this lesson to build his attention to
detail while reading text. Using a passage from his social studies book, which is at his
current instructional reading level, was not too exciting, but he seemed to maintain
focus as we used the notebook document on my computer. Danny accurately stated the
purpose of the passage and the main idea without any difficulty. He did however,
struggle a bit with identifying key ideas throughout the passage in using the document
to mark up the text. He was having trouble solely picking out important information
from the text. After working with him on the importance of only underlining or circling
pieces that helped the reader to understand the purpose or learned information of the
text, he was able to accurately complete this component. In finishing the activity, I
believe that this strategy will greatly benefit Danny in reading text for school in his core
subjects, as he has most difficulty reading information text with comprehension.

C) Multi-Syllabic Word Fluency

1. Objectives: Danny will engage in spelling and reading multi-syllabic words
based on the Nifty Thrifty Fifty word activity using the SIP strategy.
a) Danny will be given a pre assessment of spelling multi-syllabic words
from the Nifty Thrifty Fifty assessment.
b) Danny will actively engage in spelling multi-syllabic words by breaking
them down into syllables.
c) Danny will read each words after spelling it, first in syllables, and then
as whole words, for repetition of learned syllables.
d) Danny will complete the same multi-syllabic spelling test this time as a
post test to see how well he improved after the lesson.

2. Common Core Standards:
a. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.10 By the end of the year, read and
comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, at the high end of the
grades 2-3 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

3. Materials:
a. Pre test
b. Post test
c. White Board
d. Nifty Thrifty Fifty word list

4. Procedure:
a. Danny will complete the pre assessment, and it will be graded to decide
which words need to be focused on.
b. Danny will be read each Nifty Thrifty Word and spell it syllable by
syllable on his white board.
c. After spelling each word accurately, Danny will read the word twice, the
first time reading it in syllables and the second time reading it as a whole word.
d. After completed the word list using the white board, Danny will
complete the post test and it will be graded for improvement.

Evaluation:
Danny did very well on this activity. He started out not so thrilled with the
pre test, however, after completing the test and realizing the lesson would simply consist
of spelling on a white board, he seemed much less stressed. He did very well when
breaking down the words, and with assistance was able to correctly spell and read each
word. In taking the post test, Danny proved that this lesson benefited his ability to spell
and identify multi-syllabic words at a higher accuracy rate. With the use of this strategy
and intervention periodically, I believe Danny could drastically increase his
identification and fluency of multi-syllabic words. As this skill is imperative to reading, I
suggested the activity to his parents and gave them the full list of Nifty Thrifty words,
and told them they could also just pull mult-syllabic words from his textbooks and ELA
novel.

D) Vocabulary:

1. Objectives: Danny will define and relate synonyms to new vocabulary words
using the Wordsplash strategy.
a) Danny will identify three vocabulary words from his current reading
ELA book that he does not know the definition of and clearly define them.
b) Danny will engage in creating a Wordsplash for each of the four words.
c) Danny will accurately describe how the words in his Wordsplash relate
to the new vocab word.

2. Common Core Standards:
a. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.6 Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and
tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.

3. Materials:
a. Computer
b. Bud, Not Buddy (ELA book)
c. Dictionary
d. Microsoft Word document

4. Procedure:
a. Danny will create a list of three words he does not know the definition of
from his Bud, Not Buddy book.
b. Danny will look up the definition of the words, and record it on his
Wordsplash document. (Microsoft Word)
b. Danny will create a Wordsplash on his document, identifying at least
three words that directly relate to the vocabulary word either for similar meaning or
parts of the definition.
c. Danny will write a sentence for each word that he added to the
Wordsplash and explain how it related to the main word.
d. Danny will complete three Wordsplash activities.
e. Danny will be asked to use each of his new three vocabulary words in a
sentence accurately without referring to his Wordsplash activities.

5. Evaluation:
Danny did very well with this activity, and it was a success in boosting his
vocabulary. He was able to use the three sentences accurately after creating his
Wordsplashes without looking. I even was able to ask Danny about the words again a
few days later when I stopped over, and he had not yet forgotten the words! He did have
trouble in his explanations of relation for a few of his words, but with assistance and the
dictionary, he was able to accurately complete them all. This is another activity in which
I felt if Danny continued, he could significantly boost his vocabulary over time. I
explained to his parents it simply required him to complete the Wordsplash strategy
with vocabulary words he did not know when reading, and he could do them on paper,
and hopefully they continue to use this strategy with him!

Diagnostic Conclusion:

Danny was a very interesting and fun case study for this project. I believe that not only
did I gain a significant amount of knowledge in literacy, assessment, diagnosis, and
teaching, but he also gained a significant amount of knowledge about himself and
literacy as well. Understanding his struggles with his ADHD, he was able to successfully
complete the strategies implemented to assist him with those struggles, and will be able
to add them to his comprehension, fluency, detail, and vocabulary toolboxes. This
process taught him how to better take control his deficits and gain strategies he can use
in the future to learn independently and take responsibility for his own learning when
having difficulty in multiple aspects. His struggles were not major, and with a bit of
continued work, I believe all of his literacy skills could be instructionally grade level.