Emily Hall 1

Early Literacy Assessment of CSS

Introduction to Case Study Student
I chose to perform my literacy assessments on CSS, my case study student. CSSs name will not
be disclosed for confidentiality purposes. CSS is a kindergarten student in CTs classroom. He is a wellloved and eager student, willing to focus and learn in class. He behaves well during instruction time, and
plays well with others during play time.
CSS is an ELL (English Language Learner). While he has made great strides, since coming to the
school at age 3 to work with the speech therapist, he is still behind grade level. After taking the PALs, his
scores were a passing score, but were greatly below the class average. He struggles with his letters and
sounds. He is able to retell stories and explain concepts orally, but is still progressing in written
language.
I had the opportunity to attend CSSs speech therapy class during Immersion Week. While in
speech class, his teacher focuses on language development. She works with prepositions and possession
words, as those are easily confused, and not often focused on in the classroom. She works with him
individually, which allows her to create specific lessons for each child. She will most likely continue to
work with CSS throughout the lower elementary grades, and possibly through all of elementary school.
CSS is considered an emergent reader. While he recognizes a handful of words, including his
name and a few sight words, he is unable to use reading strategies to decode words. Emergent readers
do have concept of word, and are able to recognize letters and patterns, which CSS is able to do. In
addition, CSS is able to retell stories, which is a characteristic of emergent readers. And through using
pictures in stories, CSS is able to predict events of the story.

Included Assessments:
1. Phonological Awareness Assessment
2. Writing
3. Retelling
4. Spelling **NOTE the spelling assessment is not included

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Section 1 Phonological Awareness Assessment

Alphabet Recognition
CSS at the time of assessment, recognized 22 out of 26 of his letters. Throughout the
assessment, he quickly identified the letters. He was unable to identity the uppercase letters {V,
J, I, Y}. He was unable to identify the lower case letters of {j, q, c, g). He could identify the
traditional lowercase {g}. He quickly and confidently answered the majority of the letters.
When he was unable to identify a letter, he looked up at me, and asked what the letter
was. He did not guess at any letters. As the year has progressed, I would like to perform this
assessment again.
According to his PALs scores, which were taken about one month later, he does know all
of his upper case letters and 24/26 lower case letters. CSS is an ELL student, and has time with
the speech specialist once a week. During this time, she reviews his letters. I would recommend
continuing with letter recognition until he is able to identify all 26 letters both lower and upper
case.
Letter Sound Identification
At the time of assessment, CSS was unable to complete this section. As we went through
this section, he stated only the letter name. As the semester has progressed, he is able to
identify more letter sounds. When he is asked orally what sound a letter makes, he is
sometimes able to identify the letter sound.
As the year has progressed, he is able to identify some letters and letter sounds. The
assessment was not completed a second time in the school year, but according to CSSs PALs
scores, he was able to identify 7/26 letter sounds, which is an improvement as compared to his
original scores for this test.
I would recommend his letter sounds being the focus of learning. So whether this be
spending time looking at letters via flashcards, and identifying the letter sounds, or pointing out
letters in books and everyday life and stating the letter sound. In order for CSS to learn how to
read, he must first learn his letter sounds.

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Rhyme Recognition
CSS did not know what rhyming was at the time of assessment. While students in the
classroom do read a poem with rhyming words each week, rhyming has not been formally
taught in the classroom yet. According to his PALs score, he received a 20% on this section. I
would recommend formally teaching CSS about rhyme. And using lots of stories which
incorporate rhyme.
Onset Fluency: Isolate the Initial Phoneme
CSS did not understand the concept behind this section either. Out of the 10 questions,
he answered four correctly. He was able to correctly identify {F, K, L, B}. According to his PALs
scores, he also struggled with this section. I would recommend when reviewing his letter
recognition, to also review the letter sound. So when looking a letter asking CSS to identify both
the letter and the sound.
Blending Compound Words & Syllables
CSS completed this section of the assessment and scored 7 out of 10 questions
correctly. He answered {pur-ple. tar-get, and wig-gle} incorrectly. I think he answered these
incorrectly because they sound odd when divided into syllables.
Segmenting Words into Compound Words & Syllables
CSS was able to identify 5 out of 10 compound word parts. He successfully identify
{foot/print, in/side, sun/light, cloud/y, book/mark). He was unable to correctly identify the
remaining parts. The teacher in his classroom focuses each morning on counting syllables and
chunking words during their morning meeting, specifically with a morning news sentence. I
would recommend continuing this practice of rehearsing syllables.
Identifying Final Sounds in Words
CSS correctly identified 2 out of 10 of the end word sounds. He was able to identify the
ending sounds with the letters {s, t}. Again, CSS needs to work on his letter sounds. Before CSS
can identify his ending letter sounds, he must first learn his letter sounds.

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Print Concepts
CSS was able to perform all of the tasks for print concepts. His CT has worked on
concept of word during reading group the entire year. He is able to identify his name, point to
words, and can point to the words of a sentence. For further instruction, I would encourage
continuing to look at books and continue the growth of concept of word.
Section 2 Retelling
For this assignment, I asked CSS to draw picture of something for me. He had played
Legos earlier that day so he chose to draw him playing Legos. His pictures were not just
scribbles and are beginning to look like images.
Afterwards, I asked him to write a sentence about his image, and he wrote random
letters at the top of his page. I asked him to read me the sentence, and he was unable to read
the sentence. But, I asked him to tell me a sentence about his picture, and he told me a
sentence which I dictated for him.
For further instruction, I would have him draw pictures, and write sentences about
pictures. I think having CSS think of his sentence, and then encouraging him to write each word
would be the most successful way to have CSS write sentences.
Story Element

Fox Makes Friends

What child said during assessment

Setting and
Characters

Once upon a time, in the

woods, lived a fox. He makes
friends with a squirrel and
rabbit.

C I dont know what characters are

T Characters are the people or animals
in the story
C Oh, well theres fox, and a rabbit,
and a squirrel, and oh! Mommy Fox
T Good (CSS), do you remember what
the setting of the story is?
C-
T the setting is where the story took
place.

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C in the woods! But animals cant

really talk, so the pretend woods.
Story Problem

Fox wants to make friends.

C - Fox wants to make friends, but you

cant make friends. Friends arent made
out of pumpkins.

Episode 1

Fox wants to make a friend. He

tries to make a friend out of
fruit.

C I dont remember what happened

first.
T What does Fox want to do?
C Fox tries to make a friend.

Episode 2

Rabbit sees Fox trying to make

a friend, he laughs a Fox and
says he needs to make a bigger
friend. Fox and Rabbit try to
make a bigger friend.

T What happens next?

Squirrel sees Fox and Rabbit

trying to make a new friend.
Squirrel thinks they look silly,
and says they must make an
even bigger friend. Together all
three try to make an even
bigger new friend.

T Do you know what happens next?

Resolution

The Momma Fox sees Fox,

Rabbit and Squirrel in the
woods sitting on the bench
because they are sad. When
they explain theyre sad
because they cant make
friends, she laughs and says,
you all already made friends
with each other!

C And then, and then, Rabbit, Squirrel,

and Fox are sad, cause none of their
friends are real, but the mommy says
they are all friends already, cause you
cant make friends, you have to be
friends with each other.

Reaction of
Characters

Friends live together and play

happily ever after.

And then they all play together forever.

Episode 3

C Fox tries to make a friend with

Rabbit helping. They try to make a friend
out of PUMPKINS!

C Squirrel laughs at Fox and Rabbit

he goes hahahaha. And then, he helps
them try to make a friend. But this time
they use a pumpkin so its REALLY big!
Like as big as the ceiling in here. But, the
friend still doesnt talk to them.

Rubric for Scoring Individual Story Elements

Complete/ detailed: 3
Setting and Characters

Partial: 2

Fragmentary: 1
Score: 3

Inaccurate: 0

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Story Problem

Score: 3

Sequence of major events

Score: 2.33 (average of 3)

Resolution

Score: 3

Reaction of Characters at ending

Score: 3
Total Score: 14

13-15 Strong Retelling 9-12 Developing Retelling 5-8 Early

0-4 very little story language

THIS RETELLING WAS COMPLETED WITH SOME ASSISTANCE

Reflection of score.
Setting and Characters
CSS did not know what a character was. When asked to tell the characters of the story, he
seemed to be confused. But, when the word character was explained to CSS, he was able to
successfully describe each character. Because he was able to explain all characters, he received
full points for this section of the assessment.
Story Problem
CSS caught onto the story problem in the first reading of the story. While reading the
beginning of the story, he was able to explain very quickly and easily that fox cant make
friends, he needs to go meet people and be nice to them. When asked to explain the problem,
he was able to quickly explain the problem of the story. The student can receive up to three
points for this section, and CSS was received three points, as his description of the problem of
the story was complete, detailed, and exceeded expectations. Because CSS was able to so
quickly identify the problem, it can be inferred that CSS will be able to comprehend stories on

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higher reading levels. If CSS can easily find the problem in this story, at higher reading levels he
will still be able to find the problem.
Sequence of Major Events
This is the section CSS struggled the most with. He was not able to explain the first
event. Even with some teacher prompting, CSS was unable to explain the first event of the
story. When given major prompting such as, what does fox try to do first? What character
does fox meet first? CSS was able to provide a very fragmented answer. Because this was a
non-detailed and short response, CSS received only one, out of a possible, three points for this
section.
CSS remembered event two of the story and was able to explain this section in much
more detail. CSS retold Fox becoming friends with a rabbit and their attempt to make a friend
out of a pumpkin. It was interesting that CSS remembered Fox and Rabbit making a friend out
of a pumpkin, as the text did not mention pumpkins, this was only seen in the pictures. CSS
received 3 out of 3 points for event two of the story. It was interesting that CSS remembered
details from the pictures more vividly than information from the text. Perhaps CSS is a visual
learner, and seeing specific details is helpful to his memory.
CSS also remembered event three of the story. The first sentence of episode 3 is squirrel
laughing at Fox and Rabbit. CSS thought this was the funniest part of the story. He was also able
to retell how the friends made an even bigger friend, still out of vegetables. Again, CSS used the
pictures he remembered seeing to assist in the retelling of the story. He explained the third
friend made to be as big as the ceiling. While the story never mentioned the size of the third
friend, the pictures showed a big friend towering over the three creatures. Again, it was
interesting to see how CSS used the pictures to explain the retelling of the story. CSS received 3
out of 3 points for this section of the assessment.
Because the events only count as one section of the entire retelling assignment, an
average was taken and CSS received at 2.33 out of a possible 3 points. CSS was able to retell
most parts of the story, especially using the pictures. For further instruction, it is recommended

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that he is read more challenging stories, still with many pictures, as pictures is what helps him
retell and remember the story.
Resolution
Just as CSS was able to pick up on the problem of the story, he was able to clearly define
the resolution. This is a very straight forward and obvious fable, so CSS was able to predict the
resolution in the beginning of the story. He received 3 out of 3 points for this section.
Reactions of the Characters
CSS was able to explain how the characters were friends forever at the end of the story.
When asked how the characters felt, he said happy because they have friends to play with! I
like playing with my friends, so that would make me happy. CSS received 3 out 3 points for this
section.
Total Score
CSS received a 14 out of 15 score (rounded down). He accurately retold the majority of
the story with minimal assistance from the teacher. He received help from the teacher only
when defining what a character and setting are, and in explaining episode one. A score of 14
out of 15 points places CSS in the strong retelling category. According to the rubric this is a
strong retelling, but because he struggled so much with explaining episode 1, he is also in the
developing retelling category, because explaining and sequencing events is also very important
to retelling a story.
Ideas for further instruction:
CSS is not able to read, but is able to retell. For further instruction and assessment, it
would be interesting to see if CSS can comprehend and retell a higher level story. It is
recommended that this same activity would be conducted with CSS, but reading a higher level
of story using more complex vocabulary and a more difficult series of events. To continue
instructing CSS in reading, it is recommended to use very short stories with sight words and
man pictures.

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Section 4
I chose not to complete the spelling assessment with CSS. After reviewing his PALs scores, a
conversation with the CT, and observing CSS in class, I decided giving CSS the spelling
assessment would not be productive and would be frustrating for CSS. While CSS does know his
letters, he does not know yet how to use his letters. I would recommend waiting until CSS
knows his letters and letter sounds, and then giving him the spelling assessment. While spelling
is an important literacy skill, you cant spell unless you know your letter sounds. So, before
teaching spelling, I would recommend continuing to teach letters and sounds.

Ideas for further instruction:

Emergent Reader Diet
Instructional Activities

Percent of Time

Goal
Concept of

Currently in the classroom, students focus on

The recommended time is 20% of

Word

COW as a whole group during morning

literacy block, but I would

instruction. Because CSS already had COW, I

recommend for CSS only spending

would recommend continuing this practice, but

10% of time on COW.

not focusing on it explicitly in individual

instruction time.
Concept of

CSS loves read aloud stories. He excels at

The recommended time is 20% of

Print

retelling. I would recommend reading CSS more

literacy block, and I would

challenging stories, and encouraging him to

recommend continuing this 20%

retell the stories. I think stories which talk

of time.

about letters and letter sounds could also be

incorporated into his read aloud stories.

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Alphabet

As previously mentioned, CSS knows his letters,

While the literacy diet

but he does not know his letter sounds. He uses

recommends 20% of literacy block

and abuses his letters, which is the first step

time being spent on this section, I

when learning how to read, but he has to learn

would recommend at least 30% of

his letter sounds, in order to start reading. I

time being spent in this section.

think the best way to learn this is through

repetition.
Phonological Currently CT does phonological awareness

The literacy diet recommends 20%

Awareness

during morning meeting. They read a class

of time being spent on this

poem and count syllables in different words. I

section, and I agree with that

would recommend continuing this practice, and

recommendation for CSS.

adding more phonological awareness in other

sections. For example, using poems to teach
math concepts would also add more
phonological awareness to the day, and
continue to teach rhyming words.
Writing

CSS loves to draw and use pretend writing.

It is recommended to use 20% of

While formal instruction time is spent on this,

literary block time for this, which I

CSS also loves to play at the literacy center

think is a successful amount of

during free choice play. I would recommend

time for this section. But, I think

continuing this type of play, and encouraging

its good for CSS to continue

CSS to use more pretend writing, as he does

building his writing skills during

use real letters in his pretend writing.

the literacy station.