3. Experiment: Setting Criteria for Success. I want M. To improve her reading skills through an increase in her vocabulary. I feel that if she increases her base vocabulary that reading speed as well as her understanding will improve. I sat down with M. At the beginning of the week and presented her with flash cards for all of this weeks vocabulary words. I have her time everyday to work on these with a partner in order to increase her chances of remembering them. Although she did not get all of them right on the test, she did make a huge improvement over previous weeks.
Reflection: It does seem that M's base vocabulary is slowly increasing. I see her reading at a little quicker pace and with more frequency. When I have her read a passage and them I ask her questions to test for comprehension, she is scoring on average about 60%. Although she still has a long way to go, this is a tremendous improvement over her earlier comprehension average of 20%.
4. Experiment: Semantic Mapping. It is generally accepted that students learn vocabulary more effectively when they are directly involved in constructing meaning rather than in memorizing definitions or synonyms. As a class we used semantic mapping with current vocabulary words. I had the children brainstorm a list of words that were familiar with the vocabulary words. There were only a couple of words that M. could contribute to. I then had the children group the words onto the board. I had M. help list the words on the board so that hopefully she could see how the words related to the each other.
Reflection: The class as a whole really enjoyed this activity. For the most part they enjoy doing work on the board. M was a little apprehensive at first, but as the activity went on she began to enjoy it. I noticed...
Experiment: Reinforce Decoding Skills. To become fluent readers, students must do two things- they must decode words and comprehend the text. In M's case I don't think that she is using good decoding skills which are greatly hampering her ability to comprehend what she reads. I began using Paired readings during class reading time. I would have a fluent reader read the passage first and then call on a student that was struggling in reading to read the same passage several times with the first student. When I would call on M. she would struggle through the passage on the first attempt, but would increase her accuracy with each subsequent reading.
Reflection: This strategy began to help M. learn how to use decoding skills by listening to her fellow classmates and seeing how they decoded words that they did not know. She has improved her decoding skills and thus her comprehension, although it does take her long time to do this.
Final Reflection
M has greatly improved her reading sills over the last several weeks. She is using good decoding strategies in order to help her figure out words that she doesn't know. She is improving her base vocabulary which is greatly increasing her comprehension. I see her becoming more confident in her abilities, which is doing wonders for her self-esteem. She is paying more attention in class and focusing more on the task at hand, rather than what is going on around her. I have had reports that from her other teachers as well that they are seeing improvements in her work as well. M's mother has reported that she has seen a definite improvement in her skills and attitude about learning.
