Reading Intervention Plan- Jennifer Mitchell

Informal Reading Inventory Results

Student: 6th grade female (special education student)

Grade Level Results:
Independent: 2-2.5
Instructional: 2.5-3
Frustration: 3-3.5
The test:

The informal reading inventory is an individually administered informal literacy assessment. This test
assesses reading competency in the areas of prior knowledge/prediction, word recognition, fluency, and
comprehension. This assessment enables teachers to make instructional decisions that are aligned with
the state standards and deeply connected to the students’ achievement and learning needs.

Findings:

 Prior Knowledge and Predictions

o Student’s predictions were relevant to each passage and to her life experiences.
 Word recognition
o Student read three word lists each with excellence. On the third grade level, she began
to struggle. On the third grade passage, she frustrated out in the area of word
recognition. This means she had over 15 miscues when reading the passage aloud (she
had 22 in total.) It was on this passage that she also began to use finger pointing to track
words. She had trouble decoding, as compared to answering comprehension
questions. She does self-correct, however, when the text grew longer and more complex,
her capacity for self-correcting decreased. In the last two passages, she didn’t recognize
that her miscues hindered her understanding of what she was reading.
 Fluency
o Student read aloud with an even tone, using a monotonous voice. From the 3rd grade
passage on, she used finger pointing to track the text. Sometimes she read word by word
without phrasing or intonation that would have enhanced the meaning. At times, she
 ignored punctuation and read from one sentence to the next and exclamation points were
not read with expression.
 Retelling and Summary Statement
o Student had a unique method for retelling what she has read. She retold about the
passages by mimicking the author’s style, even seeming to memorize lines from the
story. Memorization came through as strength. This quick memorization was most
noticeable in the lower texts. As complexity increased, she struggled to remember the
language of the story. This type of retelling did not include interpretation and
paraphrasing; she did not use her own words to describe what she has read.
 Comprehension Question Responses
o Responding to comprehension questions was the student’s strength. She adequately
answered questions that are considered “from head to text” type of questions. She had
some errors when responding to “from the text” question types about specific details. I
noticed with these questions she would respond by using her own life experience instead
of relying on evidence from the story. Sometimes she explained her own life experiences
and what she knew about the topic instead of what actually happened in the text.\
o For each passage she read (up to grade level 5), she struggled with “putting it together”
questions types. “Putting it together” questions ask the reader to combine two or more
explicitly stated facts from the text that may be different parts of the text, but are
connected. At times, this information has to be deduced by the reader, and represents
higher level thinking.
 Emotional Status
o The student became fatigued after working on 3 passages each day (testing took two
days). This is typical for any student. When working on level 3, she said:

“See, I don’t really get it that much. Sorta the beginning, but the end not that
much…..I wish I had a mind reader, just for reading.”

She was aware that the 3rd grade reading was more difficult for her, particularly the task
of making meaning while decoding. She was also not interested in learning the results of
the assessment.
Suggestions for Home:

1. Student will enhance her fluency by reading for 30 minutes, 5 days a week out loud with a
parent. She can read silently on her own in addition to this practice. The text should be at her
independent level and she should select books, both fiction and non-fiction, that are interesting to
her. Some suggested authors are: Avi, Judy Bloom, Matt Christopher, Roald Dahl, Lois Lowry,
Jon Scieszka, and Sid Fleischman.

2. When she read aloud, she should practice the following:

 Reading aloud using different voices, particularly when reading dialogue.
 Phrasing by putting together words, sometimes 3-5 at a time that are connected by
meaning.
 Asking the 5 W questions and 1 H, using post-its in her reading. She should question
during the reading and respond in the post-its during and after reading.
 Thinking aloud to summarize story events in her own words.
3. Student can practice asking herself questions to monitor her comprehension. These are
different questions from the 5W’s and 1H. She can begin to ask herself questions such as “Did I
understand what I just read? How do I know?” Other questions she can ask for self-monitoring
include, “Does that word make sense in the sentence? What strategy can I use to break the word
down?”
4. When the student encounters a multisyllabic word (2+ syllables), she should practice
breaking down the word using phonics and chunking syllables together. I encourage her to look
for small words within the bigger words as clues to pronunciation. A phonics work book will
support her decoding.
5. Student would benefit from listening to audio books and following along with the text in
front of her. These books can be on the instructional level. This will help her to hear fluent
readers who demonstrate expression and intonation. This should also help her connect
enjoyment with literacy.
 6. Vocabulary work will support her fluency. Increased exposure to conceptual words, and the
ability to relate/connect words to the concept, will build her word knowledge and her ability to
recognize higher level terms.

READING INTERVENTION PLAN

Goal #1- To increase word recognition

Goal #1-To increase reading fluency
Goal #3-To develop summary statement skills
Goal #4-To increase reading comprehension
Goal #5-To increase stamina and enthusiasm for reading

Goal #1

In order to address goal #1 of increasing word recognition, the teacher will give explicit
instruction of “word families” or orthographic neighbors. (Foorman, pg. 349) Orthographic neighbors
are words that look and sound similar such as could/would. This will allow her to make analogical
connections of unfamiliar words to word that are familiar. The teacher will also give explicit instruction
on spelling/sound patterns. Due to the complex format of the English language there can be plenty of
confusion if she sees the words “peak” and “steak”. The look similar but are pronounced
differently. These words are considered exception words and should also be taught explicitly. Student
should be able to identify and point out orthographic neighbors and exception words in order to reach
full effectiveness. By doing this you develop her “phonic regularity” (Mesmer, pg. 63) Phonic regularity
refers to” letter/sound patterns that are structurally simple, follow common letter=sound associations,
and recur in many different words” (pg. 63) By addressing this, decoding text will become much easier
for her.

Goal #2
In order to increase her reading fluency, the student should participate in choral reading. Choral
reading is when the class reads in unison and is mimicking the teacher who is modeling the correct way
to read aloud. The student will observe the correct reading pace and will notice where and when the
teacher voice inflects. She will then read aloud with the teacher and possibly other students. (Archer,
Gleason) Using this method will help to increase the students fluency through practice; it will also
reduce the monotonous tone used while reading aloud. However, you must consider the level of text in
which you practice choral reading. It should be at the student’s independent reading level and should be
short and predictable. This will limit frustration and errors. Another similar strategy that should be
used is repetitive reading (Homan). This is when the student rereads passages after they are completed
whether silently or aloud. They can reread a passage up to 4 times. Although both of these strategies
typically result in improved student performance, they are both time consuming. One less time
consuming method is to add more words to their sight words tool box; you can do this by creating a
word wall in your classroom.

Goal #3

To develop the student’s summarization skills, you must give explicit instruction on what should
be included in a summary. One strategy that should be taught is “determining importance”.
(Rudenstine) To determine importance means that you are deciphering between essential and non-
essential details. This should be modeled explicitly for the student and there should be plenty of
opportunities for practice and application. Additionally, the student should be directed to specific clues
to important detail such as repeated references (Friend).

Goal #4

All of these strategies will assist in reading comprehension. However, there are strategies that
are focused directly on comprehension. There are several strategies that can be used. The student does
well with connections and predictions, so the focus should be on other active reading skills. The student
should receive direct instruction on how to make inferences. One helpful strategy is to include think-
alouds in your instruction (Beers). When you do this make sure that you are verbalizing the inferences
that you are making as you read. You also need to direct the student to the pronouns that are present in
the text. She needs to be able to infer who the “he” or “she” is referring to in the text. Another strategy
that is useful for making inferences is using a graphic organizer that looks like this:

It Says… I Know (or Say)… So…

Example: Example: Example:
Mary was hunched over, That people often hold their Mary’s stomach hurts.
holding her stomach. stomachs when it hurts.

Another reading comprehension strategy that should be taught to the student is vocabulary
development. The student should receive instruction on root and base words. One way to help with this
is the use of “vocabulary trees” (Beers). When you use a vocabulary tree, you put the “root” word at the
root of the tree and then you fill the branches with words that contain the root word. You add the
definition along the branch and a sample sentence. This helps students to visualize the connections
between words sharing common roots.

Visualization is another strategy that will help the student improve her reading comprehension
(Onofrey, Theurer). The student should stop periodically and either write or draw the mental images that
occur while reading. This also does not need to be limited only to paper and pencil images. The student
can create models from materials such as clay or construction paper. Unfortunately, visualization can be
difficult to apply to all types of texts.

Many reading comprehension strategies focus on narrative text, but it the sixth grade the focus
begins to shift more toward expository writing. Expository texts require a different set of strategies more
aligned to what is being asked of the student. The student should be instructed to use the text to gain
understanding. This includes scanning the text for headings, subheadings, illustrations, and
captions. All of these text features will assist the student in understanding what the text is about. The
student should also receive explicit instruction on “author’s purpose”. This means that the student is
able to identify what the purpose of the text is. This can be a general as using the PIE strategy (persuade,
inform, entertain). Once this is determined the student can evaluate: What is the author trying to
convince me about? What is the author trying to teach me? What is the theme of the story? This will
also give the student a purpose for reading.

Goal #5

The student became fatigued after doing only a few passages. Because of this there needs
to be strategies implemented to increase student stamina. This is critical because during the state test, the
student is required to reading several lengthy passages in one session and the respond to what they have
read. One important factor is by practicing longer reading sessions with books that match the student’s
interests (Claggett). You can do this by administering a reading interest inventory. The student should
select a book that has the story started up in the first few pages in order to hook the student. The book
should also be at the student’s independent reading level, so that there is no difficulty that results in
discouragement.

In addition to this, the student should be provided with SSR (sustained silent reading) time in
your class. This should be structured and routine. The student should interact with the text by using the
above proposed reading strategies. There should also be an area to read that is comfortable and free of
distractions; this will result in longer reading sessions than if simply seated at the student’s desk. This
might be difficult to implement since space is often an issue in urban schools.

There should also be some sort of log which records how many books the student finishes. You
can even offer extrinsic rewards when a student finishes a new book. This can be a small prize, like a
bookmark. There should also be whole-class discussion on the independent reading books because
students with similar interests can expose possible new books for the student to read.

The second part of goal #5 is to increase the student’s enthusiasm for reading. Implementing the
above strategies will definitely improve the student’s passion for reading. The more successful a student
is at being a reader, the more likely they are to read. You can use these strategies in any classroom
setting to build motivation.

Tips to Increase Student Motivation (Brewster):

 Use rewards sparingly, make when they are used that they are aligned with the task
(like the bookmark).
 Make your classroom welcoming and supportive; embrace all questions
  Break large tasks into smaller, more manageable tasks.
 Set clear expectations
 Grade work quickly and consistently
 Make sure students understand the purpose of the assignment

Conclusion
These strategies should be evaluated for how applicable they are to the day’s lesson. Not all strategies
can be used in all lessons. The student needs to also be aware of what they are being taught, why they
are being taught it, when to use it, and how to use it. While still in the learning stage, they student
should be reminded of the strategies that she can employ; they should be referred to often throughout the
year. The student should have visual references such as posters or charts that they can continually refer
to independently. In order to evaluate for effectiveness of strategies being used, they student should be
re-evaluated in three months. In order to show implementation of intervention plan, the teacher should
document when and how the student was taught the strategy and the results of such instruction. Lastly,
you should identify which strategy can be used for the lesson, before you teach it.
References

Archer, A. L., Gleason, M. M., & Vachon, V. L. (2003). Decoding and fluency: Foundation

skills for struggling older readers. Learning Disability Quarterly, 26(2), 89-101.
doi:10.2307/1593592

Beers, K. (2003). When Kids Can't Read: What Teachers Can Do. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Brewster, C., & Fager, J. (2000, October). Increasing Student Engagement and Motivation. From
Time on Task to Homework. Retrieved August 21, 2011,
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tdm-model-hyperlinke_files/motivationforstudents_13.pdf

Claggett, A., Miller, B., Drobney, M., Blanchard, K., Johnson, P., & Vansickle, L.
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http://www.wmich.edu/gearup/actionresearch/ar-sms-english-dept.pdf

Foorman, B. (1989). Visual and Phonological Processing of Words: A Comparison of Good and

Poor Readers. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 22(6), Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Friend, R. (2000). Teaching summarization as a content area reading strategy. Journal of

Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 44(4), 320. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Homan, S. (1993). Effects of Repeated Readings and Nonrepetitive Strategies on Students'

Fluency and Comprehension. Journal of Educational Research, 87(2), 94. Retrieved from
EBSCOhost.

Mesmer, H. (2005). Text Decodability And The First-grade Reader. Reading & Writing

Quarterly, 21(1), 61-86. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Onofrey, K. (2007). What's a teacher to do: Suggestions for comprehension strategy instruction.

Reading Teacher, 60(7), 681-684. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Rudenstine, A. (n.d.). A Professiona Learning Path to Rigorous and Relevant Instructions. New
York, NY: NYC Department of Education. Retrieved August 21, 2011, from
http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/4250C3B3-DCCB-4FF0-A363-
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