Chapter
10 – School Parent Tutor Report/Case
Studies
Case Study 1: Blakehurst Primary
School (Page: 2)
Implementation
of programs for low progress readers
in Yr 4 - A case study
Frequency of reading for low
progress readers:
A group of low progress readers in
Year 4 was particularly targeted for
frequent reading with tutors throughout
a week. This group had been given
great input over the years but needed
to have their reading well supported
in order to achieve. One child had
been to intensive reading classes
and had made progress but was becoming
very self-conscious about being focused
on individually. Reading in groups
with a tutor suited this particular
child well at this stage.
In
addition to completing novel study
or Rainbow Readers in groups,
the targeted children:
-
Worked
on comprehension skills with a tutor;
-
Carried
out a reading homework program with
a tutor for part of the year;
-
Read
a lexiled text of their choice independently
to a tutor two afternoons per week.
In
all, this group was receiving eight
to ten small group or individual sessions
per week.
At
other times throughout the week, low
progress students worked in the classroom
without a tutor. This still meant
group work as they were assisted and
closely monitored by the teacher.
However, it is also important to offer
low progress children to complete
whatever sections of class work that
they can, developing independence
where possible.
The
class was also grouped in research
sessions in the library, with the
librarian taking a group made up of
independent students and the teacher
taking a group of low progress students
and average readers.
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Homework program:
A program entitled Chinchen
was used as a homework program with
a group of low progress readers in
Year 4. The aim of Chinchen
was to develop fluency, accuracy and
comprehension. The same passage was
read at home daily for a week. A different
set of questions was used each day.
The program was set up each Monday
by an experienced tutor. The children
completed the first activity with
the tutor also. The child's parents
then became the tutor as he/she worked
with the student at home. Detailed
instructions for the program were
sent home to parents and direct contact
was made as appropriate.
Class
based comprehension:
Well-trained, experienced tutors were
able to work with the targeted group
on comprehension passages at their
level. The tutor:
-
Asked
the children to interpret any obvious
information on the page before reading
to gain field knowledge- title,
picture, map etc
-
Listened
to the children read the passage;
-
Discussed
the passage with the children;
-
Children
read each question, predicted the
answer, found evidence to prove
their answer, and wrote their answer.
This
procedure helped the children gain
confidence in their ability to read
and interpret a passage. Over time
they worked towards independence.
The main benefits of working with
a tutor in comprehension passages
is that the children have support
and can work at their own pace, rather
than feel pushed along by more competent
readers yet they are still completing
a class program rather than a differentiated
program. It is important that low
progress readers successfully complete
mainstream where possible as they
see this as a huge achievement and
it builds their self esteem.
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Reading
results over 6, 7 & 10 month periods
as measured on standardised tests
GRT-2 & STAR.
General:
The reading results for the average
and low progress readers of the targeted
class are presented in Table 10.4.
1.
Please note when reading the table
and related information that average
and highly competent readers received
the same number of reading sessions
as the low progress readers but worked
more independently.
Testing
of students in the targeted Yr 4 class:
The students in this class were tested
more regularly than students in other
classes because:
-
We
wanted to monitor their progress
using a variety of standardised
tests to ensure that were able to
make accurate generalisations;
-
We
wanted to trial the standardised
group tests which we had purchased.
Why are there only 14 students whose
results have been recorded?
-
Four students reached the ceiling
of the appropriate level of the
GRT-2 on first testing. That
is, they recorded a reading age
of 11+. Those students also performed
in the highest stanine in the STAR
test. We could have tested them
further, but there was really no
point at that stage as we already
knew that they were independent
readers reading at a very high level
for their age and that they would
need extension work.
-
One
child was Phase 1 ESL.
The
remainder of the class was very mobile.
That is, eight children either arrived
or left mid year so although they participated
in the project for part of the year,
we do not have a full set of test results
for them. Growth has nevertheless been
recorded for those children who arrived
part way through the project and participated
for 6 months.
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Clarification
of terms:
Level
Of Reading |
Reading
age relative to chronological
age |
Extension
reader |
Reading
age 12-36 months above chronological
age |
Above
average reader |
Reading
age 7-12 months above chronological
age |
Average
reader |
Reading
age 6 months above and 6 months
below chronological age. |
Low
average reader |
Reading
age 7-12 months below chronological
age |
Low
progress reader |
Reading
age 12-36months below chronological
age |
Who is included in the table?
Student A is an above
average student with a reading
age 10 months above his chronological
age. Students B, C, D, E, F
are average or slightly
below average readers.
Students G, H, I, J, K, L,
M, N are low progress
readers.
To
view Table 10.4.1, click
here.
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Summary
of results:
Improvement in reading ages
over 6 months.
Improvement over the whole group:
13 months
Improvement in average and above average
students: 13.5 months
Improvement in low progress readers:
12.5 months
Increase in stanines over 7
months
Improvement for the whole group :
an average of 1 stanine increase
Improvement for average and above
average group: five out of six children's
reading grew by one stanine. One child
did not improve a stanine level.
Improvement for low progress readers:-
-
one child improved by 3 stanines
- two children improved by 2 stanines
-
four children improved by 1 stanine
- one child did not improve by a
whole stanine
Improvement
in reading ages over 10 months
Improvement over the whole group: 17
months
Improvement for average and above average
group: 20 months
Improvement for low progress readers:
14 months
Children's attitudes to reading throughout
the classes participating in the project:
Surveys, observation and anecdotal
evidence (mainly from parents) indicate
that children are more confident and
more positive towards reading taking
more pleasure in it as a leisure form.
Library borrowing has improved. Low
progress readers are becoming interested
in specific authors and series. Some
of the commonly popular series are
Captain Underpants, Goosebumps, Paul
Jennings books and the Too cool series.
We
believe that the improvement in their
ability to read enables low progress
readers to gain pleasure in independent
reading, probably for the first time.
However, providing a wide variety
of appropriately levelled material
for them to choose from certainly
inspires interest in independent reading.
Scholastic Lexile Framework
has made an impact on our low progress
readers. The challenge for us will
be to ensure that we seek ways of
continuing to provide adequate material
at appropriate levels for these children.
The middle ranges of material are
often the easiest to find in volume.
Most
children say that they prefer independent
reading but prefer small group lessons
to whole class lessons.
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Attitudes
of tutors involved in the Project:
Through surveys and through talking
directly with tutors we have found
that tutors are delighted with the
gains that they see the children make.
it is the sense of satisfaction that
they see from watching the children
improve that keeps them coming. We
have an increasing number of tutors
who are willing to do extra shifts
on another child's class to help low
progress readers. This is an indication
that tutoring is indeed becoming part
of the culture of the school.
New resources purchased for the Volunteer
Tutor Program:
We had a considerable number of novel
packs and the series Early Connections
before we began our formal project.
However, as we investigated new resources
we purchased additional resources
for low progress readers.
These
included:
-
Rainbow
Readers and accompanying support
material
-
Tristars
B and C
-
Scholastic
Lexile Framework
-
STAR
standardised reading test
-
GRT-2
standardised reading test
We
are still in the process of searching
for the best available material for
our low progress readers. It is often
necessary to provide parallel series
of levelled materials so that they
gain additional reading practise on
a level rather than trying to push
them too far ahead before they are
really ready.
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General
Comments:
We are very proud of the reading achievements
of our school community to date.
Blakehurst
staff has worked extremely hard to
provide the highest quality reading
programs for our children. For reading
groups to be effective, teachers need
to ensure that materials are available
and well organised. They need to train
students in routines so that they
can manage their groups without a
tutor if necessary. They need to liaise
with parents constantly. It is not
the easiest option but we believe
that it is the most effective. Teachers
become dedicated to the program as
they witness the positive attitudes
and improvements in reading generated
by volunteer tutor reading groups.
The
STLD programs have been integral to
the success of our low progress readers.
The STLD has established strong programs
for children who are really struggling
with reading. She has taken considerable
time to train and liaise with tutors
so that low progress readers can have
instruction four days per week instead
of the two days that she is actually
in the school. Increasing the number
of learning sessions a student has
is made possible by the volunteer
tutor program.
Volunteer
tutors are doing a magnificent job
with our children. They are dedicated
and enthusiastic. They are sufficiently
confident and experienced now to provide
feedback to teachers on individual
and group successes and difficulties.
They have become an integral part
of our literacy team.
Our
children expect to read frequently
and are enjoying the experience as
well as their success. Their results
speak for themselves. Low progress
readers often don't manage to develop
12 months reading age over a 12 month
period. Our targeted group of low
progress readers improved an average
of 14 months over a 10 month period.
We are delighted!
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