Kim

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(4/21/11) Zach and I are almost done with the book that we are reading. His comprehension has improved and he seems to like a lot of the activities that we have been working on since Natalie and I met. She gave me a lot of helpful ideas about comprehension. Both Zach's parents and I have noticed an improvement with Zach's comprehension and grades in school since we started tutoring. :) Hi, Kim, I look forward to working with you this Thursday 24th. I'll meet you at 6:00 in the library!! Your documented information helps. Comprehension is one of the essential components for reading, yet is challenging, and multifaceted. I will go over some strategies with you. :)

(3/3/11) Today we read 3 more chapters in the same book. We continued to read in the book. We also did the retell activity instead of the running record since we had done 2 last semester. I asked Zach to retell me what was happening the book so far with out looking at his comic book that he has been making. He was able to point out the important details but was confused on some of the smaller ones. After doing this activity I noticed that he still needs to spend a lot of time building his comprehension strengths.

Hi, Kim, I look forward to working with you this Thursday. I'll meet you at the l (2/24/11) Zach's mother wanted to work on his reading homework again for class. For half the session we worked on his homework, and for the other half we continued our how to eat fried worms activity. He still seems to enjoy reading it. (2/17/11) Zach and I picked out a new book to read from the borg center. He chose How to eat Fried Worms. For this book I decided that for each chapter he would create 1 or 2 comic book pictures that represent what he read. He really enjoys drawing and so far seems to like this activity.

(2/10/11) The first week of tutoring went well. For the first part of tutoring his mom wanted to me to spend some time working on his reading homework. We went through the packet that he had to complete. He did very well with his homework, and this was also very helpful for me. I was able to see some areas of his homework that we need to spend sometime working on. This week we are going to start a new chapter book and work on it for the next few weeks.

(12/7/10) Today we completed the miscue analysis. Zach scored close to what he scored on the last one. He had an accuracy rate of 95%. This shows that his book is easy enough for independent reading. Also his self-correction rate was 1:3 which shows that he is self-monitoring his reading. After the analysis we played a jeopardy game I created on PowerPoint. The game was a final assessment for //The Magic Tree House: Afternoon in the Amazon//. I asked him a series of 12 questions, only one of which he had difficulty answering. We then continued to read the same book we started last week, however, I noticed that Zach was struggling with this book a lot. I believe that it was above his reading level. For the next session I plan to find a book that is more at Zach's current comprehension and reading level. (11/30/10) Today Zach and I played a couple of comprehension games on my computer then we started a new book. For the entire time we read this book we are going to summarize it through a comic book. Zach really enjoys drawing so by giving him an opportunity to draw he will find the tutoring session more fun. For the following session we will complete the second running record then play a jeopardy game he asked me to create for //The Magic Tree House// book we recently finished. After this we will continue with the new book we started. (11/16/10) Today Zach and I finished reading //The Magic Tree House: Afternoon in the Amazon//. We continued to focus on summarizing what we read. We went into one of the tiny teaching rooms downstairs and started out by reviewing what we had read the week before. Then using the chalkboard we completed three herringbone organizers based on the last chapters. After we discussed the book. What he liked, what he didn't like. This brought us to the end of the lesson. The next session we will continue to work on comprehension, but we will be starting a new book.

(11/9/10) Today Zach and I continued doing our lesson with //The Magic Tree House: Afternoon in the Amazon//. We focused mainly on summarizing as we read. I had him fill out a prediction worksheet in order to guess what may happen in the story. After that I had him complete a herringbone graphic organizer. We completed the first one together on the white board. After that he did the rest on his own with me prompting him on only which step came next. We read a total of three chapters today, and I was the one that read them aloud. I did this to see if having me read aloud improved his comprehension abilities. I did not notice a significant difference, I did notice that he seemed to loose interest in the chapters fast when I read. I think for the next session I will switch off reading with Zach.

(11/2/10)Today we started of by doing the running record with Zach. I chose a chapter from //The Magic Tree House: Afternoon in the Amazon//. I had him read the passage aloud as I went through and marked his miscues. As I expected he had very few miscues. His total errors was 12, 7 of which he self corrected. His accuracy rate was 96.9%. His error rate was 1:32. His self correction rate was 1:3. After the miscue was finished we continued reading. For the chapters we read I had Zach fill out a story map which included the title, setting, characters, and a problem. He then had to include five details from the story as well as a solution to the problem. He struggled remembering some details from the story. From now on we will read in smaller chunks and write down details. I will also try reading to him and having him write down events that he thinks are important. (10/26/10) The first session of tutoring went really well. I could tell that Zach was very apprehensive about starting tutoring. He was shy when I first introduced myself to him and his mother. His mother told me that he was nervous to be there. After the introductions, his Mother discussed with me the areas that she believes he has the most needs in is comprehension. He often struggles recalling details from passages he has just read. She also mentioned that his fluency was very good. After talking with his mother Zach and I went upstairs and began our tutoring session. I started with small talk. Asking him how his day was, and what his plans for Halloween were. He told me a little bit about school and that he was excited for Halloween. After this, we began our tutoring session with interest inventories. The first one that I did was the "News About Me". From this survey I found out that he enjoys math, but struggles and dislike English and Reading. He also enjoys football and WWE book. Both of which I plan to incorporate into future tutoring sessions. He also mentioned that he enjoyed the //Magic Tree House// series. At the end of the session I had Zach read aloud some of the //Magic Tree House// book that I had. He read the first three chapters. His fluency seems to be very good. After I asked him to draw a picture about something that happened in the story. The only part that he drew was of the Tree House itself. I asked him to tell me where the tree house traveled to, and it took him a long time to remember where the story takes place. In our future sessions, I plan on reading the rest of the book, and practice different comprehension strategies.

Hi Kim,

I'm delighted that you now have a student. :) Comprehension is the core area necessary in order to actually "read." This will be a great opportunity for both you and Zach. A couple of suggestions I have for you is to break up the discussion of what was read throughout the reading. In other words don't wait until the end of the text to discuss what is occurring in the story. Additionally, take time to do the same but while reading to him. Also, though fluency is important, it shouldn't come at the cost of comprehension. When conducting the running record with him, it sounds as if the retelling will provide further evidence that though he is able to read the words, he needs help in making meaning of the text. I look forward to reading about the strategies you employ to help facilitate his comprehension.

Thanks! Natalie