Jonathan

Jonathan is a friendly kid with many interests, and is an average student in math.  However, when it comes to reading, Jonathan is far below grade level.  There are many strategies that can be used to help Jonathan improve his reading, but the first thing I would do if the teacher has not done so already, is talk to his parents.  I really loved the idea from the Maples article of having parents write a letter about their child at the beginning of the school year, but simply meeting with the parents would be fine as well.  This would help the teacher to really get a feel for who Jonathan is, and the student he has been in past years.  Actually, meeting with them face to face would be great because the teacher could then take the opportunity to discuss with the parents how to best go about helping Jonathan.  If he has always struggled with reading, maybe they would be interested in looking into a reading specialist.  Maybe the parents never work on reading with Jonathan at home, and the teacher could recommend that they do and even show them some appropriate books to get started with.  It could possibly even be something as simple as Jonathan needing glasses. 

           

As far as helping Jonathan with his reading in the classroom, I would first work with Jonathan to see where he is at regarding his phonological awareness.  This could be done through a series of simple assessments.  There are also many different reading strategies that can help Jonathan develop his fluency.  Practicing various ways of reading, such as echo reading, simultaneous reading, repeated reading, and paired reading will provide Jonathan with multiple ways to practice reading in a way that will build his fluency, and as a result, his comprehension.  Another way to build reading skill is trough Reader’s Theater.  This is a fun reading activity that allows the whole class to be involved, and helps them to develop their expression when reading as part of fluency.

            Another thing about Jonathan is that he does not ask for help when he needs it, even after the teacher has made it clear that it’s important that he does.  After reading the Breitfelder article, I think that something that might help Jonathan in this area is a regular system for asking for help.  The reading talked about creating setting up daily schedules and routine patterns for centers so that the students come to know exactly what to expect and also what is expected of them.  Perhaps by putting some sort of system in place for asking questions or getting help, the students will develop this same sort of respect for the system as they do for class schedules.  This will make asking questions and getting help a normal part of every day in the classroom.  Another reason Jonathan may be hesitant to ask for help is because he feels that it singles him out and makes him feel incapable.  Having a system would also help remedy this problem because it would be in place for all students.  If Jonathan sees that other students are asking questions too, he may learn to not be quite so hesitant to do so himself.  The system does not have to be anything extravagant, as long as it’s regular and the students have a good understanding of how it works.  For example, it could be something as simple as having the students think of at least one question that they’d like to ask after a particular lesson and ask that question to a partner.  If the partner cannot answer the question, then it goes to the teacher.  If this is the case, it is likely that more than just that one student was confused about a particular concept in the first place.