We began todays session practicing the first 100 high frequency words with Jayne’s practice word ring. Next, we continued to practice the high frequency words with the program Electronic SuperSpeed 1000. This program places the words in order of frequency; and projects them at rapid fire so that students can work on automaticity. We drilled with the first 100. This was a fun and engaging way to practice sight words on automatic recall.
We did a benchmark assessment for oral fluency. This is a cold read of a text for one minute, and a count of WCPM (words correct per minute). Jayne read at a rate of 31 WCPM, Placing her slightly above the 50th percentile. I plan on continuing to monitor this rate as we work on increasing the number of high frequency words she knows.
In the phonics area, Jayne continued working with short vowel sounds and the CVC pattern. We focused today on word building with the short / i /, /o/, and /u/. I called out words that followed the pattern, and Jayne wrote them on the whiteboard. We then corrected together. She did an excellent job on this task.
Jane brought a book that she wanted me to read, and we did that prior to reading the book I brought which was titled, “Double Trouble in Walla Walla”. This text contains lots of nonsense words so that we could practice her decoding skills while reading a funny, motivating book.

We started today’s lesson reviewing High Frequency words. Dillon identified 186 of the 200 words presented. This placed him above grade level for isolated word identification. After this quick assessment, he was able to go back and decode the missed words. He then practiced the high frequency words with the program Electronic SuperSpeed 1000. This program places the words in order of frequency; and projects them at rapid fire so that students can work on automaticity. We drilled with the first 100. This was a fun and engaging way to practice sight words on automatic recall, and we will make it part of our regular practice in building fluency.
Next, we moved on to fluency drills with phrases. Dillon had 1 minute to read 30 phrases. We practiced reading the drill a couple of times. He steadily improved while we practiced. Dillon enjoyed trying to improve his score and was happy to bring this home for further practice.
We reviewed assessment expectations and how to answer comprehension questions that are text dependent. I stressed the importance of making sure the answers are supported by the text that is read. We also reviewed the fact that sometimes the answers are implied in the text. He then revisited the reading he did on the first day and practiced finding the correct answers in the text. I reinforced writing complete sentences and using proper punctuation. Explicit – right there- answers were easily found by Dillon, however he had more difficulty when the answer was implied. We will continue to work on making text inferences.
We ended the session discussing nonfiction topics he might be interested in for future sessions. Dillon shared that he was interested in science, history, and civil rights. He also requested we read fiction as well and suggested books about football and sports!

In preparation for the FSQ assessment, we worked on an informational selection about the Arctic Fox. Dillon did a review of the text features present in the text, and we discussed annotating the text for close reading by highlighting the key details.

After numbering the paragraphs, Dillon read the selection. He then turned the headings into questions and highlighted the key details that answered the heading question. Next, Dillon answered questions about the selection using key words directly from the text.

We also worked on vocabulary and understanding what the vocabulary means by using the context clues in the text. We reviewed the words "adaptations", "scavengers", and "arctic".

Dillon worked hard during our session. He did a great job finding the answers in the text.

We had a great session! We started with a review of short and long vowel sounds for /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/. We reviewed the short vowel pattern and used the CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) pattern. Jayne listed and spelled words independently on a whiteboard. We also reviewed the long vowel sound with CVCe (consonant-vowel-consonant-e) pattern. Again, Jayne spelled, the target words on a whiteboard. She spelled all the target words with 100% accuracy.

I brought an informational book called "The Little Butterfly" today to appeal to Jayne’s love of Science. Jayne read the text, and we discussed two key vocabulary words "molt" and "chrysalis”. Next, she worked on a sequencing activity and wrote the life cycle of a butterfly. At times, Jayne was reluctant to write but I encouraged her to finish this task. She was proud of the results and asked that I take a picture of the book to send to her parents, so they could read it to her. While reading the text she decoded a number of words that followed the vowel patterns we had reviewed. She was also able to read some difficult words in this text including the word “nectar” which she described as the center of the flower. When I asked her how she knew that word, she replied, “Its simple – my brain just tells me!”. I asked her to explain the key details and vocabulary after the reading, and she demonstrated good mastery. Using key details, illustrations, and text features to understand informational texts are key learning standards for first grade. Jayne is a bright student and is already demonstrating confidence in her ability to master these standards.

Jayne worked hard this session. We began the lesson with a review of High Frequency words that she missed or had to self-correct on our previous assessment. She said each word, wrote it on a white erase board and then repeated the word again before moving on to the next word. She was directed to spell the word out loud as she wrote it to reinforce the spelling and help with automatic recall. Graphically similar words are tricky for first graders. For example – while reading they often mistake “run” for “ran” or “in” for “on”. In addition, reversals of “was” for “saw” are also fairly common. I am encouraging Jayne to slow down, point as she reads, and ask herself if the word “makes sense” or “sounds right”. She brought the word ring home for extra practice.

To further reinforce these HFW (High Frequency Words) we used our whiteboards to play tic tac toe. For example, I would use “in” to represent the X and she would use “on” to represent O and we played as you normally would in tic tac toe. This reinforced her HFW’s in a fun way! She really enjoyed this and asked to borrow the whiteboard so she could do this activity with her family.

We revisited the text, “Click, Clack, Moo, Cows That Type”. Jayne reread the text and then retold the story using key details. She then did a sequencing activity that included identifying missing punctuation.

A new book, “Puddle Pug”, was introduced. After reading, Jayne did a story retell with a graphic organizer. Much work in first grade centers around identifying characters, setting, and events using key details. Retelling a story with key details is an early measure of comprehension and first grade reading standards 1RL1.2, 1RL1.3 and 1RL3.7 all have to do with retelling and using key details. Jayne is a very quick study and did well.

November 21, 2017
It was a pleasure getting to know Jayne during our first tutoring session. She is a pleasure to talk with and she willingly shared her ideas and opinions. We started today’s session with a get to know you activity. As she filled out an “All About me” chart I was able to quickly learn a little bit about her ideas.

Next, Jayne filled out a reading interest survey used to determine her feelings about herself as a reader. She indicated that she enjoyed reading and picked the happy emoji for most categories. The only exception being that she didn’t always enjoy being read to if it was a long story. Her reason for this was, “Long stories” took time away from her “play time.”

A letter and sound identification screening was conducted and she had no difficulty identifying all letter sounds which is an essential skill for decoding unknown words.

Next, I gave her the high frequency word assessment which was developed by Columbia Teachers’ College. On the first 100 words she correctly identified 88 with automaticity. Assessment benchmarks call for a student in first grade to know 50+ words in November and by January the student is expected to have automaticity with approximately 90+ words. Jayne is performing above the expected benchmark at this period.

We then read the story, Click, Clack Moo, Cows That Type, and did a word matching activity. Observations during reading indicate that there are a few reversals but not an overwhelming number of them and they are not interfering with meaning during reading to any significant degree. When faced with decoding, Jayne attended to initial consonants and decoding issues seem to occur with the medial vowels and consonants and word endings.

Based on these assessments, I will focus my work with Jayne on decoding unknown words and reviewing decoding strategies that should be a part of a first grader’s “toolbox”. Jayne should be encouraged to point at the words while she is reading to reinforce one to one correspondence of text and to encourage imprinting of text especially when she comes to a sticky word. Moving forward, tutoring sessions will consist of word work, phonics, and reading literature and informational texts. Since reading and writing go together there will be a written component as well as this will also reinforce phonic skills and word acquisition. In addition, transfer from learning to read to reading to learn is enhanced by making the reading and writing connection as early as possible.

It was a pleasure getting to know Dillon during our first tutoring session. He is a pleasure to talk with and he was very open about sharing his ideas and opinions. We started today’s session with a get to know you activity. As he filled out a “Get to know you questionnaire” I was able to quickly learn a little bit about him. He freely shared his ideas and was very open and receptive to my questions.
Next, Dillon was given the Qualitative Reading Inventory to determine his reading level. On the word lists, Dillon scored on the Instructional Level for 2nd grade. On the non—fiction passage titled “Seasons”, his miscues indicated that he attends to the beginning consonants and does not attend to the medial vowels and word endings. He quickly read through the article not noticing that the word “brings” which he used to replace the word “begins” did not always make sense. His 11 miscues placed him at the instructional level for this passage. Comprehension questions again placed him at the 2nd grade level for this reading inventory. Initially, I noticed that he relies a great deal on prior knowledge - and did not demonstrate an ability to return to the text and cite specific examples, a task which represents “close” reading and is the subject of reading assessments in the 3rd grade. Practice in close reading will be included in our lessons as we move forward.
Based on these assessments, I plan on reviewing the high frequency words to determine if these words need further work in ensuring automaticity. We will focus our initial tutoring lessons on non-fiction texts and close reading. I plan on including text features as part of our instruction in informational text as that is an expectation on the state assessments.
Dillon is a hard worker, and I believe he will make good progress as we focus on close reading and his ability to read for information.

Dillon and I began his new unit of nonfiction. We read nonfiction passages and made a T chart comparing fiction to nonfiction. We looked for those nonfiction text features in our texts.

Dillon and I reviewed the FSQ he took in class. He reread the passage, then chose the answers he wanted now. Then I read the passage aloud, allowing him to change his answers. We went over the choices, explaining why the answers were wrong or right. He understood the how's and why's of the questions.

Dillon and I worked on test-taking skills. I modeled my thinking and guided him through a practice test. When test-taking, stop while reading the passage and rephrase what you have read to make sure you understand. Then when reading questions, figure out what they are asking, then find the answers within the text. Dillon restated the skills we used today on the practice test.