8-30-12 Activities/Reflection

Field Notes 8-30-12

Goals: edit typed piece

           teach IVAN CAPP

           Phrase or sentence?

           Make a sentence

*Read a book on religion and service

         *Has to write a report about service

*Talked about iPads and religion

*Read birthday piece out loud (from printed copy)

        *Found places to add periods

        *Added a sentence about Lex Cath beating Trinity in football on a Friday--found a  logical place to sequence.

*Discussed how he’s watching all of his favorite teams beat their rivals

*“What is easier--typing or writing?”

        *“Right now writing, but once I get used to the iPad, that will be easy since typing  on a computer is easy.

*Direct Instruction on types of words: IVAN CAPP

         *A complete sentence MUST have a verb AND noun or pronoun

*He asked what the different was between linking and helping verbs.

*A helping verb is usually a smaller, “to be” verb that helps a bigger  action verb.

*Phrase or Sentence?

*Sorted cards into 2 piles--phrases and sentences from Book 6, his  current Barton place

*1 questionable phrase--Jake began.

*Make a sentence

*Single words are written on index cards. His task is to simply create a sentence. Asked if he can use all the cards--May not be possible to use ALL cards, but use as many as you can to make a complete sentence that makes sense.

*The citizen bravely decided to publicize their furious proposal.

*Talked about comma placement--he said it goes wherever there’s a pause. I explained that’s kind of true.

*I changed the order by putting “bravely” first. Gave general rule that if a sentence doesn’t start with who/what phrase or noun, put a comma.

**Look up linking verbs.Last week, more significant changes were made, so hopefully those acronyms and purposes are getting internalized and keep going that direction.


Reflection:
In addition to reviewing ARMS and CUPS, I introduced my friend, IVAN CAPP. Ivan helps us remember the parts of speech. I hope to actually get by the store for poster board and printer ink to make some visual aids so I have pictures to post here. They are the best part of blogs. Maybe I'm biased though, since I mostly read home decor blogs.  Anyway, my student enjoyed trying name all the parts of speech. I explained knowing the parts of speech are important because they help us build and expand sentences, which in turn can be expanded into paragraphs, and eventually essays (though I'm sure my project will be long over by that point).

We also did several activities. One I called Phrase or Sentence? I tried to make it like a game. My student had to read a group of words written on an index card, which I corresponded to the Barton level s/he is currently working in. You know, to give more experience with the reading/spelling rules of the level and to relate tutoring to more authentic activities. After the student read the group of words s/he had to decide if it was a complete sentence or a phrase. The criteria for a complete sentence was a noun or pronoun and a verb. S/He did great getting all but one right, but the one s/he missed was tricky, so I wasn't too surprised. It also lead into an interesting discussion of verbs and types of verbs--action, linking, helping.

The other "game" we played was called Make a Sentence. I gave the student a set of cards with single words written on them (again, corresponding to the level of Barton) and told him/her to use the words and make a complete sentence. It could be as long or short as s/he wanted, but there were slightly more words than would make sense. I also used this as an introduction to punctuation, as I also made small cards for periods and commas. We rearranged the words to make different sentences and I think s/he actually enjoyed that.

I explained before we began that the activities were building blocks for later work. Before we could create exciting sentences and paragraphs, we needed to make sure the basics down. I also related it to Level 1 of Barton, and s/he seemed to understand the connection.

Whew! We packed a lot in our session. My student seemed to enjoy the activities though, especially since we talked about similar things s/he knew from school, but done in a more exciting and interesting way--yet another blessing of working one on one with my students.

Beginning Reflection

Somehow technology is supposed to make our lives easier. We're supposed to save time doing small things so we free up more time for big things or, heaven forbid, fun things. And yet...

Updating this blog the way I want to may be a little tricky. In order to get the displays I wanted, I had to create an entirely new account. Not a big deal. It's free after all. And my daddy taught me to never turn down a free "thing."  However, it also means I have to sign out of my primary account and into this account, which is a pain. Now that I type that out though, I think I have a solution. Isn't that how it always seems to go?

Maybe that's why I'm interested in helping my students be better writers. Writing has helped me work through so many problems and trials in my life, even if it's just a recount of my day.  Getting thoughts and feelings OUT somehow seem more manageable than when they're all floating around in my head.  My students have the added difficulty of a language-processing disorder, so they have an even greater difficulty finding the words, let alone getting them out on paper.

I am excited to have this documentation to keep up with what we're doing. I've already been taking meticulous notes for my non-reading tutoring kids, but to have a place to actual reflect on what I did will be helpful.

Action Research--An Introduction

My purpose for this blog is to track the successes, failures, and reflections as I work on my Action Research project as part of my Masters degree from Georgetown College.  Specifically, I will be considering the question "What are the effects of direct writing instruction for dyslexic students?"  I chose this topic because writing, authentic composition that is, seems to be a lacking component of my office's tutoring program.  We systematically teach students phonemic awareness, reading rules, and spelling patterns; however, the only writing they actually do is writing dictated words, phrases, and sentences.  I feel that if we want our students to truly internalize the rules we teach, they need to practice them in an authentic way.  Further, my background research suggested that reading and writing are not inherently linked for these students and they need specific instruction in writing.

A litte background: All of the students I have were tested and diagnosed with a language-processing disorder, or dyslexia.  That is the one thing all of my students have in common. From there, they splinter. Some have dysgraphia (difficulty writing), some have ADD/ADHD, some of those are medicated while others are not, some have additional sensory difficulties, some have large vocabularies and strong visual memories, some take ten minutes to tell a story and I have no idea what the story was about. Their ages range from kindergarten to high school, with most falling in the 4th and 5th grade range.

I tutor fifteen students on an individual basis.  All students are seen for two hours per week. Most students are seen twice a week after school, for one hour at a time. Because of some students' memory problems and attention difficulties, some are seen for often for less time.  Because of some students travel needs, they are seen once a week for a full two hours. Whenever possible, we try to work with schools to see students at a time convient for them and their classroom teachers.  I see some students for both hours, while others I split with another tutor.

Because our tutoring is generally considered "extra curricular," most families pay for sessions out of pocket, though in some instances insurance will reimburse them.  Because of this, I want to be very sensitive to the needs of the families and not create "one more thing" students do.  I am not planning on including students with extreme memory difficulties or students I see at school.  My focus is on students I see for writing tutoring, but will offer a modified instruction to others.

Enough talk. What's the plan, (wo)man?

• Week of August 26: Create blog (check).  Update (check) and submit IRB forms. Obtain informed consent forms from parents and students. 
• Week of September 3: Complete student writing attitude surveys, interviews, and initial writing samples.  Begin intervention instruction, if time allows.
• Week of September 10: Continue intervention instruction, collecting data through field notes and copies of student writing.  Analyze, reflect on, and refine instruction as needed.
• Week of September 24: Administer mid-point assessment (writing sample). Continue cycle of instruction, analyzing, reflection, refining.
• Week of October 17: Administer post-instruction assessment (final writing sample). Complete post-instruction interview. Begin work on final paper.
• Week of October 31: Schedule presentation to full-time instructors, creating an action plan for future students.