Sally, a first-grader, really knows her letters and their corresponding sounds but is not able to put these letters together to form words, and is therefore unable to recognize many sight words. Considering that Sally has the phonics portion down pretty well I believe that it is not important to begin working with vocabulary and sight words. I would talk to Sally's parents about reading books outloud to her but also allow her to see the words as they are being read. It is important to read simple books at first and then begin to build up because the point is for Sally to begin to recognize the words her parents are speaking. It would also be helpful if she could point to the words as her parents read them. Then allow and encourage Sally to do the same but she will read the text to her parents. This is something that can be done in class as well. We could also work with Sally on sight word flash cards, and again begin slow and build from there.
Bob, a sixth-grader, began as a strong read, but is now struggling in all subject areas and it is taking him much much longer to get his work done. I believe that this is due to a disconnect between his ability to read and his ability to comprehend, therefore we need to begin to work on his comprehension skills and various strategies that he could begin to use when reading. Even though he is older it would still benefit Bob if we were to involve him in a read aloud think aloud because then he would be able to see the words being read as well as how to go about questioning and predicting while reading. If he stops to ask himself questions it will help him to remember what sorts of things he should be looking for throughout the text. It would also benefit him if we provided various graphic organizers so that he could fill in the appropriate areas while he is reading because this aspect will really make him focus on the content within the text.
Mary Beth, a fourth-grader, is a student who would rather rush through her reading to get it done instead of reading for acuracy and understanding. I believe that it would highly benefit Mary Beth if she were able to have a few one on one sessions with her teacher because the teacher could record segments of her reading in order to play them back to Mary Beth. The importance of understanding rather than speed really needs to be emphasized in this situation and by recording Mary Beth she will be able to go back and find her own mistakes. If this is also done the teacher will also be able to determine if Mary Beth is making the same mistake everytime she reads different text and if that is the case then the teacher can take corresponding action. Since Mary Beth really does not like to be wrong it is important that this is done in a manner that will not embarrass her and that is why I suggested one-on-one time. Also, allowing Mary Beth to find her own mistakes will also take away from her embarassment because she corrected herself essentially.
Alan, an eighth-grader, does not seem to have a problem with reading; he is simply struggling with his ability to remember what he is studying and reading. The first thing that can be done on a daily basis is memory strengthening excersizes such as the Word Concentration activities suggested on page 325. If done religiously his ability to truely concentrate and remember his infomration will improve. It may also benefit Alan if he takes notes while he is reading because this way he is having to read the information and then put it in his own words throughout the reading process. He could make an outline of the information or he could make different kinds of graphic organizers depending on the subject at hand. Asking questions during class and while he is reading is also something that will benefit his understanding.
Matt, a second-grader, is struggling with reading unknown texts. It is important to understand that his self-esteem is already suffering, so there is no need to make working with him something that is known by everyone. Matt needs to learn other ways of decoding what he is reading as apposed to the age old "sound it out" strategy. This will just take a lot of practice using context clues and breaking the word up into readable groups. He can work on this at home and with his teacher when reading with them one-on-one.
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