Running Head: MOSAIC CASE STUDY SUMMER PROGRAM

Mosaic Case Study Summer Program

Kayanne Christine Sinclair
Georgia State University

Running Head: MOSAIC CASE STUDY SUMMER PROGRAM

Young readers can become efficient readers that are engaged in the material that
they are reading if there is guidance from the instructor, if the instructor takes the time to
evaluate what interests the reader, and if the proper strategies are applied to each
particular reader. I came to this conclusion about the cognitive and behavioral aspects of
readers through observation of the students during the activities within the lesson plan.
The lesson plans include interest inventory, book selection guide, reading attitude
assessments, writing attitude assessments, extended sentences, reading aloud, fluency
charts, and other strategies that helped to assess the readers. The case study will examine
four readers, not in consistency from day to day because not every student was able to
attend all of the sessions throughout the program.
I partnered with another colleague to ensure that if the students that I was working
with did not come each session then I would still have readers to work with and the same
for my colleague. The lesson plans that were conducted on the first day were lesson plans
one and two that included the interest inventory, book selection, and reading-writing
activity. I introduced myself to the students and they introduced themselves as well as
Sindia and BJ. India stated that she was going into the tenth grade and BJ proclaimed the
same statement.
We proceeded with the interest inventory that focused on general and school
interest. The general interests are centered on hobbies, favorite movies or television
programs, collections, etc. BJ wants to study sports medicine at Mercer University but
would like to travel to Amsterdam one day. His general interests include sports but
particularly basketball. Basketball is his favorite thing to do on weekends, afterschool,
watch on a television program, and as a hobby. However, it shows that in his video game

Running Head: MOSAIC CASE STUDY SUMMER PROGRAM

collection and favorite movies he appears to like action superhero movies like
Spiderman. When he has free time that is not taken up by basketball he likes to spend
time with his parents.
The next part of the inventory we discussed his school interest. BJ has a great
interest in reading books especially adventure themed books. However, his favorite
subject is math and he likes to write books more than read books. Social Studies is his
least favorite subject because he believes it is very repetitious and boring. Although, BJ
likes to read he only visits the library 3 times a month. The environment of his library is
uninviting. BJ will go to the library to get books if necessary but does not spend time
reading in the library. He likes to read in the comfort of his own room.
Sindias general interest inventory was also completed at the same time as BJS.
Sindia seemed to be disinterested in the questions and clearly expressed that she felt like
some were repetitive. Sindia answered the questions reluctantly except for certain
interesting topics that she seemed to respond to quite quickly such as writing, the Pretty
Little Liars show, and a women basketball player named Brittney Grinder. Sindia wants
to work in the Navy once she graduates as well as travel to China. Sindia professed that
she loved sports and specifically basketball even though she played softball. She stated
that she had no collection of things but loved to buy clothes and after being prompted of
what it means to have a collection she concluded that she had a collection of clothes.
India loves to sleep in her free time that is not consumed in sports. She enjoys watching
basketball television programs and action movies just like BJ but she likes action movies
like the X-men.

Running Head: MOSAIC CASE STUDY SUMMER PROGRAM

Sindia stated that she liked writing and math but was not very interested in
reading or social studies because they were her least favorite subjects. Sindia has a
favorite teacher based on her favorite subject, which is math. Therefore, Sindia does not
visit the library but once every two months. She describes that she feels disconnected to
her schools library and does not visit any other libraries but if she wanted a book she
would ask her parents. India does state that if she has to read a book it would have a
mystery theme.
The other parts of the Lesson plan one and two included seven questions about
reading, writing attitude assessment, and reading attitude assessment. BJ seemed to
understand that reading helped with his speaking skills and increase in vocabulary. He
loves to read at home often and likes anime such as Naruto and mythological books that
talk about Greek Gods. Reading allows him to feel imaginative. As a reader he is best at
visualizing what he is reading. He will read aloud in class but feels that when the teacher
reads it is boring and when others read it is boring and frustrating because others do not
know how to read that well. India has the same feelings regarding the teacher and others
reading aloud. She does not like to read aloud or at home. India in most questions relates
reading with sleeping whether by another or herself. India expressed a great deal of
irritation when it came to discussing reading but opened up when asked about writing.
Sindia feels that writing can be a relief and writes wherever she feels comfortable.
India believes her best attribute as a writer is her use of imagination but likes to work on
her grammar. She enjoys persuasive writing but because she likes to be creative she has
no specifics as to what she likes to write. As a writer she does not like to share with the

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class or hear others writing because it makes her sleepy but she does share her writing
with her mother.
BJ is frustrated with others reading their work in class for the same reason as
reading a book because other students are not well readers. He enjoys writing at home or
in school. However, he states that at school the pace is always rushed and there should be
no time limit in writing. Writing for BJ makes him feel confident especially when
presenting it and reading aloud in class. Although loves spelling he sees it as an area that
he could still improve on as a writer. His favorite kind of writing is argumentative but
what he likes to write about depends upon his mood at that time.
After gathering the information compiled in the interest inventory it is much
easier to find books that can engage the students in reading. BJ was no longer there for
the remainder of the program but India was there for the book selection. Sindia had a
choice from mystery, adventure, autobiography, and destination books as listed in the
book selection guide attached. Sindia looked at the covers and reflected on the fact that
she was already disinterested with books that are not hard covered. She did not want to
read the mystery books but was thrilled to see the Brittney Griner book and had a peaked
interest in the Dream Destinations.
The read aloud segment included my colleagues students that she was working
with named Tahli and Simipa. The students took the initiative to choose their books and
seemed interested in their topics. However, each student was not necessarily willing to
complete the read aloud task. Tahli was willing to read first but Simipa was not willing to
read at all. Sindia, although excited about the book, was not willing to read aloud and

Running Head: MOSAIC CASE STUDY SUMMER PROGRAM

preferred to read silently. Sindia writes about the segment in the Brittney Griner book.
While Sindia is writing I see that her facial expressions appear to indicate interest and as
she pauses to ponder about her next thought in her writing process.
The interest inventory proved to be effective in engaging readers because Sindia
showed no interest in reading but when presented with a book that talks about someone
she looks up to the excitement is clearly evident. The short self-selected read aloud and
writing guide is a helpful tool for readers because it allows for deeper level thinking than
just reading the text. We discussed the authors writing style, what kind of book she was
reading, and what will happen in the book next.
The next session Sindia did not return that day or for the rest of the program. The
lesson answering questions and fluency reading were conducted with Tahli and Simipa.
The lesson started with the reading fluency task that lasted over 3 sessions where the
student reads for a minute and the students have a compiled correct word per minute
appropriate to their reading level. The correct words per minute include the total words
read minus the errors such as stutters over words, mispronunciation, and pauses.
The students were entering sixth grade and the appropriate passage was from
Sitting Bull by Sheila Black. Tahli was timed for a minute and during that time she read a
total of 142 words with three miscues for a total of 139 correct words per minute. Simipa
was timed for a minute and read a total of 103 words per minute with six miscues for a
total of 97 correct words per minute. The next session Tahli red 150 words per minute
with three miscues for a total of 147 correct words per minute. Simipa for this next
session read 119 total words read with six miscues for a total of 113 correct words per

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minute. The last session for the reading fluency task only included Tahli only being that
Simipa did not come in until the very end of the session. Tahli read a total of 177 words
per minute with seven miscues for a total of 170 correct words per minute. The fluency
task is a visual display of the students growth through reading, questions, and other
writing activities and provides evidence that reading can help with reading fluency.
The fluency task over the three sessions was coupled with other activities for each
session. The first session that was paired with the fluency task was the lesson regarding
answering questions. The task prompted students to come up with questions before
reading the non-fiction book. Tahli and Simipa focused on the Dream Destinations book
for this lesson. The questions proposed before reading the book for Tahli and Simipa
included; does this book cover the Bahamas, How long is the Great Wall of China, and
does the book talk about animals in the ocean. The students derived the answer by
flipping through the book, using the map, and table of contents. The students did not read
through every suspected page but also used the small common asked facts listed on the
page such as population and history to help answer the questions.
The students were very engaged during the activity. The students had composed
questions about the subjects that they were already interested in and that helped to engage
them into the material. Tahli was told to try and read the first paragraph to see if she
could gather information about the questions and was so drawn in by the book that she
read the page in its entirety. Simipa appeared to be fascinated with the book being that he
found out information that was very surprising to learn.

Running Head: MOSAIC CASE STUDY SUMMER PROGRAM

The second session lesson paired with the reading fluency task was the lesson
seven extending sentences task. The extending sentences had segments of sentences that
were written out and the students would build on the sentences to develop more complex
sentences. The students also had a set of questions that would answer such as who, did
what, when, where, how, and did why of the sentence.
The students have shown that the sessions were effective in helping them think
about reading in a different way and increasing their fluency. Sindia does not like to read
but appears to have a great interest in female basketball role models or destinations
books. If Sindia reads more books this can assist her in working on grammar being that
she is interacting with the setup of grammar frequently. BJ has an interest in the action
genre such as the Japanese Naruto books as well as an interest in Greek Mythology
books. Reading can help increase his vocabulary and spelling with exposure to these
types of books.
These students showed an improvement with the various activities and the read
aloud fluency task. If these students read at least thirty minutes a day they should be able
to increase their reading fluency and minimize any miscues while reading to have a
greater correct words per minute. All the students can benefit from reading including
activities that focus on asking questions before, during, and after the book to promote
metacognition as discussed in Strategies that Work. The students confess that libraries are
not places that they want to visit and would rather the bookstore to get books. The
question is if this is seen as a general concern for students what can be done to change the
environment that the libraries in the school possess. The most important concept that was
observed during the program was that students have an eagerness to read books when

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their interests are placed into the picture. Students that comprehend and understand the
material are the students that are engaged with the material.

References
Goudvis, A., Harvey, S., (2007). Strategies that work: teaching comprehension for
understanding and engagement. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse publishers. Markhorn,
Ontario: Pembroke publishers.