DESRCIPTION OF STUDENT:

Samy is an eleven year old, fourth grade student. He is a male

with Downs Syndrome in an elementary life skills classroom for most of
the day. Samy is included in the general education setting for P.E.,
lunch, recess, and specials (music or art).
There are both strengths and weaknesses in Samys social skills.
One of his strengths is that he wants to please those around him. He
usually obeys directions and will respond to instruction. Samy is very
loving to those around him and will pat or hug his classmates often to
show his affection. One of his social weaknesses is that he is very
behind his peers. Although he is in fourth grade, Samys social
behavior often matches students at a preschool level. Samy is
affectionate to his friends; however, when he gets upset, he will hit or
spit on those around him. This prevents him from getting along socially
with most of his same age peers. Another social weakness is that Samy
does not share well. He will often take things from his classmates and
resorts to his hitting/spitting behavior if someone tries to take
something from him when his turn is up. This spitting/hitting behavior
has become very troublesome and Samy has recently been placed on a
behavior intervention plan to try and reduce it.
Samy also has strengths and weaknesses in his learning skills. A
learning strength of Samy is that he can be very obedient. During
carpet time or group time at the circle table, Samy will sit in his seat

and will not move from it unless directed to. This is beneficial as he is
easy to redirect if he gets off task. Another of his strengths is that
Samy is responsive. When asked a question, Samy will answer it either
verbally or by shaking/nodding his head. One of Samys weaknesses in
learning skills is that he gets frustrated easily. When told to redo a task
due to performing it poorly the first time, he becomes agitated. Many
times, this agitation leads to a meltdown and his inappropriate
behaviors of hitting and spitting.
Lastly, Samy has strengths and weaknesses in his
academics/daily living skills. One of his strengths is that, although he
has a small vocabulary, he is independent in many aspects. Samy is
capable of going to the restroom on his own (only needing assistance
with unbuttoning his pants). Another of his strengths in academics is
that he is able to show his preferences and choices when prompted.
When he gets choose time for working hard, Samy is able to specify
which activity he wants for his break. When doing academic instruction
with Samy, he is able to answer questions by pointing or saying yes or
no. One of Samys weaknesses when it comes to academics is his
dislike for writing/drawing/coloring. It takes countless verbal prompts to
get him to write his name. Often times when it comes to writing, he will
speed through the task because he wants to get it over with. Usually it
ends up with requiring him to trace his name again; sometimes, that
results in a meltdown. Another of Samys weaknesses in his daily living

skills is that he is not proactive. Last week, Samy defecated in his

pants because he did not know to ask to go to the bathroom. Although
Samy is completely toilet trained, he still does not know to ask when
he needs something. To counteract this issue, my mentor teacher has
begun using I need ______ cards where Samy can pick a picture and
stick it in the blank.
OBJECTIVE:
Given an expo marker and a plastic sleeve with dotted line paper of his
name in it, Samy will trace his name getting his marks within inch of
the dotted line for of each letter over 2 trials.
TOOL:
HYBRID:
2= Independently meets all criteria with 0-2 verbal prompts
1= Semi-independently meets all criteria with 3-5 verbal prompts
0= Does not meet criteria
Directions: This paper says your name. It says Samy. We are going to
practice writing your name. Watch me as I write the S. I put my pen to
the paper and keep my eyes focused on the paper as I trace. When I
write, I make sure my marker follows the dotted lines. Now that I am
done I would go on and do the other three letters. Now it is your turn to
trace your name.
S
Follows
along
dotted
lines
within
inch for
letter
Starts
letter at
correct
place

Trial 1:
M

TOTALS

7/8

4/8

Commen
ts
Followed
within
inch for
A for
only of
the letter
Received
0 on A
for writing
a different
letter

Letter
done in
the
correct
order
Total time
spent on
letter is
less than
8
seconds
Verbal
promptin
g needed
until
letter
completio
n (0-2= 2
pts., 3-5=
1 pt.,
>5=0
pts.)
Totals

8/8

4/8

3/8

9/10

3/10

7/10

6/10

Took an
entire
minute to
complete
letter A

TRIAL 2:
S
Follows
along
dotted
lines
within
inch for
letter
Starts
letter at
correct
place
Letter
done in
the
correct
order

TOTALS

4/8

6/8

8/8

Commen
ts
Followed
within
inch for
A for
only of
the letter
Started
a in
same
incorrect
place as
trial 1

Total time
spent on
letter is
less than
8
seconds
Verbal
promptin
g needed
until
letter
completio
n (0-2= 2
pts., 3-5=
1 pt.,
>5=0
pts.)
Totals

3/8

4/8

9/10

2/10

7/10

7/10

Close to a
minute
spent on
letter A

ADMINISTRATION DISCUSSION:
Administering this measurement tool went fairly well. First, I
found an easy time to administer it as Samy practices writing his name
everyday. After circle time, five of the students go to the circle table
and trace their names. I sat with the students during this time and
watched as Samy traced his.
My measurement tool had many strengths that allowed my data
collection to go smoothly. One strength of my hybrid rubric was that it
was concise and easy to follow. I reviewed it one time before sitting
with the students and was able to quickly fill it out. I like that I had it so
Samy could receive anywhere from 0-2 points. There were times where
Samy did well but not worthy of full credit, so this came in handy.

Another strength is that my layout allowed for easy note taking.

Instead of looking back and wondering why he only received a 1 on
something, I was able to quickly write down notes on his performance.
Although it went well, there were some things that I could have
done better on my measurement tool. One of its weaknesses was that
it did not have a place to draw an example of how Samy incorrectly
started his letters. Looking back, this information would be beneficial,
as it would allow me to correct see where his penmanship is incorrect.
Another weakness my measurement tool had was that it did not
specify time constraints for the rating (it should have included 0-8
seconds for 2 points, 8-15 for 1 point, and >15 for 0 points). Instead of
giving my best guess on that section, I would have had a much more
accurate measurement of data.
To improve this measurement tool, I would make sure to include
the time constraints within the point scale. I also would have included
a column under the totals column to draw the letter of his name and an
arrow as to where Samy started the letter if it was done incorrectly.
Lastly, I would have had out Samys first ______ then ______ card. This
would have greatly decreased the amount of verbal promptings that
Samy required.

MENTOR DISCUSSION:

Are the results similar to or different than you expected? Why

might this be so?
Ms. Button found my data to be similar to what she had
expected. She believed that this data fit her expectations, because she
has been working with Samy on writing his name since August. She
also expected his results under verbal prompting to be as low as they
were due to him not having a first ______ then _____ card in front of
him. Lastly, she was aware that Samy starts his A in the incorrect
place and has been working on this with him. She also said she was not
surprised that Samy got a perfect score in doing his letters in the
correct order as she has never seen him write his name out of order.

Could you use the measure again? Why or why not?

After reviewing my measurement tool, Ms. Button found it to be
well made, and she said she could use it again. However, although it
was well made, she did not find it likely that she would use it again.
Since the data collected with it was what she expected to be, she
found it unnecessary to use it again. While looking at my CBM, Ms.
Button pulled out her IEP objectives and goal journal. She counted up
and including Samys IEP goal of tracing his name; she had 21 goals for
Samy. She stated that with 21 goals for Samy and goals for the other
eight students, it is unlikely that she would ever use a rubric for Samy
tracing his name. Although she would ideally be able to, there is just

not enough time in a school day for it to happen. She said that she
does do this collect data on Samy writing his name just informally
meaning without the rubric. She did like my measurement tool as it
made her think through every step instead of just him tracing his name
overall. Ms. Button did note that she would change the amount of
verbal prompts in the rating scale. Due to how hard it is to get Samy to
write, she would allow him to get full credit for 0-4 verbal prompts, half
credit for 5-7, and no credit for any more than 7. Looking back, I agree
that the numbers of verbal prompts should have been changed.

FUTURE TEACHING:
As a result of your measurement, what changes in teaching
will need to be considered for this student?
First, I believe that Samy needs a picture or visual schedule. Although
he has one, it should be implemented more. Also, Samy needs to be
directed through forms other than verbal prompts. Due to the amount
of verbal prompts Samy receives, he may become verbal prompt
dependent. This would prevent him from being an independent adult in
the future. Samy should also be more explicitly taught how to write a
in his name as it is the letter he has the most difficulty with. Lastly,
Samy should receive some type of occupational therapy type of
activities to decrease his dislike of holding pens, markers, and pencils.

This would benefit him and allow him to write quicker and may even
improve his penmanship.

What additional or different techniques may be needed?

To help Samy best, I plan to stop using verbal prompts and use visual
prompts such as pointing from his eyes to the paper instead of saying,
look at the paper and write. Reflecting on the case of Samy, I believe
that fading his verbal prompts is the most pertinent task. The
occupational therapist at the school is a wealth of knowledge for this
case. I plan on talking to her and asking if there are any pencils or
activities that may help Samy become more comfortable writing. The
technique of preferential seating may help Samy as well. Since his
friends easily distract him, having Samy sit at his desk to write may
help him finish quicker as well. Lastly, putting a colored dot where to
start each letter may help Samy. This would allow him to see where to
put his pen and then write the letter. In turn, this would decrease the
likelihood of him starting the letter in the wrong spot.