Janea Irby

RED 4312

Component 1A Rough Draft

I am currently placed in a third grade class in a large elementary school on the gulf coast
of Florida in the 38th fastest growing county in the nation. My class consist of 21 students; 13
boys and 8 girls. There are 2 African American students, 2 Hispanic students, 3 mixed students,
and 14 caucasian students. There is one gifted student, one student with a learning disability, and
two students who are in the third grade for the second year. I currently do not have any English
Language Learners in my classroom. My collaborating teacher has been at this school for 10
years and is also one of the only two certified gifted teachers on campus.
My focus student is a nine-year-old very shy girl. She is one of the second year third
graders in the class. She is very interested in reading anything about mystery or animals, she
loves visiting the zoo, and wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up. Some of her strengths
in reading are her effort, foundation skills, fluency, and use of reading strategies. Her areas of
growth include comprehension and vocabulary. While she is very quiet, she loves working in
groups because she loves talking to her peers.
1B Rough Draft
Explanation and Description of ERAS
Studies have shown that students attitude toward reading is directly linked to their
achievement (e.g.,Purves & Beach, 1972; Walberg & Tsai, 1985). The research of The
Commission on Reading (Anderson, Hiebert, Scott, & Wilkinson, 1985) concluded that
becoming a skilled reader requires learning that written material can be interesting(p.18).

Because of this, as assessment became developed focused on the students attitude toward
reading called The Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS). The survey is in a pictorial
format with four different emotions on four different faces and bodies of the cartoon character
Garfield. The faces range from very happy to very upset. The student being assessed is expected
to respond according to how they feel about reading in different scenarios; all of the scenarios
being a recreational or academic setting. The survey requires the instructor to first explain the
purpose of the instrument, as well as, reading aloud twice as the student marks their answer.
Each item is either 1,2,4, or 4 points with 4 points being represented by the happiest Garfield.
The assessment takes about 10 minutes to be administered. The scoring sheet can be used to
organize the recreational, academic, and total scores, as well as a percentile rank of each.
Overview of ERAS administration
Originally, my collaborating teacher assigned me to a different focus student who wasnt
having the best behavior day and needed to be removed from the classroom. So the student I
administered the ERAS to was another student that I hadnt observed much but who also needed
more support in reading. Because I hadnt worked one-on-one or spoken to her that much, I
assumed she would be very nervous to sit with me and talk about reading attitudes. To my
surprise she didnt seem nervous at all and she was very willing to help me learn more about
her. I sat with her in a quiet corner during independent reading and I began to explain the
survey and follow the explicit instructions on the ERAS Directions for use page. I did not need
to make any accommodations for her during this assessment.

Summary
To my surprise she expressed that she really enjoyed reading by circling the icon that felt
the happiest about reading for the majority of her answers. I found this interesting because she
was below the reading level, according to my CT's IRLA information and test scores, and she
barely spoke to anyone in the class. After the survey I calculated my results and my interviewee
had a raw score of 34 recreational reading points and 36 academic reading points. She landed in
the 75th percentile in recreational reading, 91st percentile in academic reading and full scale 86th
percentile. These meant that she was highly ranked in the percentile and her attitude toward
reading is very positive.
Instructional Decisions
Because my new focus student is motivated to read and is very engaged, I would continue
to provide a variety of reading materials for her. Some of the materials I would provide are;
articles, stories, poems, digital text, informational, chapter books, and more. I would also
introduce literacy circles into the classroom. In literacy circles, small groups of students read and
discuss a specific reading in depth. The discussion would be guided by the students response to
what they have read. I believe this would to further develop her love for reading. I would also
provide books of different genres to ensure that my focus student is also reading a variety of text
and not only the books that she has interest in. Because she is considered below reading level
for her grade, I would like to make sure she can comprehend what she is reading. The variety of
reading materials, genres, and conversations with peers about their books will help her indicate
her true attitude toward reading.

Reflection
After reflecting on my focus student and her ERAS results, I was surprisingly happy to
see she really enjoyed reading. Although the results seemed like a contradiction to her grades and
current reading level, it made me wonder what more I could do in instruction to further develop
her positive attitude toward reading. This information also made me think if the student has
established the literacy foundations skills she needs to be able to comprehend what she is reading
in or for school. This assessment helped me understand that even though my focus student is not
on the right reading level for her grade placement, she does have a desire to read and to learn
more. By giving this assessment I also learned that I should not assume anything about a student
based on my experience, or lack thereof, with them. I will also not only look at data when
assessing a student, I should take the time to understand their learning styles and needs so that I
may properly plan my instruction for them.