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Literacy Portfolio
Amanda Dunphy
Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Reference Page 50
LITERACY PORTFOLIO 3
Introduction
year old Caucasian female and does not speak any second language. The young, sociable girl I
began inquiring results on is in the third grade and has a very hard time comprehending what she
is reading/writing. She has been through a lot the past few years and has moved numerous times
between different locations in Georgia and Florida. With constantly changing schools, she has
not had much time to adjust and form lasting relationships with her peers or teachers. This
resulted neglect when it comes to being given the proper time and support needed to increase her
reading/writing skills. On top of having problems with these skills, Claire suffers from
numerous speech impediments. She is unable to pronounce specific letters such as R. What
really struck me was that she is homeless, having no control over this; she is involved with the
Big Brothers Big Sisters program of America. By being involved with this program, Claire is
given additional assistance with homework and is also given the opportunity to do fun activities.
Despite having 5 brothers, both biological and adopted, Claire does not seem to be very close
with her relatives. Throughout our conversations, she only brought up her father, one brother,
and her grandfather. I feel as if her family involvement plays a role in why she suffers from a
The test I administered to Claire was referred to as the Elementary Reading Attitude
Survey, otherwise known as ERAS. This test was designed because researchers had felt as if
recent developments in assessments had been based off of comprehension rather than attitude.
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According to Marjorie Y. Lipson and Karen K. Wixson, a students attitude toward reading has a
huge affect on reading performance. Childrens attitudes actually play a large role in becoming
literate or not. This test allows teachers to be able to estimate the students attitude towards
reading quickly and reliably and hopefully, be able to adjust their lessons to meet the needs of
every student.
Overview of Administration
While administering the ERAS, I pulled Claire aside and made sure all attention was on
me. There were twenty questions on the survey, the first 10 reflected recreational reading and
the last 10 reflected academic reading. The survey could be administered within just a few
minutes and required simple answers. Claire was concerned when she had noticed that some
questions sounded quite similar and despite the fact that I could see how she thought this, I tried
to explain and give real life examples for her to better understand each question. In order to
answer the survey, the student (Claire), must circle one of four Garfield pictures. Each item is
assigned 1, 2, 3, or 4 points, 4 being the happiest and most excited Garfield (which is the
leftmost picture). I explained to Claire that Garfield felt differently in each picture and gave her
an example involving how I felt towards reading. She loved that she had to simply circle a
picture on how she felt and this led her to talk more about each question and give me further
explanations on how she felt. We worked on each question one by one and I did not rush her
when it came to answering how she felt. If she seemed to be confused, I would simply explain
his facial expressions and what this meant regarding his feelings about reading. After about 15
minutes, Claire and I had completed her first literacy assessment, the Elementary Reading
Attitude Survey.
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Summary of Results
When scoring the survey, four points are given to each very happy Garfield, three for
smirking Garfield, two for slightly upset Garfield, while the unhappy Garfield received one
point. After completing both the recreational and academic questions involving the students
attitude towards reading, points were added up and Claire received 31/40 points for recreational
reading and 33/40 points for academic reading. Based on these ERAS results, I can infer that
this student has an indifferent attitude towards recreational reading meanwhile enjoying
academic reading more. I found this to be slightly confusing because she explained to me that
she would rather read horror chapter books or those of different genres than textbooks. She
further explained that she enjoys reading about science experiments and social studies. She also
explained that she enjoyed reading whether it be group reading with the class or being given
silent reading time while at school. She does not enjoy reading aloud herself, because she is shy
and sometimes has a hard time understanding what the books are saying. Claire stated that she
was not a huge fan of reading on her own free time, outside of the school environment, she
would much rather be playing outside. When discussing tests and workbook pages or
worksheets, she circled the Garfield that was worth 2 points. She claimed that she was usually
confused with worksheets and could not answer every question due to lack of comprehension
skills and being nervous while testing. Overall, Claires percentile ranks were 63% for
recreational, 74% for academic and in total, was given the percentile rank of 70%. Therefore,
leading her teachers to believe despite falling in the middle of the rating scale, Claire is slightly
uninterested in both academic and recreational reading and struggles while trying to comprehend
certain material.
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Instructional Decisions
Even though Claires scores did not represent a negative attitude towards reading, both
recreational and academic, the scores did not reflect an exceptional positive attitude either.
When attempting to boost Claires perception and attitude on reading, I decided this student does
not need to be forced into reading more, but instead should take part in class read-alouds or
reading with an adult. This would help Claire feel more confident when reading alone and if she
does not comprehend the story line, she is given the opportunity to ask questions prior to
completing the story/book. As Cunningham and Allington considered when addressing students
reading levels and comprehension skills, reading aloud is a way to motivate children to become
more avid readers (2016). Discussed throughout component 1, Claire enjoys a certain variety of
texts therefore by taking into consideration what she is being read, this will affect her attitude
towards reading. If a student is uninterested in the material, of course their attitude is going to be
negative. If we are able to provide a variety of texts we will see that each student will look
forward to reading instead of dreading the assigned reading time (Cunningham & Allington,
2016). As Claire continues to get older and develop more inclusive reading skills, it is necessary
that we provide the correct material and support she needs throughout this period of transition.
Claire, along with her fellow peers, are developing their reading habits that will follow them
throughout their schooling career and by beginning to boost Claires perspective on reading, I am
Reflection
I felt as if while administering the test, numerous factors played into the results I had
further interpreted. Claire and I completed this literacy assessment in the classroom with her
fellow peers, as she may have been completing the test, I felt as if the student was somewhat
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distracted by everything going on around her. Trying to rush, Claire felt pressured to return to
her desk as her fellow students and teacher went over their daily bell-work. Now knowing this
student on a more personable level, I can say that these test scores were definitely skewed. I
have met with Claire on numerous occasions and have developed a closer relationship with this
specific student. Since the first time I met with this student I administered a test, I felt as if
Claire was extremely nervous and did not know how to read who I was and what I was in the
classroom for. Now knowing who I am and recognizing my face, Claire feels much more
comfortable talking to me and asking for help. Additionally playing into Claires test scores,
being given the option of four different Garfields whom were all similar in expression unless
described countless times, I felt as if my focus student was overwhelmed with the repetitive
Garfield rating. She tended to bounce between the Garfield that was 4 points and 3 points and so
forth. With everything aside, I feel as if my suggestions will help Claire succeed with her
Having visited my school numerous times before administering the second literacy
assessment, I was able to observe Claire as she worked on independent work as well as take a
look at her completed tests/scores. It is easy to notice that Claire is a hard working, yet sociable
girl. She is constantly working on completing the assigned work and does not give up on
anything, despite how difficult the assignment may be. With both Claire and I being in
departmentalized classrooms, I am quite limited as to what I can physically observe her working
on. My collaborative teacher focuses on social studies, science, and math whereas her partner
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teacher covers language arts and reading. Although this is the case, I have been able to watch
Claire complete handouts that involve reading as well as writing countless times. I have watched
her interactions with fellow students and how she goes about solving any personal problems.
Claire is a student that I truly admire because she overcomes anything that gets in her way.
While watching Claire read aloud to her classmates, whether it is a section in their
science textbooks or simple directions for a task, I notice that Claire seems to feel a little
uncomfortable while doing so. Certain words cause signs of stress, especially when
pronunciation is a problem. She then becomes nervous and flustered. I feel as if Claire is
somewhat self-conscious when it comes to her speech impediment and this is noticeable during
read alouds as well. While Claire completes journal entries, workbook pages, and/or worksheets,
she writes how she thinks certain words are spelled. For example, while answering a
multiplication word problem, Claire tried to explain her reasoning for the specific answer and
had trouble spelling fourth, she spelt the word as it sounds forth. If Claires teacher or
someone older, such as myself, is around, she asks for help, otherwise she does not seek for help
when it comes to misspelling words. As I have observed some aspects of literacy that may need
additional assistance, Claire is an exceptional worker and continues to turn in work that receives
As and Bs. She is able to read and write on her own for the most part, requiring only a little
Instructional Decisions
It is quite clear that Claire is a very bright child who enjoys learning and looks forward to
her days in school. However, this student seems to struggle with certain features of literacy.
While Claire seems to be nervous while reading aloud, I think this is the perfect opportunity to
work one on one with Claire and helping assist her with boosting her confidence regarding
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reading (Cunningham & Allington, 2016). Some students enjoy reading, but feel uncomfortable
reading to large groups; therefore by addressing this one on one Claire will not feel like the
center of attention. We can slowly work on reading to larger groups, beginning with reading to
the teacher (myself), then working onto a small group and so forth. When pronunciation is a
problem, I will help Claire break apart the word slowly and by recognizing familiar letter/sound
combinations, she will be able to pronounce any word placed in front of her! By breaking apart
the words slowly along with me pronouncing it, we will continuously repeat the word until it
becomes easy to pronounce. As far as Claires speech impediment, I plan on working with this
student for each letter/sound she may be struggling with. For example, when addressing Claires
R problem, I will give the student a speech journal and additional worksheets that work with
that specific pronunciation. I went through speech as a child as well so I feel as if this will play
into how I go about helping her with certain phonemes. Within in her speech journal, Claire can
track her progress and glue any helpful worksheets into it. By addressing each individual
pronunciation problem as well as her speech impediments, Claire will soon be able to read
When addressing Claires spelling issues, I think it is extremely helpful to provide the
students with a word wall. By using word walls in the classroom, every student is presented with
new or complicated words that are often misused and misspelled (Morris, 2015). I will not
provide one word wall, but provide numerous. One word wall for each subject will be displayed
(math, science, social studies, reading, etc.). This way words that may be struggling for students,
in each subject, can be shown and properly addressed. Word walls have been proven to be
extremely effective when assisting students while they write (Morris, 2015). In addition to
providing numerous word walls for Claire, I will use games that require spelling difficult words
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numerous times. Repetition is very important for younger children when memorizing new
information. One specific spelling game I find educational and engaging for students is spelling
stairs. Students write their word one letter at a time, eventually producing the full, correctly
spelled word. In order for Claire to spell words correctly, she must be able to recognize and
distinguish the different sound in words and further translating these sounds into words. The
following section describes Claires phonemic awareness and the designated test administered to
According to the article A Test for Assessing Phonemic Awareness in Young Children,
phonemic awareness is a skill required for successful reading and writing acquisition (Yopp,
1995). Phonemic awareness can be referred to as the awareness of sounds in the speech stream
and being able to break apart words into individual sounds (phonemes). Every individual word
can be broken down into phonemes and this is usually taught beginning in kindergarten. As
most know, phonemic awareness develops through a series of stages, the children first become
aware of the language being composed of numerous individual words, that the words are made
up of syllables, and that these syllables are further broken down into phonemes (Cunningham &
Allington, 2016). As some students do not grasp the idea of segmenting words, it is extremely
important to stress the teaching of phonemic awareness and make sure that every student
understands this concept. Phonemic awareness is crucial for success in reading and writing
phonemic awareness (Yopp, 1995). Attention must be given to those students who lack this
ability and by administering the following test, teachers can determine who needs help with
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phonemes and if needed, how much help do these students need. The Yopp-Singer test
measures a students ability to separately articulate the sounds of a spoken word in order
(Yopp, 1995). The Yopp-Singer test is easy to administer to any student, scores, and further
interpret the results guiding teachers to any necessary instructional decisions involving the
childs future.
Overview of Administration
This specific assessment is given orally and does not require the student to document
anything at all. The administrator or teacher (in this case, myself) will say a word such as dog,
the child then separates the word into the individual sounds: /d/-/o/-/g/. The letter names are
NOT the correct response; the actual separation of the sounds within the word is the appropriate
response. There are 22 words that are verbally stated and as the student segments the word, the
While giving Claire the Yopp-Singer assessment, I asked if it was all right for the two of
us to step out of the classroom. Since this was an oral test, I wanted to be in a quiet and calm
environment that way Claire was not distracted by anything. I discussed with Claire the
assessment I was giving to her and explained that it was not a grade; it was a simple word game
that helped me complete my own homework. She was ecstatic to learn that not only was this
assignment not a grade, but she was also helping me complete my own homework. With this in
mind Claire was ready to start the assessment and I explained the way I would administer the
test. I started off by saying Today were going to play a fun word game. Im going to say a
word out loud and I want you to try to break apart each of these words the best you can! If
youre having trouble with a specific word, that is fine, just try your very best. I continued by
starting off with an example that I did myself. For example, the word old can be broken down
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into three sounds, /o/-/l/-/d/. Now you try I provided Claire with three simple words to start
the test off with; these words included ride, go, and man. After seeing that Claire understood the
concept of this specific assessment, we then began the 22-word phoneme segmentation.
Summary of Results
I was quite surprised with Claires Yopp-Singer results. Numerous words gave Claire
problems and I noticed that she was not as phonemically aware as other third grades or children
her age. Out of the 22 questions, Claire got 12 wrong, giving her a score of 10/22. After
repeating the word numerous times, as well as in a sentence, Claire still struggled separating
each individual sound. Words such as zoo and top appeared to be easy, but words such as
three or grew were being lumped into one big sound/compilation of sounds. The word
three was not separated as /th/-/r/-/e/ but instead separated as /th/-/ree/. I noticed this
reoccurring issue as we worked through all 22 words and wanted to jump in to help the
struggling student. With Claires score being 10/22, this student is rated to be displaying the
emerging level of phonemic awareness. If proper assistance is not given and lack of intervention
is continued, this student will most likely experience difficulties when it comes to reading and
writing. With this assessment available, teachers can identify struggling students early on and
further develop an educational plan that will increase their phonemic awareness. By doing this,
emergent readers will be guided down the road to success with reading/writing.
Instructional Decisions
Considering the fact that Claire is still in the emerging phonemic awareness stage, certain
actions are necessary. As stated in Words their Way, phonemic awareness continues to
develop from partial to full across the letter name-alphabetic stage (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton
& Johnston, 2000). Activities such as sorting pictures for words/sounds, interactive writing, and
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the morning meeting all facilitate the opportunity for students to model phonemic segmentation.
Children who need additional help, such as Claire, will benefit from a variety of activities
exercises the teacher must work into the curriculum. Activities to help Claire with her phonemic
awareness are given orally, such as the Yopp-Singer assessment, that way they call attention to
Some activities that were discussing in Cunningham and Allington included using names
to build phonemic awareness, encouraging phonics spelling, count words, clapping syllables, and
reading rhyming books and chant rhymes aloud. These activities will make sure that Claire is
continuing to develop her ability when it comes to hearing and manipulating words.
(Cunningham & Allington, 2016). Out of the listed activities, I plan on incorporating the
following activities into my daily time with Claire: phonics spelling, clapping syllables, reading
rhyme/chant books, and blending/segmenting games. The wide variety of tools I will use when
helping Claire become phonemically aware gives her numerous options and very little chance to
Phonics spelling will require Claire to stretch out the sounds in a word, by doing so she
will become better at the skill of segmenting. This activity should really focus on the specific
sounds, again not the letters! Clapping syllables can be used with students names, objects in the
classroom and so forth, but mainly focus on the phonemic awareness skill of breaking words into
syllables and realizing when sounds are the same or different (Cunningham & Allington, 2016).
Claire loves animals so while working on this activity, we will be breaking apart different
animals, such as rabbit and alligator. I have already begun using rhyming and chant books to
help my students, specifically Claire, while teaching different lessons. By using these rhymes
and chants, we are able to see how well these children are able to read. I read the book One
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Vote, Two Votes, You Vote, I Vote by Bonnie Worth and I asked the students to clap to the
rhymes and towards the end, join in while I was reading the rhyming words. The last activity I
blending/segmenting games. These games will be for the whole class, that way Claire does not
feel like the center of attention. I will hold up different pictures (specifically things being
discussed in class that day) and students will have the chance to break apart these words, one
sound at a time (Cunningham & Allington, 2016). I will also have my students play a game of I
Spy, which will require them to see something in the room, stretch out its name, and then call
on another student to do figure out what was seen and start the next clue. By participating in
these endless activities, Claudia will be able to focus on segmenting words and this will play into
Reflection
Overall, the Yopp-Singer assessment was a test that was fun for both my focus student
and me. She thought some words were challenging, but she loves to challenge herself and this
activity was a tongue twister when it came to certain words. Considering the fact I had met with
Claire numerous times before administering the second assessment, I could sense how
comfortable she had grown with me. She was not nervous as we worked through the questions
and instead, she was laughing if she had difficulties. I felt as if Claire was more confused on
how to break apart words that were shorter such as no being /n/-/o/ and by being /b/-/y/.
Longer words seemed to be easier for Claire as she took her time breaking these apart and
focusing on each individual letters and its sounds. One could assume she may have felt rushed
with the shorter words or due to them being so short, she felt as if it was one, larger sound. In
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conclusion, the Yopp-Singer phonemic awareness assessment went great with no distractions,
Spelling Inventory
Spelling inventories are quick and clear ways to not only administer, but also evaluate
your students. They are consistent and extremely accurate when figuring out what your students
know about words (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton & Johnston, 2000). While testing my focus
student, it was brought to my attention that there is not one spelling inventory commonly used,
but three. The Primary Spelling Inventory, PSI, consists of 26 different words that first begin
with simple CVC words (rob, gum) and ends with more complicated words with inflectional
endings (camped, riding). This spelling inventory is recommended for kindergarteners up until
early third grade. This assessment evaluates features that are found in the early emergent stage
through the word pattern stage and is a very reliable scale when it comes to developmental word
knowledge (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton & Johnston, 2000). When students can spell more than
20 words correctly from the PSI, you should then use the Elementary Spelling Inventory, ESI.
This assessment has a total of 25 words that become increasingly difficult since this surveys a
range of students throughout the elementary grades. This specific inventory is recommended for
grades third through five as it identifies students up to the derivational stage, the final stage in the
developmental model of spelling (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton & Johnston, 2000). When
students spell at least 20 words correctly within the ESI, you then proceed to the Upper-Level
Spelling Inventory, USI, which is commonly used in upper elementary grades, middle, and high
school. The USI is even suitable for those students studying at college and university levels due
LITERACY PORTFOLIO 16
to the wide range of 31 different words that vary in difficulty. Many teachers are finding these
spelling inventories helpful when deciding what their students needs within their classroom and
Overview of Administration
Prior to administering the spelling inventory to my focus student, Claire, I was having a
hard time deciding on which assessment to use. Therefore, I decided to begin with the Primary
Spelling Inventory, PSI, and if she spelt at least 20 words correctly, I would then use the
Elementary Spelling Inventory, ESI. These inventories are not used for grading purposes rather
than determining your students word knowledge. Students should not have the time to study or
prepare for these assessments, while taking approximately 20 to 30 minutes to administer, set
aside some time in your daily routine to test your students (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton &
Johnston, 2000). As I explained to Claire that she was assisting me with my own homework, she
became extremely excited and ready to help. I gave her a numbered paper, 1-26, and made it
clear that this was not a test, but simply a spelling game. I then gave her a practice example of
what we would be doing for the next half hour or so. Okay Claire, let me remind you this is not
a test, but a spelling game.. I am going to list off a few words to you and I want you to spell them
to your best ability! We will start off with an example, CAT, I saw a tiny, little cat running
earlier today. I will list each word exactly like that and give you a few seconds to write how
you think it is spelt. Some words may be difficult, while other words will be extremely easy. If
As Claire began the Primary Spelling Inventory, I quickly saw that she knew every word
and was flying through this assessment! She even turned to me at one point and stated, These
words are so easy, I know all of them with a huge smirk. I then asked Claire to stop working on
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this specific inventory and explained that since she was doing so well, I was going to give her a
more challenging spelling game. I then gave her yet another piece of paper, this one numbered
1-25. I went over the rules again, but this time I made it clear that this assessment would be a bit
more challenging and she may have difficulties with a few words. I then began this assessment
by encouraging her to do her best and that she is so smart and helpful when it comes to assisting
me with my own homework. As we began the ESI, Claire flew through the first 9 and then
began breaking apart a few words slowly, hoping that would help her spell the words correctly.
Claire did not give up if she came across a difficult word, but instead took about a minute to
listen to the word as well as the sentences in hopes this would assist her with the correct spelling.
Summary of Results
Following the administration of both the Primary Spelling Inventory and Elementary
Spelling Inventory, I was able to conclude that Claire is having a difficulty mastering the
derivational relations spelling stage. As discussed earlier, this is the final stage in the
developmental model and students tend to move into this stage as early as grade 5, but more than
likely, found in middle school, high school, and college (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton &
Johnston, 2000). This stage continues throughout adulthood as the individual is constantly
learning new words and becoming more fluent with writing, reading, spelling, etc. The stage
derivational relations involves students examining how words are derived from base words and
word roots. The word study within this stage builds on a wide vocabulary and expands
While I was scoring and analyzing Claires spelling inventory, specifically the ESI since
she excelled while doing the PSI, I noticed a common trend with the words that specifically
required derivational relations. Out of 25 total words, Claire spelled 17 correctly. While looking
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at her mistakes, they all seemed to be common mistakes any third grader would make. Such as
forgetting a p within the word shopping or misspelling carries as carrys. However, out
of the 5 words that involved derivational relations, Claire misspelled 4. For example, the word
cellar was spelt as seller and the word pleasure was spelt as pleasher. Following the
analyzing of Claires results, I was able to look at strategies that could further promote Claires
Instructional Decisions
Since Claire showed lack of comprehending words as they are connected back to their
derivational relations, I decided to research specific activities that are designed for those students
within the derivational relations stage. I found numerous strategies that one can incorporate into
their daily routine, as a morning meeting or even an extension activity. These routines, games,
and activities can be adapted for students individual needs and focus primarily on the
derivational stage.
One activity that I absolutely loved was having the students Teach the Word to their
classmates. Since students need to learn many vocabulary words for content areas, teachers can
have their students assigned to one word and be responsible for teaching that word to their peers.
While teaching this word, the students will create a poster board that introduces the class to the
word, its definition, a synonym, an antonym, a sentence or an illustration explaining its meaning
The second activity I plan on trying with Claire as we work on her spelling and
derivational relations, is called Words that grow from Base Words and Word Roots. This
activity can be used with the whole class or within small-groups. By looking at an illustration of
a tree and its branches, students can see how words grow. This activity extends the
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understanding of how words are made up of different syllables and suffixes, etc. and how these
word elements combine to form the individual, whole word. For example, first decide on a
base/root word, such as spec then ask your students for different forms of this, that you will the
list on their own branches. Such as the words spectrum, respect, Disrespect and so forth
The last activity/game I found that I would love to introduce to Claire and her peers is
referred to as the Word Part Shuffle. This game is a noncompetitive, word blending exercise.
The students (usually within groups) receive a stack of cards consisting of prefixes, suffixes, and
bases/word roots. The students first create a variety of words that can be found within the
classroom dictionary and then the group creates a new word using a number of different cards.
Along with this word, they create the word meaning and then present this new word to their
class. This activity promotes group collaboration, which students love, as well as mastering the
Other than these helpful activities that specifically focus on the stage of spelling
development that Claire is within, I also plan on incorporating reading aloud into my classroom
daily. I feel as if reading aloud cannot only help students learn new words, but it also introduces
them to the pronunciation and spelling of these words as well (Cunningham & Allington, 2016).
Besides reading aloud to further advance Claires spelling skills, I also want to incorporate a
word wall into her classroom as well as my own, future classroom. The students within this third
grade class have a word wall for words that are being used in the specific units they are learning.
However, I feel as if this does not challenge the students or introduce them to more high-
frequency words (Cunningham & Allington, 2016). Therefore, by using a word wall to teach
Claire and her classmates new words, specifically those in which involve derivational relations,
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we are assisting them with mastering this stage of spelling development and setting them up for
Reflection
The spelling inventories were a very interesting way for me to look at my students word
knowledge. Prior to administering the ESI and PSI I had not looked directly at a students word
knowledge and assessed them by administering a spelling inventory. Therefore, I saw this as a
learning experience for both Claire and me. As I began testing Claire with the Primary Spelling
Inventory, PSI, I quickly saw that my student had mastered the techniques required to spell these
words such as syllables, consonants, and a variety of vowel usages. Once Claire spelt the
majority of these words correct, we moved on to the Elementary Spelling Inventory, ESI. I felt
as if this made Claire happy and she had a sense of success, due to the fact that she moved
forward and was being challenged even more. After working with Claire for a number of weeks,
I know she enjoys being challenged therefore I could sense her feeling of satisfaction. Overall,
both assessments took about 30 minutes to administer and Claire was disappointed when we
were done working together and she had to return to her original seat. I saw a common issue as
Claire worked on the ESI, this being directly related to the developmental stage of derivational
activities/strategies that can help Claire master this stage and become a fluent reader and writer.
The CORE Vocabulary Screening measures how well your students know the meaning of
knowledge is necessary for students to understand their grade-level content. In order for students
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to comprehend what they read, they have to be able to understand the vocabulary within their
text. This means the students have to have adequate vocabulary knowledge and consistently be
introduced to new, difficult words that way they continue to grow. This specific assessment
allows teachers to be able to determine which students lack vocabulary knowledge and are
This assessment involves the students reading a word, found in a box, then choosing one
out of three words, listed alongside, that have a similar meaning. This is a pure measurement of
reading vocabulary due to the fact that there is no text, context clues, and so forth. There is no
need to comprehend text in order to complete the task, as well as no context that would provide
clues of the meaning of the designated word (Milone, 2008). The student must look at the word
Overview of Administration
This assessment is extremely easy to administer, one of the simpler tasks to complete
with your focus student. As I sat with Claire on this Tuesday, I explained to her that I had one
last homework assignment for her to assist me with this semester. She exhaled with defeat and
explained that she loves helping me with my homework and hopes next time I come back we can
work together again. This made me smile and I quickly got into explaining our last assessment,
due to timing. I let Claire choose one of my many fun, colorful pens to use while circling the
correct answers on this task. She loves being able to use a different colored pen every time we
work together and she looks forward to this weekly. I laid form 3A of the CORE vocabulary
I began explaining the directions for this specific assessment. All right Claire, for this
short task, you have a list of 30 different words. The words you will be focusing on are found
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within boxes, directly after the number. There are 3 words listed right next to this box and you
have to determine what word you think best explains the meaning of the word found in the box.
I then flipped the page over and pointed to the sample item. We went over this example and she
explained to me that she has done something similar to this before and understands what to do. I
then let her work quietly on her own until she completed all 30 items.
Summary of Results
Following Claires completion of this task, I was pleased to see that she did extremely
well. Out of the 30 items found on the CORE vocabulary screening, Claire answered 28
correctly! The two words she did not know the meanings of were admire and dull, the
student had assumed admire meant wander and dull meant fierce. Looking at the
screening scores, I was able to determine that she is performing on benchmark level (receiving a
score of 75% or more correct). This means that the student has adequate vocabulary knowledge
Instructional Decisions
After administering the CORE vocabulary screening and seeing how well Claire did, one
can assume she is receiving proper instruction from both her teachers and family, at home. As
many know, in order for your children to do well, you have to not only push their academic
learning while in school, but you have to follow through with activities at home as well, such as
reading to your child at night or simply providing them with a variety of different genre and
grade-level books. In order to continue Claires vocabulary growth, reading aloud to the class, as
According to Words Their Way, Books provide the best exposure to new vocabulary for
young children Teachers need to draw attention to new words (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton
LITERACY PORTFOLIO 23
& Johnston, 2000, p. 122). By reading aloud to your classroom you are introducing new words
to your students as well as showing them the proper pronunciation of these words. Vocabulary
instruction should not be confused with spelling or phonics instruction, when looking at
vocabulary words, focus clearly on the meaning of these words. While learning new vocabulary,
students benefit from repetition and seeing the words in print as they hear them (Bear, Invernizzi,
Templeton & Johnston, 2000). Teachers should be deliberate when introducing their students to
new words and continuously repeat them within the book or even sentences throughout the day.
By reading aloud to Claire and her peers, I would not only be helping Claire expand her
vocabulary knowledge, but also assisting her classmates with their learning.
young children become more fluent in different reading/writing aspects. While a student is
independently reading they are using context clues to help them figure out any words that may be
unknown or confusing to them. This promotes their vocabulary building as they work
independently, it turns out that students develop the skill of using context to learn the meaning of
new words through reading in general, whether it be independent or reading aloud as a class
Reflection
After administering the CORE Vocabulary Screening, I was actually in shock. I did not
think Claire was so aware of different vocabulary words and their meanings. Through
interactions between her and her peers as well as myself and Claire, I had not known her
vocabulary knowledge was so extensive. After receiving a score of 28/30, Claires teachers and
I can focus on continuing her vocabulary growth and not have to stress the fact that she is behind
or not on level with fellow third-graders. Instead we can simply promote Claires reading that
LITERACY PORTFOLIO 24
way this has a positive impact on her vocabulary knowledge. By reading aloud in class and
providing students the time to read independently, Claire will teach herself new vocabulary
words or how she can decode the words by using context clues within a reading. After
completing a number of assessments with Claire and spending time with her weekly, I can
honestly say I feel as if the time we spent together had a positive impact on her schooling and
overall character. She loved coming to class and being able to work one-on-one with me, she
felt motivated to do well that way she could then share her scores with me and she felt
comfortable enough to confide in me when she was upset and/or stressed. I cannot wait to be
able to make an impact on not one, but every student that steps foot in my classroom!
Literacy portfolios are essential tools in many language arts classrooms and are an
extremely useful method for organizing and managing result-based studies. This literacy
portfolio allows myself, while becoming a future teacher, to select products that demonstrate a
specific students learning skills and decide what instruction decisions may support this students
assessments involving reading and writing that can be used throughout my teaching career with
my students. These portfolios further teach me how to help my students that are facing literacy
problems from a professional stance. With the proper research and resources, I can conquer my
diverse group of students specific needs and make sure that every student in my classroom is
excelling. Within this specific literacy portfolio, I will discuss fluency and comprehension based
income, suburban area of North Tampa. The demographics of the school do not vary by
immense numbers; there are approximately 51.19% Caucasian students, 32% Hispanic, and 5%
Asian, black, and multi-students. Shriners Elementary Schools vision/mission involve creating
an educated citizen of each child and providing all students with a variety of opportunities to
expand and strengthen their knowledge. The school holds their numerous policies very high,
these include; an anti-bullying policy, mandatory school uniform policy as well as a school-wide
discipline plan. Bullying is not tolerated at Shriners and teachers as well as students are held to
a high level of maturity and appropriation. Uniforms are enforced in this school because this
makes sure the students look similar and they are not judging one another based off what they
wear and/or own. The school-wide discipline plan lays out several rules that apply to the school
the lunchroom, bus riders, and specific classroom situations. Shriners Elementary holds every
student very high and expects children to work hard and succeed with their teachers assistance.
With Claires situation, home-life and individual needs, Shriners Elementary School is a great
institution to attend.
head teacher, Mrs. Love (pseudonym) for this specific homeroom. Mrs. Love and her partner
teacher, Mrs. Petals (pseudonym), are part of a departmentalized classroom, meaning each
teacher covers specific subjects and teaches their lessons to two different homeroom classes or
blocks of children. Mrs. Love teaches language arts, reading, and writing. There are
multiracial students. Of the 4 Hispanic students, 2 of them are bilingual, speaking Spanish at
LITERACY PORTFOLIO 26
home, however this was not their first language, they were taught Spanish as they also learned
English. Mrs. Loves classroom is very flexible with seating, containing numerous desks, places
to read, a gathering carpet, couch, yoga balls, and random blankets/towels to sit on. She
provides her students with places to work independently throughout the classroom, that way they
are not fidgeting throughout the day and are given the chance to move around. This classroom is
filled with a variety of different books that way her students can find something that sparks their
interest and are always able to find a new, interesting text to read. Claires peers are extremely
rambunctious and require additional supervision at all times. A few students struggle with
listening to classroom procedures and school rules, which results in occasional loss of time
during instruction.
year-old Caucasian female who is very social and eager to learn. By meeting with Claire on
numerous occasions, I have learned that she was once classified as homeless and had to stay in
different friends or relatives houses and on rare occasions, even homeless shelters. Since she
was a young girl, she has been bouncing back and forth between Georgia and Florida, her
grandparents residing in Georgia, while her aunt lives in Florida with a young child and
boyfriend. For some extended periods of time, Claire lived with her grandparents until returning
to her mothers custody. Within the past few months, Claires aunt received custody due to her
mother being placed in a womens penitentiary for prostitution, use of illegal drugs as well as
mental illnesses. Claire stays in contact with her mother via phone calls, but has very few
visitations with her each month. Due to her home life, she is actively engaged in the Big
Brothers, Big Sisters of America program and this has helped her build supportive relationships
LITERACY PORTFOLIO 27
that make a lasting impact on her life. As of now, she is working with an older teenage girl who
assists her with homework and gives her opportunities to do fun things such as going to the
When starting third grade at Shriners Elementary, the administration staff addressed with
both teachers that Claire had just returned from a two week move to Georgia and was not
enrolled in school during this time frame. Due to this absence, it is thought that Claire is
struggling with certain subjects and requires additional assistance. As of the last grading period,
Claire was marked on-level for reading, writing, and social studies while struggling and being
marked below-level in mathematics and science. She loves to read, whether it be out-loud to her
peers or alone during silent reading time. Claire enjoys books that vary in genre, but are more
intrigued with those involving suspenseful mysteries. Claire has been progressing with reading
and writing throughout the year and this can be seen by looking at her pieces of work. While
trying to improve in the subjects of mathematics and science, Claires teachers have been very
accommodating and understanding, continuing to motivate her daily. Claire continues to work
daily, despite struggling with certain subjects, and comes to school with a positive attitude, while
working exceptionally well with her peers. Claire is a lovely third-grader and a pleasure to
teach!
Running Records offer us a preview into what the brains of our students may be as they
continue to grow and change while reading. These tools are the most important instruments we
can use while assessing how our students are while reading, whether it involve fluency and/or
documenting the rapidly changing development of students as we observe and evaluate their oral
LITERACY PORTFOLIO 28
reading. Once comfort has been established within the classroom, these assessments can be
given on the spot, within the classroom, one-on-one with your student of focus. When used
effectively, running records continue to be valid, useful assessment tools for teachers of all grade
Since childrens reading levels change so quickly, it is very important to take running
records often, approximately every three to four weeks. This will help you better monitor their
progress and document what strategies are working best for your student (Macmillan/McGraw-
Hill, 2006). While administering a running record, there are three cueing systems that students
must use to be successful readers, meaning cues, structure cues, and visual cues. Meaning cues
involve the student using the meaning or the general context of the story/sentence as cues.
Structure cues are when the structure of the text is of acceptable English language construction,
does it sound right? Lastly, visual cues in the text are the visual appearances of the letters and
words throughout the piece of writing and focus on whether the error looks like the given word.
Once a student masters these three cues, they are successful readers with little to no errors.
During the administration of running records, the teacher must follow along with the
reader and determine what cues were being used when an error was made, as well as when a self-
correction was made. Errors, or mistakes while reading orally, can include mispronunciation of
a word(s), and skipping specific words or phrases. Self-correction is when a student corrects
themselves while reading, whether it be right away or going back to a given word/phrase.
Following the administration of running records, one must determine words read per minute, the
error rate, reading accuracy percentage, and self-correction rate. Words per minute, WPM,
inform you with how many words a minute your student could read while reading aloud this
given passage. The error rate lets you know how many errors were made and further determines
LITERACY PORTFOLIO 29
the reading accuracy percentage, which identifies your students reading level (frustrational,
instructional, and independent). When a student is at the frustrational level, this is acceptable for
read alouds, the instructional level is more appropriate for guided reading, while the independent
level is appropriate for independent reading. Self-correction rates are positive reading behaviors
and show you whether your student is self-correcting while reading ((Macmillan/McGraw-Hill,
2006).
While administering my running records, I pulled Claire aside during the allotted time for
bell work, which is the daily review they do first-thing every morning. Each running record took
approximately five minutes, while listening to the student read aloud and following the reading
of each text with a few comprehensive questions. Claire works well in fast-paced, lively
environments so I did not remove this student from the classroom. Instead, I pulled her to a
small, table for 4, in the corner of the classroom which is located by the teachers desk.
I have worked with this student throughout the past few weeks during our internship and
she gets very excited when she can work with me, one-on-one. Since I administered the
numerous assessments for our Emergent Literacy Portfolio to this same student last semester, she
was very eager to work on another literacy piece with me. She had continued to ask whether I
had any tests for her each week, until I began administering these running records over the
course of the past few months. I could tell when she finished each text she wanted to continue to
read aloud and avoid returning to her seat to work on her given classroom work.
Once I called the student to our own, side table, I gave her the specific text she would be
reading aloud and had her get situated comfortably that way she could read without any
disruptions. Before she began reading, I said I would like you to read to me! Do not feel any
LITERACY PORTFOLIO 30
pressure to read every word correctly, if a word gives you any trouble, do whatever you would
normally do while reading alone. As you read, I am going to take notes about the great things
you are doing! When you are finished reading, I want you to tell me a little bit about the reading
and answer a few questions I ask you. Now show me your great, reading skills! While
administering these running records, I read along with the student by following my own,
personal copy of the piece of writing and timing her on my cellphone. I did not make any verbal
comments on how she was doing, but simply followed along with my pen and paper and
continuously nodded as she read, that way she did not feel as if she was doing it incorrectly.
When she finished reading, I quickly totaled the total number of miscues (errors) and self-
LITERACY PORTFOLIO 31
corrections. I then asked her to share information about the story (retell) and asked two,
comprehensive questions to see if she was able to comprehend the text while reading aloud.
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While listening to Claire read orally, I was determining whether this student was
classified as a fluent reader. As I timed Claire reading each passage, I was taking note of how
many words were read per minute, as well as if and what type of miscues were most common as
Claire read aloud. I listened to this students expression/volume, phrasing, smoothness, and pace
while she read, which helped me determine what instructional decisions could maintain or
Administration
As discussed prior, before administering Claire a running record, I moved this student to
our own, personal desk in the corner of the classroom. I reminded her each time that this was not
an assessment and I simply wanted to listen to her read aloud and see what great, successful
reading strategies she uses while doing so. While focusing specifically on fluency, I made sure I
was timing this student and marking every miscue or error run into throughout the given text. I
did not let Claire see the paper I was marking because I did not want the student to get
overwhelmed with thinking she was doing something incorrectly or not at the right pace. Once
Claire finished reading the given text, I then asked her to share with me some information
Results
As I reviewed Claires running records, I was able to infer that this student is quite the
fluent reader! She could read 126-138 words per minute, depending on the difficulty of the text
with few errors and self-corrections. Claire was reading every passage at a reading accuracy
percentage of 98% her self-correction rate was 1:1.5 - 1:2 (which means she corrects one out of
LITERACY PORTFOLIO 35
every 1.5 or 2 words). By computing this equation and receiving this percentage, I determined
that she was at the independent reading level. Meaning she can read independently, within
While looking at our fluency rubric, Claire scored a total of 12 points, which means she is
making good progress with fluency. While addressing Claires expression and volume, she read
with volume and expression, however, at times she would begin reading expressionless and did
not sound as if she was talking to a friend, but instead quite bored or uninterested. Claire read
with a mixture of run-ons, pauses for breath, and some choppiness depending on whether the text
was appealing and if she was confused on a given word/phrase. This also led to occasional
breaks with her rhythm, since she had difficulties with specific words and sentences. Claire did
not read at a conversational pace, but instead read fast and slow throughout the reading. By
looking at Claires results, one can infer that she has good fluency skills, while growing
throughout the year, and this can be supported through several activities within the classroom.
Instructional Decisions
Since Claire can read fluently, while showing growth on her own, I think some activities
can be incorporated into her language arts instruction that foster those skills of a fluent reader.
Modeled reading, such as read alouds, increase fluency-intonation, expression, phrasing, and
pauses to show meaning. Another idea I would love to give a try in this energetic third-grade
classroom is performance, examples of this specific strategy include readers theater. This
While trying to increase Claires fluency, modeled reading has always proved to be
pace that should be used for a given text, your students can learn what is expected of them as
LITERACY PORTFOLIO 36
they read aloud and/or independently. Reading aloud to students introduces vocabulary,
provides a model of fluent, expressive reading, and helps your students grow fond of reading for
pleasure. This promotes their vocabulary building as they work independently, it turns out that
students develop the skill of using context to learn the meaning of new words through reading in
general, whether it be independent or reading aloud as a class (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton &
Johnston, 2000). By reading aloud in class and providing students the time to read
independently, Claire will teach herself new vocabulary words or how she can decode the words
by using context clues within a reading. As Cunningham and Allington considered when
addressing students reading levels and fluency skills, reading aloud is a way to motivate children
Besides reading aloud to your students, performance strategies, such as readers theater,
not only involve repeated reading, but encourage fluency as a daily, necessary skill for students
retelling them through their actions and words. While providing your students with fun,
purposeful practice through their participation in readers theater, you are also improving their
reading fluency through their performance with different scripts. Readers theater allows
students to improve their vocabulary as they get introduced to new words, partake in repeated
reading as they practice their scrips repetitively, and involves tying in prior knowledge while
learning new content involving history, people events, and places. As students work in readers
theaters, they are practicing reading aloud different scripts and fostering proper reading fluency,
the correct expression/volume, phrasing, smoothness, and pace that should be used while
reading. Since Claire enjoys interacting with her peers and having fun, both inside and outside
the classroom, readers theater would be a great strategy to implement into her classroom.
LITERACY PORTFOLIO 37
comprehension level. There are numerous ways to assess the students comprehension; through
incorporates numerous strategies as the student organizes their thinking and must demonstrate
higher level reasoning by reiterating what went on throughout the text. The specific running
records I was administering to Claire, came with two, comprehensive questions for each passage.
While recording her responses, I could evaluate the depth, detail, and accuracy of each response.
Administration
Once I moved Claire to our own desk in the corner of the classroom, I then gave the
student the given text we would be reading together. I reminded the student that she should not
feel any pressure, since this is not an assessment, she should continue to read how she normally
would do on her own time. Once I asked Claire to retell the story, I made note of what details
she included and whether she could list any specific key details that were mentioned throughout
the story. I then asked her two comprehensive questions such as Why do you think Lucys
brother dropped the phone? or How do you think Amy felt when she was back home? While
Results
While reviewing Claires running records, I inferred that Claire could read and take in
most details, but still struggled with comprehending the overall text and its supporting
details/facts. While Claire was retelling each passage, she could share many of the events in the
correct sequence with key facts, but not the whole story. She included many important details
LITERACY PORTFOLIO 38
from the text while referring to most characters by name or a topic involving a generic
name/label (dog, cat, etc.). When asked the comprehensive questions, Claire responded with
Instructional Decisions
Since Claire is showing she can think comprehensively while reading, I want to continue
to foster these skills throughout her daily instruction. She is so close to being a fully
comprehensive and fluent reader, but she still needs assistance while recalling specific, key
details involving different texts. By using supported reading, specifically songs, I will work to
improve Claires comprehension problems due to fluency, therefore working on these two areas
she can continue to grow. I will also use repeated reading strategies such as read around the
room, to help Claire recall facts, main ideas, and vocabulary from text(s). By building these
comprehension skills, Claire will be lead to higher-level thinking as well as more insightful
questions.
Supported reading, a routine in which teachers spend time addressing any issues and/or
difficulties their students may be facing while working with different texts, can be used for a
whole class as well as in isolated, smaller groups. Supported reading can be explained as a
combination of practices that foster text comprehension and aid your students with developing
familiarity with challenging texts. As said previously, I am incorporating different songs into
Claires daily instruction. Websites such as Flocabulary provide educators with countless songs,
in different genres, that cover grade-specific content. These songs are another way to enforce
comprehension of a difficult topic or repeatedly drill your students with the information needed
to excel. When teachers implement songs into their classroom, they are not only encouraging
LITERACY PORTFOLIO 39
reading comprehension, but they are also continuing to improve their students fluency! By
working on Claires fluency, through song, I am supporting her with both her fluent and
comprehensive understanding of a text. By improving her fluency skills, she will eventually be
able to gain a better understanding of the third-grade texts she is reading. Children are much
more likely to remember material/content they are interested in and what better way to engage
your students than in song? Since Claire enjoys listening to music and singing along with the
daily morning show, I felt as if this was a perfect way to encourage reading comprehension.
I also plan on using the reading strategy known as read around the room, to help Claire
solidify her understanding of a text. Reading around the room can be used many ways,
depending on the specific grade and content being taught. With my third-grade student, Claire, I
would implement reading around the room by allowing my students to read a text aloud, with
their peers, as they discuss certain aspects of the text and inferring what happens next. Reading
around the room allows students to recall facts, main ideas, and vocabulary from text(s) through
collaborating with their peers. By building these comprehension skills through song and reading
around the room, Claire will be lead to higher-level thinking as well as more insightful questions.
Reflection
After administering Claire numerous running records, I have mixed feelings on this
specific assessment tool. I learned that every student is different and by administering numerous
assessments and taking into consideration their home-life, background, and so forth, you can
further accommodate their individual needs. If you do not take the time to administer these
assessments and consider each student, individually, you cannot help every student become a
successful, literate individual. This takes time as well as patience, but is necessary for every
teacher to do! These assessments informed my instruction because I got a close-up look at what
LITERACY PORTFOLIO 40
Claire has mastered certain aspects of each component; therefore, some instructional decisions
may be eliminated or weeded-out simply because they will not be beneficial. As I reflect on my
overall experience with Claire and running records, I can say that I learned a lot while
I have heard mixed reviews while discussing running records with other teachers. Some
love using the tool since it is so detailed and quick to administer, however some despise this tool
because of how quickly one must follow along while the student is reading. I have always
enjoyed reading and listening to young children read brings me such great joy. Claire enjoys
reading and working with me individually, you can hear it in her voice as she reads aloud.
Therefore, following along as Claire read each passage was not hard, but pleasurable. At times,
when Claire would read extremely quick, it was hard for me to follow along, but I only had
difficulties when I had to mark an error or self-correction as she read. This let me see how some
teachers may not agree with this tool and that it can be complicated depending on your student
and their reading level. Despite this one trouble, I loved administering running records and I
accommodate every student in my classroom on a more personalized level and watch them grow
correlated to her academic level, I looked at two different assessments. The Elementary Spelling
Inventory and CORE vocabulary screening were ideal assessments to look at while inferring the
LITERACY PORTFOLIO 41
instructional strategies that could benefit Claire, as she is working on her word study skills. The
Elementary Spelling Inventory, ESI, is a quick and accurate way of evaluating how well your
students can spell grade specific units of language. The ESI has a total of 25 words that become
increasingly harder as your student progresses, as you read the words aloud your student spells
them, to the best of his or her ability, on their own paper. The CORE Vocabulary Screening
measures how well your student know the meaning of different grade-level words. There are 30
words on this assessment and your student(s) must circle the correct meaning for each word,
which shows whether they comprehend the meaning of the given word or not.
While looking at Claires result for the two, word study assessments, Claire showed that
she is on-level regarding spelling and only faces difficulties while spelling words that are
grouped with the derivational relations spelling stage. The stage derivational relations
involves students examining how words are derived from base words and word roots. This is the
final stage in the developmental model and students tend to move into this stage as early as grade
5, but more than likely, found in middle school, high school, and college (Bear, Invernizzi,
Templeton & Johnston, 2000). Out of a total of 25 words, Claire spelled 17 correctly. Of the 8
comprehension, I inferred that she is performing on benchmark level (receiving a 75% or higher)
since she scored a 28/30! She has adequate vocabulary knowledge for reading in her grade-level.
Claire demonstrates both phonics and phonemic awareness as she can read and
pronunciate different letter/word sounds. Phonics, the understanding that sounds and printed
letters are associated, is the first step towards reading. Phonemic awareness is a skill required for
successful reading and writing as well. These two pillars of literacy were demonstrated
countless times as Claire worked on her word study assessments and could read, write, and break
LITERACY PORTFOLIO 42
apart words into their individual sounds as she spelt different grade-specific words on her own.
Claire successfully proved that she is comprehending different vocabulary words, while only
missing 2 words on her assessment. With her vocabulary knowledge continuing to grow, her
overall comprehension of third-grade texts and content will improve as well. With Claires
phonics, phonemic awareness, and vocabulary being so strong, this student can read and write
fluently while comprehending the material. The only weakness I saw while working with my
focus student involved derivational relations and as discussed before, this is usually not mastered
Since Claire is a third-grader, preparing to move up to the fourth grade, I wanted to focus
on the state standard, LAFS.3. L.3.4, which is determine the meaning of unknown and multiple-
meaning word and phrases, based on grade 3 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range
of strategies. While working on this standard with Claire, she could use sentence-level context
as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase and determine the meaning of a new word when a
known affix was added to a known word. As we know, word study is necessary for young
children to accumulate the knowledge that will be required in the years to come. After assessing
Claires word study knowledge, I would recommend a few instructional decisions to continue to
foster her spelling/vocabulary knowledge. Since Claire showed lack of comprehending words
activities into her daily instruction that are designed for those students within the derivational
relations stage. Teach the Word involves students teaching their peers about a specific word,
within the derivational relations stage, that is assigned to them. Claire, as well as her classmates,
would be in charge of creating a small poster/paper that introduces the class to the word, its
definition, a synonym, antonym, and a sentence or illustration that explains its meaning within
LITERACY PORTFOLIO 43
written/spoken content (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton & Johnston, 2000). As we work on Claires
spelling and derivational relations, Words that grow from Base Words and Word Roots is
another great strategy to use. This activity can be used with the whole class or within small-
groups. By looking at an illustration of a tree and its branches, students can see how words
grow. This activity extends the understanding of how words are made up of different syllables
and suffixes, etc. and how these word elements combine to form the individual, whole word.
new words as she works on her own during class time. Per Words Their Way, Books provide
the best exposure to new vocabulary for young children (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton &
Johnston, 2000). By reading aloud to Claire and her classmates, she will continue to learn new
For those students who are English Language Learners or ESE, exceptional student
education, word study may be a tricky area to improve. By participating in activities such as
Teach the word or Words that grow from Base Words and Word Roots, you are providing
your students with a fun way to interact with their peers as well as learning from one another
socially. These activities can be modified to work with a diverse group of students. Instead of
using words to explain the assigned word of focus, an ESOL student can use pictures. The
pictures can be used to give a synonym, antonym, and a picture can be drawn instead of a
sentence. ESE learners will be engaged in this activity as it calls on students to focus, acquire
new information, and show their understanding through their own description and/or pictures.
While looking at fluency and how we can successfully interpret where our students stand
with their fluency skills, running records are great tools to use in the classroom. Running
Records offer us a preview into what the brains of our students may be as they continue to grow
while reading. These tools are the most important instruments we can use while assessing how
our students are while reading, whether it involve fluency and/or comprehension
(Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, 2006). Running records are usually used when documenting the
rapidly changing development of students as we observe and evaluate their oral reading. When
used effectively, running records continue to be valid, useful assessment tools for teachers of all
grade levels (Shea, 2012). When I first began working with Claire, she was reading a much
lower level than she is now. When first she could read only 90 words per minute, this student
now can read 126-138 words per minute, depending on the texts difficulty. Claire was reading
every passage at a reading accuracy percentage of 98% her self-correction rate was 1:1.5 - 1:2
(which means she corrects one out of every 1.5 or 2 words). By computing this equation and
receiving this percentage, I determined that she was at the independent reading level. Meaning
she can read independently, within groups, as well aloud to her peers/teacher. When focusing on
fluency, as it relates to the pillars of literacy that is vital for successful readers and writers, Claire
is making progress with her fluency skills and has shown growth on her own, with little
guidance. By looking at these results, I concluded that she has good fluency skills, while
growing throughout the year, and this can be continuously fostered through activities within the
classroom.
The state standard, LAFS.3.RF.4.4, read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support
necessary skills needed for a successful reader. While trying to achieve this goal, I worked with
LITERACY PORTFOLIO 45
Claire as she read on-level text with purpose and understanding and used context clues to
confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding when required. Since Claire can
read fluently, while showing growth on her own, I think some activities can be incorporated into
her language arts instruction that foster those skills of a fluent reader. Modeled reading, such as
read alouds, increase fluency-intonation, expression, phrasing, and pauses to show meaning.
Another idea I would love to give a try in this energetic third-grade classroom is performance,
examples of this specific strategy include readers theater. This continues to work on fluency
Activities that foster fluency are easy to modify whether it be for those ESOL students or
the students classified as ESE. To work with these diverse students, teacher modeling is vital
and extended time should be given as well. Modeling and using gestures to aid in understanding
can be a very effective accommodation for ELLs. Make sure that youre not only modeling
during instruction, but that you also model directions as well. ELLs and ESE studentsx require
more time to process and communicate information on assessments. To support these students,
one can give them additional time on tests. Extra time will also help to decrease anxiety, which
Since childrens reading levels change quite often, it is very important to take running
records frequently, approximately every three to four weeks. By doing so, you can better
monitor their progress and document what strategies are working best for your student
(Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, 2006). While administering running records for both fluency and
comprehension, I could infer that Claire was a fluent reader, but at times, would struggle with
her comprehension of the text. There are numerous ways to assess the students comprehension;
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checked Claires comprehension level through retelling and comprehensive questions. Retelling
incorporates numerous strategies as the student organizes their thinking and must demonstrate
higher level reasoning by reiterating what went on throughout the text. The specific running
records I was administering to Claire, came with two, comprehensive questions for each passage.
While recording her responses, I could evaluate the depth, detail, and accuracy of each response.
While fluency and comprehension go hand in hand, I was caught off guard when Clair
had difficulties comprehending certain texts. By focusing on the state standard, LAFS.3.RI.1.1,
ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text
as the basis for the answers, I was able to critique Claires comprehension level. Through
questioning and discussion, I noticed that Claire was not fully comprehending those texts she
was reading when distractions were occurring around her. While Claire was retelling each
passage, she shared many of the events in the correct sequence with supporting facts, but not the
whole story. She included many important details from the text while referring to characters by
name or a topic involving a generic name/label (dog, cat, etc.). When asked the two,
Students tend to struggle with comprehension when they lack phonics, phonemic awareness, and
vocabulary knowledge, however with Claire mastering these three pillars, she is on the right
track to becoming a more fluent and comprehensive reader! With the overall goal regarding
Claires comprehension being the state standard, LAFS.K12.R.4.10, read and comprehend
complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently, I recommend that Claire
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continuously works on her comprehensive skills as she reads aloud, with her peers, or
independently.
With my focus student, Claire, I would implement reading around the room, to foster
comprehension skills, by allowing my students to read a text aloud, with their peers, as they
discuss certain aspects of the text and inferring what happens next. Reading around the room
allows students to recall facts, main ideas, and vocabulary from text(s) through collaborating
with their peers. I also recommend the continuous use of graphic organizers while reviewing
difficult texts and materials. By using graphic organizers, Claire could break apart different
readings and focus on the main idea, supporting details, and overall sequence of the story.
To better accommodate those students who are ELL, English Language Leaners, or ESE,
exceptional student education, one can incorporate the usage of story re-creation and picture
quiz into their classroom. These two activities involve the use of pictures, whereas some
students may become confused while trying to explain a story and its details in words,
specifically that of the English language. Using graphic organizers can be done with any
student, however, when doing this with those who are classified as ESOL or ESE, I would pull
them into small-differentiated groups. That way we can discuss specific details and work
After working extensively on my literacy portfolio, I can say that I learned a lot from this
compilation of student information, results, and data. When working on a literacy portfolio, you
are tracking the growth of a specific student and deciding what can be done to better foster the
skills in which they need assistance. By tracking different assessments and their results, one can
LITERACY PORTFOLIO 48
get a close look at what should be done specifically and pass these results onto the students
While I enjoy writing, I did not view this portfolio as a negative, time-consuming
assignment. It was very interesting to see my students growth and can look back at the different
assessments we worked on together. Doing research to find new strategies that could be
implemented into my students classroom was not only informative, but helpful for my
collaborative teacher as well. While doing research for this portfolio, I was introduced to
strategies/techniques that I did not know of and I now can try them out in my future classroom!
When I finished my portfolio, both last semester and currently, I had such a feeling of
satisfaction that I felt encouraged to continue working on major assignments! This portfolio was
enjoyable to work on and I look forward to having to do similar tasks in the near future.
While this is only a small scale of what we will be doing in our future, by working on this
literacy portfolio I was taught how to administer different assessments, what to look for while
doing so, and how to interpret my results. These assessments were new to me, but I took a liking
to them. They are a quick, informative tool to use while seeing your students academic
standings and I can use these assessments with not just one, but numerous future students of
mine! While it was fun to work closely with a student of interest, I also felt as if it was
somewhat complicated to administer all the assessments given in both semesters. Since we have
been interning only one day a week, it seems as if we have twenty other assignments to do as
well so time is of the essence while we are at our school that one day. I felt as if our assessment
deadlines conflicted with other classes major assignments and this caused stress and sleepless
nights.
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important it is to get to know our students on a personal basis. By getting to know our students
we can better accommodate their needs and change our daily instruction. As we change our
instruction strategies/techniques, we can make sure each individual student is receiving the
necessary modifications and we may not have to go through such an extensive process, such as
this portfolio. I am so glad I have got to participate in such a learning experience as I worked on
this portfolio. I was exposed to a variety of things I would be doing in my future such as
administering different assessments, deciding what instructional decisions were best for a given
student, and adjusting my lessons to accommodate every students needs. This literacy portfolio
was nothing but a learning experience and I am so glad I was required to do this!
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References
Bear, D. R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (2000). Words their way: Word study
for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Merrill.
Cunningham, P. M., & Allington, R. L. (2016). Classrooms that work: They can all read and
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Reading_F5_pdf.pdf
Mckenna, M. C., & Kear, D. J. (1990). Measuring Attitude Toward Reading: A New Tool for
Milone, M. (2008). CORE Vocabulary Screening. In CORE Manual (pp. 120-146). Academic
Therapy Publications.
Morris, D. (2015). Preventing Early Reading Failure. The Reading Teacher, 68(7), 502-509.
doi:10.1002/trtr.1346
Shea, M. (2012). Running records: authentic instruction in early childhood education. London:
Routledge.
Wixson, K. K., & Lipson, M. Y. (in press). Reading diagnosis and remediation. Glenview, IL:
Scott, Foresman.
Yopp, H. K. (1995). A Test for Assessing Phonemic Awareness in Young Children. The Reading