Solutions/Suggested Plan of Action

 

Solutions/Suggested Plan of Action

Maria’s comprehension when reading does not seem to be hindered.  The book she read from was an upper 4^th grade level book.  I would recommend that she continue to read higher level chapter books to increase comprehension and vocabulary.  She also enjoys The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.  I would recommend the other books in this series but also expand into graphic novels which also come in chapter books.  The graphic novel genre is very popular and there are many that would appeal to her interests.  I would also recommend reading at home with her parents.  While they may not be able to help her, it will help improve her fluency and build her confidence.  She may even read to the younger kids in her household.

The first plan of action in the classroom is to set up a system for Maria to self-monitor her homework.  She needs to be responsible for doing it and bring it back to school.  The teacher will make a chart to place in her cubby where she can check off if she brought her homework or any papers that need to be signed back to school.  Since her cubby is the first thing she sees in the morning it will remind her to check off on her chart.  Her cubby is also the last thing she sees when she leaves for the day so it will help serve as a reminder to get her homework done when she gets home.  She will receive rewards to be determined by herself and her teacher. Possible rewards include more free reading time, more library time, or even a book.  At the end of each week she will meet with her teacher and they will review her homework chart/goal together.

The teacher will also send a translated letter home to Maria’s parents asking for a teacher conference.  She will explain in the letter Maria could use their help to improve her school work and that she would like to discuss some ways they could do to help.  It would also be explain that a translator would be present and it would be held at a time convenient to them.  Maria would also need to get this letter signed and returned.  The point of the conference will be for Maria’s parents to help hold her accountable for doing and returning her homework.  This seems insignificant but if Maria’s parents see school work as significant enough to complete at home Maria will also see that school work is important.  This will also serve as a link to connect her school life and her home life.

Maria’s writing is between a beginning and intermediate level writer.  In order to instill a fondness of writing I would recommend a buddy journal between Maria and one of her friends.  The students could brainstorm about what topics they want to write about in their journal.  They would then keep the final list on the front page of the journal so they could choose one when they are ready to move on to a new topic.  Their responses will be to the content and not form of the message.

For writing in the classroom Maria needs to practice her process writing skills.  To begin her writing she should discuss her ideas orally with a buddy (a higher level writer) or the teacher and write them down in a cluster style graphic organizer.  Once that is completed she should take those ideas and elaborate by using the show and not tell strategy.  Since Maria has a tendency to write simple sentences she also should work on sentence combining.  Once Maria begins to gain confidence in her fluency the teacher should correct minimally and expand upon corrections as her confidence grows.