CASE STUDY

Name: Shelby School: Mill Valley Elementary

Birthdate: 9-19-2012 Grade: 1st
Age: 7 Date of report: 1-21-20

REASON FOR REFERRAL

★ Reading Difficulties
○ Below Grade Level Reading Ability
○ Word Attack Concerns
○ Comprehension Concerns
○ Phonological Awareness and Phonemic Awareness Concerns
Comments:
Shelby was referred for intervention due to her word attack, comprehension, and phonological
and phonemic awareness difficulties. According to her teacher, Shelby struggles to see the
parts within a single or multisyllabic word. According to her teacher, Shelby struggles to hear
and produce rhyming words. Shelby also struggles to sequentially retell a fiction and nonfiction
text. Shelby’s parents love her excitement for reading and want to keep that alive within her.
However, they fear that she is going to continue to fall behind. Shelby is currently below grade
where a middle of the year 1st grade student should be. Shelby is currently reading where an
end of the year Kindergarten student would be reading.

CASE HISTORY
★ Birth Data
Shelby was 9 days late and did have a few complications at birth. The birth was over 28
hours from the time my water broke until she was born. Shelby was twisted sideways and
became stuck, so to speak, on her way out. This lengthened the birthing time. Shelby spent
about 24 hrs in the NICU for antibiotics due to her increased risk of infection. They also
wanted to monitor her for any cranial bleeding due to her complications during delivery.
★ Developmental History
Shelby has developed normally and appropriately for her age. She has many friends,
engages with others well in social situations, and has met several academic milestones.
Shelby did walk at a later age than most children (18 months), other than that Shelby
developed normally and appropriately. Her parents stated that she has struggled with
reading and writing since preschool. They stated that she has a hard time focusing and
engaging which they do believe is impacting her learning in reading and writing. Shelby did
not know her letters or letter sounds coming into Kindergarten (which most students do at
 our school). Shelby also went to summer school this past summer for additional reading
support. They believe Shelby has been behind since early on but believe she is receiving
the assistance she needs to catch up to her peers.
★ Medical History
Shelby’s parents did not note any medical concerns they have for Shelby. She does not
have any eyesight, hearing, or medical concerns that may impact her learning. They
mentioned that they notice Shelby is often distracted easily and has a hard time focusing on
a task. However, they are going to continue to monitor and see if she grows out of it as she
gets older.
Comments:
Overall, Shelby was born full term, had a few complications, and developed at the same rate of
other children her age. Shelby’s parents are aware that she is behind in reading and writing but
are unsure why. Shelby has been exposed to print at an early age and have multiple
experiences with reading and writing at home on a daily basis. Her parents are concerned about
Shelby’s struggle with focusing and paying attention. This has been brought up to her doctor but
the doctor and Shelby’s parents feel monitoring her at this time is appropriate as she may grow
out of this phase as she gets older.

EDUCATIONAL HISTORY
★ Above, On, or Below Grade Level Achievements / Grades (describe)
Shelby performs below grade level in reading and writing. According to Shelby’s report
card, she struggles to read and comprehend grade level text. She also struggles in the
area of decoding. According to the report card, Shelby also struggles with phonological
awareness and phonemic awareness skills.
★ Attitude Toward School
○ Good
○ Shelby loves school and enjoys her time learning at school. Shelby is not aware
that she is behind her peers. Therefore, she has a good attitude about the
differentiated work she is given in reading and writing. Shelby’s report card states
that she is very kind, respectful, and follows directions well.
★ Self-perception as a Learner
○ Good
○ As stated above, Shelby is unaware that she is behind her peers. She loves to
learn and is excited about her work every day.
★ Subjects/Classes Likes:
Shelby likes math! She said that math is easy for her and interesting. Shelby has never
been in intervention for any subject. Shelby received tier 1 support in Kindergarten to
strengthen her phonological and phonemic awareness skills.
★ Subjects/Classes Dislikes:
Shelby said she does not like writing. She stated that writing is confusing as she often
gets mixed up with her letters and writes her letters the wrong way.
FAMILY HISTORY
★ Lives With
Shelby lives with her mom, dad, and two dogs.
★ Relationship to Caregivers
Shelby has a great relationship with her parents. She loves to play games with her
parents and read to them nightly. They like to watch movies together and go out to
dinner. Shelby likes to take her dogs for walks and play with them in the backyard.
★ Number of Siblings
Shelby does not have siblings
★ Friendships / Personal Relationships
Shelby has a lot of friends and is well liked by everyone. She has play dates often with
her classmates and likes to attend their birthday parties. Shelby states that she has
many friends and likes everyone. She is very creative and likes imaginative play. She
gets along well with others and rarely disagrees with others. If Shelby does disagree with
others, she is able to handle it peacefully with adult support. Shelby wants to be friends
with everyone. Shelby’s parents are concerned about Shelby’s occasional inability to
focus on one task for an extended period of time. Shelby’s teacher has second these
concerns as she is “often starring out into space” during reading and writing activities.

ASSESSMENT HISTORY (Parent or School)

★ General Achievements / Grades
On Shelby’s report card she is graded using N, A, M, E. N is needing, A is approaching
the standard, M is meeting the standard, and E is exceeding the standard. Below is how
Shelby scored for Trimester 1 on her report card
Reading
Actively participates in reading activities: M
Reads and comprehends grade level text independently and proficiently: N
Knows and applies grade level word analysis and phonics skills to read: A
Demonstrates understanding of spoken sounds, syllables, and words: A
Reads grade level text aloud accurately and fluently: A
Self-corrects errors when reading: A
Asks and answers questions about key details in text with prompting and support: A
Retells stories including details and central lesson or moral: A

Writing
Uses conventions appropriately: A
Uses grade-appropriate words accurately in daily writing: A
Uses clear event sequences and grade appropriate details: A
Revises and edits: A
★ Formal / Standardized Tests
STAR Early Literacy:
Fall 2018: Standard Score: 495 Percentile: 38
Winter 2019: Standard Score: 584 Percentile: 45
 Spring 2019: Standard Score: 590 Percentile: 24
Fall 2019: Standard Score: 595 Percentile: 33
Winter 2020: Standard Score: 836 Percentile: 91
★ Comments:
Shelby’s report card scores and STAR Early Literacy assessment scores show that
Shelby is performing below grade level in reading and writing. Her STAR scores were
below the 50th percentile with the exception of her most recent STAR score in winter
2020. After talking with her teacher, she is still concerned about Shelby’s performance in
reading and writing and would like for her to receive reading intervention.

BEHAVIOR DURING TESTING AND LIMITATIONS OF RESULTS

★ Typical
★ Easily Distracted / Difficulty with Attention
Shelby did engage in several side conversations during the assessments administered.
She wanted to share a lot of information with the assessor. However, Shelby was easily
redirected.
★ Comments:
Shelby worked very hard during the testing sessions. She was excited to have one-on-
one time with the assessor. Shelby was excited to share personal information with the
assessor and was interested in forming a relationship. Shelby was very outgoing, funny,
and making connections to her life frequently as the assessments were being
administered. Shelby was very confident in herself and her answers throughout the
assessments. Shelby often said how she is very good at reading and loves reading
activities. Shelby was sad when the time with the assessor was complete and stated she
was excited to do this again soon!

ASSESSMENT RESULTS

Student Interest Inventory

● Attitude toward self as a reader
Shelby loves to read. Shelby believes she is a great reader and understands her stories
very well. Shelby realizes that she sometimes has a hard time decoding words but says
she always tries her best.
● Interests (likes / dislikes)
Shelby loves dogs and any books about animals! Shelby is very interested in expository
texts and has a lot of background knowledge around various animals. Shelby does not
like writing as she often writes her letters backwards. She said she becomes frustrated
at times but likes when she has an alphabet chart nearby to reference.
● Learning style / preferences
Shelby likes to sit on the floor, which is where we completed our assessments. She also
likes to sit in chairs that allowed Shelby to move, wiggle, and bounce.
QRI-6
Word List Scores:
● Independent: PP1 (100%)
● Instructional:
● Frustrational: PP2-3 (55%)

Narrative Passage Scores:

● Passage Title & Level: “I Can” PP1
o Familiar (100%)
Oral reading
Total Accuracy: 100%
Level Achieved: Independent
Rate (WPM/WCPM): WPM: 40, WCPM: 40
Observations/Analysis
Shelby was able to read this story with ease, she had extensive background knowledge on the
topic as well. Shelby read with complete accuracy and confidence

Comprehension
Retelling: 83%
Questions (Explicit/Implicit/Look-backs): 5 out of 5 explicit, 100%
Level Achieved: Independent
Observations/Analysis
Shelby did a great job recalling the important information in this text. Shelby stated the
sequence of events in the correct order.

Narrative Passage Scores:

● Passage Title & Level: “Just Like Mom” PP2
o Familiar (77%)
Oral reading
Total Accuracy: 93%
Level Achieved: Instructional
Rate (WPM/WCPM): WPM: 30, WCPM: 28
Observations/Analysis
Shelby again had great background knowledge about these concepts. Shelby made mistakes
that completed changed the meaning of the text. Shelby did not self-correct at the point of error
even though her errors did not sound right, look right, or make sense.

Comprehension
Retelling: 30%
Questions (Explicit/Implicit/Look-backs): 5 out of 5 explicit, 100%
Level Achieved: Independent
Observations/Analysis
Shelby did a great job recalling the important information in this text. Shelby stated the
sequence of events in the correct order. Shelby retold fewer details about this text, however,
she was able to pinpoint the key details and important ideas.

Expository Passage Scores:

● Passage Title & Level: “People at Work” PP2
o Familiar: 100%
o Oral reading
Total Accuracy: 85%
Level Achieved: Frustration
Rate (WPM/WCPM): WPM: 19 WCPM: 16
Observations/Analysis
Shelby had great background knowledge about these concepts. Shelby did not read with
fluency or accuracy. Shelby struggled with some common sight words. She was unable to
recognize the words /why/ and /home/. Shelby made an error that did not make sense, Shelby
said, “some people work and work.” She was making errors and continued reading.

o Comprehension
Retelling: 10%
Questions (Explicit/Implicit/Look-backs): 2 out of 5 explicit questions: 40%
Level Achieved: Frustration
Observations/Analysis
Shelby really struggled to retell this story. She had a hard time going beyond “people work.” She
was unable to recall the key details that were stated in the story. She was unable to give
examples of what people do at work. Shelby kept saying, “people work at work.”

Other Formal / Informal Reading Tests

Words Their Way Spelling Inventory

● Version Administered (Primary, Elementary, Upper-level): Primary level
● Words Spelled Correctly: 2/25
● Feature Points: 23/62
● Total Score: 25/87
● Spelling Stage: Early Emergent: Initial and final consonants

Phonemic Awareness / Phonics

 Rhyme recognition: 5/10
 Rhyme oddity: 5/10
 Rhyme production (9/10)
 Sentence segmentation (8/10)
 Syllable blending (10/10)
 Syllable segmentation (10/10)
 Onset-rime blending (9/10)
  Onset-rime segmenting (2/10)
 Phonemes blending (9/10)
 Phonemes segmentation (10/10)
 Phoneme isolation: initial (10/10)
 Phoneme isolation: initial-oddity (3/10)
 Phoneme isolation: final (10/10)
 Phoneme isolation: medial (9/10)
 Phoneme isolation: phoneme transfer (initial, medial, final) (3/10)
 Phoneme manipulation: addition initial only (7/10)
 Phoneme manipulation deletion initial only (9/10)
 Phoneme manipulation: substitution initial only (6/10)

SYNTHESIS AND INTERPRETATION OF INFORMATION COLLECTED

Reading Achievement
Instructional Reading Level
● Based on the assessment data collected, I would state that Shelby is reading at an end
of year Kindergarten level. After administering the QRI assessment, it was clear that
Shelby performs better with narrative text rather than expository text.
● Although Shelby can decode and comprehend narrative texts almost independently at
the end of Kindergarten reading level, Shelby really struggled to decode and
comprehend expository text at the end of Kindergarten level.
● It is clear that after administering Shelby’s phonological awareness and phonemic
awareness assessment, Shelby is only paying attention to the beginning of words and
not looking for chunks or parts within a word to help Shelby decode.
● Shelby is not listening to herself read as she is often continuing when making an error.
Shelby is not self-monitoring her reading.

Word Analysis Skills

( + strength, - weakness)
+Shelby’s strengths include short vowels, blends, digraphs, and initial and ending consonants
when reading CVC words based on her performance on the Phonological awareness and
phonemic awareness assessment.
+According to the Words Their Way Spelling Inventory, Shelby has a strength of short vowel
and long vowels as reflected in the words: /ship/, /when/, /bed/.
-Shelby needs improvement on vowel digraphs, initial consonant blends, and r-controlled
vowels according to Words Their Way Spelling Inventory. Shelby was unable to spelling vowel
digraphs such as the words /float/. Shelby struggled when writing initial consonant blend words
such as /drive/ and /train/. Shelby struggled with r-controlled vowel words such as /serving/ and
/favor/. Shelby needs improvement in writing her letters the correct way according to her Words
Their Way Spelling Inventory.
Sight Words
● On the QRI-6 assessment Shelby scored within the PP2 range for her word
identification. I believe this to be accurate as Shelby knows her basic sight words but
struggles with those sight words that are not decodable (what, why, etc.). Overall, sight
words are not a major concern for Shelby at this time.

Comprehension
( + strength, - weakness)
+ One of Shelby’s strength is answering explicit questions, retelling narrative texts, and having
background knowledge so texts are familiar to her according to her QRI-6 data. Shelby was able
to answer 100% of explicit comprehension questions on two narrative texts. Shelby was able to
retell a higher percentage of concepts in her narrative texts. Shelby also had a high
understanding of her texts by demonstrating background knowledge which made the texts
familiar.
-Shelby struggled with answering explicit questions while reading an expository text as shown
by her QRI-6 data answering 2 out of the 5 questions correct. Shelby also struggled to retell the
expository text as shown by her QRI-6 data. It is clear that Shelby struggles to understand and
comprehend expository text.

Considerations for Student Learning

● Strengths: Shelby is very confident with herself in reading. She enjoys reading and has a
lot of background knowledge on the topics she chooses to read about. She has a strong
understanding of how to answer and comprehend explicit questions in narrative texts.
Shelby has a strong understanding of short vowels, long vowels, and initial and ending
consonants as shown by her Words Their Way Inventory Data.
● Needs: Shelby needs explicit instruction in phonological and phonemic awareness skills
such as rhyming, onset-rime, and segmenting CVC words. Therefore, Shelby would
benefit from learning the strategy of looking for parts within a word to be able to decode
by onset-rime rather than decoding each sound within a CVC word. Shelby needs
explicit instruction with expository text around how to decode, retell, and comprehend
explicit questions within an expository text. Shelby needs explicit instruction with how to
properly write letters the correct way.
● Ideal Learning modes / style: Shelby would benefit from an environment that allows her
to move, wiggle, and sit comfortably. Shelby would benefit from repetition of activities, a
routine for predictability, and exposure to various texts (narrative and expository).
● Attitude Toward Learning / Competence: Overall, Shelby loves to learn! She is happy,
willing, and determined to succeed. She loves to read but is not the biggest fan of writing
due to often writing her letters the incorrect way.

RECOMMENDATIONS
★ Word Study
Phonological Awareness: Producing and identifying rhyming words
 Phonemic Awareness: Shelby will be able to segment CVC words using onset-rime
Phonics: Shelby will be able to write CVC words with correct letter formation and the correct
onset-rime for the CVC word.

★ Comprehension Strategies, Narrative & Expository

Comprehension Narrative: Model how to write a sentence about your stories elements
(characters, setting, and events)
Comprehension Expository: Model how to retell an expository text using Shelby’s writing book to
order the events using the transition words of first, next, last, then, and finally.

★ Fluency
Fluency: Shelby will reread familiar narrative and expository texts every session.
Fluency: Shelby will echo read familiar narrative and expository texts to increase her fluency
and expression as she reads familiar texts.

★ Writing Plan
Writing: Shelby will write in her writing notebook every session.
Writing: Shelby will retell her narrative and expository texts using sentence stems in her
writing notebook every tutoring session.

★ Text Suggestions
Text Suggestions: Shelby will read various expository texts as she has expressed great
interest and knowledge about animals. Shelby will read narrative texts about Bella and
Rosie as she has told me those are some of her favorite books. I hope that by using
expository texts that are of interest to Shelby will increase her ability to retell, comprehend,
and decode expository texts.

OVERALL SUMMARY STATEMENT

In the area of word study, I intend to practice sight words with Shelby every session to
increase automaticity and fluency with her sight words. I intend to use magnetic letters to make
and break words with Shelby. We will focus on word chunks such as: at, ap, am, et, en, ot, ip,
and ut. We will segment the words using onset-rime while substituting the initial consonant
sound with other letters to increase rhyming ability. We will also discuss other words that have
the given chunk for the day. Shelby will be able to produce rhyming words and then identify
rhyming words when given two words and asked if they rhyme.
In the area of comprehension, Shelby’s weakest area is retelling and comprehending
expository text. Therefore, I will expose Shelby to various expository texts of interest to her. We
will retell our stories using sentence stems such as “in the beginning, in the middle, and at the
end” or “The first fact I learned was, the second fact I learned, etc.” This will increase Shelby’s
ability to comprehend, understand, and retell expository text while incorporating writing into our
sessions. According to Shelby’s QRI-6 data, this plan will benefit her greatly. Shelby
demonstrated a strong understanding of how to retell and comprehend narrative text, so I still
intend to embed narrative text into our sessions to increase fluency and confidence within
reading.
In the area of fluency, Shelby will reread her narrative and expository texts daily to
increase fluency and automaticity with word recognition. Shelby often reads at a slower pace
without scooping her words as she reads a new text. Therefore, repeated reading of texts will be
helpful to Shelby. Shelby would also benefit from echo reading to increase her expression and
pacing as she reads her texts. If Shelby hears how a page should to read and is able to repeat
that she will begin to make connections of how a text should sound when it is read.

I look forward to working with Shelby as she is a very hard worker and the sweetest girl!