February 19: Jonathan's Case

            Mrs. Potter would not need to do much class-wide adjusting for Jonathan’s case. It sounds like Jonathan is below grade level for reading and needs to backtrack a little. I think it would be helpful for him to read shorter, easier texts than his peers. He could read books that have pictures too. It sounds like Jonathan feels frustrated with the reading material and gives up. He just sits there because he feels like he can’t do it.

            Getting more involved, Mrs. Potter could work with Jonathan to make a plan just for him. As mentioned in the reading about Marcus, the teacher could sit down with Jonathan, who “seems frustrated by a lack of know-how” to gather the tools, skills, and materials needed to carry out the plan. Something like this would probably work better for writing, since it is easier to model writing different genre types than it is to model reading. One model that Jonathan could use is a book on tape which can be sent home for listening homework, or independent or group work at a listening center. Putting Jonathan in a group with student/s who can be trusted to act as a junior teacher can be beneficial to both students. The junior teacher may improve on his/her reading skills by modeling or teaching them, and both will get practice with social skills. Jonathan will get peer instruction in reading which can be more personal since the teacher is trying to divide her attention among the whole 24-student class.

            I think it would also be helpful for Jonathan to get reading materials in advance so that he has at least a week to read them before the rest of the class. He can practice reading at home and at school so that he can become more familiar with the words. When it comes time for in-class reading, he will be closer to the level of the rest of the students. Going back to the idea of making a plan with Jonathan, putting together a word list for him to practice over the course of the week could act as a personal word wall, focusing on letter patterns he struggles with. Before doing that, Mrs. Potter would need to conduct an assessment to find out what level Jonathan is at.

            Doing read-alouds in the class could be helpful if the book was projected on the wall and students were able to follow along. Mrs. Potter could model for the whole class how to follow along with their fingers and it might help Jonathan notice letter-sound patterns.

            In order for any of this to happen, however, Jonathan’s parents need to be notified. If Mrs. Potter could set up a parent-teacher conference with them, she could encourage the parents to read with Jonathan at home. Jonathan should be reading books both for school and not for school. If Mrs. Potter was to send class readings home in advance for Jonathan to practice, he would need the support from his parents to make sure he does the reading and to make sure he gets help that he needs to get a head start. As talked about in the Maples article, asking Jonathan’s parents to write a letter about Jonathan’s experiences with reading would give Mrs. Potter an idea of where he stands and why that could be. This would open up the communication between the teacher and the parents so that the parents don’t feel blocked off from the classroom and the teacher can use the resources the parents have to offer. Tapping into Jonathan’s interests, such as piano and baseball could also be a starting point. Giving him readings about his interests could be motivating as well as worthwhile for the whole class. If the class read a book about baseball, Jonathan could contribute during class discussions with personal accounts and become more involved in the reading process.