Week 6 Assignment 1

Mary is in the fourth quarter of the third-grade reading at a second grade instructional reading level while receiving ESL. She was reading a unfamiliar expository text at 95% accuracy and retelling ideas at 33%. Her level of comprehension was 63% therefore indicating that she was able to read the second-grade text, but may have an incomplete understanding of the selection.

            After assessment results and due to Mary’s reading level, I would give Mary the concept questions before she reads the passage as an anticipation guide. After she is finished with the reading and answering the questions, I would go through the questions with her and guide her in filling them in so she can better understand what she read. I would also choose a passage that had more pictures on it that would help Mary visually work through hard words and concepts.

            Mary is not too far behind so with the help from a reading teacher or in class one to one lessons, Mary should be able to catch up. Breaking the classroom into small groups more frequently and having Mary practice reading texts on more familiar topics can add to Mary’s comprehension of what she is reading. When she can relate more to the topic she is reading, concept questions and unfamiliar words can become comprehendible.  

            An effective everyday mini lesson I would try for Mary would be a small group reading circle of 3-4 students. Before reading, I would ask the students what they thought a passage would be about based off of its title. I would make sure Mary has an active role in this group and can also benefit from listening to her peers. They will answer pre-reading concept questions together. I would have each student read part of the passage while underlining important details based off of pre-reading questions. We will discuss together why these details are important. At the conclusion of the reading, students will be individually asked what they thought the passage was about. I think that the constant retelling of the story and the influence of her peers will help Mary better understand what she is reading and give her better ideas to use while she is reading when by herself.