Joecasestudy[1] 1

Case Study Joe Smith

BY Anne Cantwell

ANDRichard Racz

A DESCRIPTIONACCORDING TO PREVIOUS IEP, JOE IS:

Fourteen years old.

A Caucasian male attending eighth grade in a public school in the Santa Clara school district.

A native English speaker.

Qualifying for Special Education Services under the qualifying term of SLD, specific learning disabilities.

Case Study: Joe smith

CURRENT PLACEMENTCurrently placed in a special day class 4 times

daily for 45 minutes of the day, 57% of the school day.

His listed previous accommodations include: Preferential seating near the board with

unobstructed view and a reminder to wear contacts or glasses.

Take or finish tests in RSP room, using extra time as needed Help with "chunking" long term assignments; establish achievable milestones

These are labeled "as needed" and are meant for the general education classroom


STRENGTHSScience

According to his former science teacher, Joe “turns in high quality work, stays focused, seems confident in his ideas, prepares his own study materials and studies for tests.”

Reading and literacy Joe is able to respond to comprehension or literary analysis

questions with at least 80% accuracy. Attends well to presentations, and responds well to factual

questions and ones which require more thinking after.

Social SkillsIEP report describes Joe as well liked by peers, and

cooperative with teachers and staff


OTHER ACADEMICSModerate Areas of Concern

Study SkillsPrevious IEP goal involves acquiring study skills by preparing

study materials and using techniques such as notes and flash cards.

Math. Working on pre algebra and should be ready for algebra in high

school. Has "good number sense", often catching his own mistakes, but is

occasionally confused by new assignments.Previous IEP had one math related goal.Takes the CST with accommodations (small group, ask to clarify

instructions)


AREA FOR IMPROVEMENT:

WRITING

Joe has scored out of the testing range on state

Previous teacher: “His writing contains awkward wording in some sentences and paragraphs, and lack of good organization in his writing, failing to develop his thoughts sequentially with logical placement based on importance of thoughts.”


STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES

Joe’s Writing Strengths:

Often has awkward transitions between paragraphs. Often repeats his mistakes upon rewrite. Awkward sentence structure

Joe’s Writing Weaknesses:

Eager to learn Has good reading and listening comprehension

PREVIOUS IEP GOALS IN WRITING

Joe will…

“Develop a 4-5 paragraph paper which includes clear introductory, body and conclusion paragraphs in 3 of 4 instances observed, obtaining 85% or better on a teacher prepared rubric.”

Benchmarks After three months: “needs much scaffolding”, has “errors in mechanics” and

“choppy sentence structure.” After six months: “doesn’t always follow directions” and still lacks in sentences

structure.

“Be able to create five paragraph essays in which all paragraphs show unity, and all transitions are appropriately used.”

No benchmarks listed.


TWO IEP GOALS FROM LAST YEAR

OUR PLAN:PROPOSED IEP GOAL

Given a topic:

“Joe will write a short series of four writing compositions for an hour each day. He will follow four standard prompts for writing: persuasive, descriptive, analysis and a short story. They each display clear organization, including smooth transitioning between paragraphs and smoothly constructed sentences, as well as at least five visual and/or multimedia supports for his story. He will be graded on a rubric that will include three requirements each for the three topics of the organization (and appropriateness to writing objective), writing mechanics and effort/creativity, and will receive a score of 4 or 5 out of 5 possible points on six of the nine category criteria for each essay.”


OTHER FACTORSWe considered the following other factors that could be

causing Joe’s writing problems:Home factors

IEP contains no information about Joe’s home life being disruptive

Language Acquisition problems Joe is a native English speaker

Vision/hearing problems or environmental concerns The IEP reported no hint of vision or hearing problems and his

science performance indicates that his problems are not across the board in all subjects

Behavioral/social factors: Not an issue, as IEP report describes Joe as being highly

motivated to improve his skills, even in writing.

OUR PLAN: FOUR PROMPTS

Because Joe needs practice with organization , planning and crafting, we thought that several shorter essays would be beneficial for him to really practice.

Each prompt addresses a different standard and type of writing, and are connected through a common theme.

Some of the prompts interconnect. Ex: Research paper requires Joe to research the history of

the rules of a chosen sport, then predict future rules. His short story will involve a sports game set in the future using his predictions.


Theme: SportsSTANDARDS ADDRESSED

BY ALL FOUR PROMPTS:

1.1Create compositions that establish a controlling impression, have a coherent thesis, and end with a clear and well-supported conclusion 1.6

Revise writing for word choice; appropriate organization; consistent point of view; and transitions between paragraphs, passages, and ideas.


PROMPT STANDARDFind and describe an article in an online encyclopedia which describes the rules your favorite sport. Did the author of the article organize the details of the game in a logical, non-confusing manner? Explain why or why not?

2.2 Write responses to literature: a. Exhibit careful reading and insight in their interpretations. b. Connect the student’s own responses to the writer’s techniques and to specific textual references. c. Draw supported inferences about the effects of a literary work on its audience. d. Support judgments through references to the text, other works, other authors, or to personal knowledge.

How have the rules of your chosen sport changed over the last ten years? How do you think they will change in the near future and why?

1.4 Plan and conduct multiple-step information searches by using computer networks and modems. 1.5 Achieve an effective balance between researched information and original ideas.

Compare and contrast the differences between your chosen sport and another. Which is designed better for strategic play? Why?

1.3 Support theses or conclusions with analogies, paraphrases, quotations, opinions from authorities, comparisons, and similar devices.

Using your predictions about the future of your chosen sport, write a short story about a game that might happen ten years in the future featuring at least two well developed characters and featuring a well developed arc with an introduction, climax and conclusion. Create at least three visuals or multimedia works depicting your characters or illustrating your setting.

2.1 Write biographies, autobiographies, short stories, or narratives: a. Relate a clear, coherent incident, event, or situation by using well-chosen details. b. Reveal the significance of, or the writer’s attitude about, the subject. c. Employ narrative and descriptive strategies (e.g., relevant dialogue, specific action, physical description, background description, comparison or contrast of characters).


PROPOSED SCHEDULE


IMPLEMENTATIONFor implementing this goal, we suggest:

1.5 hours of his SDC time spent on the prompt at hand

First week spent on organizationOne graphic organizer per promptOne outline per prompt after G.O. with teacher’s help

Rough DraftProofread with GingerProofread with text reading software

ex: Read Q, Write Q


TIMEFRAME/DUE DATESJoe’s papers would be due one every three months,

following a quarter systemSuggested due dates: The 10th of Oct, Jan, April and

JuneHe would work for about a week on planning, 1-1.5

weeks to perfect his work, then his teacher would grade for a week and they could discuss his grade/improvement before explaining the next assignment.

This would take about a month to a month in a half, allowing for a month to month and a half to work on other skills, such as math and study skills.

A SHORT STORY GRAPHIC ORGANIZER


IMAGERY INSPIRATION

VS.


ASSISTIVE TOOL NO. 1 Ginger Analyzes misspelled words within the context of

an entire sentence and suggests words based on the intended meaning of the sentence, as opposed to simply suggesting words that resemble the misspelled word.

Corrects whole sentences, including multiple spelling and grammar errors all in one click.

This will allow for Joe faster proofreadingmore intelligent assistance for word

choice/replacement


ASSISTIVE TOOL NO. 2 Read Q, Write QWill read back Joe’s papers to himThis will allow him to train his ear to hear

awkward transitions and sentences in his writingSDC teacher should become familiar with using

this program beforehand and teach Joe after his final draft is finished.

SDC teacher should also listen at least once with Joe before he rewrites to answer questions about his writing, or suggestion improvements he has missed.


READ Q, WRITE Q TUTORIAL


Joe’s SDC teacher could show him this tutorial, then have him try it on his own

RUBRICSWe designed a rubric for each assignment

- This is necessary to make sure Joe varies his writing style and organization appropriate to the writing goal

Each rubric is divided into three components:Mechanics/styleOrganization

-These two target his IEP areas of improvementCreativity/effort

-The creativity/effort point will allow Joe to achieve points for the effort he puts in to improve his skills and allow him to enjoy writing more


A SAMPLE RUBRICWRITING MECHANICS

ORGANIZATION

EFFORT/CREATIVITY

-Writing uses correct spelling with 90 % or more words spelled correctly.

-Writing uses proper grammar and punctuation.

-The story contains an engaging opening, and a character and plot developing arc to a climax.

-The story resolves the climax with a satisfactory ending that answers all or most questions raised

-The story includes two to five images chosen before writing to inspire the description of the setting and/or characters.

-The story has introduced at least two well developed characters in the story and describes the setting in at least 1-2 paragraphs.

Sentences are well put together; varying in length throughout the paper, use varied vocabulary and avoid excessive repetition of words or phrases.

-The story raises more than one question throughout the plot for intrigue.

-Plot points (or questions) are introduced and resolved in a logical, consequential manner.

The story creatively works the predictions from student's research presentation or paper into the plot.

Student has proofread using ginger and a text reading software program

Plot transitions unfold gracefully as the story unfolds

The story has been well thought out using a graphic organizer and meets the length requirement of two to three pages

SAMPLE RUBRIC


CONCLUSIONEach section is scored 1-5 out of 5 possible points.

According to his IEP goal, Joe must achieve 4 or 5 points in 6 of the categories in the rubric (9 total).

This ensures that he is mastering 67% of the skills he is trying to learn, which seems an effective, but attainable goal.

The teacher will report back his grade to him within a week of the due date, so that they will be able to work on needed skills for the next assignment.


CONCLUSION With the proper guidance and support, Joe can learn how to hone his skills so his writing will be less like this:


(Unless that elephant happens to be really good at darts…)


Joecasestudy[1] 1

Education

writing joe

year joe

literacy joe

case study

joe smith area

joe smithprevious iep

joe needs practice

joe smithour plan