Jonathan: Jonathan is a boy with much strength. He is friendly and outgoing, enjoys playing
the piano, and is a star pitcher on his Little League baseball team. Academically, Jonathan does average work in
mathematics, but he has unusual trouble with any subject that requires
reading. He will frequently sit at his
desk, confused about what to do. She has talked to Jonathan about making sure
he asks for help, but today as she was circulating around the room, she noticed
that Jonathan was just sitting there, again, without asking for help. A recent score on a standardized reading
achievement test indicates that Jonathan's reading ability is well below that
of other students at his grade level.
Solutions:
I think one of the beginning problems that
needs to be addressed is that for some reason Jonathan does not feel the
ability to ask question because he may not know how to or may feel that he will
get in trouble or he does not want to participate in the activity so he does
not want to know what to do. For any reason why Jonathan does not ask for help
I think one thing that can help is a behavior chart like mentioned in the
Breitfelder article. The chart would focus on rewarding Jonathan when he would
ask a specific question about an assignment or task that he does not
understand. The prompt would need to be very specific so that Jonathan does not
just start asking random questions to get rewarded however by having a chart it
may provide Jonathan with enough encouragement to start asking questions and
teaching him how to ask questions in order to receive help.
Another
area that needs to be addressed is Jonathan’s lower level of reading. It is
clear that he has a lower grade level for reading and it is the subject that is
most difficult for him. It is also clear that when a task involved reading
Jonathan shuts down and does not want to participate. One way to help Jonathan
improve in his reading level is by using centers for him. Since he is not at
the same level as the other students he can work by himself in the back of the
room. For example, he could listen to a story that he really enjoys on tap and
follow along. He could read a book that he picked out and at the end of every
time provide a quick 3-minute explanation of what took place in the story so
that he comprehends the information. I think what is important is to engage Jonathan
is reading information that he enjoys and working with him to improve his
reading level.
Group
work I think would also greatly help Jonathan, through the little information
that was provided I am assuming that he becomes frustrated very quickly and
overwhelmed which causes him to shut down and not ask for help. For group work
to be fully affective it would be important that Mrs. Potter had set up a
classroom environment where student respected one another, listened to each
others ideas, and helped one another through any misconceptions are difficult
areas they may have. Jonathan is a very active outgoing student that makes
friends very easily. With the information that I was provided I am assuming that
Jonathan likes to be active and talk to other people. If Jonathan works best
through group discussion and working with a partner or small group it is
important to use Jonathan’s strengths when he is working in an area of
weakness. During assignments that
contain a lot of reading it may be best if Jonathan was with a partner so that
he could split up the reading and it does not become as overwhelming. Also, if
there is a lot of comprehending of the text that is being read it also might
help Jonathan if he is able to discuss with another person or a group of people
what is happening in the story.
Last,
what I thought was a very good idea and what we have focused on this whole
semester and even last semester in history is the importance to understand your
students and to relate their home experiences and what they like to do outside
of school with what they are learning in school. I thought it was a great idea
having parents write a letter to the teacher explaining their child, this
provided the teacher with a deeper understanding of each of her students and
the type of environment they grew up in and the extracurricular activities they
may have participated in like mentioned in the Maples article. It is clear that Jonathan likes baseball and
piano so incorporating those two interests of his into his reading and work may
provide him with a greater desire to read and accomplish his assignments.
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