Mandy Stanley Fultondale Elementary School Observation and Adaptation Plan Students Information Name: Student D Grade: 4th

Age: 10 Teacher: Mrs. Williams/Ms. Cherry

Observation Notations While observing Student D, one thing that was noticed was his excitement about learning, his energetic spirit, and his kind demeanor. Every morning, Student D walks into the classroom or computer lab to greet Ms. Cherry and others in the room with a smile and a recap of the previous days events. While Student D was in the computer lab between 8:00-8:30 A.M. in order to take his reading skills placement test on www.lexialearning.com, he was exceedingly antsy. He was unable to sit still for an extended period of time and seemed to zone out on a few occasions. One would notice him looking around the room to see what his peers were doing, making noises in order to mimic the sound effects of the computer program, and typing random keys excessively before clicking on the correct answer. These behaviors continued until I decided to stand behind him for a few minutes while he answered a few questions. This seemed to calm him down and increase his amount of focus automatically. The observations of his lack of focus in the computer lab points towards his lack of attention in the classroom. Student D comes to Ms. Cherrys resource room two times each day in order to receive intervention instruction in reading and mathematics. He comes from 8:30-9:00 A.M. for a corrective reading lesson that entails the reading of several fluency passages that assess the students fluency, automaticity, and comprehension skills. Student D struggles with decoding and fluency, but he does not seem to struggle with comprehension. He often raised his hand to answer several questions, and mostly answered them correctly. One thing that should be noted is how Student Ds lack of focus and lack of ability to calm his jitters affects his fluency. When given a timed fluency assessment from his reading textbook, Student D only read 86 words, which was several words away from his usual score. Because he was striving too hard to read quickly, he unnecessarily stumbled over several words and even lost his place a few times. Ms Cherry gave him a second chance to re-take the timed reading drill after explaining to him that he should calm down and slow down if he wanted to do well on the assessment. Once he took

Mandy Stanley Fultondale Elementary School Observation and Adaptation Plan her advice, Student D read 109 words, which was a 23-word improvement from his first trial. This proves that Student D is more than capable of succeeding in the classroom, but he simply needs to focus. Not only does his lack of attention and focus cause him to stumble through his fluency passages, but also it negatively affects his comprehension of mathematical concepts. Between 11:00 and 11:30 A.M., Student D returns to Ms. Cherrys resource room for mathematics. Student D seemed to understand some concepts better than others, but it can easily be concluded that his attention issues negatively impact his understanding of others. Whenever Student D received one-on-one attention from his instructor, he seemed to do better. Along with having a teacher work one-on-one with Student D, he also seemed to work best when given manipulatives or visuals. Student D is an exceedingly intelligent young man, but he hinders himself from making the necessary improvements. Students Strengths and Needs Student Ds strengths include his willingness to complete the task that he has been assigned, his respectful attitude, and his excitement about learning. Student D always completes his assignments, but his lack of focus tends to distract him from completing them accurately. He is always respectful to his teachers, and he is also very respectful towards his peers. Student D works really well with others, and seems to work best when he is being held accountable by a peer. Along with this being one of his strengths, Student D is also eager to learn. Even when he incorrectly answers a question, he does not get discouraged. He reflects upon his wrong answer, and is usually able to self-correct and give the correct answer. This is a very good quality for a student to have, and it seems to help him process information when he is able to think aloud. Although Student D has many strengths, his needs should not be ignored if he is to be successful academically. Student D struggles with fluency and decoding words. He often incorrectly reads words with the CVCe pattern and often struggles with tracking as he reads. He continued to read strip as stripe and vice versa. Also, if he does not use a pencil or his finger as a tracking tool, he will often lose his place and have to reread in order to relocate where he was before. He also needs to continue to engage in timed reading drills in order to improve his fluency. Ms. Cherry does a wonderful job of being purposeful with her instruction, which helps Student D immensely. He also needs to improve his mathematics skills. He often gets lost during the lessons due to his lack of attention or lack of one-on-one interaction with the instructor.

Mandy Stanley Fultondale Elementary School Observation and Adaptation Plan Although his needs are few, they are all fundamental skills that must be mastered before he can truly be successful academically.

Recommendations and Adaptations In order to help Student D be more successful within the inclusive general education classroom, it is essential that the following accommodations should be made. It is recommended that Student D has more one-on-one interaction with his instructors. Although he is already receiving intervention services in small group lessons, he still seems to struggle to keep up with what is going on in the classroom. It has been detected that he works best when the teacher pulls him aside and is able to refocus him and correct his misconceptions about the lesson. This simple recommendation should help this student be more successful in the classroom. The following adaptations are to be made for each subject area for Student D: Math: The student should have modified math assignments that will help him accomplish the goals that have been set by his IEP. The teacher should frequently check on this student to ensure that he is staying on task and does not have any questions. The teacher should also try to encourage this student to explain his reasoning aloud during the lessons. Talking through his thinking helps Student D process information. These accommodations will help with Student Ds understanding and his attention issues. Reading: The student should have modified reading assignments and should engage in as many small group sessions as possible. The teacher should give him extra time to read his passages in his general education class in order to ensure that he is not trying to read too quickly. The teacher should also frequently check on this student to ensure that he is staying on task and does not have any questions, which will help this student with his attention, fluency, and automaticity issues. Social Studies/Science: In order to help Student D during Social Studies and Science class, the teacher should make sure that Student D is sitting near her so that this student can have his questions answered and so that the teacher can keep a close eye on him. The teacher should also make

Mandy Stanley Fultondale Elementary School Observation and Adaptation Plan sure that she uses simple vocabulary during these lessons and explicitly explains the content to prevent confusion due to his struggles with reading. Based on my personal interactions with Student D and my observations of him, I believe that these simple yet purposeful accommodations will help him to be more successful in the classroom. -Mandy Jayne Stanley Samford University Intern