Case Study #1 - Alvaro

8/6/2019 Case Study #1 - Alvaro

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Case Study #1: Alvaro

(For the sake of privacy, Alvaros last name is omitted.)

1. Description of students physical, linguistic, creative, social, and academic strengths and

weaknesses noted through my personal observations and interactions with him.

Foremost, it is important to note that Alvaro recently exited the silent period of language

acquisitiona transition that took much longer than his peers. He did not attend preschool, so he

had very little English entering kindergarten. His verbal language capacity was minimal during

the first few weeks of observationhe responded mostly with nonverbals (in situations of which

the use of English was expected). In the latter half of the observation period, he used single

words and phrases to communicate his ideas.

Alvaro is an example of a student whose personality is situation-dependent. In formal

interactions, he is timid and submissive. He is the model student in terms of disciplinehe pays

attention and does not cause distraction for his peers. However, he is slow to speak if unsure of

his response, which is most often the case. This is most evident in whole group instructional

time, particularly journal writing. After writing one sentence as a class, the students are required

to generate their own thought for the next sentence. When the teacher asks him what he plans to

write, he most often freezes up. However, in small group and social interactions, his demeanor

changes. He is animated, even talkative. At this comfort level, ideas roll off his tongue in both

languages. He does not stress overfindingthe word in English, rather replaces it with the term in

Spanish. He is comfortable speaking, not worried about arriving at the wrong answer. For this

reason alone, Alvaro benefits considerably from small group instruction.

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Alvaro displays the typical characteristics of a young boy. For free choice, he runs

straight to the train set or blocks. In social situations, he exhibits the traits of a follower, thus

subscribing to the activities and ideas of others. In instructional situations, he is considerably

more engaged when using manipulatives. When I implemented an addition lesson using unit

blocks, he was more willing to do the work. He rarely interacts with female peers, not even to

tease them. However, he is an obvious mamas boy. He is affectionate with his mam during

family reading timesits on her lap while listening to the comfort of her voice. He exhibits this

calm through the mornings activities until given the freedom to interact socially with his close

friends.

2. Administered SOLOMS and specific analysis regarding their English language fluency.

In formal/academic setting, Alvaros English-language capacity is fairly low as detailed

by the SOLOM assessment below. In terms of comprehension, he demonstrates understanding

after repetition. This is most noticeable in his ability to follow directions. For example, the

teacher dismisses students by the first sound in their names. This develops phonemic awareness

and effectively transitions the students. She says, Students whose names begin with /a/, please

collect your materials. After repeating several times and making eye contact with Alvaro, he

catches up. In terms of fluency, his speech is fragmented. With the pressure of generating the

correct response, in English nonetheless, he speaks in words and phrases. This restricts

dialogue, forcing the teacher to pry with countless questions. In terms of vocabulary, Alvaro

often struggles with finding the appropriate vocabulary. It is not that he does not have the

vocabulary, it just happens to be in Spanish. With the recent shift into verbalization, I expect that

his English vocabulary will increase exponentially. In terms of pronunciation, he feels compelled

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to repeat himself even though can be understood without. Lastly, he restricts himself to basic

patterns of grammar. Occasionally, he flips the placement of parts of speech. For example,

instead of the pretty girl, he says the girl pretty. This is most likely because in his mother

tongue, Spanish, the adjective follows the noun (la chica bonita).

In non-formal/play settings, Alvaros language capacity is considerably higher as detailed

by the SOLOM assessment below. These situations lend themselves to the use of both languages.

Alvaros closest friends use Spanish most often as the medium of communication. For this

reason, he comprehends readily. In terms of fluency and vocabulary, he speaks with the speed

and detail of his mainstream counterparts. He uses Spanish and English interchangeably. For

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example, he said I went to the store en la maana. He did not pause to find the phrase in

English, rather completed his thought in Spanish. This code-switching allows him to speak

fluently even though his English vocabulary is limited. In terms of pronunciation, he

occasionally uses the inappropriate accents. For example, he pronounced strawberry with

emphasis on the last syllable (rather than the middle). Finally, Alvaros use of grammatical

conventions is affected by the language interchange. He is limited to basic patterns in both

languages as a result.

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3. Additional assessment or activity completed along with a summary of what it tells me about

the student and how this information is useful to me as a teacher.

The interests inventory pictured below was created by Alvaro, but details facts about

Brian. The activity was created to evaluate his ability to dialogue and record the responses

appropriately. The order of events were as follows: (1) trace partners hand, (2) ask given

questions, and (3) record responses. The questions were generated by me, but it was the

students job to ask them to each other. The questions were as follows:

(1) What is your favorite book?

(2) How many siblings do you have?

(3) What is your favorite color?

(4) What is your favorite animal?

(5) What is your favorite holiday?

Similar activities often encourage a sense of all about me. In dialoging and recording with a

partner, the sense is rather all about we. First, the product assesses the student on his ability to

organize the given information. I modeled how to do so by recording my partners responses, one

on each finger (angled vertically). Though Alvaro did not organize the information in the exact

same way, his organization is no less valid. In this respect, he was not dependent on my model to

complete the producta positive quality. Second, Alvaros use of drawing to communicate

Clifford the Big Red Dog(thumb) demonstrates resourcefulness. Especially in the lower grades,

drawings should be validated as a mode of communication. Third, the completed product

demonstrates ability to effectively interview a classmate. Even though the questions were

generated by me, Alvaro dialogued with Brian and recorded appropriately.

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4. Any additional documents or activities and how they were or were not useful to you in

determining their strengths and weaknesses.

With the teachers direction, I implemented a whole class instructional lesson in thestudents writing journal. At the start of every journal entry, the students write the date in a

sentence. The format is consistent and is modeled by the teacher. Second, the class generates one

sentence collaboratively. In this case, the class butterflies hatched out of their crysallis over the

weekend. The students had the opportunity to observe and talk about the event amongst

themselves. The collaborative sentence was generated and written on the whiteboard for the

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students to copy. Then, the students had to generate one sentence on their own with the prompt,

They are... Alvaros writing sample (below) demonstrates an understanding of letter formation

and sentence structure. He continues the first sentence onto the next line, demonstrating that he

understands how to read text (right to left, top to bottom). His self-generated sentence is short,

but demonstrates an understanding of the event (hatching OUT of the crysallis) and an ability to

rephrase the sentence the class generated.

Today is Monday, May 2, 2011. The butterflies came out of the crysallis. They are out.

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The following are documentcopies from Alvaros cumulative files

and are intended for my personal use

only. The initial identification (to the

left) details his scores on the California

English Language Development Test

(CELDT). The purpose of the test is to

identify new students who are ELs,

monitor student progress, and help

decide when students are fully

proficient in academic English. Alvaro

was assessed before he entered

kindergarten, providing the school

information for placement. It is not

surprisingly that his scores were low,

for he had little access to English before

elementary school.

The second document (below) details Alvaros basic phonics skills, ability to read onesyllable words, and oral blending. In the Basic Phonics Skills Test (BPST), Alvaro is assessed on

his ability to name the letter and the accompanying sound. In a few instances, he recognized the

letter as something it was not. For example, when shown the letter R, he responded with the

name and sound of the letter K. Similarly, he confused the letter H with the letter A. These

confusions are not surprising when looking at the similarity in letter shapes (R-K, H-A). Without

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5. List of instructional recommendations that I would make to the teacher to address the needs

and strengths of the student.

Alvaro needs to be involved in as much small group instructional time as possible. He

benefits from the relaxed atmosphere by an increased use of expressive language.

Alvaro benefits from the use of manipulatives and realia. When he is given opportunities

to indulge his senses, he acquires new information more readily.

Alvaro should be given opportunities to communicate in English and Spanish separately.

Though code-switching is an important aspect of acquiring a second language, it

encourages plug-and-chug translation. To be literate in both languages, Alvaro needs the

opportunity to thinkin both, rather than translating from one to the other.

Alvaro needs individualized attention to development his reading skills. He is far behind

where he needs to be entering first grade. He will be expected to read with increased

fluency, at least one syllable words.

Alvaro needs encouragement to be independent in his writing. The teacher-directed

format of the writing journals is of no benefit to him. He has demonstrated ability to copy.

Far more important is his ability to generate and record his own thoughts.

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Documents

Case Study #1 - Alvaro