Hampton and Rutherford Case Study One 1 Reason each issue needs to be investigated This needs to be investigated because

the behavior indicates that Daniel is trying to escape from his work. Daniel needs to be referred to the RtI team to determine his current academic level. Daniel needs to be provided with work that is at his instructional academic level to help foster his confidence at performing independent tasks. This need to be investigated because Daniel may have missed out on a full year of instruction. Daniels school records should be checked thoroughly. If Daniel went from attending kindergarten in Mexico, to attending 2nd grade in the United States, he has missed out on key academic skills required to build on as he progresses through his school career. This issue is also of concern and addressed in Daniels Previous Schooling. Daniels letter reversal is found mainly in children at the 1st grade level as a common letter formation error that usually self corrects by second grade. The fact that Daniel is still committing this error in the 4th grade is a cause for concern and should be investigated by the RtI team. Daniel should also have a vision and hearing screen. Writing with his face so close to his paper could be due to poor vision. This should be confirmed or ruled out (Birsh, 2011). This needs to be investigated because Daniel appears to only be able to decode the codes. This would explain why there is not any comprehension in his reading or ability to make predictions. A referral to the RtI team for Daniel is strongly suggested. Academic research shows that students should be reading with fluency by the 3rd

Seven Integral Factors Learning Environment

Main Issues Daniel tries many different ways to avoid work by getting drinks, going to the nurse, going to the bathroom, sharpening his pencil, and cleaning out his desk.

Academic Achievement & Instruction

Daniel does not appear to have attended the 1st grade. He was placed in 2nd grade because of his age, not because of his grade level academic achievement. When he does produce work, it is much less than the peers in his class. When Daniel writes, he prints when his classmates are now writing in cursive. His work also reveals that he constantly reverses the letters b,d,p,q and the number 3. Daniel has also been observed writing with his face extremely close to his paper.

Oral Language & Literacy

Daniel is observed speaking both English and Spanish. He enjoys speaking Spanish with his male classmates. At school Daniel enjoys reading aloud but struggles with comprehension and making predictions.

Hampton and Rutherford Case Study One 2 grade. Even though this research is intended for English speaking students, Daniels academic exposure has been in English with the exception of kindergarten. Intervention at his age is essential. He is young enough that if only intervention is required the goal would be get him to performance at grade level or if other challenges exist, refer him for Special Education Services. When only RtI services are needed, it is important to know that age becomes a factor in older students. The older the child, the larger the learning gap and difficulty at achieving grade level performance (Birsh, 2011). Personal & Family Daniel has a family and extended family at home. This is an excellent source of support and a way to give a person a great sense of family background and history. Where the family resides however has not been a constant in Daniels life. Daniel has not spent a whole school year in one place. This needs to be investigated because the lack of stability could create academic gaps in Daniels learning. Assessments by the RtI team would help identify gaps and propose interventions especially for Daniel. It is important that the teacher first build a parent/teacher/school relationship with the parents. A cultural liaison would prove especially helpful in this situation because Daniels mother already shows a certain amount of resistance at the thought of a child needing services is seen as mentally retarded. It is so crucial to help the parents understand the priority of the school community. That priority is to educate their child to best of their ability while showing the utmost respect to the parents (Grassi & Bumahn, 2010). This needs to be investigated because Daniels constant motion could indicate that he needs more sensory input or perhaps has a medical condition that would necessitate more educational supports in school. The way that Daniel writes, with his head so close to the paper, may indicate that he

Physical & Psychological

Daniel is in constant motion and when he is writing he puts his head very close to the paper.

Hampton and Rutherford Case Study One 3 may need glasses. Daniel should be referred to the RtI team to determine if an intervention can be used that will help Daniels constant need for motion. Daniel should also be referred to the school nurse for a standard hearing and vision screening. It is important to rule out physical challenges to know if Daniel will require more academic support. Previous Schooling Attended the equivalent of Kindergarten in Juarez and was placed in 2nd grade because of his age. This needs to be investigated because the equivalent of Kindergarten in Juarez may not meet the standards of Kindergarten in the U.S. Daniel may not have received the basic foundational skills that typical U.S. students have received. He may not have received appropriate grade level exposure in Juarez. Daniel should be referred to the RtI team for targeted screenings and interventions to determine his current academic level. This needs to be investigated to see if there are any cultural factors in the home that may be affecting his school environment. It is recommended that a parent interview be conducted to see if any cultural factors need to be considered. It appears that Daniel is exposed to a lot of Spanish language at home, and less English. The majority of his English language exposure appears to happen at school. It is important to note that Daniel may only possess Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills, or BICS, at this time. His Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency Skills, or CALP, may be lacking and will take time to acquire. BICS is the social part of a language and students can become proficient in BICS in as little as 2 years. CALP is more of the academic language and can take up to 7 years for a student to become proficient. It is important

Cross-cultural

Daniels parents speak both English and Spanish in the home. Daniels aunt and grandparents, who live with them, only speak Spanish.

Hampton and Rutherford Case Study One 4 that an English Language Acquisition Teacher is on the RtI team to help the team target interventions that will be appropriate for Daniels current English language proficiency (Grassi & Bumahn, 2010).

References Birsh, J. R. (2011). Multisensory teaching of basic language skills. (3rd edition). Baltimore: Paul H. Brooks Publishing Co.

Grassi, E., & Bumahn Barker, H. (2010). Culturally and linguistically diverse exceptional students: Strategies for teaching and assessment. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc.