Case Study-Madison

From looking at the information on Madison, I was able to identify some

weaknesses and a few strengths. The first weakness I noticed was Madisons difficulty
with using digraphs. Another weakness I noticed was Madisons inability to use certain
consonant vowel patterns. A strength I noticed throughout Madisons writing is proper
use of capitalization and punctuation. This case study will discuss Madisons strengths
and weaknesses in detail as well as different suggested strategies to help Madison
improve her writing.
Madisons first weakness can be found when writing words with digraphs. The
first example of this problem can be found in one of Madisons writing samples where
she spells kall for school and where she spells wil for will. Some instructional
strategies to help Madison with her usage of digraphs would be providing her with
several texts that include beginning and ending digraphs. This would give Madison an
opportunity to see the words in print and add on to her love of reading. I would also have
Madison mask words with digraphs to help her in determining the difference between
words where you can hear the difference in sound and words where you cannot. This
would strengthen her ability to deal with digraphs in words, and then she can relate it to
her writing.
Madisons second weakness with consonant vowel patterns, specifically CVCe,
can be found in her writing sample when she misspells have for hav and home for
hom. For Madisons weakness in this particular area of phonics, some instructional
strategies would be sorting words with this pattern and placing these commonly
misspelled words on a word wall. Sorting words with this pattern will allow Madison to

see print examples of these words. Placing commonly misspelled CVCe pattern words on
a word wall will provide as a constant reference for Madison. Explicit instruction using
both of these strategies will allow Madison to practice using words with CVCe patterns,
as well as determine the difference between these words and other consonant vowel
patterns.
On the other hand, Madison shows great usage of proper punctuation and
capitalization in her writing samples. In order to build on this strength, I would use
Madisons interest in reading by allowing her to read more difficult texts, as well as
encouraging her to write more sophisticated sentences when doing her journaling.
Reading more sophisticated texts will allow Madison to notice more difference in
punctuation and capitalization, this then will give her an opportunity to practice these
differences in her writing. It would be a great opportunity for her to be more creative.
Overall, Madison needs to work on a few things to help her succeed as a student.
Through the strategies mentioned, Madison can improve the flow of her writing. Building
on Madisons strengths in writing and her love for reading, will allow her to see herself as
a dedicated student and help her in becoming a life long learner.