Notes on Tyler

"I got a new student!" This was the first thing out of Tyler's mouth as he entered my room on Wednesday morning. I nodded and smiled like teachers on a mission do when they are afraid we will get way off task by asking for clarification. I didn't really know what he was talking about until after the end of our lesson when he repeated it the second time. This time I had to ask what he meant. Tyler was trying to tell me that a new student had enrolled in his class that morning.

As students sat down with their materials, they argued back and forth about where they had stopped the day before. Tyler sat quietly through the debate and never gave any input. He coughed a couple of times and turns to the page. He waits on others to find the page and coughs some more.

Tyler has been absent a lot this year. His attendance has improved this nine weeks, but he often acts sick or asks to go to the nurse. Usually the illness is something like a stomach ache or head ache, but today he seems to be coughing a lot. I ask if he is sick and he nods while holding his throat. We begin our lesson and Tyler reads the title. When I asked him what he knows about the story, he sums up the title, "the bug wants to stay". Other students give more in-depth predictions and discuss what we have already read in the sequence of stories about a bug and his home. Tyler watches the other students as the talk. He doesn't interrupt others and is very respectful of peers. Occasionally, he nods in agreement with a student.
As we read aloud, Tyler yawns frequently. He follows along with his finger as other students read and reads when it is his turn. He also answered the comprehension he was asked correctly. On the second round of reading, Tyler doesn't use his fingers to follow along, but keeps his eyes on the text. He knows when it is his turn and begins reading immediately after the other student finishes. When he reads again he struggles with the word crying. Tyler knows the word, but has difficulty saying it because of his speech delays. I ask Tyler another question when he finishes. He coughs for a long time and then answers correctly. On the final round of reading, Tyler says the word said for sat. His sentence went on to the next page, but instead of turning the page Tyler stopped reading. I am not sure he understands that the sentence continues until a punctuation mark. Another student tells him it is still his turn. Tyler turns the page and finishes his turn. We discuss punctuation and print concepts at the end of his reading, which is the end of the story. Tyler puts his head down immediately and doesn't participate in the discussion or look at the picture. He really seems sick.

Next, students complete their workbook pages as I read independently with students. Tyler doesn't have a pencil and waits until I pass the pencil cup to open his workbook. He works very slowly with one arm propped up on the table holding his head. When he finishes, he waits quietly to checkout with me. He reads fluently during his individual reading and is smiling when he finishes. I found that he missed one question related to the story on his workbook page and missed one question in the direction following section. This section of the workbook page asks students to do things like draw a circle, write a over the circle, make a box beside the a, etc. Students have to read the words, comprehend the sentences and follow the directions in order to complete this section correctly. Interestingly enough, the student next to Tyler missed the same questions on the workbook page. I now have to wonder if one of them is cheating. I will be watching next time!