Oral Language | Reading | Writing

Meet Alonzo

Alonzo is 11 years old, and is in 5th grade at an intermediate school in a medium sized Midwest town. He was born in Mexico, and came to the U.S. when he was 1 years old. Alonzo is the oldest of 3 children, and has a younger brother and a younger sister. His father graduated from high school in Mexico and can read and write Spanish well. His mother only has a few years of formal education and can read and write Spanish at a basic level, but speaks very little English.

The family came to the United States in hopes for more opportunity for work and educational opportunities for the children. Alonzo’s father works as a construction worker, and his mother stays at home to care for the children and family. The family has made one return trip for a couple of months to Mexico two years ago, and Alonzo enjoyed visiting with his grandparents and other family members and going to the beach.

Alonzo’s home language is Spanish, but he frequently speaks English to his younger brother and sister. He loves to watch TV programs and videos in both English and Spanish. He used to live in New York where he participated in a bilingual education program, where he developed literacy skills in Spanish. He is very proud of his ability to read and write in Spanish, and talked about how likes to exchange letters with his Grandmother in Mexico. His official English proficiency level is 2.1 (WIDA).

Alonzo moved to his new state and school in the summer before the beginning of the school year. His school has two main instructional periods with integrated math and science classes led by STEM teachers and integrated language arts and social studies led by humanities teachers. The school has a one-to-one technology program and provides each student with an iPad for use at school and at home. None of his regular classroom teachers have received specific training on how to work with ELLs.

Alonzo receives daily ESL instruction through a pull-out program taught by a certified ESL teacher. He receives this instruction in a small group with 6 students at the intermediate to advanced levels of English proficiency. Alonzo says he loves school, and he appears to feel very confident in speaking English. However his ESL teacher noted that he struggles somewhat with the academic demands in his regular classes.

Alonzo loves spending time with his family and playing with his brother and sister. He enjoys sports such as soccer, but also loves playing games like Minecraft and Clash of Clans on his iPad. 

Reading Samples

Directions: Download and print the Running Record Forms below. Complete the form as you view the videos of the student’s reading below. Review the comprehension Q&A’s. Then complete the Running Record Evaluation Google Forms below.