Fin’s Wilson Journey continued…
Observation number five occurred in April after Fin and Kate completed 56 lessons. They were on the last substep of Step 3, and the instruction I watched was Wilson Best Practices on display. Fin rarely needed any redirection; he smiled and participated fully in the lesson. Kate quickly led the instruction, provided positive, immediate feedback, made diagnostic notes on her lesson plan, and was supportive, not enabling Fin.
I noticed that he started using cursive writing in his dictation pages. Kate said he had asked to learn to write in cursive, and she was delighted to teach him. So, his handwriting, which had improved significantly since our first observation, has shown even more improvement. The dictation pages show Fin is taking his time, working hard on neatness and legibility, and not just quickly writing without regard for readability. Self-motivation is a powerful tool for students in learning a new skill, and Fin’s cursive handwriting success reflects his innate desire to learn! Kate also told me that Fin practiced 10 minutes daily tracing cursive letter forms that Kate had written on a whiteboard. Fin would use a laser pointer to trace these letters following sky-writing procedures for learning High-Frequency Sight words. As he would skywriter, Fin recited a tongue twister he memorized for each letter. Later, he worked on connecting the cursive letters of the lowercase alphabet using a visual reference. Once he memorized the letter formation and correct connections, he transitioned to cursive writing on his dictation sheets. You can see his cursive handwriting on the attached sample.
Kate introduced graphic organizers to Fin to help him remember passage details. This is a perfect tool for him. I can’t wait to see how he progresses using a graphic organizer for both reading and writing.
Our last observation is coming up, and I’m already a bit sad. This has been such a metamorphosis! I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Kate and Fin grow through this practicum experience. Observing Fin is like watching a butterfly emerge from a cocoon!
