Gabriel started with INTELLI-G in October 2017, needing further assistance in reading, writing, and math. Gabriel is in a 50:50 Dual Language Immersion Program model since kindergarten, where he is instructed in Spanish 50% of the day and instructed in English 50% of the day.
During the educational assessment, Dad told me Gabriel lacked motivation in school due to having multiple substitute teachers. Knowing this, I had to start with building a relationship with Gabriel where he felt safe and had someone who would be consistent with him.
Based on the results his educational assessment, I created a learning plan to best fit Gabriel’s needs and interests. During the assessment, Gabriel indicated he only read comic books because they were easy to read. Gabriel only felt comfortable reading short stories because he didn’t understand the foundational skills in reading. Based on his assessment, he struggled with phonics so we started there. Over time, I gave Gabriel mini challenges to step out of his comfort zone. One challenge I gave Gabriel was to read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, a book completely out of his comfort zone. We read it together each time, took notes with a fishbone diagram and completed study guides throughout our sessions. When it came time for Gabriel to take his AR test, he scored a 9/10! Gabriel even took it a step further and completed a full 5 paragraph essay for extra credit. Way to go Gabriel!
When it came to math, Gabriel dreaded the first sight of fractions. He used to automatically say he couldn’t do a fraction problem, without even giving it a try. After coming up with math rhymes and games, Gabriel’s mindset shifted from “I can’t do this!” to “I got this!”
Gabriel’s confidence level has soared tremendously in both academics and in his self-esteem. Gabriel went from 1’s and 2’s on his report card to 2’s, 3’s and 4’s. I’m so proud of you Gabriel!
