Case Study
Introduction
I am a Junior here at Reinhardt, and I just became an official adult on October 22.
Yes, I’m 21. It is kind of sad you have to grow up. Anyways I enjoy running, and I love
school; even though sometimes it makes you want to pull your hair out! I am very excited
about becoming a teacher. I have known that I wanted to teach since the 3rd grade. Some
other passions of mine are going to the beach (in Hawaii) and baking desserts!
EDU 344 is my first reading class, and Helen is the first student that I have ever
tutored. Helen is a Kindergartner at Tanner Elementary. She has brown hair, big brown
eyes, and a smile that made my day every time I saw her. She is 6 years old, her favorite
color is all the colors, she loves to eat sweets (especially Little Debbies), and she has a
pet cockatiel named Polly. She lives with her birth mother in an apartment; although she
does not talk about her father very much, she also has a stepmother that is very active in
her life. Helen has a great imagination and a great personality. There was never a
session when she was not excited about reading or not happy to be with me. She is a
bundle of joy.
Description of student’s literacy skills
In the beginning Helen knew her alphabet, and she knew that the letters where
supposed so say something, but she just always had trouble remembering. She had
difficulty with the letters B and D. She also could not do the preprimer sight words. She
would half way spell them, and then she couldn’t remember what the word was even
though I told her. Her teacher said that Helen has come a very long way. At the
beginning of the year she was saying numbers for letters. She’s had to really build her
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confidence up because Helen felt like she was a baby compared to the other kids. She
was really on the Pre-K/K level. She is definitely an emergent reader. I know this
because she knew letter sounds, she knew the print was telling the story not the pictures,
she knows that print moves from left to right, she’s starting to understand the voice print
match, and she will make up words in an attempt to make meaning of a text. She is very
smart, and I predict that by the end of the year she will be a beginning level reader.
On our second session (when I hand transcribed our cession after it was over),
Helen said the letters and the sounds of the letters as I held up the alphabet cards. Then I
noticed her trouble with the letter B and D. She would simply get them mixed up but
only when she saw the lower case version. Then we did the rhyming game with the book
Sheep in a Jeep, and she clapped correctly with most of the words. She wanted to read
the story I was reading to her so I let her try, and she would make up words that went
along with the picture. I then had some simple words for Helen to try and read. I
observed she knew they were supposed to make a certain sound, but sometimes she
would get confused and mess up the sounds. So, all of this is clear evidence that she is
emergent, and that she is well on her way to being a beginning reader.
Description of what I did during tutoring sessions
Session 3 = We read the cat book and every time she heard an at word she would
meow. Then I made the letter sliders with the word at and then she would slide the word
up and down to a different letter to make a new word. We would sound it out, blend it
together, and then she would say the at words. Then we started reading a .5 level book
from a series of my first books called “Mat.” This worked great. She recognized the
words, said them correctly, and she gained confidence when she opened her little book
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and knew the words. I chose the at words because they are simple, and I knew that she
knew enough letter sounds that they would make sense to her. She also loved the sliders
because she got to touch the words and pick which word she wanted to make.
Session 6 = By this session Helen had progressed to at words, and ot words. We
had sliders for all of the endings, and she could say them very well. Most of the time I
started our session out reading a “Clifford” book because she loved Clifford, and she
loved to be read to. Also now that she was becoming more comfortable with the letters
and there sounds we would do about 5 preprimer sight words; however she would still
have trouble telling me the word after she spelled them. I also ended the session with the
reading of a Clifford book.
Session 9 = This was a great session. I read a Clifford book first. Helen now does
the at words, ot words, and ad words with the sliders. She can read all three of the little
books with just a little difficulty with a couple of the words she can’t recognize.(those
words were six and box) We did 10 sight words and she said all them and remembered
what the word was after she spelled it. I was so proud of her. I ended with a Christmas
book because Helen is all into the Christmas spirit.
What changes did I see taking place?
Helen is becoming so confident about reading. She is no longer shy about taking
a second to make sure the right sound is coming out of her mouth. She loves to read her
books, and now she is not afraid to try to sound out a word she does not know. She
knows her voice to print match, and she uses her finger for the correct left to right flow.
She knows the difference between her lower case b and d. Her teacher told me that she is
highest reader in her group right now, and maybe after the holiday break Helen will move
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to a higher group of reading. Helen also does not make a word for one she does not
recognize. She tries to sound it out, and if she does not get it she asks for help. Helen is
definitely on the road the emergent first grade level reading.
How will I teach reading when I become a teacher?
Wow! Let me take a minute to breathe! Teaching reading is not as easy as it
looks. Helen has taught me so many things about reading. For her age I truly understand
the meaning of the latter approach. We read and reread the same books over and over,
and she now understands the words, and this knowledge has led her to a higher level of
reading and understanding. The latter approach worked great for Helen because in the
beginning she could not remember some of the letter sounds or she would forget how to
blend but by the end she remembered and we had a great reading routine down. In my
classroom I want to develop a good routine for my students because “in order to manage
your classroom effectively, you must develop routines with you students” (451).
During this reading class and during tutoring I have also realized that keeping
records and notes of what I have been doing helps me to remember what I have been
learning, and with Helen it has allowed me to track her progress and find different
strategies to help her learn. Keeping records is a big part of the classroom, “an important
part of keeping your classroom running smoothly is keeping sufficient records of what is
happening and what individual students are doing” (424). This class has actually built up
my confidence for my future teaching profession. I was scared about the unknown of the
classroom and how I would teach the kids and if they would learn anything. But I learn
by doing and the only way to learn from your actions is to make actions! I’m glad you
required us to tutor because it does prepares you for your classroom, and you get to make
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mistakes in front of one child instead of 25. I have learned that planning and time
management is very important along with flexibility. I also experienced that as long I
tried to better Helen’s reading she tried to better her reading.
For my classroom I want to have lots of pictures/posters, bulletin boards, words,
library area, computer/technology area, and have a relaxing area where the kids can just
chill out and have some time for pleasure reading or educational fun games. I want my
children to be excited about coming into my classroom, “a teacher begins to build
motivation by creating a literate classroom environment rich in language and print”
(405). I want to instill in my children the love of learning, that reading is fun and there is
never a problem to great for them to solve. My view on teaching still remains the same-
I was meant to teach.
Mental Transcription
11-3-05 Third Session
I read he the “Cat” book and she meowed when she heard an at word.
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Got all of them right
At sliders
Said Cat
Sat
Bat
Mat
Hat
Then she spelled them
Then she wrote them, ok hand writing
Started Mat book
Mat
Mat sat
Sam (sounded out the letter m)
Sam sat
Mat sat. Sam sat.
Mat sat on Sam. (did not know on)
Sam sat on Mat (did not know on)
Mat sat. Sam sat.
The End (did not know the end)
12-6-05 Eleventh Session
We read the Mat book and the Lad book
The cat is kit. Kit sat on a box
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Lad sat on a keg (didn’t understand keg)
Lad had a nap.
Kit sat and sat in the box
Lad did nap a lot.
Get up Lad. Get up Kit. (helped her with get)
Kit has six cats! She counts the cats.
She had no trouble what so ever
We did all of the sight words
She had trouble with little, away, and one
With one she kept wanting to say won
I explained the difference in the # 1 and winning won
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