Introduction
This case study report examines Lilly, a Year 1 student, and her reading development. The data set contains Lilly’s reading of the book “Room on the Broom,” her retelling summary, and her responses to comprehension tests. Regarding the goals and content of the NSW English K–10 Syllabus (2022), Lilly’s strengths and needs will be discussed in the report, along with a recommended follow-up activity to address any identified needs. Lilly’s reading progress is examined from a variety of angles, with a focus on her decoding skills, comprehension, and storytelling prowess.
Learner Strengths
Lilly’s reading abilities show several positive traits, especially in her understanding of phonics. Her ability to separate and encode one-syllable words with taught graphemes, like “hat” and “as,” shows that she knows the relationship between letters and sounds. This aligns with the syllabus’ EN-PHOKW-O1 outcome, which highlights the significance of phonics in the early stages of reading development (English K–10 Syllabus, 2022).
Lilly demonstrates her metacognitive awareness during her reading process, which is a skill that is essential for independent reading, by being able to self-correct and reread passages for clarity. Furthermore, Lilly’s growing syntactic comprehension, which aids in her overall reading comprehension, is demonstrated by her understanding of punctuation marks and their function in determining the meaning and tone of the text. She excels in a variety of subjects, not just comprehension. Lilly also reads animatedly, which brings the characters to life. This is consistent with the EN-RECOM-D1 outcome of the syllabus, which strongly emphasizes reading expressively and deciphering the text’s meaning.
Lilly exhibits a solid ability to use context to help her understand the text, in addition to these positive traits. She can understand words and phrases by considering the overall context of the sentences and passages in which they are used. This ability, also known as using semantic cues, is a crucial strategy in reading comprehension and a sign of Lilly’s developing capacity to draw from various sources of knowledge to comprehend what she reads (Bardack et al., 2023).
Furthermore, Lilly’s engaging reading style and talent for bringing characters to life point to a strong connection with the written word. She is not just decoding words; she is also emotionally engaging with the narrative. This emotional involvement can improve comprehension and make reading for Lilly more pleasurable and inspiring (Pujiati & Suharto, 2022). It also suggests that she has the potential to acquire higher-level literacy abilities, such as the ability to draw conclusions and comprehend the main ideas and takeaways of texts.
Learner Needs
Despite her abilities, Lilly has trouble decoding some words. She has trouble with words with common double consonants in the first syllable, like “pp,” and with words with single syllables that have particular vowel sounds, like “e” in “been” and “oo” in “room.” This suggests that the result EN-PHOKW-O1 needs to be developed further. Due to her difficulties with these words, Lilly may benefit from additional phonics practice and instruction, especially in identifying and manipulating the sounds in words (Antropova et al., 2023). Lilly’s propensity for skipping ahead in the narrative also raises the possibility that she struggles with reading fluency and comprehension. These are crucial parts of the EN-RECOM-D1 outcome, and Lilly could use more guidance and training in these areas.
Lack of exposure to or practice with words with common double consonants and specific vowel sounds may cause Lilly’s difficulties decoding them. She might not have had enough chances to come across and interact with these words in a significant setting. More of these words could be used in her reading and practice exercises to help her become familiar with and confident decaying them (Tanji & Inoue, 2023).
Her difficulties with these words may also indicate the need for more thorough instruction in phonics rules and patterns. For instance, she might not fully comprehend that a double consonant in the middle of a word frequently indicates that the preceding vowel is short, as in the word “purred.” She might also be unaware of the sounds “e” and “oo” can make in different words. Lilly’s decoding abilities might advance with explicit instruction in these rules and subsequent supervised practice.
Regarding reading fluency and comprehension, Lilly’s propensity to jump ahead in the narrative may indicate that she is more concerned with completing the text quickly than comprehending it thoroughly. This might indicate that she is not using any reading strategies at all. She might not use reading comprehension techniques like visualizing the story, making predictions, or asking questions. These techniques can encourage her to read more slowly and focus on the text more intently, increasing her reading speed and comprehension.
Furthermore, Lilly’s decoding issues may be connected to her problems with reading fluency and comprehension. She might have fewer cognitive resources available if she exerts much mental effort to decode words to comprehend the text. According to the cognitive load theory, our working memory has a finite capacity. It can become overloaded if too much information is processed simultaneously, but we can process only so much. Therefore, Lilly’s reading fluency and comprehension might benefit from improved decoding skills.
Next Steps Tasks
A follow-up activity on decoding words with specific vowel sounds and words with syllables is advised to meet Lilly’s needs. This activity might involve reading several books with a high frequency of these words, followed by exercises that motivate Lilly to categorize and encode these words (Ewing et al., 2016). Thanks to this strategy, Lilly would have plenty of opportunities to use these words in meaningful contexts, which would also help her understand the correspondence between letters and sounds, a crucial component of phonics instruction.
For instance, flashcards with words that have double consonants and particular vowel sounds could be given to Lilly. She could get used to reading these words out loud, breaking them down into syllables, and writing them down (Walgermo et al., 2018). According to the syllabus’ outcome EN-PHOKW-O1, Lilly would receive targeted practice in the areas she needs to improve through this activity.
Conclusion
This case study has provided significant insight into Lilly’s reading development. She has many qualities, but she also has some areas to improve. These requirements will be satisfied, and the recommended follow-up activity will assist Lilly in further developing her reading skills. With consistent practice and targeted support, Lilly is likely to keep advancing her reading skills and achieve the NSW English K–10 Syllabus outcomes. This case study also highlights the significance of individualized instruction and the value of using data to inform teaching strategies and interventions.
References
Antropova, S., Polaino, R. C., & Acero, J. M. A. (2023). Synthetic phonics in spanish bilingual education: spelling mistakes analysis. Porta Linguarum an International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Learning, 39, 299–314. Web.
Bardack, S., Lopez, C., Levesque, K., Chigeda, A., & Winiko, S. (2023). An exploratory analysis of divergent patterns in reading progression during a tablet-based literacy program. Frontiers in Education, 8. Web.
Donaldson, J. (2017). Room on the Broom. Macmillan Children’s Books.
English K–10 Syllabus. (2022). NSW Curriculum. Web.
Ewing, R., Callow, J., & Rushton, K. (2016). Language and literacy development in early childhood. Cambridge University Press.
Pujiati, I., & Suharto, A. W. B. (2022). Early childhood literacy development through the baca corner (literacy development at tk tunas rimba ipurwokerto). International Proceedings of Nusantara Raya, 1(1), 243–248. Web.
Tanji, T., & Inoue, T. (2023). Home literacy environment and early reading skills in Japanese Hiragana and Kanji during the transition from kindergarten to primary school. Frontiers in Psychology, 14. Web.
Walgermo, B. R., Foldnes, N., Uppstad, P. H., & Solheim, O. J. (2018). Developmental dynamics of early reading skill, literacy interest and readers’ self-concept within the first year of formal schooling. Reading and Writing, 31(6), 1379–1399. Web.