Case Study of Rosa, a Kindergarten Grade Student
by Laurie Armar

April 21, 1999

Teacher comments:

Rosa is a kindergartner. She is behind most of her classmates in reading readiness. She started school without any letter knowledge, but now she knows some letter sounds and some names. She can sing the ABC well. Rosa has received some one-on-one help from the teacher and from the aide. She tries to learn and participates eagerly in class. She seems to learn best by repetition and kinesthetic learning.

Assessment Results:


Rosa knows some concepts about print. She knows the front of the book. She can show where to begin reading and where to go next. She understands the return sweep. She does not have 1-to-1 correspondence, and could not point to words as I read them. She could show me the first part of the story. She knew the first word of the line, but not of the sentence. She also could not identify a question mark or a period. Rosa could not show me 1 or 2 letters, but did show me 1 or 2 words.

Lesson Plan:

Rosa is below grade level, and I would like her to know all of her letter sounds and concepts about print before leaving kindergarten. Intervention for Rosa therefore might be a 30 minutes daily one-to-one intervention with a teacher aide. It might look like a lesson from “Roaming around the known” in Reading Recovery and could include the following each day:

    1. Read 1 or 2 easy books to Rosa, showing her the parts of the book, pointing out letters and words.
    2. Review and memorize (chanting together) letter sounds and names. Sorting 3 different magnetic letters on a white board each day. Beginning to write them also, using different mediums.
    3. Write a short repetitive book together. Teacher can write most words, modeling stretching words and hearing sounds in words. Rosa could write the sounds she knows and begin helping the teacher hear the sounds in the words. The teacher also will put in punctuation, explaining why and where she puts it, eventually giving the job to Rosa as she catches on. After writing the book, Rosa can reread it, with help If needed, and the following day that can be a familiar book to begin the lesson with.

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