Although Alvina’s brothers and sisters went to school, she was kept home to help with the household chores. Now that her children are grown, she would like to learn to read and write.
Alvina is a mother and a grandmother. She left her rural home when she was about 18 and worked as a live-in housekeeper for a city family. Since marrying, she has helped manage family-run businesses. She has four children and five grandchildren. The youngest, a two-year-old girl, is the apple of her eye. They spend a lot of time together.
Alvina didn’t have specific reasons for learning to read and write, except that she wanted to be like everyone else. During lessons, Alvina said that she wanted to be able to write her own story someday.
At the start of tutoring, Alvina recognized most alphabet letters and knew some of the sounds. She recognized some words on sight. She could use consonant letters to spell words when they were dictated and could sign her name. She knew the order of the alphabet; she had used alphabetical order to keep track of files in the family business.
Norton, M. (1990). Preparing literacy tutors: A trainer’s manual. Cold Lake, Alberta: Lakeland College. ISBN 0-980683-10-X. Used with permission.