Helen attended a vocational high school. She’s working as a cook’s helper in a fast-food restaurant. Her work is quite routine, so she doesn’t have to read new information at work very often. However, she would like to improve her reading and writing so she can take some courses and advance in her work.
Helen can read the menu from work and can read familiar recipes. Since starting tutoring, she has enjoyed reading stories that her tutor has helped her pick out.
Helen sounds out words she doesn’t recognize, but sometimes the words she comes up with don’t make sense. Sometimes she can read a passage and recognize almost all of the words, but not understand what she has read.
Helen has very neat handwriting and can spell many words correctly. She is reluctant to write about her own ideas.
Helen lives at home and sometimes babysits for her older sister. She enjoys bowling.
Norton, M. (1990). Preparing literacy tutors: A trainer’s manual. Cold Lake, Alberta: Lakeland College. ISBN 0-980683-10-X. Used with permission.