Jill attended a series of special classes as a young girl growing up in Ontario. She also moved around a great deal, sometimes attending two or three different schools in one year. Jill came from a large family; one brother and two sisters also had difficulty learning.
She left school at 15 and worked in a shoe factory. After moving to Calgary, she held the same job in a warehouse for nine years before recent downsizing meant Jill’s job was eliminated.
Jill is married and has a preteen who also has trouble reading. She would like to read better to help her son avoid placement in a special education class. But most important to Jill is finding another job. Even to look for the same type of work she would have to improve her skills.
Assessment
Word recognition
Jill’s sight vocabulary was strong for her stage of learning. She could read 80 per cent of
the words at Grade 4 on a graded word list. At this point her scores dropped dramatically.
She was unable to sound out new words and lacked word attack skills. When reading
passages, Jill scored 93 per cent at Grade 3 and 95 per cent at Grade 4.
Comprehension
Jill was able to decode, but her comprehension scores were not consistent. They were 67
per cent at Grade 3 and 52 per cent at Grade 4. When Jill retold stories, she was able to
give an overview but could not supply the details of the stories.
Writing
Jill chose to write about her son. She was able to stay on topic and develop ideas. Her
writing showed no understanding of punctuation, use of capitals or structure. Spelling
was very weak:
My sone name is Bob he is evelly year old he likes to run and play scooc and be with his fualdy he like to draw a loud my son cam nats someytime but he cam make me life a lote.
Jill read this back to me fluently and with expression. Missing words or endings were supplied. Can YOU do the same?
Summary
A very outgoing and friendly person, Jill was a pleasure to interview. She shared stories about her past without hesitation. She talked about her family, her volunteer work and her desperate search for a job. The thoughts she presented were clear and sequential. She spoke rapidly and sometimes became restless. If you met Jill at the supermarket or a bus stop, the difficulty she experiences with literacy would not be evident.
McCullough, C. (n.d.). Learner profiles: Pat, Chol Thung, Jill and Kevin. Calgary, Alberta: Bow Valley College. Training material. Used with permission.