A young man currently on probation has obtained a volunteer tutor through a one-to- one tutoring program. He has always struggled with reading in the past, and he is unable to read any of the documents concerning his case. He also has had great difficulty understanding the proceedings at all of his court appearances. He feels that he did not speak well enough to defend himself as well as he would have liked. He came to Canada when he was 10 years old, so English is his second language. He did not have an opportunity to learn how to read in his first language.
During the first few sessions with his volunteer tutor, the tutor discovered that the young man has a history of learning disabilities that kept him from completing grade school. The tutor thinks this may have caused the man's problems in learning how to read. The learner also said that he often finds it easier to learn if he can see how something is done or if someone tells him how to do things. He has great difficulty reading or writing anything in English.
With further discussion, the learner decides that he would like to find out more about learning disabilities and how to overcome them. He feels learning to manage his learning disabilities will help him read and write better. He also thinks that he may be treated better in court if he can explain his learning disability to the judge and his lawyer. The theme unit plan for this learner is as follows.