Literacy Portrait of a Five-Year Old Child

EDR 101: The Reading Process

University of the Philippines Diliman
By Danna Mae T. !"on
I. INTRODUCTION
Kno#ing the child more and eval!ating his$her s%ills caref!lly are t#o of the
ma&or things that a teacher does in a reg!lar classroom sit!ation. 'n line #ith this( the pro&ect
aims to esta)lish a deep !nderstanding on the roles of the literacy learner as proposed )y
*!%e and +ree)ody: the learner as a code )rea%er( te,t participant( te,t analyst( and te,t !ser.
't targets to gather evidences of ho# the child performs those roles so that there #ill )e a
s!)stantial eval!ation of his readiness for reading instr!ction.
The pro&ect also see%s to ascertain the factors that may affect the child-s reading
development.#hether these factors can help or hinder in his$her development. This pro&ect
may not )e a)le to cover all the smallest details or aspects in the child-s literacy
development( )!t more importantly( it loo%s for#ard to providing an efficient description of
the child-s readiness for and s%ills in literacy. By delving into the more apparent aspects in
the child-s literacy development( s!ch as his$her immediate environment and lang!age
proficiency( the pro&ect /!pon completing all the re0!ired data and concl!sions1 also
endeavors to assess #hat actions are necessary or )etter for the child-s advancement in the
reading process.
II. BACKROUND OF T!" #TUDY
2s a child e,plores a #ider #orld thro!gh the different things he enco!nters(
#hether concrete or a)stract( there are many factors that affect ho# he perceives and learns
those things. 3imilarly( in learning ho# to read( there are many factors that infl!ence the
child thro!gho!t the reading process and there are also roles #hich he$she performs as a
literacy learner. These are the main concepts #hich )!ild !p the frame#or% for this pro&ect.
These factors #o!ld incl!de the child-s literacy environment( physiological
development( cognitive development( and lang!age development. They all contri)!te
significantly for the improvement of the child-s !nderstanding and s%ill in reading.
The child-s literacy environment involves his$her immediate s!rro!ndings at
school( at home( or in the comm!nity. *i%e for instance( if the school provides the )asic
instr!ctional materials s!ch as the alpha)et charts and )oo%s for the children see and !se(
then they can already help a lot for the child. +or the physiological development( the child-s
vis!al and hearing capa)ilities are also needed for him$her to participate s!ccessf!lly in the
process of reading itself. 2nother essential factor is the cognitive development )eca!se it
involves the children-s #ay of thin%ing. There are t#o ma&or aspects to this theory: the
process of coming to %no# and the stages the children move thro!gh as they grad!ally
ac0!ire this a)ility. *ang!age development is another ma&or factor since aside from the
physiological and cognitive facets in the child( it is also needed to encode and decode the te,t
)eing read.
The fo!r roles of the literacy learner )y *!%e and +ree)ody #ere also !sed in this
pro&ect. The learner as a code )rea%er deals #ith his$her a)ility to encode and decode #hich
comes from c!lt!re and e,perience. 2s a te,t participant( the learner )ecomes a meaning
ma%er #ho gives literal and inferential meanings of te,ts. 2lso( as a te,t analyst( the reader
foc!ses on the intentions of the #riter and ho# the te,t( )eing a prod!ct of a certain social
conte,t( infl!ences him$her. *astly( the learner as a te,t !ser means that he$she is a)le to
apply the te,ts in real4life sit!ations.
III. $"T!ODOLOY
The pro&ect has )een accomplished thro!gh cond!cting formal and informal
activities for the child and intervie#ing her parents regarding some components of her
e,pressive( self4help( and social4emotional domain.
The Early 5hildhood 5are and Development 5hec%list /E55D 5hec%list1 )y
*o!rdes *edesma is the screening tool #hich #as !sed as )asis for the formal activities
#hich assessed the development of the child in terms of five domains: gross motor( fine
motor( self4help( receptive lang!age( e,pressive lang!age( cognitive( and social4emotional.
Materials and proced!res #ere prepared in order to carry o!t nat!rally the formal activities
s!ch as ma%ing the child #al% and &!mp for the gross motor( scri))le and dra# for the fine
motor( follo# instr!ctions for the receptive( !se prono!ns and spea% grammatically correct
sentences for the e,pressive( and sorting shapes$colors for the cognitive.
The informal activities incl!de one4on4one conversations #ith the child #hile she
#as resting and #al%ing on her #ay home( )onding #ith her thro!gh ma%ing &o%es( and
playing #ith her #henever she feels )ored.
3ince parental report #ill s!ffice for some parts in the E55D 5hec%list and a
sociodemographic profile is needed( an intervie# of the child-s mother #as cond!cted in
their residence. The 0!estions came from the chec%list and the conversation at hand.
I%. DATA AT!"R"D
Sociodemographic profile
The name of the child is Reishi 2ngela P. 2sin. 3he is a female and #as )orn on
6!ne 17( 8009. :er e,act age at the date of assessment is five years eight months and t#enty4one
days old. 3he lives at 5arissa ;2( 5ity of 3an 6ose Del Monte( B!lacan /Region '''1. 3he is left4
handed and is presently st!dying at 5arissa :omes 3chool of 3t. Therese. :er father-s name is
Ricardo 5. 2sin( fifty4five years old and c!rrently #or%ing as an instr!ctor at B!lacan 3tate
University and also an a!thor of Math )oo%s for the 3t. 2!g!stine P!)lishing 5ompany. :e
grad!ated #ith a )achelor-s degree in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. Reishi-s mother is
Resie P. 2sin( forty4t#o years old( ho!se#ife. 2ssociate in 5riminology is her ed!cational
attainment. The child-s /Reishi-s1 n!m)er of si)lings is three( so they are all fo!r children in the
family. 3he is the second from the eldest child.
The res!lts of the assessed domains from the E55D 5hec%list are as follo#s:
Childs literacy environment
DO$AIN Ra& #core
<ross Motor 18
+ine Motor 11
3elf4:elp 9
Receptive *ang!age =
E,pressive *ang!age 1=
5ognitive 8;
3ocial4Emotional 88
3!m of 3cores >>
'nterpretation 2verage overall development
2s ' have seen( their little school is a print4rich environment. There are different charts
from vario!s s!)&ects for pre4elementary s!ch as the alpha)et( n!meral system( )ody parts( and
arts. Moreover( there is a )ig )oo%shelf at the )ac% of the ta)les #here the p!pils sit. 3o anytime(
#hen the child #ants to read( she is free to get any )oo% that she li%es. There is also eno!gh
ventilation and since the school is sit!ated in a street( there are no noise distractions s!ch as the
hon%ing of vehicles. The environment o!tside or the comm!nity is ideal too since there #o!ld )e
no noise that #o!ld dist!r) the p!pils from st!dying.
2s for the family environment( the ho!se #here the child lives is 0!ite small for their
family and it is messy inside )eca!se ' sa# many things( li%e )o,es and )ags scattered aro!nd. '
have not seen m!ch ed!cational materials )!t ' #as &!st to!ched #hen ' sa# one pse!do4
phonetics chart in #hich they have improvised an old calendar. The chart #as #ritten at the )ac%
of the calendar( and some of the consonant4vo#el com)inations #ritten #ere ?)a )e )i )o )!-.
Physiological Development
There is no pro)lem #ith the vis!al ac!ity and hearing a)ility of the child. 3he can see
#ell eno!gh the printed te,t on )oo%s( charts( and other materials. 2lso( she is attentive to my
instr!ctions so it &!st proves that she can also hear acc!rately.
Cognitive Development
The child e,hi)its logical and systematic thin%ing since she already %no#s ho# to gro!p
concrete o)&ects and identify pict!re4#ord associations. Moreover( egocentric thin%ing
sometimes predominates. The good thing is she can also thin% a)o!t a)stract or mat!re concepts
s!ch as the diffic!lty to teach( etc. There #as one sit!ation in #hich she #as very e,cited to tell
me that she already %no#s ho# to ma%e a star thro!gh a r!))er )and. 3he #as very pro!d to say
that she can already do the said thing all )y herself #itho!t the assistance of her elder )rother.
2fter#ards( she ta!ght me ho# to ma%e it /the star1 and since ' co!ld not easily learn ho# to do
it( she told me ho# it #as very hard to teach me. @ang hirap mo naman t!r!anA( she said.
Language Development
:er pron!nciation of English #ords is noticea)ly good and she can effectively !se
lang!age to comm!nicate or e,press herself. B!t of co!rse( she still gropes for #ords or st!tters
most of the time #hen she narrates her o#n story. Bhen she tal%s a)o!t a long story$e,perience(
the #ay she narrates is not clear eno!gh )eca!se she co!ld not yet !tter the right #ord for a
certain thing #hich she #ants to say.
%. DICU##ION AND R"CO$$"NDATION#
2ccording to the res!lts of the assessment )ased on the E55D 5hec%list(
presently( there is an average overall development for the child. Even )efore ' started
#or%ing #ith the child( ' co!ld notice in her actions that she #as developing literacy and
learning in a positive pace. +or one thing( ' #as informed that she is one of the o!tstanding
p!pils. 2lso( #hen ' visited her at their ho!se( she #as responsi)le or sensitive eno!gh to
inform her mother immediately that there is a visitor. This proves that the social aspect of his
development is already )eginning to gro#. The other developmental aspects( namely the
physical( mental( emotional( and moral #ere also significantly )ecoming evident in the
child-s #ords and )ehaviors already.
3ince these developmental aspects have )een modified and e,panded in the
EE5D 5hec%list( they #ere changed into the five developmental domains: gross motor( fine
motor( e,pressive and receptive lang!age( self4help( and social4emotional domain. +or all of
these domains( the child #as not a)le to perform only ten items. Moreover( for each of the
domains( only a fe# )ehaviors to )e o)served are lac%ing. The child act!ally got perfect
scores in the fine motor( receptive( and e,pressive lang!age domain. 2ll these res!lts sho#
that there is also a )alance in the overall gro#th of the child )eca!se she co!ld not only
perform #ell in one domain( )!t in all of the domains. There are things #hich ' did not
e,pect her to do so )!t she can already do them. *i%e for instance( in the self4help domain(
she already prepares mil% for her )a)y )rother.
There are also some remar%a)le transformations in the )ehavior of the child.
Bhenever she is in school( she is 0!iet and )ehaved. 't seemed li%e she #as very shy to tal%
or interact #ith her classmates. B!t #hen she is at home( she )ecomes na!ghty and energetic(
and is mo longer ashamed to tal%. 2ccording to her mother( #hen there are visitors( she
!nhesitatingly #elcomes them and !ses c!lt!ral gest!res of greeting li%e ?pagmamano-. This
shift in the )ehavior of the child may imply that there are certain mitigating factors in the
school #hich ma%es her )ehave in a #ay #hich is different from her !s!al )ehavior. The
teacher may )e 0!ite strict or her classmates may )e very na!ghty that she feels )eing
overshado#ed )y all of them. B!t this is one thing that a teacher sho!ld )ecome sensitive of.
Bhile it is good to discipline the children( it does not mean that they #ill )e totally deprived
of )eing #ho they are. 't is perhaps )etter if they are allo#ed to act or )ehave the #ay they
are and then the teacher #o!ld &!st shape some aspects of their )ehavior so that they #o!ld
)e a)le to adapt to the environment in school.
*oo%ing into the other factors that infl!ence her reading development( the child-s
parents are s!pportive of her development in learning. They al#ays advocate any pro&ect( or
activity that #o!ld help enhance their child-s )asic literacy s%ills. B!t since there are fo!r
si)lings in the family( and the yo!ngest is still a )a)y( her mother really tries very hard to
provide a follo#4!p for her child. 2s m!ch as the mother #ants to give her child a follo#4!p(
she co!ld not do so )eca!se no one else #o!ld ta%e care of her )a)y )rother.
2ltho!gh they have no eno!gh ed!cational materials at home( it is clearly seen
that the child-s interest in learning does not rely on the availa)ility of those materials(
)eca!se she really gets e,cited !pon going to school. 2ltho!gh #e %ne# each other
)eforehand( ' #as still s!rprised #hen she #as act!ally the one #ho #ent immediately
/earlier than me1 in the school( #hich is o!r place of meeting.
The child is a)le to e,ec!te the roles of a literacy learner: )eing a code )rea%er(
she can encode certain te,ts and of co!rse( decode #hat is #ritten in a printed te,t( she can
also ma%e literal meanings of te,ts )!t not m!ch #ith the inferential /te,t participant1( )eing
a te,t analyst( she !nderstands that there is some intention )ehind a story )eca!se she is
c!rio!s a)o!t #hy things happened the #ay they #ere and #hy did the #riter chose to #rite
it in the #ay he did so( and lastly( as a te,t !ser( she can apply the lesson she has learned from
a story. 3he can relate the lesson #ith her e,periences in her family.
+!rthermore( as the data s!ggests( she is c!rrently in the pre4operational stage
#herein her !se of lang!age mat!res. 't proves so in #hat ' have o)served and confirmed
from her mother. 3he %no#s ho# to voice o!t if she has the reason to do so and she insists on
#hat she li%es. 3he does not #ant repetitive actions s!ch as a certain lesson in school )eing
disc!ssed red!ndantly. Bhen there are e,ams( there are times #hen she no longer revie#s
)eca!se she says that she %no#s them all. #hich is an evidence perhaps of egocentric
thin%ing. 3he li%es all s!)&ects and her mother #o!ld #ant her to really develop in reading.
2s early as t#o4years old( she already dreams to )e a Miss Universe and a doctor.
2ll these )ehaviors( attri)!tes( and facts a)o!t the child sho# that she is already
#ell4e0!ipped #ith the necessary s%ills for literacy development( )!t there are still some
factors #hich may affect her progress positively or negatively. The family( school( and
comm!nity sho!ld &oin hand4in4hand to aid the child in her &o!rney to#ards her reading
development. 2t home( there m!st )e more ed!cational materials s!ch as story )oo%s( charts
or toys to f!rther s!pport the child-s literacy development since the foc!s$ attention in
learning ho# to read is not only )eing fostered at school( )!t also s!stained at home. The
school can also !nderta%e more innovative pro&ects to stim!late the child-s interest in
reading. They may do )oo% fares( or storytelling contests in #hich the children #ill read their
favorite story. The comm!nity can )!ild !p a playgro!nd and a garden #ith many colorf!l
notice )oards of ma,ims or 0!otations to enhance the reading a)ilities of the children #hile
they are applying those concepts in their interaction #ith fello# playmates( hence ma%ing
their learning something holistic. not &!st limited in one aspect of development )!t in the
entire learning( reading( and personality development itself.
%I. BIBLIORAP!Y
Pfla!m( 3!ssana Bhitney. /1>CD1. *ang!age and Beginning Reading. The Development of
Language and Reading in the Young Child. /pp.118411C1. United 3tates: 5harles E. Merill
P!)lishing 5ompany
Balpole( 3ir :!gh. /1>8C1. Reading, an essay. Ee# or% and *ondon : :arper F )rothers
3tovall( Evelyn *. /1>D01. You and your reading. Boston : <inn and company
http:$$###.edpsycinteractive.org$topics$cogsys$piaget.html
http:$$###.reading.org$<eneral$Defa!lt.asp,
%II. APP"NDIC"#
'( *etter for the Parent
)( *iteracy Environment
*(
The 5hild
+( Materials
,( 2ct!al st!dent #or%s
,( +ormal$ 'nformal 2ctivities
7
-( 'ntervie# #ith the child-s mother
.( Gideo clips on the formal activities