The Childs Background

MT is a 7-year-old girl in 2nd grade. The initials MT are hypothetical and have been used to protect the confidentiality/privacy of the child. The child attends .. In her class, there are a total of 19 learners. It would be prudent to note that MT could be deemed a normal learner owing to the fact that she has not been diagnosed with any learning disability. MT comes from a single-mom household. She has never met her father. Her mother is an investment advisor at a leading investment bank. She has two siblings an 11-year-old brother who is in junior high school and a 2-year-old sister. MTs mother is not actively involved in her learning owing to the demands of her job. It should, however, be noted that MTs aunt who moved in with them approximately 1 year ago (after losing her job as a cashier due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown) has been assisting MT with homework and other learning skills after school and during the weekends. Up until now, MT has not had any significant issue with regard to reading and comprehension. She comes across as a bubbly and easy-going child. Her behavior and mannerisms are appropriate for her age. It is important to note that at present, MT displays some difficulty reading above her independent reading level. Concerns, as will be highlighted below, also emerged with regard to her reading comprehension in which case she appeared to struggle from time to time.

The Nature of the Problem and Informal Reading Inventory Process

The Independent Reading Inventory (IRI) process was conducted in an empty classroom so as to minimize distractions. Effort was made to make MT comfortable by explaining certain aspects of the process to her in advance and getting to know whether there were any concerns or queries she had. The process begun following MTs confirmation that she was ready to proceed. We started with the Word Recognition Inventorys Premier (A) portion. It is important to note that this decision was made owing to MTs grade level (i.e. 2nd grade) and the need to commence reading two levels below the said grade. MT did not have any difficulty with this section of the WRI. Next, we moved to the First WRI portion. Just as was the case in the Premier WRI portion, MT did not display any significant challenges reading through the wordlist. However, her first attempt at pronouncing the words does and drank were not successful although she quickly corrected herself in the second attempt.

In the WRI 2 (C) section, MT was as confident as she was in the first two sections. However, unlike was the case in the first two sections, she appeared to hesitate from time to time but this did not hinder her forward march. In the WRI 2 (D) section, MT charged through the first 10 words confidently. However, she was unable to read the word bundle which was number 11 on the list. We moved forward but she once again got stuck at number 15 with the word score, and at number 16 with...…the 11th word on the list, and again got stuck at the 15th and 16th words. From a general perspective, it would also be prudent to note that although MT demonstrated suitable/proper reading levels, her reading comprehension was not at par with the appropriate grade and reading level. For this reason, an overall finding can be made to the effect that the relevant interventions should be put in place to further enhance MTs reading comprehension.

Implications

The relevance of reading comprehension cannot be overstated when it comes to the development of skills required to understand reading material, i.e. via proper processing of crucial information and later on remembering/recalling the said information. Towards this end, quite a number of strategies could be deployed. Two such strategies are suggested below, for this present case;

Connection Making: In this case, efforts could be made to ensure that learners develop the ability to link whatever it is that they read to real-life scenarios, i.e. in relation to personal life experiences. Thus, in this case, after MT is done reading a passage, she could be asked to jot on a piece of paper what the passage reminds her of, whom (i.e. in her family) specific characters remind her of, etc. According to Braun (2019), this approach helps learners naturally develop a habit of mentally making connections as they read (74).

Utilization of Drawings and Visual Aids: In this case, attempts could be made to make a visual representation of whatever it is that is being read. This can be done in the course of the actual reading or after reading the relevant passage.…