Getting Robby Ready

For First Grade

By Jim Hetherman

Robby, age 5 years and 8 months, is in his 9th

month of kindergarten. Although his primary
language is English, Spanish is often spoken when
his family gets together for many extended family
gatherings. Robby lives with his natural mother
and father. He is the youngest in the family, and
has two older brothers and a sister.

Six months ago, his teacher said, Robby’s parents were

having second thoughts about Robby’s readiness for kindergarten.
They thought that maybe they should have kept him in day school
another year because he wasn’t showing the kind of maturity that
they had experienced with their other three children. In fact,
Robby’s oldest brother is very advanced for his age, his parents
reported, and was often called “gifted” by his teachers.

One wall of the Robby’s classroom has paper sunflowers,

with the each child’s picture in the center, set to the height of each
child; Robby is prominently displayed as the shortest child in the
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Getting Robby Ready

When compared to other students in his class, Robby

appears to be very immature. His rug position is directly in
front of the teacher. When most other students were looking at
the pictures in the big book during read aloud, for example, Robby
often looks around the room and out the window. He often puts
his fingers in his mouth. When his teacher asks for predictions
about the story, Robby doesn’t raise his hand. When called upon,
he smiles shyly and, speaking very softly, gives a two-word
utterance. The utterance is on track, giving the impression that
he is listening and comprehending. The teacher expands on
Robby’s utterance to demonstrate how her question might have
been answered. During independent work time, Robby chooses
activities that he could perform alone. When assigned to role-play
in the kitchen with other students, Robby does not assert himself,
but lets the other children pick his role for him. When the other
children appoint him the “little boy,” Robby seems content with
that.

Robby is acquiring readiness for reading on a par

with other children in the class, with the major exception
of the use of oral language. On graded work, the teacher uses
a five step Rubik with “faces” ranging from “very happy” (excellent
work) to “very sad” (poor work). Robby’s Rubik is almost always
“happy” or “very happy”. He knows all the letter sounds and
names. In one assessment, students were asked to clap the
number of syllables in each word said by the teacher. Robby could
do this consistently for three syllable words, although his claps
were very faint. Robby can point out where to begin reading and
where to go next. He can identify the first word in both lines and

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sentences, and can point out question marks and periods as well.
He knows short and long vowels, but has difficulty with
consonants and blends. He often substitutes consonants, and
omits or adds sounds. The teacher noted that when saying the “t”
sound by itself, he says “ta”, and has difficulty in pronouncing
CVC combinations. A major problem is that in order to hear and
understand him, one has to listen very carefully, because Robby
speaks so softly; if there are distractions going on in other parts of
the room, Robby focuses on the distraction. When it comes to
participating in the class and using spoken language for
communication, Robby is well below his peers.

Robby says that he enjoys reading and that he likes

reading for fun. He said he liked all kinds of picture books. He
particularly likes using the computer. The class has the
“Waterford Early Reading Program” installed, and each student
uses it everyday. Robby demonstrated his use of this system. The
system allows students to work at their own pace, within the
boundaries set by the teacher. The program emphasizes print
concepts, letter knowledge and phonological awareness, with
built-in animation and music. I found it enchanting myself.
Because the system uses earphones and allows the student to
focus on the screen, distractions are minimized. But one
drawback was obvious: students like Robby can feel successful
without ever having to say a word. This program was Robby’s
most favorite activity. Robby’s second most favorite activity is
reading picture books with companion books on tape. When
questioned about the material he read, reread or listened to,
Robby demonstrated that he understood and remembered details.

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He didn’t hesitate in our one-on-one, and could find the words he

wanted to say quickly. Robby said that he didn’t dislike any
classroom activity. His least favorite thing was playing with
others in the kitchen, but when I asked him why this was so,
Robby shrugged his shoulders. His next least favorite thing was
sharing. When asked if he likes writing, he said he liked it at
home but didn’t like writing in school because he didn’t want to be
called on to share.

Robby needs to increase his speech and improve the

accuracy and intelligibility of his oral language. He needs to
acquire better discrimination between certain sounds, particularly
consonants and blends. He needs to more fully participate in
classroom activities, particularly those that require him to
volunteer, interact and share with others. On the other hand,
Robby’s strengths seem to be in the area of comprehension.
He is acquiring meaning from his literacy activities. Robby has
acquired good concepts about print.

In order to succeed in first grade, Robby is going have

to become a much better communicator. He needs to be able
to read aloud the words that he knows, volunteer answers when
he knows them, and assert himself in groups. At this point, we
don’t know if Robby’s developmental delay is due to some specific
language disorder that could be corrected with speech therapy,
due to excessive shyness, or due to immaturity that may correct
itself with time. A speech therapist and school psychologist
should evaluate him. Over the next few months, the teacher,
school and parents are going to have to decide whether to retain

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Robby in Kindergarten for another year or let him enter First

Grade. Specific measures that should be taken include the
following:

1. Robby needs to practice reading aloud, and rereading

aloud over and over again. His teacher or tutor needs
to model how reading is done with particular attention
to CVC combinations, stress, intonation and general
volume or loudness. A tape recorder-player needs to be
used so that Robby can listen to what is read and
compare how he sounds.

2. Robby needs to be assigned to groups with children

who won’t always dominate him. The teacher should
assign the roles so that Robby will get a turn at leading
as often as any other child. This group work (in
literacy centers and literacy play centers) should be
observed closely, and the teacher or aide should discuss
the group’s performance with them, and suggest ways
the group might improve.

3. Robby is very interested in using the computerized

learning system. He should be appointed at a helper to
assist other children who may have problems with the
computer, and as an ambassador to help demonstrate
the system to visitors. Robby should also be assigned
the task of writing down his experiences in a journal
(using his own words and drawings), and explaining
his experiences to the rest of the class.

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4. The teacher needs more cooperation from the parents.

The parents should be instructed to take Robby with
them on errands and other activities in the community,
and to involve him as much as possible. He must see
and participate first-hand in language-based activities.
Parents must take every opportunity to point out
environmental print, and to show Robby how such
print is used to accomplish everyday things. Robby
needs keep a journal of these activities and build a
portfolio of pictures, papers and objects that he can
share with the class.

Benefits of this Approach

Reading, rereading, modeling and rereading are needed so

that Robby will see how reading is done, and be able to compare
and build upon each experience. Group work where Robby has the
chance to lead as well as follow is necessary in order to build self-
confidence and self-esteem. Good readers need self-confidence so
that they will not be too fearful of reading aloud in front of others.
Using Robby as a helper with the computer will do four things.
First it will help other students who are having problems; next it
will help change Robby’s standing with the rest of the class, as he
will be seen as someone who knows enough about something in
order to help them when they have a problem; third, it will
provide Robby with success stories and experiences which will
improve his own self-image; and fourth, it will encourage him to
talk—he will experience first-hand the communicative purpose of
language. As a class ambassador, Robby will gain experience in

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communicating with people of differing backgrounds, and will

obtain over time the skills needed to adjust his language to the
level and needs of his communication partners. Robby’s excessive
shyness did not develop when he entered kindergarten. Maybe
four children were too demanding on his parents, and maybe his
parents did not give him the kind of attention he needed. We
don’t know all the reasons for Robby’s shyness. Community
involvement will provide Robby with real life experience that can
be brought back into the classroom environment and shared with
other students. Sharing his community journal and portfolio will
also help build the confidence that is needed for him to become a
good reader.

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