from chapter 5 of the User's Guide to the Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO) Toolkit, by Miriam W. Smith, Ed.D., & David K. Dickinson, Ed.D., with Angela Sangeorge & Louisa Anastasopoulos, M.P.P.

Copyright © 2002 Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Kenny’s Story is a fictional account of a young African American boy who attends kindergarten in a large, urban public school. Click on the "See related analysis" link that appears throughout the case story to find out what the experts have to say about the nature and the content of some of Kenny's early literacy experiences.

Section I

One day in the middle of their kindergarten year, Kenny, Jordan, and Luis were playing with large hollow blocks and a variety of plastic reptiles (snakes, lizards, dinosaurs, and so forth) in a corner of their classroom. As their teacher, Ms. Ford, walked by, Kenny told her that they were building a "tricky maze" for his snake. Ms. Ford noticed that the boys had propped open a book of mazes and were actively discussing how to make the blocks look like the maze they had chosen. As they worked, they returned again and again to the book, often tracing the pattern of the maze with their fingers.

When Ms. Ford announced that it was clean-up time, there was a loud protest from the block corner. "We’re not done yet!" the boys yelled. "Yeah, the snake might escape," said Kenny. While the other children began to clean up, Ms. Ford helped the block builders brainstorm some ways to preserve their project. The boys decided to make a sign for the block construction and, at Daily News time, to tell the other children what they were working on. Kenny ran to the writing center and returned with a clipboard, paper, marker, and tape. While Ms. Ford waited, Luis and Jordan sounded out and wrote down their message:

Kenny watched and then proudly taped the sign to the blocks.

Later, at Daily News time, the three boys stood in front of the class and explained the snake maze project. Kenny held the maze book open to the page with the "tricky maze" and traced it with his finger, showing and telling how the shape of the maze made him think of his snake. They were making the maze with blocks, he said, so that they could put the snake in it to see if it could figure a way out. Luis and Jordan held up their sign and read it to the group, then returned it to the structure. See related analysis.

Section II

The transition report from Kenny’s Head Start program had characterized him as an active, observant learner who enjoyed hands-on activities, dramatic play, and sharing personal information with others. The report also noted a lack of interest in more specific early literacy activities, such as reading books on his own, scribbling, or writing his name. At the beginning of the school year, Kenny’s behavior in his kindergarten classroom was puzzling and problematic for Ms. Ford. The word active, used in the transition report, seemed an understatement, as Kenny appeared to flit from one activity center to another without really engaging in activities or interactions with peers or teachers. The only activity center that captured his sustained interest and activity was the block corner, where he would build large structures and direct other children to help him. Journal writing and large group meeting times were very difficult for Kenny. Ms. Ford’s anecdotal notes reflect her increasing frustration with Kenny’s behavior:

September 26 — Kenny worked with Jordan and Luis in the big blocks. I intervened twice to protect children from falling blocks.

September 30 — Kenny wouldn’t sit with the group during Daily News time. Sitting in my lap helped somewhat.

October 4 — Kenny won’t even try to write during Journal time. He seems bored with drawing and is constantly wandering around to see what other children are doing.

October 8 — All week Kenny has been deliberately singing in a loud voice during Journal time. This is disruptive for us all.

Then, in early October, things changed. On the way to school one morning, 5-year-old Kenny found a small snake, which he brought to school in his backpack. Kenny didn’t think his parents would let him keep it at home, so Ms. Ford arranged for him to keep it at school. After a large-group discussion, it was determined that no one in the class knew much about snakes. Because reptiles were a topic covered in the kindergarten curriculum, Ms. Ford decided to pursue Kenny’s interest more fully. During their next scheduled meeting, Ms. Ford asked the reading consultant to help her find some literacy resources that included snakes. The following week, the classroom aide took a small group of children, including Kenny, to the library. They returned with a number of books, which they added to their classroom’s Lending Library. Kenny and others used the illustrations in the books to identify their snake, determine what was needed for its habitat, and figure out what and how much it needed to eat. Ms. Ford read several of the books aloud during small-group reading times, and Kenny borrowed the books to take home and look at with his parents.

Ms. Ford noticed a dramatic surge in Kenny’s interest in reading and writing activities since he had brought in the snake. His flitting from activity to activity now included stops at the Lending Library, where he actively used the library books as references in his play with blocks, sand, playdough, and other materials, returning to them frequently to look at pictures of snake habitats and eating preferences. During journal writing activities, Kenny would now draw pictures of his snake and was beginning to show interest in writing the words my snake to accompany his drawings. During Author’s Chair activities (part of a process approach to reading and writing in which the children read their writing to a group and received feedback for revisions), Kenny shared his drawings and made up humorous oral stories to accompany them.

At the suggestion of the reading consultant, Ms. Ford designated Kenny the resident "snake expert," and other children came to him with questions and ideas about his snake. Becoming an expert on snakes facilitated Kenny’s vocabulary development; he readily used such words as "reptile," "habitat," "hibernating," and "vertebrate." Along with the rest of the class, Kenny started a Word Box that contained these and other "snake" words. During his individual sessions with the reading consultant, Kenny used the computer to conduct research on snakes, composed simple snake stories that he could read aloud, and helped create the Snake Maze Game, which enabled him to practice phonemic segmentation skills. See related analysis.

Section III

On the day that Kenny brought the snake to school, Ms. Ford tried to call his parents to tell them about it. After repeated failed attempts to reach them by phone, she decided to send home a note. She never received a response. Ms. Ford was hoping to use Kenny’s snake as the basis for encouraging home-school connections in general as well as concerning early literacy activities in particular. Kenny’s Head Start transition report indicated that the family showed little interest in contact with the program and that it was difficult to contact them and schedule home visits with them. Despite these somewhat negative beginnings, Ms. Ford wanted to coordinate her efforts with Kenny’s parents.

Ms. Ford was disappointed that Kenny’s parents did not attend the Parent Evening at school. One morning, however, Kenny’s father dropped his son off at school, and Ms. Ford took advantage of this opportunity to have a brief conference. Kenny’s father reported that he and Kenny’s mother worked several jobs and had very little time to spend with Kenny, except on Sundays, when the family went to church. He also shared the fact that the whole family was reliant on public transportation, making commuting to work and school very difficult and time consuming. During this conversation, Kenny’s father spontaneously commented on Kenny’s strong interest in snakes and other reptiles and said that they had videotaped several television shows on the subject.

After this indication of support, Ms. Ford looked for ways to continue home-school contacts. She sent home several books about snakes so that Kenny could share them with his family. She also encouraged Kenny to bring home the little "books" that he created with the reading consultant. When asked, Kenny reported that he read the books "lots of times" with his parents and his grandmother. Kenny also brought in one of the videotapes and shared it with the class. See related analysis.

This program meets Reading First criteria. Learn more

Professional development on this title is available through Brookes On Location!