Initial literacy is a long-term process that students encounter in the 1st grade of primary school (hereinafter PS) and lasts the entire 1st educational period (hereinafter EP). According to the curriculum for Slovene, students must achieve the goal of literacy by the end of the 1st EP, i.e. developing the ability to read and write non-fiction texts appropriate to the student's age (Primary School Program, 2018). The first phase of literacy is the development of pre-literacy skills that enable the student to facilitate the literacy process. These abilities cover the areas of visual and auditory discrimination, auditory analysis, orientation, and graphomotor skills. Pupils develop them already in the pre-school period, but still each pupil has differently developed reading and writing abilities upon entering the 1st grade of PS; some are already reading and writing a word on their own, others are just reading a word and writing a letter, and some are reading and writing for the first time in school. That is why it is important for teachers to design an individual literacy plan for each student and, if necessary, carry out individualization according to the identified abilities of the individual. Teachers individualize this lesson to students who have deficits in this area and to those students who are above average in this area.
The main goal of the master's thesis was for students who have deficits in the field of initial literacy or are above average in this field, with an individual didactic approach, i.e. using various teaching methods and strategies and interesting tasks for students, to make progress in this area. I first checked the individuals' pre-literacy skills, and then, based on the findings, I prepared an individual work plan and implemented it remotely. The aim of the master's thesis was also to determine whether individualization in the field of initial literacy is present in the 1st grade of PS and how teachers implement it.
In the theoretical part of the master's thesis, I first defined the concept of communication ability, which is one of the most important articles in the teaching of initial literacy, I defined literacy, the characteristics of initial literacy and individualization in PS are presented in more detail.
In the empirical part of the master's thesis I used a combined research approach, i.e. quantitative and action research. I used a descriptive method of pedagogical research. In a quantitative research, 60 teachers who teach in the 1st grade of PS solved a questionnaire on individualization in the field of initial literacy. Five students of the 1st grade of one of the Posavje primary schools were included in the action research, and I found that they stand out in the field of literacy (either they have deficits, or their abilities are above average).
In the theoretical part of the master's thesis, I first defined the concept of communication ability, which is one of the most important articles in the teaching of initial literacy, I defined literacy, the characteristics of initial literacy and individualization in primary school are presented in more detail.
The results of the questionnaire showed that the teachers of the 1st grade of PS mostly carry out individualization in the lessons of initial literacy.
Progress was shown in the students with whom I taught individual distance lessons – students who had above-average results in the phonological awareness and reading and writing test improved their reading and writing skills, in students who had in the field of auditory differentiation and deficit analysis, however, their ability to be phonologically aware has improved in particular.
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