lesaux reading first

Diversity & Development: Promoting Early Literacy Skills of ELLs: 

Diversity andamp; Development: Promoting Early Literacy Skills of ELLs Nonie K. Lesaux, PhD Reading First Conference Sturbridge, MA August 16-17, 2006

Outline: 

Outline K-12 Population Demographics Pressing Issues Preventing Reading Difficulties: Relevant Findings Misconceptions andamp; Implications

America’s Kindergartners: 

America’s Kindergartners NCES, 2000

Freshman Statistics: 

Freshman Statistics

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Three Pressing Issues : 

Three Pressing Issues 1. Expanding our notion of ELL -size of population -language backgrounds 2. Expanding our notion of Early Intervention 3. Expanding our notion of vocabulary

Native Language Background : 

Native Language Background NCES, 2004 440 languages

Who is a Language Minority Learner?: 

Who is a Language Minority Learner? No single operational definition of ELL No universal classification criteria Significant proportion of children from homes where a language other than English is spoken are not classified as ELL Individuals from homes where a language other than English is actively used limited English proficiency, bilingual or even monolingual in English.

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Children with reading difficulties Children from diverse backgrounds Children from low-income backgrounds

Literacy Rates: 

Literacy Rates Americans in international reading assessments: 4th graders among the top-scoring students internationally 8th graders score in the middle of the pack 12th graders third from the bottom In urban high-poverty schools, the majority of incoming 9th graders read at or below 7th grade level. Nationally, less than a quarter of Latino and less than a fifth of African-American adolescents can read and understand complex academic text. Biancarosa andamp; Snow, 2004

Context for Instruction: 

Context for Instruction Development of literacy skills and successful reading ability begins long before children enter school Ability to prevent reading difficulties by focusing on the early years Language development and experience with print Vocabulary knowledge in kindergarten is a significant predictor of reading comprehension in middle and secondary school Snow, Burns, andamp; Griffin, 1998

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LITERACY SKILLS Language Processing Skills Background Knowledge Vocabulary Motivation Interest Understanding of Purpose Concepts of Print Size Depth Word learning strategies Metalinguistic Skills Book or text type Spelling andamp; Writing Reading andamp; Decoding

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READING COMPREHENSION Phonological Awareness Word Reading Efficiency Background Knowledge Oral Language Motivation Metalinguistic Skills Text Characteristics Interest Accuracy Vocabulary Word Learning Strategies Knowledge of word function or type Understanding of Purpose Organizationalstructure Sentence structure

First Grade: 

First Grade 78% (n=53) of sample still had English vocabulary scores 2 or more standard deviations below the mean at first grade.

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English Vocabulary

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Word Reading – English

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Standard Score Word Reading Oral language Comprehension

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Percentile Gates macginitie comprehension

The Role of Vocabulary in Reading Comprehension: 

The Role of Vocabulary in Reading Comprehension Robust relationship between vocabulary and comprehension: 1. When father heard that Lisa had ripped up the letter from Steve, father commended her for it. 2. The mother made him get out and he ran off. 3. Directions. Make and record three observations.

Current Body of Research: 

Current Body of Research Lack of converging lines of evidence of the developmental trajectories of literacy Implications for expectations, developing instructional methods No consensus about circumstances under which learning best happens Contextual and demographic information missing Paradox of research findings and achievement

Children from Diverse Backgrounds: 

Children from Diverse Backgrounds Low socioeconomic status further compounds the challenges of learning to read in a language in which they are not proficient. Difficult to disentangle the risk associated with poverty from the risk associated with limited proficiency. Neighborhoods and schools

Why Early Literacy Screening?: 

Why Early Literacy Screening? For Children self-esteem reading development For Schools less intervention decreased learning assistance time For Society school dropout, unemployment, antisocial and criminal behaviour.

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Firm Foundations

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Firm Foundations Step 1 – Circle skills teaching (I teach the skills sequentially as described in Firm Foundations). Step 2 – Centre skills practicing (using games at the literacy centre). Step 3 – Performance assessment (only the students I observe as less able). Step 4 – Home and school intense guided play (time to involve the parents – playing the games individually or in small groups at school and at home. Step 5 – Screening assessment (the whole class completes the TOPA test in January. Step 6 – Intense intervention (Launch into Reading Success with a classroom teacher, learning assistance teacher or aide).

Firm FoundationsEarly Literacy Teaching and Learning: 

Firm Foundations Early Literacy Teaching and Learning Circle Time Teach one skill at a time to the whole class using direct instruction with songs, poems, books, modeling and games.

Firm FoundationsEarly Literacy Teaching and Learning: 

Firm Foundations Early Literacy Teaching and Learning Circle Time Wishy Way Day (big book) Alphabet Book Alpha Deck Cards A Big Book of Rhymes andamp; Rhymes Kindergarten Teachers Resource Book Higglety Pigglety Take Home: Phonological Awareness Rhyming Words Activity Kit Beginning Sounds Activity Kit

Firm FoundationsEarly Literacy Teaching and Learning: 

Firm Foundations Early Literacy Teaching and Learning Centre Time Practice the skill at the literacy centre with an appropriate game or activity.

Firm FoundationsEarly Literacy Teaching and Learning: 

Firm Foundations Early Literacy Teaching and Learning Performance Assessment Assess selected students after the skill has been taught and practiced.

Firm FoundationsEarly Literacy Teaching and Learning: 

Firm Foundations Early Literacy Teaching and Learning Home andamp; School Intense Guided Play Send a literacy game home with the student who needs more practice.

Firm FoundationsEarly Literacy Teaching and Learning: 

Firm Foundations Early Literacy Teaching and Learning Screening Assessment In January test all the students in small groups using a screening measure such as the TOPA.

Firm FoundationsEarly Literacy Teaching and Learning: 

Firm Foundations Early Literacy Teaching and Learning Intense Intervention Work with the at-risk students (below 25th percentile) in very small pull out groups using an intervention program such as Launch into Reading Success.

The Development of Reading: 

The Development of Reading 5 year longitudinal study North Vancouver, BC October, 1997 (Kindergarten) 30 schools 197 ESL and 1040 L1 speakers Varying SES Firm Foundations Early Literacy Curriculum

Grade 4 Longitudinal Sample: 

Grade 4 Longitudinal Sample n=860 L1 n=728 ESL n=132

Languages in the Study: 

Languages in the Study Arabic Armenian Bulgarian Chinese Croatian Czech Dutch English Farsi Finnish French German Greek Hindi Hungarian Indonesian Italian Jakartin Japanese Korean Kurdish Norwegian Polish Punjabi Romanian Russian Serbian Slovak Spanish Swedish Tagalog Tamil Turkish

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Rhyme Identification

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Syllable Identification

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Phoneme Identification

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Frequency of Reader Type by Language Group L1 Speakers - Kindergarten ESL Speakers - Kindergarten L1 Speakers – Grade 4 ESL Speakers – Grade 4

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Measures of Reading

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Reading Comprehension

Syntactic Awareness: 

Syntactic Awareness Oral Cloze (11)

Implications of 5-Year Study: 

Implications of 5-Year Study ESL students and reading acquisition Achievement Identification Intervention Emphasis on oral language andamp; phonological awareness Reading readiness and acquisition Decreased reading difficulties

Global Strategies: 

Global Strategies Previewing and pre-reading strategies Repetition and routine Extending language Use of media Cooperative learning For ELLs: visuals, gestures, and promoting/working with first language

Vocabulary : 

Vocabulary Emphasize the words over time and in different contexts Multiple exposures to build depth of knowledge Use stories as contexts for vocabulary learning Questioning, predictions, summary and reflections To the extent possible, choose readings containing only a limited number of new words. Readings should be considered comprehensible input i.e. at or just slightly above the student’s present level.

Selecting books: 

Selecting books At, or slightly below, ability level Ratio of new: known words Alliteration, rhyme, repetition Informational, concrete experiences Build background knowledge Relevant content Considers supports and scaffolds in the home Parents, older siblings

Second Language Acquisition: Addressing Misconceptions: 

Second Language Acquisition: Addressing Misconceptions Age differences Learning situation; time on task Localization vs. levels of learning Amount of language Demands of the environment Teaching methods Pronunciation/Accent

Lack of Exposure vs. Disorder: 

Lack of Exposure vs. Disorder Questions to consider Length and intensity of exposure Characteristics of native language Opportunities to learn Individual factors Schooling experience Social-emotional factors Assessment tools

Implications to consider…: 

Implications to consider… Great majority of learners from diverse backgrounds–including language minority learners –are not receiving any special support Sources of low achievement not limited to disability Opportunities to learn and instruction for all students a pressing issue Early intervention, beyond word reading, efforts a pressing issue oral language and vocabulary

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Nonie K. Lesaux, PhD Harvard Graduate School of Education lesauxno@gse.harvard.edu