Introduction

1. Reading First and ELLs:Now What Do I Do?Maria M Samuel, ESOL TeacherFlorida State University/FSUS K-5Sara Chang, NBCTPineview Elementary School, TallahasseeSunshine State TESOL30th Annual ConferenceMay 11, 2007West Palm Beach, FL

2. Introduction • It is impossible to ignore the importance of literacy and reading in education, as reading is the one skill in which success in the other academic areas is based. • Studies show that students who cannot read by age nine are unlikely to ever become fluent readers and have a higher drop out rate (Moats, 1999; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998).

3. Introduction • However (and as we all know!), the teaching and learning of literacy is extremely complex. In the case of ELLs, the development of such skills includes all of the usual challenges that L1 learners experience, and is additionally compounded by a number of linguistic, cognitive, social and academic variables.

4. History / Background of Reading First • In 1997, the U.S. Congress approved the creation of a National Reading Panel (NRP) to begin a national, comprehensive, research-based effort on alternative instructional approaches to reading (Ramirez, 2001). • This included the initial revision of the Snow, Burns, & Griffin (1998) “Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children” National Reading Council findings.

5. History / Background of Reading First • Or their intensive study, the NRP decided to focus on: • Alphabetics (phonemic awareness and phonic instruction) • Fluency • Comprehension (vocab instruction, text comprehension instruction, teacher preparation and comprehension strategies instruction) (NICHD, 2000a)

6. Incidentally… The NRP did not look at research studies related to L2 learning and reading nor did it address issues relevant to the topic. Thus, in April 2000, the NRP published its findings and rec’s in each of the topic and subtopic areas to include ELLs and other subgroups.

7. History / Background of Reading First It is from this NRP report that the Reading First legislation within Title I of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was formulated. No Child Left Behind mandates that schools be held accountable for ensuring that all students read by third grade.

8. ELL Statistics & Demographics • As of 2003, an estimated 5,044,361 English language learners were enrolled in grades pre-k through 12 nationwide (NCELA, 2004a), a 100% increase from 1990. • Specifically, in the Southeastern states, the number of ELLs is increasing rapidly. In Florida, there has been a 95% increase in the enrollment of students with English language proficiency over the past few years (NCELA, 2005).

9. ELL Statistics & Demographics • Current national data show that by the year 2030, 40% of all school-age children will be ELLs (Thomas & Collier, 2002). • This increasing diversity in schools of students with limited English proficiency raises the issue of how to prepare teachers to work with such dynamic population.

10. Of concern… • As of 2002, only 30% of teachers instructing these students had received training on “how to teach” LEP students, and only 3% had received a degree in English as a Second Language (NCES, 2002). • A recent survey found out that nationally only 13% of teachers with LEP students had eight or more hours of training in the last three years on how to teach ELLs (NCES, 2002). Luckily, this situation seems to be improving as more teachers, especially in Florida, are currently working on their ESOL endorsements or certifications.

11. Reading & ELLs • Strong and positive correlation between literacy in the native language and learning English as a second language (N.Y. State Education Dept., 2000; Clay, 2003, etc.) and that the degree of children’s native language proficiency is a strong predictor of their English language development (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998).

12. Reading & ELLs • Literacy in a child’s native language establishes a knowledge, concept, and skills base that transfers from L1 reading to reading in a second language (Collier & Thomas, 1992; Cummins, 1989; Escamilla, 1987; Rodriguez, 1988)

13. Reading & ELLs • Hiebert et al. (among other reading and SLA experts) recommend that ELLs learn to read initially in their first language. However, • The National Reading Council found that, for ELLs, learning to speak English should be a priority before being taught to read English.

14. Reading & ELLs Research supports that oral language development provides the foundation in phonological awareness and allows for subsequent learning about the alphabetic structure of English (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998; Ramirez, 1992; De Avila, 1997, among others)

15. Reading & ELLs • The NRC’s report explains that hurrying young non-English-speaking children into reading in English without ensuring adequate preparation is counterproductive. • Thus, the NRC & other research studies strongly emphasize the importance of native language oral and written proficiency as a predicting factor of successful L2 reading and academic English language development.

16. The “Fab Five” Components of Reading Instruction • Phonemic Awareness: the ability to identify and manipulate phonemes (the smallest units making up spoken language) in spoken words. It also the understanding that the sounds of language work together to make words. For example, the word stop has four phonemes (s-t-o-p), whereas shop has three (sh-o-p)

17. The “Fab Five” Components of Reading Instruction • Phonics: the understanding that there is a predictable relationship between phonemes and graphemes (the letters and spellings that represent the sounds in written language). The goal here is to teach children that there is a systematic & predictable relationship between written letters and spoken sounds.

18. The “Fab Five” Components of Reading Instruction • Vocabulary Development: this refers to the knowledge of stored information about the meanings and pronunciations of words needed for communication • Of importance to a beginning reader, since it helps the reader determine if the words “makes sense” and is a primary determinant of reading comprehension

19. The “Fab Five” Components of Reading Instruction • Reading fluency (including oral reading skills): the ability to read words accurately and quickly; a critical factor for reading comprehension in any language • Reading comprehension: the culmination of all of the reading skills and the ultimate goal of learning to read!

20. What is a Reading First school?Reading First grants assist Florida school districts and schools to implement proven methods of scientifically based reading instruction in classrooms in order to prevent reading difficulties in gradesK-3. What should the reading block include? 5 + 3 + ii + iii In order to achieve Florida's goal of having every child reading at or above grade level by the year 2012, the reading block should include all elements of the formula during an uninterrupted block of time that is at least 90 minutes in length: Five components of reading: Phonemic Awareness Phonics Fluency Vocabulary Comprehension 3 types of assessment: Screening Progress Monitoring Diagnostic Initial Instruction Whole Group Instruction Differentiated Instruction Immediate Intensive Intervention In addition to the 90 minutes

21. Considerations when instructing ELLs in the “Fab Five”(Beth Antunez, English Language Learners and the Five Essential Components of Reading Instruction, 2002)

22. Phonemic Awareness • ELLs’ L1 may not share the same phonemes as English, therefore, teach English phonemes while teaching meaningful vocabulary words • Understand ELLs’ L1 linguistic characteristics, e.g. teach explicitly /sh/ vs /ch/ for Spanish speakers • Rhymes exist in every language so use songs, poems, language games and word walls

23. Phonics • If ELLs are not literate in their L1, teach the concepts and functions of print • Teach letter-sound correspondence explicitly because ELLs’ L1 may not be alphabetic, e.g. Chinese (logographic) or Japanese (syllabic) • Teach explicitly sounds that are not so transferable, e.g. Spanish to English vowels.

24. Vocabulary Development • Teach meanings explicitly because ELLs may be able to read/decode the words without understanding them • Teach explicitly essential vocabulary before reading a text, how to use a bilingual dictionary, how to use prefixes and suffixes to derive meanings from words, how to use context clues • Recognize Cummins’ theory of BICS vs CALP, therefore, teach explicitly and systematically academic vocabulary, especially in content areas

25. Fluency • Model fluent reading • Do echo and repeat reading • Allow ELLs to participate in read-alouds and readers’ theater, to read with a more proficient reader, to listen to audio books • Use decodable books • Don’t confuse with ELLs’ accent

26. Reading Comprehension Strategies • Model explicitly during “think-alouds”,e.g. summarizing, visualizing, making connections, predicting, questioning, etc. • Promote higher-order thinking skills, e.g. inferring • Use authentic and high-quality texts

27. Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS)http://dibels.uoregon.eduWhich skills do the DIBELS measures assess?Measures of Phonological Awareness:Initial Sounds Fluency (ISF): Assesses a child's skill to identify and produce the initial sound of a given word Phonemic Segmentation Fluency (PSF): Assesses a child's skill to produce the individual sounds within a given word Measure of Alphabetic Principle: Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF): Assesses a child's knowledge of letter-sound correspondences as well their ability to blend letters together to form unfamiliar "nonsense" (e.g., fik, lig, etc.) words Measure of Fluency with Connected Text:Oral Reading Fluency (ORF): Assesses a child's skill of reading connected text ingrade-level material word

28. DIBELS Data Report at Pineview Effectiveness of Core Instruction (ECI) Mid-Year Assessment %of students who began the year reading “at grade level” and are continuing to meet grade level expectations at the mid-year assessment

29. DIBELS Data Report at Pineview Effectiveness of Intervention (EI) Mid-Year Assessment %of students who began the year at some level of risk for reading difficulties (below grade level) but who have grown rapidly enough to advance to a lower level of risk

30. Core Reading Program at Pineview(Daily 8:00—10:15 am) • SRA Direct Instruction (daily) • Kaleidoscope (word dictation daily) • Vocabulary Development (daily) • Pearson Successmaker in computer lab (daily 15 minutes) • Great Leaps fluency probes (once/week) • On-going progress monitoring on FCRR website (reading fluency passages from Reading A-Z once/week) • iii: sight word flashcards, www.starfall.com, Leap Frog listening station, language arts worksheets, decodable books from Reading A-Z • Supplemental: prompt writing, www.unitedstreaming.com, Kaleidoscope reading comprehension; thematic literature, math flashcards; university students’ lessons

31. Any questions?