Implications of the
National Early Literacy Panel
for
Early Braille Literacy
PART ONE
National Center for Family Literacy
American Printing House for the Blind
Visually Impaired Preschool Services
Preliminary Findings of the
National Early Literacy Panel
Update: the final report of the National Early Literacy Panel was
released January 8, 2009 and can be accessed at
http://www.famlit.org/site/c.gtJWJdMQIsE/b.2133427/k.2623/National_
Early_Literacy_Panel.htm
Bonnie Lash Freeman
Director – Training/Special Projects
National Center for Family Literacy
Purpose of the Family Partnership
in Reading Project
Instructional strategies will be identified
based on the scientific research that will
enable staff in family literacy programs and
early childhood programs to:
Purpose of the Family Partnership
in Reading Project
Help young children develop the
foundational skills they need to become
good readers
Equip parents to support their children’s
literacy development
Improve reading instruction for parents in
family literacy programs
National Early Literacy Panel Members
Dr. Anne Cunningham, University of
California at Berkeley
Dr. Kathy Escamilla, University of
Colorado at Boulder
Dr. Janet Fischel, State University of New
York at Stony Brook
Dr. Susan H. Landry, University of Texas—
Houston
National Early Literacy Panel Members
Dr. Christopher J. Lonigan, Florida State
University
Dr. Victoria Molfese, University of
Louisville
Dr. Chris Schatschneider, Florida State
University
Dr. Timothy Shanahan (Chair), University
of Illinois at Chicago
Dr. Dorothy Strickland, Rutgers University
Purpose of the NELP
To:
– Synthesize the research on early literacy
development including parent and home
program effects
– Deliver a final report of their findings
Emergent Literacy
Emergent literacy involves the skills,
knowledge, and attitudes that are
developmental precursors to conventional
forms of reading and writing
(Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998).
Emergent Literacy
Emergent literacy skills are the basic building
blocks for learning to read and write.
How to define emergent literacy
Two conditions need to be satisfied for
something to be considered an emergent
literacy skill:
Must come before conventional
literacy skills.
Must be related to (i.e., predictive of)
conventional literacy skills.
What is a Research Synthesis?
A research synthesis, also referred to as a
research integration, research review,
literature review, and a meta-analysis is a
method of inquiry used to derive
generalizations from the collective findings
of a body of existing studies.
Benefits of a Research Synthesis
 The aggregation of research allows for an
accounting and weighing of research
evidence in support of a research question.
Limits to a Research Synthesis
• Limited most by the availability and
quality of research on a particular
question.
• Generalizations made from a research
synthesis must stay within the bounds
of the research.
Four Synthesis Questions
1. What are young children’s (ages birth
through five years) skills and abilities
that predict later reading, writing and
spelling outcomes?
2. What programs and interventions
contribute to or inhibit gains in children’s
skills and abilities and are linked to later
outcomes in reading, writing and
spelling?
3. What environments and settings
contribute to or inhibit gains in children’s
skills and abilities and are linked to later
outcomes in reading, writing and spelling?
4. What child characteristics contribute to or
inhibit gains in children’s skills and
abilities and are linked to later outcomes
in reading, writing and spelling?
What skills constitute the domain
of conventional literacy skills?
Receptively
 Decoding (accuracy and fluency)
 Reading Comprehension
What skills constitute the domain
of conventional literacy skills?
Although decoding is not all there is to
skilled reading, it is a critical component.
 You can decode what you cannot
comprehend, but…
 you cannot comprehend what you
cannot decode.
What skills constitute the domain
of conventional literacy skills?
Expressively
 Spelling
 Composition
Strong Predictors:
Alphabet Knowledge
Concepts About Print
Phonological Awareness
Invented Spelling
Oral Language
Writing Name/Writing
RAN (Rapid Automatic Naming)
Unique predictors from the
multivariate studies:
Alphabet Knowledge
Phonological Awareness
Rapid Automatic Naming
Writing/Writing Name
Phonological STM
Summary of the #1 Primary
Analyses
Predictor Variable
Decoding
Reading
Comprehension
Spelling
Multivariate
Significance
Alphabet Knowledge
++
+
++
Yes
Phonological Awareness
+
+
+
Yes
Concepts About Print
+
++
+
Sometimes
RAN Letters/Digits
+
+
NA
Yes
RAN Objects/Colors
+
+
+
Yes
Writing/Writing Name
+
+
+
Yes
Oral Language
+
+
+
Sometimes
Phonological STM
--
+
+
Yes
Visual Perceptual
--
--
+
No
Print Awareness
--
+
NA
NA
Oral Language Subcategories
Predicting Decoding &
Comprehension
Average Predictive Correlation
Predictor Variable
Decoding
Comprehension
Language Composite
.58
.70
Decoding < Comp
Receptive Language
.52
.63
Decoding < Comp
Expressive Language
.48
.59
Decoding = Comp
Grammar
.47
.64
Decoding < Comp
Definitional Vocabulary
.38
.45
Decoding = Comp
Verbal Knowledge
.36
.45
Decoding = Comp
Verbal-IQ
.35
.35
Decoding = Comp
Receptive Vocabulary
.34
.25
Decoding > Comp
Listening Comprehension
.33
.43
Decoding < Comp
Vocabulary NOS
.33
.31
Decoding = Comp
Expressive Vocabulary
.24
.34
Decoding = Comp
Language NOS
.20
.31
Decoding = Comp
Oral Language Defined
In pairs, define the oral language terms.
Chart your definitions.
In small groups, discuss one strategy that
you can use with children that matches the
term you defined.
Add to your chart
Components of Oral Language
What aspect of oral language is being
examined matters a lot.
Vocabulary is a weak predictor of later
decoding and comprehension.
More complex aspects of oral language, like
grammar and definitional vocabulary, are
very strong predictors of decoding and
comprehension.
Implications for early childhood programs.
Components of Phonological
Awareness
Early forms of phonological awareness are
strong predictors of later reading skills.
Measures of rhyme are not the best
indicator of how well children are acquiring
this key pre-reading skill.
Answering Question 2
(Effects of Interventions)
Process & Results
Category 1:
Helping Children Make Sense of Print-Cracking the Alphabetic Code and
Teaching Letters and Words
(PA, Letter Knowledge, Spelling, Phonics,
Print Awareness, Visual
Perceptual/Perceptual Motor)
Category 2:
Reading to and Sharing Books with
Young Children
Category 3:
Parent and Home Programs for
Improving Young Children’s Literacy
Category 4:
Preschool and Kindergarten Programs
Category 5:
Language Enhancement Studies
Example: Storybooks and Print Awareness
Laura M. Justice and Helen K. Ezell
30 Head Start children, native English
speakers
Pretest-posttest control-group research
design
8 week book-reading intervention – small
group reading sessions
Experimental – print focus
Control – picture focus
Cont.
Example: print focus prompts
Print Conventions – Where is the front of
this book? Show me the way I need to read.
Concept of word – Where is the first word
on this page?
Alphabet knowledge – Does anyone see any
letters in their name on this page?
Cont.
Results indicated that for three of the
subtests
– Print Recognition
– Words in Print
– Alphabet Knowledge
– and in terms of the Phonological
Awareness composite
Cont.
the children who participated in print
focused reading sessions demonstrated
significantly greater gains from pretest to
post test compared to the children in the
picture focused reading groups.
Summary:
Overall Intervention Findings
Evidence for significant effects of some
(but not all) early childhood interventions
in the promotion of literacy and literacyrelated skills.
Summary:
Overall Intervention Findings
Efforts to teach code-related skills are
highly successful.
– Phonological Awareness Skills
– Alphabet Knowledge
– Concepts About Print
Shared-book reading helps promote oral
language skills.
Summary:
Overall Intervention Findings
Evidence of a sizable impact of parent and
home programs for the promotion of oral
language skills.
Relatively weak evidence for the
effectiveness of undifferentiated preschool
programs on reading achievement.
Oral language interventions work.
Implications for Early Childhood
Education
Provides evidence for building
children’s language and literacy skills in
the preschool period.
Identifies early skills that give children
the strongest foundation for learning to
read.
Provides guidelines for professional
development (e.g., read-aloud practices,
PA activities).
Supports the importance of assessment
of early literacy skills.
Informs decisions about developing or
selecting the most appropriate curricula
(e.g., content, intensity, sequence).
Helps to guide the development of goals and
selection of content for parent programs.
Provides strong direction about future
research.
Implications of the
National Early Literacy Panel
for
Early Braille Literacy
PART TWO
Suzette Wright APH Emergent Literacy
Project Leader
Pauletta Feldman VIPS Special Projects
Coordinator
Preliminary findings of the National
Early Literacy Panel (NELP ) point to
early skills that predict favorable
literacy outcomes for young, typically
sighted print readers.
NELP confirms the critical importance
of the years before school and the
contributions of:
parents and the
home environment
teachers of
preschoolers and
preschool programs
NELP
Correlative information regarding
early predictive skills and later
– decoding
– comprehension
– spelling
NELP
Guide for future research
– address observed gaps in existing
research
– secondary and more detailed analyses of
NELP data
What does NELP indicate about:
skills needed by a preschooler who
will read braille?
the settings and circumstances in
which those skills may be learned
and developed?
Can NELP findings guide us as we work to
ensure a foundation for literacy for children
who will read braille?
NELP predictors
Alphabet knowledge*
Concepts about print
Phonological awareness*
Invented spelling
Oral language
Writing name/writing*
Rapid automatic naming (RAN)*
– letters, digits, also things and colors
Unique predictors
Alphabet knowledge*
Phonological awareness*
Writing name/writing*
Rapid automatic naming (RAN)*
– letters, digits, things and colors
Oral Language
Literacy is about
connecting written
words to spoken
language that has
meaning for the
reader.
Oral language--closely correlated
subskills
receptive language
expressive language
grammar
definitional vocabulary
Oral language—what to do?
Ensure development of oral language skills
is a part of work with children and their
families
Begin early: complex language abilities
are related to the child’s ability as a 6month-old to distinguish basic units of
spoken sounds (Kuhl, 2002)
Oral language—what to do?
Build early communication skills through
turn-taking
Extend early language
Ensure exposure to a wide range of
concepts and related language
Oral language—what to do?
Read-aloud—talking
about the story,
unfamiliar words,
and meaning;
asking questions
Dialogic reading—
http://www.readingrockets.org/articles/400
Oral language—what to do?
Be watchful for and share strategies to
handle common problems areas
– misuse of pronouns
– echolalia
– use of questions
Oral language—what to do?
Talk with the child—
extended discourse
- things that interest the
child
- using nouns and
descriptive words
- connecting words to
experiences
modeling proper grammar
Oral language—importance of
home setting and caregiver
characteristics
Hart & Risley (1995) longitudinal study
• 42 families
• 9 mos. to 3 years
• amount/type of language spoken
• caregiver style
Oral language—Hart & Risley study
Linked to higher scores on language and
intelligence tests at 4th grade:
– frequently interacting with the young
child
– inviting child’s involvement
– following the child’s lead
– using encouragement and a positive
tone
– extended conversations
Oral language--vocabulary
Students who enter kindergarten knowing
more vocabulary learn new vocabulary at
twice the rate of students who begin with
a lower vocabulary (Neuman, 2005).
Vocabulary—what to do?
Pairing language with related experiences
Engaging in extended discourse,
introducing new words
Reading aloud—exposure to rare words,
broader vocabulary
Phonological awareness (PA)
PA appears to support decoding skills by
helping a child notice letter-sound
relationships and comprehension by helping
the beginning reader recognize words as he
blends sounds (McGee & Richgels, 2000; Gillon
& Young, 2002).
Phonemic awareness is important to
success in decoding
and
learning to decode leads to further
improvement in phonemic awareness
(Gillon, 2004)
PA-closely correlated subskills
phonemes
subphonemes
not rhyme—although
rhyme may be
important as a
building block for
more refined
phonemic awareness
skills . . .
PA—importance for child with vi
Study of students who used braille as their
primary reading medium showed a strong
relationship between the students' level of
phonemic awareness and braille reading
skills (Gillon & Young, 2002)
PA—what to do?
Talking with a child, from birth
PA—what to do?
Play with words, rhymes, alliteration
– Daily conversation
– Read-aloud from books with word
play/rhyme
– Songs and chants— clapping/marching
in time
PA—what to do?
Play games that draw
attention to beginning
sounds
Use objects to
substitute for pictures
– Gather household
objects with same
beginning sound
Alphabetic knowledge
Unique predictor/strong relationship—
average r for decoding was .5 indicating it
accounts for 25% of the variation in
decoding performance
Alphabetic knowledge-subskills
Letter recognition
Knowledge of letter-names
Knowledge of letter-sound associations
Letter-writing ability
Alphabetic knowledge-subskills
Although letter-name knowledge is +
correlated to later reading achievement,
evidence suggests letter-sound knowledge
accounts for more variance in reading
achievement and delays (McBride-Chang,
1999; Duncan & Seymour, 2000).
Alphabetic knowledge-subskills
Research with typically sighted children
shows letters and letter sounds should be
taught at the same time to make the
greatest contribution to reading (Whitehurst
& Lonigan, 2001)
Alphabet knowledge—what to do?
Involve children
in actively exploring
letters and sounds
together
– braillewriter
– letters and words
brailled on cards
– braille labels around house
Alphabet knowledge—what to do?
Find daily opportunities to involve the
child in writing in braille, linking letters
and letter sounds
– shopping lists
– notes/messages to family members
– calendar
– experience stories
Alphabet knowledge—what to do?
Use household
objects to create
“alphabet boxes”
and braille letter
cards; play sorting
and matching games
that draw attention
to beginning sounds
and the
corresponding
braille letter
Alphabet knowledge—what to do?
Share appropriate alphabet books that:
– provide exposure to braille letters
(such as
Alphabet Scramble, from APH)
– introduce beginning letter sounds with letters
(such as Dr. Suess’s ABC’s)
(books that depend too heavily upon pictures are less effective)
Alphabet knowledge—what to do?
As you read-aloud occasionally point out
familiar or key letters/sounds (print- or
braille-referencing comments)
Considerations/questions
In pairs, share some of your thoughts and
questions about-the role of alphabet knowledge,
particularly letter/sound knowledge
for preschoolers who will be braille readers.
Considerations/questions
Uncontracted braille may make more clear and
explicit the relationship of how phonemes
“map” on to letters (Ross, 2002).
Braille contractions that represent phonemes
(ch, sh, th) may be more easily decoded than
their print counterparts
Decoding words that include contractions of
some common letter groups (ar ed en er in
ing it ) may also be simpler
Considerations/questions
in print, there are also many occasions where
there is not a single clear way a sound
(phoneme) maps onto a print letter
– 26 print letters but more than 40 phonemes
– those 40 phonemes are represented by some
250 different letters and combinations of
letters
Effectiveness of interventions
The wide range of confidence
intervals (with the exception of the
tighter range for phonological
awareness) indicates that within a
single category of intervention some
interventions were much more
effective than others (Dunst, Trivette, &
Hamby, 2007)
Effectiveness of interventions
Some of the most interesting analyses
lie ahead as data is disentangled, to
discover which characteristics of
interventions were associated with
greatest effectiveness . . .
Example: Reading aloud—interactive
reading, print referencing techniques
TVI—
Reading teacher
Early childhood educator
Braille transcriber
Tech guy
Scholar
Advisor/Coach
Cheerleader
References
Baker, L., & Scher, D. (2002). Beginning readers' motivation
for reading in relation to parental beliefs and home reading
experiences. Reading Psychology, 23, 239-269.
Ball, E., & Blachman, B. (1991). Does phoneme awareness
training make a difference in early word recognition and
developmental spelling? Reading Research Quarterly, 26,
49-66.
Duncan, L. G. & Seymour, P.H.K. (2000). Socio-economic
differences in foundation level literacy. British Journal of
Psychology, 91, 145-166.
Dunst, C.J.. Trivette, C.M. & Hamby, D.W. (2007). Predictors of
interventions associated with later literacy
accomplishments. Center for Early Learning and
Achievement CELLreviews, 1, 3.
Gillon, G.T. (2004). Phonological awareness: From research to
practice. New York: The Guilford Press.
Gillon, G. T., & Young, A. A. (2002). The phonologicalawareness skills of children who are blind. Journal of Visual
Impairment & Blindness, 96, 38-49.
Hart, B., & Risley, T. (1995). Meaningful differences in the
everyday experiences of young American children.
Baltimore, MD: Brookes.
Justice, L.M. & Ezell, H.K. (2004). Print referencing: An
emergent literacy enhancement strategy and it’s clinical
applications. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in
Schools, 35, 185-193.
Kuhl, P. (2002, June). Born to learn: Language, reading, and
the brain of the child. Paper presented at the Early Learning
Summit for the Northwest Region, Boise, ID.
McBride-Chang, C. (1999). The ABCs of the ABCs: The
development of letter-name and letter-sound knowledge.
Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 45, 285-308.
McGee, L. M., & Richgels, D. (2000). Literacy’s beginnings:
Supporting young readers and writers (3rd ed.). Boston:
Allyn & Bacon.
Neuman, S. (2005, May). Developmentally appropriate early
literacy instruction: Evidence-based solutions. Presentation
at Institute #8 of the 50th Annual Convention of the
International Reading Association, San Antonio, TX.
Whitehurst, G. J., & Lonigan, C. J. (2001). Emergent literacy:
Development from prereaders to readers. In S. B. Neuman
& D. K. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook of early literacy
research (pp. 11-42). New York: Guilford Press.
The
Pursuit of
Literacy:
One Mom’s
Story
What I Feared
Learning to read would be difficult
for my son
I wouldn’t have access to
appropriate materials
I wouldn’t be able to learn braille
to help him
What I Did
Borrowed print/braille books
from VIPS
Worked with a blind adult to
understand the basics of braille
What I Learned
My attitude was critical to my son’s
literacy.
• Concept development was a critical
issue.
Talking to my son opened up the world
to him.
I could learn the basics of braille (and
beyond!).
Books always
made great
presents!
I could learn the basics of
writing braille.
We could have braille in our
home through print braille
books and braille labeling.
A brailled birthday card
My son could learn to love
books and reading every bit as
much as a sighted child.
The public library could be a
special place for my blind child,
too .
My son loved
having a
private library
of his own
braille
books.
How VIPS Promotes Early
Literacy
for Families of Young
Visually Impaired
Children
1)
VIPS has a lending library of
print/braille books for VIPS
families.
2)
VIPS has offered braille classes
over the years for VIPS
families.
3) VIPS produced the “Power At
Your Fingertips: An Intro to
Braille” video and handbook
for use by parents, regular
ed teachers, and others to
gain an overview of the braille
alphabet, braille usage,
contractions, and writing tools.
4) VIPS participates in the “Read
Books” program through National
Braille Press, signing up VIPS families
to receive free book bags.
5) VIPS has undertaken two recent
projects to support early literacy.
The VIPS
“Getting
In Touch
with
Reading
Program”
The goals of
this program are to:
Promote early literacy;
Foster appreciation for braille;
Encourage use of the library.
Offers free bags of books and
materials to VIPS families.
The bags include:
• “On the Way to Literacy” Handbook
for parents and teachers
• Two “On the Way to Literacy”
Storybooks
• Two print/braille board books
(“Good Night Moon” and”
One,Two, Three,” by Sandra
Boynton)
• VIPS “Power at Your Fingertips”
video and handbook, including slate
and stylus
• Folder full of information about the
public library, National Library
Service for Blind & Physically
Handicapped and resources on
where to obtain more print/Braille
books
Over 90% of parents have reported
that using the materials in the book
bag has helped them:
• Enjoy books more with their child
• Appreciate the importance of
reading to their child
• Read aloud more often to their
child
• Create literacy-rich environments
at home for everyday activities
• Know sources for print/braille
books
• Feel more comfortable with braille
• Appreciate the importance of
parents learning about braille
• Feel empowered to help their
children with learning to read and
with schoolwork when the time
comes
• However, there was no positive
impact on library usage.
The program also has offered
workshops on braille and
early literacy:
The Intro to Braille workshop for VIPS
parents:
• 100% of participants rated the class,
teachers, and materials as
“Excellent.”
• Parent comments included these
statements: “I’m not afraid of Braille
now,” “Thanks for making a daunting
task less so,” and “I loved this class!”
The “Touch of Early Literacy” Workshop
• Attended by special educators,
regular ed preschool teachers, child
care staff, parents, and some APH
staff
• A day-long workshop held at APH
• Bonnie presented results of NELP
• Suzette talked about the implications
of NELP results for early literacy for
VI
• Participants also toured APH and
made 4 tactile books
• 100% of participants rated the
workshop and materials as
“Excellent” and said the workshop
gave them a better understanding of:
• Research on early literacy
• Emergent literacy/how to nurture it
• Concepts that children need for
conventional literacy skills
• How concept development for a blind
child differs from a sighted child
• How VI children use tactile
pictures.
VIPS@Home Parent
University
The goals of the program:
Provide parents of young visually impaired
children with needed information
Provide parents with parent-to-parent
support
Reach the 70-80% of parents who do not
attend regularly scheduled VIPS events
Two of the four courses that have
been developed so far are
particularly relevant here:
“Emergent Literacy”
“Power at Your Fingertips: Into to Braille,”
based on the VIPS video of the same name
“Emergent Literacy”
Props for the course
“Power At Your Fingertips”
Props for the course
Each VIPS@Home Parent University
course takes about two hours to
complete.
Courses are taught in the students’
(parents’) home at times of their own
choosing.
Courses are taught by trained veteran
parents who can also serve as buddies
on an ongoing basis to offer information
and support.
Students
receive a
VIPS@Home
Parent
University
Binder and a
handbook for
each course
they take.
Course pre- and post-tests show that
students are obtaining the information
and skills for which courses were
developed.
Parents who have taken the courses
rate them very highly, saying that the
courses, materials, and teachers are all
excellent and that they would
recommend them to others.