© LPdF 2011
TEACHING TO THE TEST?
USING THE SOLS AND SOL TESTS TO
IDENTIFY NEEDED LANGUAGE SKILLS
Lissa Power-deFur, Ph.D.
January 31, 2011 Blackwell Talk
1
Objectives
•
2


Review illustrative language expectations of general
curriculum.
Review illustrative language expectations of SOL
assessments.
© LPdF 2011
3


What is the general curriculum …
Is it the same for students with
disabilities?
© LPdF 2011
4
The general curriculum is the curriculum
adopted by the school for all children from
preschool through secondary school
 In Virginia … the Standards of Learning

© LPdF 2011
5
Why should do we need to
align our intervention and
instruction with the general
curriculum?
© LPdF 2011
Effect of Speech-Language
Impairment on Academic Success
6
40% preschool/K children with SLI do not
stay with K cohort in later years
 Many preschool/K children with SLI are
dismissed from services, yet are later
found re-eligible when reading difficulties
emerge

© LPdF 2011
7

Children with significant speech sound
errors demonstrate phonological
awareness difficulties, a foundational skill
for reading
© LPdF 2011
Vocabulary Acquisition at Home
(Hart and Risley, 1995)
8


Children in welfare families exposed
to a portion of vocabulary of working
class and professional families
Conclusion:
 about 70% of working class
need 40
 about 45% of professional families
hours/week
Vocabulary is different
of experience
 Welfare families primary prohibitions,
to make up
working class and professional families for this
primarily use affirmations.
difference
© LPdF 2011
Vocabulary Growth
9
Students need to encounter new
vocabulary in context repeatedly
Average child needs 15 exposures for a
new word to become automatic
Child with language impairment needs
50 – 100 exposures
 Direct instruction in new words enhances
instruction

 Marzano, et al (2001). Classroom Instruction that Works:
Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement
© LPdF 2011
Vocabulary Size
Grade 1: 2,703
– 26,000 words
 Grade 7: 4, 760
– 51,000 words
 Grade 12:
17,000 – 45,000
words

 (Marzano, 2004)
10
© LPdF 2011

1,150 to 3,150
new words per
year for 12
years!
Learning Vocabulary
(Marzano, 2004)
11


Chances of learning new word
from context alone is 8 – 19% for
all children
Students with large store of
academic knowledge have
greater chance of learning new
words
© LPdF 2011
Everyday discourse
12
Informal style (declaratives)
 Modify language to child’s understanding
(vocabulary, sentence length, contextual info,
explanation of references)
 Shared assumptions
 Discrete amounts of information
 Ongoing checks for understanding

© LPdF 2011
Instructional discourse demands
13

Common language level for all children
 Often
with complex sentence, tangents
Assume shared assumptions and general
knowledge
 Large volumes of information
 Frequent reference to prior information
without checking for comprehension
 Decontextualized language

© LPdF 2011
What if we don’t use the curriculum as the
foundation of our intervention?
14
Romantic style: what are the
important things I want to
convey to this child?
 Functional style: what are the
essential things I think the child
needs?
 Idiosyncratic style: What
materials I have in my cabinets?

Judy Montgomery, 2000
© LPdF 2011
The general education teacher is
responsible for teaching the content of
the curriculum.
The specialists use content to instruct
the student.
15
© LPdF 2011
Illustrative 3rd grade concepts
(with thanks to Barbara Scott)
16







This story is most likely about …
Add ful to the word beauty
What happens just after
How many in all
Which number is replaced by
Which _____ is least ?
Which is true for all of these
© LPdF 2011
Illustrative
th
5
grade concepts
17








Relevant and irrelevant information
Why words would be written in italics
The best description, the best summary
The most helpful, the most current
The main idea, the main purpose
Which of these is not
Double negatives
Subject-verb agreement
© LPdF 2011
Academic instruction is full of
metalinguistic verbs
Circle 5 words you’ll start using in intervention
18
Analyze
Answer
Brainstorm
Challenge
Choose
Clarify
Collaborate
Compare
Conclude
Connect
Consider
Construct
Create
Debate
Define
Demonstrate
Draft
Explain
Evaluate
Find
Generate
Identify
Illustrate
Label
List
Label
List
Map
relationships
Name
Observe
Organize
Practice
Predict
Question
Recall
Refine
Reflect
© LPdF 2011
Rephrase
Research
Revise
Rhyme
Select
Show
Spell
Support
Solve
Suggest
Visualize
Aligning with the general curriculum
19

Content –
 Standards
 Curriculum
framework
 Enhanced scope and sequence
 District pacing guide

Emphasis –
 Test

blueprints
Format –
 Released
test items
© LPdF 2011
20
Examples of SOLs, Curriculum
Framework, Released Test Items
© LPdF 2011
SOL Standard
21
K.4 Oral Language, Kindergarten,
Objective 4
The student will hear, say, and
manipulate phonemes (small units
of sound) of spoken language

Identify orally words that rhyme

Identify words orally according
to shared beginning or ending
sounds

Blend sounds orally to make
words or syllables

Divide one-syllable words into
sounds (phonemes)

Divide words into syllables
Required Language Skills:
Phonology
 Identifying words that rhyme
 Identifying sounds in different
places in words
 Blending sounds to make
syllables and words
 Dividing one syllable words
into sounds
 Dividing words into syllables
Syntax
 Dividing words into syllables
© LPdF 2011
SOL Standard
22
K.6 Health: Community Health
and Wellness, Kindergarten,
Objective 6
The student will identify
expectations for personal
behavior in school and social
settings. Key concepts/skills
include:
a.) acceptable behavior in
classrooms and during play;
b.) respect for the property
and rights of others;
c.) respect for the personal
space of others.
Required Language Skills:
Semantics
 vocabulary of acceptable, respect,
property, rights, personal space
 double meanings of the terms
space and right
Pragmatics
 knowledge of expected classroom
and play behaviors
 knowledge of personal space
© LPdF 2011
SOL Standard
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1.15 Math, Geometry, Grade 1,
Objective 15
The student will describe the
proximity of objects in space
(near, far, close by, below,
above, up, down, beside, and
next to).
Required Language Skills:
Semantics


spatial concepts near, far, close
by, below, above, up, down,
beside, and next to
double meaning of the term
space
© LPdF 2011
SOL Standard
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2.18 Math, Measurement,
Grade 2, Objective 18
The student will
 use calendar language
appropriately (e.g.,
months, today, yesterday,
next week, last week);
 determine past and
future days of the week;
and
 identify specific dates
on a given calendar.
Required Language Skills:
Semantics

time-concepts today, yesterday, next
week, last week, before, after, earlier,
and later
Syntax

Subject-verb structures for present,
past, or future calendar events;
Tuesday was two days ago. vs.
Saturday is two days from now.
Morphology

appropriate morphological markers
for past, present, and future tense;
Monday I will walk to school. vs. Last
Monday I walked to school.
© LPdF 2011
SOL Standard
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2.6 English, Reading, Grade 2,
Objective 6
The student will use language
structure to expand vocabulary
when reading.
a.) use knowledge of prefixes
and suffixes
b.) use knowledge of
contractions and singular
possessives
c.) use knowledge of simple
abbreviations
d.) use knowledge of antonyms
and synonyms
Required Language Skills:
Morphology
 morphological markers and
their meanings for many
prefixes, suffixes, contractions,
and singular possessives ;
Sally’s sister is the tallest girl in
her class.
Semantics
 awareness of and ability to
apply meaning to simple
abbreviations; Mr. is the
abbreviation for mister and
means a man
 working lexicon of words with
similar and opposite meanings
© LPdF 2011
SOL Standard
26
4.1 Oral Language, Grade 4, Objective 1
Required Language Skills:
The student will use effective oral
Syntax
communication skills in a variety

of settings.

Present accurate directions to
individuals and small groups,


Ability to use appropriate conjunctions or
temporal sequences in delivery of directions
Ability to orally formulate a grammatically
correct statement
Ability to order words appropriately to form
questions and statements

Contribute to group discussions,
Morphology

Seek ideas and opinions of others,


Use evidence to support opinions,

Use grammatically correct language
and specific vocabulary to
communicate ideas.
appropriate morphological markers for
agreement (i.e. person and tense) in oral
statements
Semantics

Use appropriate expressive vocabulary to
support opinions or that which pertain to the
conversation
© LPdF 2011
SOL Standard
27
4.1 (continued)
The student will use effective oral
communication skills in a variety
of settings.
 Present accurate directions to
individuals and small groups,
 Contribute to group discussions,
 Seek ideas and opinions of others,
 Use evidence to support opinions,
 Use grammatically correct language
and specific vocabulary to
communicate ideas.
Required Language Skills:
(continued)
Pragmatics





Ability to sequence directions so listener
can comprehend meaning and intent
Use appropriate register when delivering
directions to a group
Follow turn taking and topic maintenance
while in a group
Formulate appropriate questions which
pertain to topic for clarification or
additional information
Provide sufficient background
information for listener comprehension
© LPdF 2011
SOL Standard
28
Required Language Skills:
6.1 Science, Grade 6, Scientific Investigation,
Reasoning, and Logic, Objective 1
The student will plan and conduct investigations in
which





observations are made involving fine
discrimination between similar objects and
organisms;
a classification system is developed based on
multiple attributes;
precise and approximate measurements are
recorded;
a method is devised to test the validity of
predictions and inferences;
data are collected, recorded, analyzed, and
reported using appropriate metric
measurements
Semantics

Knowledge of and ability to make
associations between weather terms
 the student must be able to associate
meters with distance and kilograms
with weight
Syntax and Morphology

apply correct verb tenses and
morphological markers
Metacognitive Skills

write or speak about their ideas, thought
processes, and conclusions

the ability to identify details,
summarize, and apply systems of
categories

the ability to compare and contrast
© LPdF 2011
SOL Standard
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M.10, Fine Arts, Middle School
Theater
Judgment and Criticism
The student will give constructive
and objective criticism of class
performances, using
appropriate theatre arts
vocabulary.
Required Language Skills:
Syntax
 Ability to use declarative
sentences to describe class
performances
Semantics
 Understanding and ability to use
theater arts vocabulary
Pragmatics
 Ability to communicate with class
appropriately when giving
constructive criticism


Identify audience
Manners/politeness
© LPdF 2011
SOL Standard
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WHI.2, World History, Grade 9 - 12
The student will demonstrate
knowledge of early development of
humankind from the Paleolithic Era
to the agriculture revolution by:

Explaining the impact of geographic
environment on hunter-gatherer societies,

Listing characteristics of hunter-gatherer
societies, including their use of tools and
fire,

Describing technological and social
advancements that gave rise to stable
communities,

Explaining how archaeological
discoveries are changing present-day
knowledge of early peoples.
Required Language Skills:
Syntax

Ability to formulate an organized,
sequential expository explanation
about topic

Appropriate use of adjectives to
compare and explain
Morphology

Use appropriate morphological markers
to denote past vs. present in descriptions
or explanations
Semantics

Expressive vocabulary of topic

Use of appropriate comparative,
contrastive, and relational terminology

Appropriate use and knowledge of
adjectives to compare and explain
© LPdF 2011
VDOE Curriculum Framework
31

Reading Grades 2 through 8
 “Because
reading skills build upon one another, the
reading process that is learned in one grade carried
over into the next grade and creates a spirally effect
…
 The technical assistant documents serve as a resource
that depict the building process of the reading
standards.
© LPdF 2011
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Va. Department of Education
Curriculum Framework
Standard K.1
Strand: Oral Language Grade Level K
K.1
The student will demonstrate growth in the use of oral
language.
a) Listen to a variety of literary forms, including stories and
poems.
b) Participate in choral speaking and recite short poems, rhymes,
songs, and stories with repeated patterns.
c) Participate in creative dramatics.
d) Begin to discriminate between spoken sentences, words, and
syllables.
e) Recognize rhyming words.
f) Generate rhyming words in a rhyming pattern.
© LPdF 2011
Curriculum Framework
33
UNDERSTANDING THE
STANDARD
(Teacher Notes)
The intent of this standard is that
students will expand their oral
language vocabulary by listening to
and participating in a variety of
literary experiences, including fiction
and nonfiction print materials and
trade books that reflect the Virginia
Standards of Learning in English,
history and social science, science,
and mathematics.
These interactions provide opportunities
for students to mimic language and
experiment with new words, word
patterns, and rhymes in order to
expand their working vocabularies.
ESSENTIAL
UNDERSTANDINGS
All students should
understand that oral
language entertains and
communicates
information
understand that a spoken
sentence is made up of
individual words.
ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND
PROCESSES
To be successful with this standard, students are expected
to
listen to a variety of literary forms, including predictable
texts, patterned texts, poems, fairy tales, legends, stories,
and informational texts found in fiction and nonfiction
print materials and trade books that reflect the Virginia
Standards of Learning in English, history and social
science, science, and mathematics
participate in choral speaking and echo reading of short
poems, rhymes, songs, and stories with repeated patterns
and refrains
use drama to retell familiar stories, rhymes, and poems
discriminate between large phonological units of running
speech, sentences, words, and syllables
demonstrate the concept of word by dividing spoken
sentences into individual words
identify words that rhyme
generate rhyming words based on a given rhyming pattern
supply an appropriate rhyming word to complete a familiar
nursery
©
LPdFrhyme
2011or a predictable text with rhyming lines.
34
English SOL Aligned Curriculum:
K






Act out story class is studying
Play barrier games
Create obstacle course, directions highlight
spatial prepositions
Practice 1- & 2-step directions with “Simon Says”
Show and Tell
Mr. Microphone (turn-taking)

from VDOE web site
© LPdF 2011
Assessment blueprint
35

Guide to identify SOLs
 Included
 Excluded
 Subsumed
© LPdF 2011
Blueprint example
36

Grade 3 Reading
 SOL
3.4 The student will use strategies to read a
variety of fiction and nonfiction materials
 Apply
meaning clues, language structure, and phonetic
strategies
 Use context to clarify meaning of unfamiliar words
© LPdF 2011
Grade 3 Reading
37

Grade 2 SOL Subsumed
 The
student will read and demonstrate comprehension
of fiction and nonfiction
 Make
predictions about content
 Read to confirm predictions
 Ask and answer questions about what is read
 Locate information to answer questions
© LPdF 2011
SOL Released Test Item
38
Social Studies
Required Language Skills:
Grade 3 (2007)
Semantics

Wagons, Trains, Ships
These are examples of —
A. supplies

Student must understand referent
“these”
Student must understand how to
categorize items
B. architecture
C. directions
D. transportation
© LPdF 2011
SOL Released Test Item
39
Science
Grade 3 (2007)
(with picture of a globe on its
axis)
Which of the following
describes the motion of Earth
shown in this picture?
A. Vibrating
B. Rotating
C. Revolving
D. Falling
Required Language Skills:
Semantics

Understand which, describe, and motion

Understand concepts: of the following,
vibrating, rotating, revolving, and falling
Morphology

Understand present progressive –ing
endings


the Earth is vibrating
Understand obligating the use of the
present participle as an adjective

vibrating motion
Syntax

Understand question sentence structure

For example, “Which picture shows…”
© LPdF 2011
SOL Released Test Item
40
Math Grade 3
The Parents’ Club sold
2,487 tickets to the
winter festival. What is
2,487 rounded to the
nearest hundred?
Required language skills:
Semantics
 Understanding of rounded
as it relates to
mathematics and numbers
Morphology
 Understanding of
morphemes (est, plural s)
Syntax
 Understanding of
interrogative sentence
structure
© LPdF 2011
SOL Released Test Item
41
Math Grade 5
There are 914 students enrolled
in Lakeview Elementary School.
Frederich Elementary School
has 276 fewer students
enrolled. How many students
are enrolled at Frederich
Elementary School?
A.
B.
C.
D.
1,190
726
642
638
Required Language Skills:
Semantics
 Comprehension of
comparative adjectives,
fewer
Morphology

Understanding of modified
adjective due to –er suffix
(fewer)
Syntax


Understand question format
after a series of statements
Understand an if-then
syntactic format relationship
© LPdF 2011
SOL Released Test Item
42
Grade 5, Science (2007)
Which form of energy is being used by the
toaster?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Chemical
Electrical
Solar
Nuclear
Required Language Skills:
Semantics

understands “which”

understands the vocabulary of energy,
chemical, electrical, solar, nuclear

knowledge of the multiple meaning of the
term “form”
Morphology

meaning of the morphemes “ed” and
“ing”
Syntax

ability to recognize an ongoing action

passive tense
© LPdF 2011
SOL Released Test Item
43
Reading Grade 6
If the author added a sentence at the
end of paragraph 4, which of these
would fit best?
A The seagull’s threatening behavior
was unusual and bewildering.
B Another time Jeff was chased down
an alley by a little dog.
C There was nothing more lovely than
seagulls at the beach, flying over the
water.
D Sunset was Jeff’s favorite time of day
at the beach in Sebastian Cove.
Required language skills:
Morphology
 Understanding of morphemes (ed,
ing, un, ly, s)
Semantics
 Understanding of meaning and
purpose of article in order to add
another sentence that makes sense
with the paragraph
Syntax
 Understanding of possessive markers
 Understanding of threaten and
bewilder as adjectives
 Understanding of complex
declarative sentences with phrases,
prepositions, and passive voice
© LPdF 2011
SOL Released Test Item
44
Biology Grade 9 – 12
Fungi, such as mushrooms
and molds, get their
nutrition primarily by
A.
Producing food by chemosynthesis
B.
Decomposing dead organic matter
C.
Preying on other organic matter
D.
Parasitic relationships with plants
Required Language Skills:
Syntax
 Understanding of dependent clause
 Understanding of incomplete
sentence structure of question
Morphology
 Understanding of present participle
–ing
 Understanding of morpheme
“-ic” to make parasite an adjective
Semantics
 Understanding content specific
vocabulary and grade level
appropriate vocabulary
© LPdF 2011
SOL Released Test Item
45
US History to 1877
By the mid 1700s, American colonists
were unhappy with English rule
becauseA. England refused to protect them from
the French
B. They thought the British king was weak
C. England would not buy colonial-made
goods
D. They had no representation in
Parliament
Required language skills:
Morphology
 Understanding of plural s morpheme
 Understanding of morpheme un
 Understanding of morpheme ed
Semantics
 Vocabulary of because, colonists,
refuse, protect, weak, colonial, goods,
representation, Parliament
 Understanding of the abbreviation
mid
 Understanding of pronouns they and
them
Syntax
 Understanding of sentence structure
as incomplete
© LPdF 2011
SOL Released Test Item
46
Required Language Skills:
Civics and Economics Grade 9 – 12
This World War II poster
appeals to which trait of an
American citizen?
A.
Trustworthine
ss
B. Patriotism
C. Courtesy
D. Honesty
Syntax

Understand question format
Semantics

Requires understanding of
content specific vocabulary

Ability to comprehend the
abstract message of the question
on poster
Morphology

Understand meaning of
prefixes, suffixes, and
derivational morphemes “-ness”,
“-ism”, and “-y”
© LPdF 2011
47
Opportunity is missed by most
people because it is dressed in
overalls and looks like work.
Thomas Edison
© LPdF 2011
Align materials
48
Need for
rich
experiences
with
vocabulary
and
assessment
styles.

Everyday classroom and
specialists experiences need to
align with the vocabulary,
concepts, and test formats of
the SOLs and assessements to
enable transfer
© LPdF 2011
© LPdF 2011
THANK YOU!
powerdefurea@longwood.edu
434-395-2369
49