An Evidence-Based Emergent
Literacy Model
Presenter
Linda Schreiber, MS, CCC-SLP
Attainment Company
The Curriculum Team
Diane Browder, UNCC
Susan Gibbs, UNCC
Lynn Ahlgrim-Delzell, UNCC
Ginevra Courtade, WVU
Angel Lee, LifeSpan Services
Research Foundation
• Project RAISE (Federal Grant No.
H324K040004 U.S. Department of
Education)
• Meta-analysis of early reading
instruction for students with significant
developmental disabilities
• National Reading Panel Report
Current research on teaching students with
significant disabilities early reading
80
70
60
Moderate
50
Severe
Other
40
30
20
10
0
Pic id
•
Sight Word Phon/Decod Phon Aware
Comp
Fluency
Other
Browder, D. Wakeman, S., Spooner, F., Ahlgrim-Delzell, L., & Algozzine, R.F. (2006). A
comprehensive review of reading for students with significant cognitive disabilities.
Exceptional Children, 72, 392-408.
Why We Didn’t Know If Students with
Significant Disabilities Could Learn to Read
• Consistent lack of focus on reading for this
population
• In the last 20 years while the “science of
reading” has been developing, the focus in
severe disabilities has been functional life skills
• Most research has focused on the acquisition of
sight words
National Reading Panel’s Identified
Components of Reading (The Science
of Reading)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Phonemic Awareness
Alphabetic Principle (Phonics)
Vocabulary
Comprehension
Fluency
Print Awareness
Words vs. nonwords; left-to-right
sequence; function of spaces
Why trying intensive phonics approach to reading
for students with moderate-to-severe
developmental disabilities?
– Research synthesized by NRP shows
phonemic awareness is predictor of success
in learning to read
– Phonological awareness (PA) training may be
applicable with this population
– Students with DD may be older when begin
PA training
Population
• In grades K-3
• Classified as having moderate-to-severe ID
(IQ below 55); classified with autism with
target IQ range
• Adequate hearing and vision to respond to
verbal instructions and printed materials
• Some progress in English instruction if ESL
• Able to participate in assessment with or
without assistive technology
• Adequate attendance at school
Comparison of Treatments
• Experimental
• Control
– Early Literacy Skills
Builder
• Includes phonemic
awareness/ phonics
– Sight words and pictures
• Edmark
• Both
– Participation in story
reading with systematic
instruction (“Story-based
lessons”)
© 2008 L. Schreiber
References for First and Second
Year Outcomes
• Browder, D.M., Ahlgrim-Delzell, L., Courtade, G.,
Gibbs, S.L., & Flowers, C. (October, 2008).
Evaluation of the effectiveness of an early
literacy program for students with significant
developmental disabilities using group
randomized trial research. Exceptional Children.
• Also see www.attainmentcompany.com for
research papers
© 2008 A. Lee & L. Schreiber
Early Literacy Skills Builder
(ELSB)
• Based on research
evidence
• Designed specifically for
students with moderate-tosevere disabilities who may
be nonverbal
• Ages 5-10
Underlying
Evidence-Based Principles
Direct instruction
• Small steps, repetition
• High level of success
Systematic Instruction
• System of least prompts
• Constant time delay
ELSB Components
• Building with Sounds and Symbols
• Building with Stories
Building with Sounds and Symbols
• Students learn vocabulary, phonemic
awareness, alphabetic principle, listening
comprehension, conventions of print
• Bridges to beginning reading program
ELSB Levels
• 7 levels with 5 lessons each
• 14 objectives taught throughout the levels
• Objectives increase in difficulty as you go
through the levels
• Easier objectives have less emphasis in
upper levels, more difficult objectives
introduced in later levels
• Assessments provided
ELSB Levels
• Level A
Designed for the student who may not have
picture recognition or awareness of books.
Uses objects to give meaning to the stories as
opposed to pictures
Has five lessons; each lesson gets more
difficult, fading the objects and increasing the
pictures
Level A Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Recognize a book from a nonbook
Interact with objects related to a book
Select own photo or written name
Select named photo or word
Physically engage with a book and/or
visually attend to a story
6. Point to an object, picture, or word to
complete a story line.
7. Respond to literal questions about a story
8. Point to named objects or pictures
9. Use new vocabulary and personal
information to create a story
Assessment
Building with Stories
Component
ELSB: Building with Stories
Goals
• To provide guidelines for sharing stories at
the students’ grade level
• To promote active student participation in
“reading” and understanding the story
• To provide access to general education
curriculum
Gaining Meaning from Literature
• What is the literature?
Same books, novels,
other literature as that
of their chronological
age and grade level
• “Grade appropriate”
instruction with
support
Also includes text
found across the
general curriculum
• How to create access
Read alouds
What the research says about
shared story reading
• Students read to daily
Score higher on measures of vocabulary,
comprehension, and decoding
• Most effective read alouds are interactive
• Repeated reading of stories
Children’s questions and comments increase and
become more interpretive
Other Potential Benefits
• Improve expressive communication skills as
discuss book
• Introduce joy of books
• Enhance comprehension of spoken language
• Learn to construct meaning through interactions
with the reader
• Broaden knowledge of the world
Preplanning
Collaboration
Preteaching
SB Lesson Plan
10 Steps of SBL
1. Engage students with
anticipatory set
2. Identifying title/students
point
3. Identify
author/illustrator/students
point
4. Model opening the
book/give students a
chance
5. Ask a prediction
question/record answers
6. Point to text while reading
aloud
7. Read repeated
story line/give
students a chance
to predict word
8. Teach new
vocabulary/
students point to
word in text
9. Model page
turning/give
students a chance
10. Ask
comprehension
questions/each
student answers at
least one
Adapting for Unique Needs
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Eye gaze boards
PVC pipe
Swimming noodle
Coffee stirrers
Glove with Velcro
Popsicle stick to aid page turning
Go-Talks or AAC devices
Baltimore City Schools
http://www.bcps.k12.md.us
Project Raise
http://education.uncc/access
Planning a Literacy
Program Using ELSB
•
•
•
•
Time
Scheduling
Grouping
Repeating Lessons
Questions?
• Linda Schreiber
lindaschreiber@charter.net