Implications of the National Early Literacy Panel for

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. gt. JWJd. MQIs. E/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

Oral Language Subcategories Predicting Decoding & Comprehension

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 literacy-related 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 6 month-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 4 th 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 (Mc. Gee & 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 (Mc. Bride-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 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, 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.

Mc. Bride-Chang, C. (1999). The ABCs of the ABCs: The development of letter-name and letter-sound knowledge. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 45, 285 -308. Mc. Gee, L. M. , & Richgels, D. (2000). Literacy’s beginnings: Supporting young readers and writers (3 rd ed. ). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Neuman, S. (2005, May). Developmentally appropriate early literacy instruction: Evidence-based solutions. Presentation at Institute #8 of the 50 th 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.