FACTS: The Newsletter of LEARNS, The Statewide Systems Change Initiative for Inclusive Education

Early Literacy Learning:

Individualizing Instruction

for Every Child

By Bonnie Blagojevic, Linda Labas , Martie Kendrick and Sue Chevalier

Storytime! It is circle time at preschool. The children gather around their teacher, as she holds up a favorite story and begins to read...

The joy of hearing a beloved story is something every child should experience. When children listen to an engrossing story, they begin to understand the connection between the written and spoken word and have positive feelings about reading.

When children dictate their stories, they see their own words written and hear their words read back to them. This process furthers children’s understanding that the sounds in words can be represented by letter symbols. Informal literacy experiences, like dictating stories and others that incorporate reading and writing into play, are characteristic of and critical to the "emergent literacy” phase of literacy development, when children explore language and print before beginning conventional reading and writing instruction. (Smith, M.W., & Dickenson, D.K. 2000).

Research on children’s emergent literacy indicates that literacy learning begins before school, as children communicate with friends, family, early educators and others, and explore reading and writing in their play. (Smith, M.W., & Dickenson, D.K. 2000). Based on research by Copeland & Edwards, 1990; Dickinson & Tabors, 2001; Gunn, Simmons, & Kameenui, 1995; Hart & Risley, 1995; Heath, 1983; Smith & Dickinson, 1994; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998 (as cited in Smith, M.W., & Dickenson, D.K. 2000), “Numerous research studies have demonstrated that differences in the quantity and quality of children’s early interactions with specific print-related and oral language experiences predict early school success.”

The Challenge of Moving From Research to Practice

Since research indicates emerging literacy experiences are vital to young children's development of literacy skills, it is essential to make them available and accessible to all young children. Often teachers experience challenges in their quest to offer high quality literacy experiences for all children. Teachers frequently work with children who exhibit a wide range of behaviors. These children might include Sammy, who fidgets with his hands and gazes restlessly around the classroom as his teacher reads a story at circle time; or Ahmed, an English language learner, who appears to ignore his peers’ overtures to play with them; or Julia, who squints at a picture book and accidentally tears the pages as she awkwardly attempts to handle it.

Some of these young children are unable to access the literacy activities that are typically offered in the early childhood classroom. Different physical, developmental and sensory strengths and needs, varied cultural and literacy experiences, preferences and temperaments can impact their ability to participate. Children with physical disabilities and/or who are nonverbal may not have as many opportunities to interact during literacy activities (Beck, 2002). A wide range of factors may limit or prevent children from exploring early language and communication choices available in the classroom.

A child's interest in the book corner, for example, might be influenced by the following:

• the child’s individual physical and cognitive abilities and cultural background;

• the child’s ability to reach the bookshelf, remove a book, hold it, and turn the page;

• the child’s ability to sit still, hear and understand the words, discuss the story, see the pictures or find books matching his/her interests or learning style; and

• the child’s prior experience looking at books and hearing stories.

These factors illustrate the critical importance of understanding how child development and emerging literacy experiences interact to promote or delay skill acquisition. Taking into account a child’s current developmental abilities and previous literacy experiences as well as her preferred learning style and interests can assist the teacher in designing emerging literacy experiences that the individual child can and wants to access. Planning implementation and evaluation of a child’s literacy program should involve all members of the team, including teachers, family members and specialists.

Building Skills and Accessing Information about Early Literacy

Teachers can build their toolbox of educational strategies to support all learners. The book Building Blocks for Teaching Preschoolers with Special Needs by Susan R. Sandall, Ilene S. Schwartz et al., was created to help teachers develop the skills to support individual children’s learning. The Building Blocks model can best be described as an educational pyramid, comprised of four levels:

1. A high quality, developmentally appropriate early childhood program provides the base of the pyramid. This foundation is an essential element upon which the whole pyramid is built and, for many children, it is all that is necessary for a healthy learning environment.

2. Curriculum modifications and adaptations form the next level of the pyramid. These are beneficial for all children, and may be necessary for some children to access the learning environment.

3. Embedded learning opportunities form the next level. Child-specific interventions are planned and embedded within the daily routine and the materials used are accessible to all children.

4. Child-focused instructional strategies sit at the top of the pyramid and are typically reserved for children who need a more individualized and intensive educational approach. (Sandall, S.R., Schwartz, I.S. with Joseph, G.E., Hsin-Ying, S, Horn, E.M. , Lieber, J. Odom, S. and Wolery, R., 2002).

Using the Building Blocks model to address Early Literacy Learning

The Building Blocks model offers a framework for conceptualizing and planning for children’s emerging literacy goals. Using this framework, teachers can plan a high quality, developmentally appropriate early childhood program that includes the right level of literacy experiences to support learning for every child. The four components of the pyramid are addressed below:

High Quality Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP)

High quality DAP programs offer a range materials and opportunities to address of early literacy acquisition, including:

• Books, magazines, posters and other forms of print which are readily available;

• A predictable but flexible daily schedule including daily opportunities for children to hear and discuss stories and to independently use book, writing and listening centers;

• Various learning centers set up so children can practice reading, writing, and storytelling. For example, notepads to take orders when playing restaurant, a children’s sign up sheet by the computer, toy shelf labels using pictures and words, flannelboards/props for storytelling, opportunities to “sign” work and “write” directions that others can follow;

• Book selection guided by children'’s interests;

• Opportunities to dictate stories and add words to work (about drawings, block constructions, other work), sing songs and share their work with the group; and

• Phonological awareness games, including rhyming, and sound awareness, recognizing letters, matching sounds with symbols (for example, chances to write letters to family and friends by drawing a picture , transitioning from circle by choosing children using a rhyming game “Someone who’s name rhymes with pen… Ben!” (Sandall et al., 2002).

Curriculum Modifications and Adaptions

Curriculum modifications and adaptations can benefit all children, and are intended to increase use of materials, participation in activities, and involvement with others. Chubby crayons, foam grips for writing implements, computerized stories, big books with high contrast pictures, books on tape, texture books, posters and/or story boxes with props that go along with the books, and picture/photo symbols of learning centers children can point to when selecting their activity choice during free play are examples of ways to support individualizing learning.

Embedded Learning Opportunities

When a child is not making gains in literacy even when modifications are provided to access the general literacy curriculum, more or different supports may be needed. Embedding individualized learning into the classroom routine and activities provides a child with increased opportunities to practice individual literacy goals throughout the day. Through identification of specific literacy learning goals for the child, consideration of his/her interests and preferences to encourage motivation and participation, and careful planning, activities can be offered to the child to practice these skills during identified times in the regularly scheduled classroom routine. For example, a child who has an immature pencil grasp is provided with planned opportunities to write, draw or paint using a triangular pencil grip, an easy-grip paintbrush or a chubby crayon during regularly scheduled art and writing activities.

Child Focused Instructional Strategies

When individual learning goals are not achieved using embedded learning opportunities, child-focused instructional strategies provide a more specific and intense system of instruction. Learning goals may relate to the general early education curriculum, or be unique to the child. A child might be encouraged to look at a book, write with a marker, and practice other emerging literacy skills, supported by prompting, reinforcement, graduated guidance, time delay and other intervention strategies.

Online Resources – (links available in Recommended Resources below)

Visit the online “Emergent Literacy Workshop” sponsored by the Center for Best Practices at Western Illinois University to learn more about Emergent Literacy, Designing a Literacy-Rich Environment, Technology Integration, Adaptations that Support Literacy, Assessment of Literacy Skills, and Performance Indicators. Workshop participants can proceed through the workshop at their own pace, at times convenient for them.

The National Center to Improve Practice in Special Education through Technology, Media and Materials (NCIP) web site offers a "virtual" Early Childhood Guided Tour which includes an integrated preschool program for children with and without disabilities, with video clips and comments by the teachers with suggestions on how to make literacy activities available to all children.

An Ongoing Process

Constant monitoring of the success of instruction, problem-solving and revising plans as needed can best be accomplished when all members of the team, including teachers, family members and specialists, work together to discuss the child’s progress. The “Recommended Resources” section lists literacy resources for families with suggestions for supporting children’s literacy learning at home.

Our Charge

To help each child access and enjoy early literacy experiences we must strengthen our understanding of emerging literacy, build our repertoire of teaching practices, strengthen our collaborations and constantly consider and look for new ways to help children succeed!

 

A Real Life Scenario: Cam’s Story Submitted by Emily Ryan (Cam’s mother) Following is one family’s experience with addressing the early literacy needs of their son: Like many professionals, I am also a parent of a son with special needs. My son, Cam, is seven years old and diagnosed with Sotos Syndrome and Mental Retardation. He has had a host of issues including visual perceptual problems, delays in fine and gross motor development, neurological tremors, and severe speech and language issues including articulation problems. These are the challenges he faces when learning. He is also very friendly, eager to please, and a hard worker. This summer, a good friend of mine, who is a special education teacher for teenagers, was visiting us from Vermont. We were discussing "shop talk" when he said, "You know, when a parent says to us what they want for a child, I really work hard on assuring that I meet that goal" I took this bit of information and during our first monthly meeting at school, I told his special education teacher that "I expected that Cam would learn to read and write. Despite his challenges, I wanted him to be literate." His teacher proceeded to tell me that it might take a long time for Cam to do this. During this discussion, again, I was faced with the fact that although Cam is able to complete matching tasks, he is unable to recognize any letters or numbers and cannot articulate letter sounds of many letters. I looked at the school activities he was doing and left thinking maybe I am expecting too much? But luckily, in the next coming weeks, I had a conversation with a research associate from the Center for Community Inclusion & Disability Studies (CCI). She was assigned to St. Louis Child Development Center in York County, where I worked as a social worker. Through my work with her, I have found her passion and expertise to be incredibly inspiring and helpful. I shared with her my concerns for Cam. This staff person proceeded to tell me about a research project (Literacy by Design) starting at CCIDS in Maine in collaboration with with CAST (Center for Applied Special Technologies) in Massachusetts, regarding literacy development for young children with significant disabilities. They were about to research the use of specially designed software and the literacy development of children with significant cognitive disabilities. We tried to see if Cam could become a participant in the research. He was not eligible for the study and although I was incredibly disappointed that we could not participate, I shared with the project staff that I really want Cam to be literate. I explained to another CCIDS Research Associate, that Cam presently was being taught some phonics and to identify letters and it seemed an impossible task given his set of needs. She told me that although Cam could not be in the study, I could look into some Edmark software to reach my goal, which may be similar to some of the software developed for the study. I left the conversation feeling hopeful and that literacy may be possible. I then began to research the price of Edmark software products and stumbled on a Home Reading Program put out by Edmark. Although it was not one of the ones Stacy suggested, I became interested because it was designed for children with developmental disabilities. I wanted to try it but found it to be very expensive ($250.00). So, another first, I was able to pick up the program from Ebay, for a cost of $75.00. Cam and I began our $75.00 experiment. The Edmark program teaches reading through sight words. It helps kids learn to match first symbols, then letters, and then words. It does not teach kids to name the alphabet letters but moves right to reading words. The program expects you to master each section before moving onto the next lesson. It also tracks the student’s progress. We began the lessons in the beginning of October and worked on the program about 4 times per week for about 20-30 minutes or as much as we could tolerate. Cam moved through matching to sight-reading. It is December, Cam can now sight read about 6 words (car, a, horse, yellow, see, ball) with varying accuracy depending on his motivation and how tired he is. But he can definitely READ these words! I have shown the school his success and they are now buying the school version and homework sheets. The school will now be incorporating and carrying over this reading program for Cam. So to all the folks at the Center for Community Inclusion & Disability Studies, and other children, families and schools that you work with, I hope that you may "See a yellow car (and) horse." I know we do now, and it is music to my ears. Thanks for your help!

Recommended Resources

Individualizing Instruction:

Early Childhood Technology Integrated Instructional System http://www.wiu.edu/ectiis/about.html provides online workshops, including one entitled: Emergent Literacy Workshop, located at: http://www.wiu.edu/ectiis/ws3/emlit.php

There is no fee to participate, at this time, and resources are available after an initial log in process.

NCIP Early Childhood Guided Tour: Promoting Language and Literacy Among Young Students with Developmental Disabilities in Early Childhood Classrooms http://www2.edc.org/NCIP/tour/toc.htm

Building Blocks for Teaching Preschoolers with Special Needs. By Susan R. Sandall, Ph.D., & Ilene S. Schwartz, Ph.D., with Gail E. Joseph, Ph.D., Hsin-Ying Chou, Ed.D., Eva M. Horn, Ph.D., Joan Lieber, Ph.D., Samuel L. Odom, Ph.D., & Ruth Wolery, Ph.D., Brookes Publishing. You can learn more about this book at: http://www.pbrookes.com/store/books/sandall-5761/

Resources for Families:

Helping Your Child Go Places Through Literacy. ChildCareAware’s Newsletter, The Daily Parent http://www.childcareaware.org/en/subscriptions/dailyparent/volume.php?id=25

PBS Let's Talk About It: Fostering the Development of Language Skills and Early Literacy http://www.pbs.org/wholechild/providers/talk.html

References

    Beck, Jennifer. (2002) Emerging literacy through assistive technology. Teaching Exceptional Children. Retreived 12/30/03 from
journals.sped.org/EC/Archive_Articles/VOL.35NO.2NOVDEC2002_TEC_Article%206.pdf

    Sandall, S.R., & Schwartz, I.S. (2002). Building blocks for teaching preschoolers with special needs. Baltimore, Maryland: Brookes Publishing.

    Smith, M.W., Dickinson, D.K., (with Sangeorge, A., & Anastasopoulos, L.). (2002). "Effective elements of early literacy: Kennys' story.", In Early language and literacy classroom observation (ELLCO) toolkit, research edition (chap. 5). Retreived 12/10/03 from www.pbrookes.com/store/books/smith-ellco/ 

© 2004 The University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies
5717 Corbett Hall • Orono, ME 04469-5717
Phone: (207) 581-1084 • Toll Free V/TTY: (800) 203-6957 • Fax: (207) 581-1231
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