Literacy Instruction in the Model Classrooms

Teachers, related services providers, and support staff in the model demonstration classrooms are working hard to create an atmosphere where reading, writing, and communication are highly valued and expected. Classroom instruction is based on the notion that children need a strong, solid emergent literacy foundation to prepare them to later become conventional readers and writers. The students in these classrooms are at different places on the continuum of literacy development, from emergent literacy to conventional literacy. The majority of students are emergent readers and writers who need to develop very fundamental understandings of the what, why and how of reading and writing. It is well known in the literacy field that without these emergent literacy skills in place, children will have a very difficult time learning how to conventionally read and write. Thus, classroom instruction has focused heavily on emergent literacy. It has been exciting for the teachers as after a couple years of quality emergent literacy instruction, a few students are now becoming early conventional readers and writers; they have more developed understandings of print and are just starting to read words and write things that others can recognize.

There are three fundamental research-based activities that have been key in facilitating students’ literacy development.

• Self-Selected Writing
• Self-Selected Reading
• Shared Reading

All of these activities are things that children without disabilities regularly engage in as they develop as readers and writers. Visitors will most likely observe one or more of these activities. It is important to note that students, regardless of their cognitive level, do not have to be ready to engage in any of these literacy activities.

Self-Selected Writing

What is self-selected writing?

Students choose something to write about that is personally meaningful. Students are encouraged to write freely, and their writing is not corrected. For beginning writers who have had few experiences with print, self-selected writing is usually “scribble.” For students who have more knowledge about print, self-selected writing may be recognizable and readable.

Why is self-selected writing important?

The goals are to give students opportunities to explore and learn about letters and letter-sound relationships, to help them understand that they can express themselves with print, and that print carries meaning. These writing experiences should be similar to the writing experiences of young children who feel free to explore and experiment with print, with adults having high expectations and assigning purpose to every attempt the students make. Children without disabilities engage in hundreds of hours of being able to freely write in this manner. Many people have said that children learn most about print through writing. The active nature of making print builds students’ understanding of its meaning and use. Students’ early experimentations with writing are not readable and are “scribble.” However, over time with ongoing opportunities, children without disabilities develop enough understandings to get to the point where they can write something that is readable. It is important to recognize that for children with disabilities, this development does not occur over night, and in fact it occurs over time- over a couple years.

What does self-selected writing look like for students with deaf-blindness and other low incidence disabilities?

This population of students has typically not engaged in writing due to its physical demands, and perhaps due to unfounded beliefs that students must demonstrate cognitive prerequisites. In the classrooms, most students cannot hold a pencil, regardless of the number of adapted grips and holders. In order to address this problem, the teachers use a range of “alternative pencils,” that require very little hand use, from eye gaze pencils and switch accessible paper flip charts to adapted Braille keyboards. All of these pencils give students access to the entire alphabet.

Since the majority of these students have never experienced writing, their writing is “scribble”—no different than children without disabilities who are just getting started with writing. Over the past couple years, a few of the students have developed more experience with print and are now beginning to write things that are recognizable. Overall, teachers have been pleased and surprised with what their students have learned about alternative pencils, the meaning of print, and what it means to be a writer.

Self-Selected Reading

What is self-selected reading?

Students are given opportunities to choose from a changing assortment of personally meaningful books. Students choose a book that they want to read and then engage in independent reading/exploration of the book.

Why is self-selected reading important?

The goals are to help students learn that reading can be an enjoyable activity, to see themselves as readers, to learn how to manipulate books, and to begin to try some of the behaviors they have seen adults model. For students who are beginning to read words, self-selected reading may be about developing ease and fluency with reading words.

What does self-selected reading look like for students with deaf-blindness and other low incidence disabilities?

In the classrooms, the teachers have created a wide range of personally meaningful, adapted books that motivate students to want to read, such as enlarged calendar books, tactual, Braille books, and switch accessible computer based books. Through providing students with an assortment of books, the students are beginning to demonstrate preferences for books. When getting started, many of the students do not know how to hold or use books and may flip, throw, eat and rip them--similar to children without disabilities who are getting started. In order to learn how to use books, in addition to ongoing adult models, students need opportunities to use and explore books. However, in the classrooms, it may not be feasible to give some of the students classroom books or library books for independent use. To address this need, teachers have worked hard to make simple, inexpensive, dispensable, throw away books that are safe to give students. They also use simple adaptations to allow the students to have easy access to books, such as page separators, book boards that stabilize books, slant boards, thicker pages. For students who need to use switches, they are using a variety of switch accessible computer books. For all students, self-selected reading time is about giving them regular opportunities to see print or touch the Braille—something our students have markedly fewer opportunities with, in comparison to children without disabilities.

Shared Reading

What is shared reading?

Shared reading is an interactive activity where adults read a book aloud to an individual or group of students. Shared reading time is full of interaction, fun and discussion about what the book means and how it is used.

Why is shared reading important?

The goals of shared reading are to teach important background knowledge/oral language, and vocabulary, and to provide adult models of how books are used, and to help students understand that reading can be an enjoyable activity. Shared reading is different than guided reading. Guided reading is focused on teaching students specific comprehension strategies so that they can comprehend an entire book or passage without help. Shared reading is about developing more fundamental conceptual understandings about the world and how books work.

What does shared reading look like for students with deaf-blindness and other low incidence disabilities?

In the classrooms, teachers are working hard to find good books that are age appropriate and interesting for their students, while addressing key academic areas. Most of the students are unable to speak and have difficulty communicating. Because shared reading is about the interaction, it has been an ideal time to teach students how to communicate using some type of communication system, whether tactual symbols, sign or augmentative & alternative communication devices (AAC), no matter how simple or how complex. Teachers have setup a range of communication devices from single message devices to devices with multiple locations. When starting out, many students do not know how to use a switch or a communication device, however the teachers have found that the students are learning to use them by using them during shared reading.

References

Blischak, D. M. (1995). Thomas the writer: Case study of a child with severe physical, speech and visual impairments. Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 26, 11-20.

Erickson, K. A., Clendon, S., Abraham, L., Roy, V., & Van de Carr, H. (2005). Toward positive literacy outcomes for students with significant developmental disabilities. Assistive Technology Outcomes and Benefits, 2(1), 45-54.

Erickson, K. A., Koppenhaver, D. A., Yoder, D. E., & Nance, J. (1997). Integrated communication and literacy instruction for a child with multiple disabilities. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 12(3), 142-150.

Gipe, J., Duffy, C. A., Richards, J. C. (1993). Helping a non-speaking adult male with cerebral palsy achieve literacy. Journal of Reading, 36, 380-389.

Koppenhaver, D. A., Coleman, P. P., Kalman, S. L., & Yoder, D. E. (1991). The implications of emergent literacy research for children with developmental disabilities.  American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology: A Journal of Clinical Practice, 1(1), 38-44.

Koppenhaver, D. A., Erickson, K. A. (2003). Natural emergent literacy supports for preschoolers with autism and severe communication impairments. Topics in Language Disorders, 23(4), 283-293.

National Reading Panel Report or NRP (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction: Reports of subgroups. Rockville, MD: NICHD Clearinghouse.

United States Department of Education. (2004). Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act.

United States Department of Education. (2001). No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. http://www.ed.gov/legislation/ESEA02/.