Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners in Elementary and Middle School. IES Practice Guide. NCEE 2014-4012.

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) publishes practice guides in education to bring the best available evidence and expertise to bear on current challenges in education. Authors of practice guides combine their expertise with the available findings of rigorous research to develop specific recommendations for addressing these challenges. The authors rate the strength of the research evidence supporting each of their recommendations. See Appendix A for a full description of practice guides. The goal of this practice guide is to offer educators specific, evidence-based recommendations that address the challenge of teaching English learners in the elementary and middle grades: building their English language proficiency while simultaneously building literacy, numeracy skills, and content knowledge of social studies and science. The guide provides practical and coherent information on critical topics related to literacy instruction for English learners, and is based on the best available evidence as judged by the authors.

[1]  M. Gerber,et al.  Early Comprehension Instruction for Spanish–Speaking English Language Learners: Teaching Text–Level Reading Skills While Maintaining Effects on Word–Level Skills , 2008 .

[2]  Margaret G. McKeown,et al.  Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction , 2002 .

[3]  S. Vaughn,et al.  Enhancing Social Studies Vocabulary and Comprehension for Seventh-Grade English Language Learners: Findings From Two Experimental Studies , 2009 .

[4]  Irma Perez-Johnson,et al.  Variability in Pretest-Posttest Correlation Coefficients by Student Achievement Level. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences , 2011 .

[5]  Russell Gersten,et al.  Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Learners in the Elementary Grades. IES Practice Guide. NCEE 2007-4011. , 2007 .

[6]  P. Wesley,et al.  Communities of Practice: Connecting What We Know with What We Do , 2003 .

[7]  Robin C. Scarcella,et al.  Effective literacy and English language instruction for English learners in the elementary grades: A practice guide (NCEE ). National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Department of Education. , 2007 .

[8]  R. Silverman,et al.  The Effects of Multimedia-Enhanced Instruction on the Vocabulary of English-Language Learners and Non-English-Language Learners in Pre-Kindergarten Through Second Grade , 2009 .

[9]  Dana L. Grisham,et al.  Scaffolding English Language Learners and Struggling Readers in a Universal Literacy Environment with Embedded Strategy Instruction and Vocabulary Support , 2007 .

[10]  Carolyn A. Denton,et al.  Intervention Provided to Linguistically Diverse Middle School Students with Severe Reading Difficulties. , 2008, Learning disabilities research & practice : a publication of the Division for Learning Disabilities, Council for Exceptional Children.

[11]  Todd Zoblotsky,et al.  Implementation of Effective Intervention: An Empirical Study to Evaluate the Efficacy of Fountas & Pinnell's Leveled Literacy Intervention System (LLI). 2009-2010. , 2010 .

[12]  William E. Nagy,et al.  Words as Tools: Learning Academic Vocabulary as Language Acquisition , 2012 .

[13]  Michael J. Kieffer,et al.  Effects of Academic Vocabulary Instruction for Linguistically Diverse Adolescents , 2014 .

[14]  Catherine E. Snow,et al.  Improving comprehension online: effects of deep vocabulary instruction with bilingual and monolingual fifth graders , 2011 .

[15]  J. Little.  Locating learning in teachers’ communities of practice: opening up problems of analysis in records of everyday work , 2002 .

[16]  D. Eignor.  The standards for educational and psychological testing. , 2013 .

[17]  Penelope J. Wald,et al.  Educators as learners : creating a professional learning community in your school , 2000 .

[18]  B. Brown,et al.  Pathway Towards Fluency: Using ‘disaggregate instruction’ to promote science literacy , 2010 .

[19]  Matthew K. Burns,et al.  Implementing Response-to-Intervention in Elementary and Secondary Schools: Procedures to Assure Scientific-Based Practices, Second Edition , 2008 .

[20]  P. Black,et al.  Assessment and Classroom Learning , 1998 .

[21]  Lizabeth M. Malone,et al.  Survey of Outcomes Measurement in Research on Character Education Programs. NCEE 2009-006. , 2009 .

[22]  Richard C. Anderson,et al.  Influence of Oral Discussion on Written Argument , 2001 .

[23]  Michael J. Kieffer,et al.  The Effectiveness and Ease of Implementation of an Academic Vocabulary Intervention for Linguistically Diverse Students in Urban Middle Schools , 2010 .

[24]  Andrea B. Bermudez,et al.  Using Peer Response Groups with Limited English Proficient Writers , 1993 .

[25]  Natalie G. Olinghouse,et al.  The relationship between measures of vocabulary and narrative writing quality in second- and fourth-grade students , 2009 .

[26]  C. Goldenberg,et al.  Effects of Instructional Conversations and Literature Logs on Limited- and Fluent-English-Proficient Students' Story Comprehension and Thematic Understanding , 1999, The Elementary School Journal.

[27]  Olga D. Lambert.  Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth , 2008 .

[28]  Keiko Koda,et al.  Development of Literacy. , 2006 .

[29]  C. Ballenger,et al.  Social Identities, Moral Narratives, Scientific Argumentation: Science Talk in a Bilingual Classroom. , 1997 .

[30]  Samuel Totten.  Book Review of The Neglected "R": The Need for a Writing Revolution , 2004 .

[31]  Barbara Graves,et al.  Speaking Personalities in Primary School Children's L2 Writing , 2001 .

[32]  Marla F. Crawford.  Individuals with disabilities education improvement act of 2004 noncompliance determination complaints in commonwealth states , 2013 .

[33]  M. Brisk.  Young Bilingual Writers' Control of Grammatical Person in Different Genres , 2012, The Elementary School Journal.

[34]  Catherine Richards-Tutor,et al.  Did They Get It? The Role of Fidelity in Teaching English Learners , 2011 .

[35]  Joseph Dimino,et al.  Learning How to Improve Vocabulary Instruction Through Teacher Study Groups , 2009 .

[36]  Natalie G. Olinghouse,et al.  Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers: A Practice Guide. NCEE 2012-4058. , 2012 .

[37]  Kathi L. Tarrant,et al.  Creating Collaborative Cultures for Educational Change , 1995 .

[38]  Deborah J. Short,et al.  Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP Model , 1999 .

[39]  A. Huberman,et al.  Innovation up Close: How School Improvement Works , 2013 .

[40]  Michael J. Kieffer,et al.  Effects of Academic Language Instruction on Relational and Syntactic Aspects of Morphological Awareness for Sixth Graders from Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds , 2012, The Elementary School Journal.

[41]  Laura M. Desimone,et al.  Effects of Professional Development on Teachers’ Instruction: Results from a Three-year Longitudinal Study , 2002 .

[42]  Kihyun Ryoo.  Learning Science, Talking Science: The Impact of a Technology-Enhanced Curriculum on Students' Science Learning in Linguistically Diverse Mainstream Classrooms. , 2009 .

[43]  Sharon Vaughn,et al.  Effectiveness of a Spanish Intervention and an English Intervention for English-Language Learners at Risk for Reading Problems , 2006 .

[44]  Thomas R. Guskey,et al.  Research Needs To Link Professional Development and Student Learning. , 1997 .

[45]  Russell Gersten,et al.  The Double Demands of Teaching English Language Learners. , 1996 .

[46]  Debra J. Pickering,et al.  Building Academic Vocabulary: Teacher's Manual , 2005 .

[47]  J. Kearsey,et al.  The value of bilingualism in pupils' understanding of scientific language , 1999 .

[48]  D. Francis,et al.  The Impact of an Instructional Intervention on the Science and Language Learning of Middle Grade English Language Learners , 2009 .

[49]  E. Sanders,et al.  Efficacy of a Tier 2 Supplemental Root Word Vocabulary and Decoding Intervention With Kindergarten Spanish-Speaking English Learners , 2011 .

[50]  Laura M. Desimone,et al.  What Makes Professional Development Effective? Results From a National Sample of Teachers , 2001 .

[51]  Catherine E. Snow,et al.  Designing for Diversity , 2011 .

[52]  G. Crouch.  From the States , 2010, Reproductive freedom news.

[53]  Lynn S. Fuchs,et al.  Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies: Making Classrooms More Responsive to Diversity , 1997 .

[54]  Robert S. Siegler,et al.  Synthesis of IES Research on Early Intervention and Early Childhood Education. NCSER 2013-3001. , 2013 .

[55]  Vicki A. Vescio,et al.  A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning , 2008 .

[56]  Robin C. Scarcella,et al.  A Randomized Experiment of a Cognitive Strategies Approach to Text-Based Analytical Writing for Mainstreamed Latino English Language Learners in Grades 6 to 12 , 2011 .

[57]  Philip M. McCarthy,et al.  Linguistic Features of Writing Quality , 2010 .

[58]  Sheri Berkeley,et al.  Implementation of Response to Intervention , 2009, Journal of learning disabilities.

[59]  Richard I. Parker,et al.  Process Versus Product Writing with Limited English Proficient Students , 1996 .

[60]  María S. Carlo,et al.  Closing the gap: Addressing the vocabulary needs of English‐language learners in bilingual and mainstream classrooms , 2004 .

[61]  Richard I. Parker,et al.  Effects of Two Tutoring Programs on the English Reading Development of Spanish-English Bilingual Students , 2004, The Elementary School Journal.

[62]  H. Borko.  Professional Development and Teacher Learning: Mapping the Terrain , 2004 .

[63]  William E. Nagy,et al.  Teaching Word Meanings , 2005 .