Oklahoma Reader Spring 2019

ISSN 2640-1649 (online) ISSN 0030-1833 (print) VOLUME NO. 55 // ISSUE NO. 1 // SPRING 2019

THE OKLAHOMA READER YOUR LITERACY JOURNEY STARTS TODAY

A PUBLICATION OF THE OKLAHOMA LITERACY ASSOCIATION

Finding Inspiration through reading and writing

Supporting Young Children's Oral Language and Vocabulary Development Through High-Quality Language Rich Environments

Contents

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Rae Ross Jenks Public Schools

DEPARTMENTS 3

Editors’ Expressions

4

Children’s Book Reviews

9

Young Adult Book Reviews

51

Policy and Advocacy

53

Book Review

56

Research Summary

60

Tech Talk

63

Letter from the OKLA President

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Call for Proposals

66

Call for Editors

67

OKLA Membership

68

Back Matter

Word Learning With Emergent Learners

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Jennifer Snell East Central University

Challenges of Identifying Students Who are Both English Language Learners/Emerging Bilingual and Special Education Students

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Lynn DeBolt Schroeder Sequoyah Public Schools

Think Outside the Textbook: Harnessing Content Literacy

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Dr. Shannon Clapsaddle Southeast Missouri State University Dr. Larry Bohannon Southeast Missouri State University Carrie Mueller Carbondale Community High School

EDITORS' EXPRESSIONS

We are pleased to share the latest edition of The Oklahoma Reader, the journal of the Oklahoma Literacy Association (OKLA). We hope you enjoy the articles and regular features in this edition.

In what should be a must read for all teachers, Suzii Parsons’ children’s literature column reminds us of the importance of children being able to see themselves in books. She discusses the need for those representations to be accurate and free from stereotypes while highlighting literature featuring American Indians/Alaskan Natives. In the young adult literature column she shares the transformative nature of writing and features outstanding books about fictional writers as well as biographies, and one auto-biography, of some of our favorite authors. Dr. Shelbie Witte from Oklahoma State University shares Part II of her Policy and Advocacy Column as a guest author for the current school year. She expands from the fall edition on ways to share your voice while advocating for your students. Shelley Martin-Young continues as the author of the Technology Column, sharing tech tools to help your students publish their writing. In the Research Summary Column, Dr. Linda McElroy shares research regarding an oft overlooked element in texts-peritext, from a new book, Literacy Engagement through Peritext (2019). Additionally in this edition, Dr. Barbara McClanahan shares a book review of this book. Both of these submissions will help you learn about peritext, and prepare you to participate in a book discussion being sponsored by the Oklahoma Literacy Association (OKLA) and the Oklahoma Council for Teachers of English (OCTE) this fall! Watch the website and Facebook for more information.

The featured articles in this edition bring you strategies to strengthen your literacy instruction whether you work with the youngest literacy learners or those in high school. Ms. Rae Ross shares the importance of a language rich classroom in developing students’ vocabularies. Ms. Jennifer Snell discusses research and practices to support word learning with emergent literacy learners. Ms. Lynn DeBolt Schroeder discusses the challenges of identifying students who are both Emerging Bilingual and Special Education students. Finally, Dr. Shannon Clapsaddle, Dr. Larry Bohannon, and Ms. Carrie Mueller share their experiences including informational texts related to content in science classes, including the practices they used and how the students benefited.

We are excited that you are including The Oklahoma Reader in your professional reading. Please note the Guidelines for Authors near the back of this edition and consider submitting an article, a column, a book review of a professional book, or a teaching tip to be included in a future edition! Additionally, there is a Call for Editors included in this edition of the journal. The deadline for submitting your name for consideration is September 30, 2019.

Sincerely,

Donita Shaw, Julie Collins, Shelley Martin-Young & Abby Weyen

For inquiries, reach us at:

Email: oklahomareader@gmail.com

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Sue Christian Parsons, Ph.D. Spring 2019: Contemporary Native Perspectives When Oklahoma-born Traci Sorell realized that her own child had no books to reflect his contemporary Cherokee culture, she committed to write one herself. The result of that effort, We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, articulates the Cherokee value of gratitude in all circumstance and seasons of life. This nonfiction book speaks to readers simply and directly: Cherokee people say otsaligheliga to express gratitude. It is a reminder to celebrate our blessings and reflect on struggles—daily, through the year, and across the seasons. Sorell and illustrator Frané Lessac take readers through the seasons, explaining Cherokee traditions and community values.

Fall—Uligohvsdi-- is a time to release and renew--…as we clean our houses, wear new clothes, enjoy a feast, and forget old quarrels, remembering the suffering of ancestors and relishing hope in the birth of a baby. Winter—Gola—finds families gathered together, caring for each other, remembering those who have passed on and passing on traditions to the new arrivals. As the Earth renews itself in Spring—Gogeyi-families express gratitude through song and action—planting, creating, retelling important stories—and even in hard goodbyes. Summer—Gogi—is filled with activity—crawdad gigging, stickball, the Green Corn Ceremony—and, always, gratitude for ancestors’ sacrifices to preserve our way of life.

We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga is a true picture book, words and images intertwined to tell a richer story than either might alone. That story sways gently between joy and sacrifice, hardship and hope, but remains firmly tethered with gratitude. Lessac has tucked opportunities for discovery throughout her painted spreads. Sorell’s narrative is sprinkled with Cherokee words displayed in English letters and Cherokee syllabary along with a phonetic pronunciation. Back matter includes a glossary, author’s note further explaining Cherokee culture, an overview of Cherokee syllabary, and resources for further exploration.

The Importance of Contemporary Native Perspectives There are 570 sovereign Native Nations within the borders of the United States; 39 in Oklahoma.1 Each was a functioning nation before the U.S. was established. They all continue with their own histories, citizens, governments, and traditions. Approximately 5.2 million American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) individuals are part of these nations, comprising about 1.7 percent of the total U.S. population. Interestingly, children make up a larger percentage of AI/AN communities than the U.S. population at large: 32% of Native communities vs. 24% of the total population are under 18. Oklahoma has the second highest proportion of American 1

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http://www.ncai.org/about-tribes; https://www.okhistory.org/research/aitribes)

Indian/Alaska Natives in the country: about 12.9 percent of the state population.2 Bottom line: our Oklahoma classrooms are rich with Native students. Unfortunately, our schools’ book shelves are not typically rich with Native representations.

Of 3,134 books received from U.S. publishers for review by the Collaborative Children’s Books Council in 2018, 34 (1%) featured Native characters in a significant role. Only 23 of those few books, were written by Native authors. This low representation—a consistent issue over the years--is powerfully illustrated in this graphic (Huyck, 2018)3 that alludes to Sims-Bishop’s (1990) powerful assertion that all children need to see themselves mirrored in books. Considering authorship is particularly important as American Indian/Alaska Native cultures have often been, and continue to be, broadly stereotyped and misrepresented in broader society, including in the world of children’s literature. Consider, for instance, the derogatory portrayals in popular, acclaimed books such as the Little House on the Prairie series and The Indian in the Cupboard.4 Further complicating the situation, Native representations in children’s literature consist largely of historical perspectives and traditional tales; there are very few books that feature contemporary Native experiences; indeed, very few beyond the mid-1800s. Unless educators are exceedingly intentional about selecting and including books with authentic Native perspectives, it is likely that AI/AN children in our classrooms will not see themselves in books. Just as critical, children of other races and cultures will not see them either. While conducting a recent research study (Parsons & Brown, forthcoming), my colleague and I were surprised to hear Oklahoma-raised young adults express surprise that AI/AN individuals were part of their day-today experiences. As Walter Dean Myers pointed out in a 2014 New York Times opinion 2

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http://www.ncai.org/about-tribes/demographics https://readingspark.wordpress.com/2019/06/19/picture-this-diversity-in-childrens-books-2018-infographic/?

fbclid=IwAR15QnligSn-e7GDwKtIfbKPn5NcRu3sE3SFmibUn2Q-NrOlrKAyVL5xyoA

For a quick look at the problems with these books, see https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/littlehouse-prairie-was-built-native-american-land-180962020/; https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/26/books/lauraingalls-wilder-book-award.html; https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/1986/11/09/plastic-indians-and-nativeamericans/84365fca-ef93-4927-a07a-184333c0e29c/?utm_term=.364849269ec4. Oklahoma scholar Rhonda Taylor’s exploration (2010) addresses the issue in more depth with an eye to what teachers and librarians can do: https://doi.org/10.1080/095183900413313.

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editorial,5 absence of representation in children’s literature makes it easy for stereotypes to take hold and to maintain their hold on society. First Nation communities and culture—vital, alive, relevant—should be well represented in every Oklahoma classroom—including on the book shelves.

Other Recommended Books for Young Readers The books listed here were authored by members of First Nation communities that live in Oklahoma. All have content reflecting 20th or 21st century life. See below for additional resources for selecting high quality, authentic literature with Native perspectives.

Annino, Jan Godown, illus. by Lisa Desimini, afterword by Moses Jumper, Jr. (Seminole). She Sang Promise: The Story of Betty Mae Jumper, Seminole Tribal Leader (hardcover National Geographic 2010/paperback Scholastic 2018). Biography.

Betty Mae Tiger Jumper was the first and so-far only Tribal Chairman for the Seminoles, one stellar accomplishment in a life filled with them. Annino details Jumper’s life from challenging beginnings in the Florida Everglades—tribal members threatened to throw her in the swamp to do away with bad spirits from her white father, but her family intervened and fled to a nearby reservation— through her spectacularly accomplished life. Betty Mae became a nurse, then returned to the Seminole community as an active and effective advocate for health and education.

Proficient in both Creek and Mikasuki, she served as an interpreter in healthcare and legal contexts. Betty Mae helped organize a Tribal council, founded and ran a tribal newspaper.

She was the first women elected to the Tribal Chairman position, and the only woman Chairman to date. Annino narrates Jumper’s story in free verse illuminated and extended

by Desimini’s lush paintings. Back matter includes a glossary, afterword from Jumper’s son, Moses Jumper, Jr., maps and chronology, an author’s note, and additional information and resources. (You may also be interested in Legends of the Seminoles (1994), traditional stories told by Betty Mae Jumper herself, written with Peter Gallagher; illus. Guy LeBree.)

Coulson, Art (Cherokee Nation), illus. by Nick Hardcastle. Unstoppable: How Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Defeated Army. (Capstone, 2018). Biography.

In a life as big and significant as Jim Thorpe’s, there is a lot to tell.

Coulson focuses tight on one event and, in doing so, highlights Thorpe’s personal character and determination as well as the bigger societal issues surrounding the marginalization of American Indians. The center of Unstoppable is the 1912 football game between the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and the West Point U.S. Military Academy. Coulson spins this underdog story with vivid and exciting detail—enough to have readers “on the edge of their seats”—but also expertly contextualizes the story so that readers understand not only the 5

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https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/opinion/sunday/where-are-the-people-of-color-in-childrens-books.html

significance of that win (Carlisle 27, West Point 6) and the true athletic greatness of Thorpe, but also the extreme educational and social inequities that marked his life and the lives of other American Indians in the early 20th century. Back matter includes a glossary, more information about Thorpe’s life and those of his teammates, as well as sordid details of the Carlisle school and other such Indian boarding schools.

Herrington, John B. (Chickasaw).

Mission to Space. (White Dog Press, 2016). Autobiography.

John Herrington built on a stellar Navy career to transition to NASA where he launched into space on the space shuttle Endeavor to provide mechanical support and a fresh crew to the International Space Station. During that 13-day mission, Herrington performed three space walks. In Mission to Space he chronicles his early passion for space, his training, and his 2002 journey into space and back home. Using his personal photos and engaging first-person narration, Herrington—a member of both Chickasaw and National Native American Halls of Fame—highlight his Chickasaw culture and the rigor and excitement of space travel. End matter includes an English to Chickasaw glossary.

Smith, Cynthia Leitich (Muscogee Creek), illus. by Ying-Hwa Hu and Cornelius Van Wright. Jingle Dancer. (HarperCollins, 2000).

Realistic Fiction.

Jenna, a Muscogee Creek girl living in Oklahoma, tells her grandmother that she wants to jingle dance like her grandmother has done notably for so many years. Grandma Wolfe tells Jenna she can dance at the upcoming Pow Wow, but there isn’t time to order the materials to make jingles for her dress. Resourceful Jenna enlists the help of friends and family, borrowing jingle cones from various dresses, but never so many that those dresses lose their voices. With their help—and plenty of practice—Jenna dances for her benefactors when they—for various reasons—can’t dance themselves. This gentle story, rich with cultural detail, shows the love and appreciation between generations of women and a community that values the voice of a child and her dreams. End matter includes a glossary and information about Creek Nation origins and culture.

Tallchief, Maria (Osage) with Rosemary Wells, illus. by Gary Kelley. Tallchief: America’s Prima Ballerina (Puffin Books, 1999). Autobiography/Biography.

Tallchief narrates her own story in a clear, direct voice, beginning with, I was born on an Osage Indian Reservation in Fairfax, Oklahoma in 1925. In those first few pages, she details life in the Osage community-including the extreme wealth that resulting from the discovery of oil on Osage lands—and in her own family as the child of an Osage father and Scots-Irish mother who, despite cultural stigmas on women dancing, encouraged her in both.

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At age 12, Maria’s father asked her to choose one or the other—and she chose dance because through dance she would also have music. In engaging prose, rich with metaphor and imagery, Tallchief (with Rosemary Wells) tells of the hard and determined path she took to become a world-renown ballerina. Her story wells up with passion for the beauty and power of dance—and of a strong woman.

Tingle, Tim. (Choctaw). Illus. by Karen Clarkson. Saltypie: A Choctaw Journey from Darkness into Light. (Cinco Puntos Press, 2010). Autobiography/Family Memoir.

Most families have a word or phrase that means something only inside their circle, perhaps something uttered in the middle of a celebration or a mispronunciation from a young child that instantly evokes a memory, a reminder of shared experiences and the truths that come with them. In the opening pages of Saltypie, Tim Tingle’s grandmother soothes him after a bee sting, telling him that indeed his wound was “saltypie.” The narrative travels back in time to when his grandmother--a young Choctaw woman raised in an Indian boarding school in Oklahoma and now living in Texas raising her family where Indians were most unwelcome—is hit in the head by a rock thrown, as Tingles father later explains to him, just because she was Indian.

As blood trickles down her face, her young son, thinking it looked like cherry pie, reaches to taste it—spitting and exclaiming, “salty pie!” in his surprise. “Salty pie” becomes family code for misfortune but also for dealing with and moving past adversity. Tingle’s narrative skips around in time, but the theme of persistence and resilience through love never skips a beat.

Looking for more? The American Indian Library Association (https://ailanet.org/public-libraryresources/) provides a wealth of resources to support understanding and selection.

I owe many thanks to Traci Sorell, not only for her beautiful book but also for sharing her cultural expertise and fact checking this article.

Suzii Parsons believes that books truly matter in the lives of young people.

She is the Jacques Munroe Professor of Reading and Literacy at Oklahoma State University.

You can contact Dr. Parsons at sue.parsons@okstate.edu.

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Sue Christian Parsons, Ph.D. Spring 2019: Writings about Writing Anne Lamott (1994) tells us, Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again.

It's like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can't stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship.

We hope that our students will be drawn in, intrigued, challenged, and buoyed, by what they read. We hope, too, that they claim their own voices through writing so they may challenge and add interest and hope to the world around them. Too often, writers in our classrooms view writing as pedantic and obligatory rather than passionate and rife with possibilities. Each of the books in this collection brings the reader into writing. Some are works of fiction while others take us into the minds and/or lives of some of our most influential writers, making the craft accessible and the reading of their works even more intriguing and inviting.

It is important to reconsider the common perception that we teach books. If we try to do so, we often miss teaching the learner. We teach readers, not books. Learners need to choose books that speak to them, those in which they recognize or, in the best of books, come to know themselves better. Learners also need to choose what they write—ideally, as Mem Fox (xxxx) reminds us, those things about which they “ache with caring.” They must learn to recognize and speak their own truth, manipulate words to evoke responses, influence their surroundings, and discover new possibilities. Again, we don’t teach forms, but rather teach possible forms, how to use them, and what might happen as a result. We explore with them powerful writing and invite them to use the writers as mentors. The beauty of these books is that they take the reader beyond examining craft to envision the possibilities of the “writerly life.” In them, we see writing as transformative and writers as transformers.

The books reviewed here explore writing and writers. Some are works of fiction richly imbued with the author’s experiences and passions. Others are told by or about the writers, inviting us behind the familiar work to see the writer and thus understand familiar texts in new ways.

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Fictional writers, expertly crafted by real ones The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (2018, Harper Teen) Xiomara is tall, strong, and built with, as her Mami says, ‘a little too much body for such a young girl,’ she has a habit of answering taunts with her fists. For all she is seen—by leering men on the street in her Harlem neighborhood, through what feels like constant surveillance from her mother, under the watchful eyes of her priest and her parents’ friends— Xiomara feels completely unheard. Xiomara wrestles with her religious doubt and with her own burgeoning romantic urges, clashing—often intensely--with her mother who sees both a sin and threat. Xiomara pours her worries and frustrations, hopes and passions, into her journal, writing poetry as if her life depends on it. When she is invited to join a slam poetry club at school, Xiomara beings to find her way out of her thoughts into her voice.

The Great American Whatever by Tim Federle (2016, Simon & Schuster) Quinn has always been a storyteller. He and his sister Annabelle used to spend hours hatching ideas for the great movies he will write and she will direct. But now Annabelle is gone—killed in a car wreck in front of his school the day before Christmas break—his Dad gone years before—walked away—and his mother is trying to eat away her grief and anger. Now Quinn goes to therapy instead of school and spends hours on end of “me time” in his room with laundry piling up and mildew taking over the shower. With his therapist urging him “toward optimism” and his best friend tugging him out of hibernation, Quinn steps out and, suddenly, into the possibility of a relationship with a guy he meets at a party. Bolstered by this unexpected burst of hope, Quinn starts to believe again that the screenplay that is his own life actually has a chance of ending happily and to write himself toward that possibility. Federle lets Quinn narrate his own story in first person prose punctuated by screen plays, the author’s gift for deft characterization giving the backbone to this hilarious and heart-wrenching story of grief, redemption, and the power of the writing our own stories.

Inside the Lives of Well-Known Writers Zora Neale Hurston was known for her swagger and style, a confidence instilled during her early years growing during the late 1800s and early 20th century in Eatonville, FL, a thriving all-Black township. The exuberant confidence she developed as a child had to see her through difficult years after her mother’s death when Zora was only thirteen and then as an adult, an anthropologist and writer who was a vibrant actor in the Harlem Renaissance.

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Zora and Me by Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon (2010, Candlewick Press) Zora and Me is a fictionalized biography focusing on Zora’s early years as told through the eyes of her (fictional) best friend Carrie. When the peace of the small town is rocked by a murder, young Zora, already a vibrant storyteller and fascinated by folktales, spins a tale about a man who transforms to an alligator to kill. The truth about the death, though, brings to bear the hard truth about segregation and racial hatred in the world just beyond Eatonville. Zora and Me is entertaining and riveting, but also honest and thought-provoking. Zora and Me pulls the reader along willingly as an engaging mystery, but doesn’t avoid the ugly facts of the context either. Extensive back matter offers more information about Zora’s life and historical significance, including a variety of resources for further exploration.

Zora! The Life of Zora Neale Hurston by Dennis Brindell Fradin and Judith Bloom Fradin Zora! The Life of Zora Neale Hurston is a comprehensive biography that develops her character and chronicles her careers, including a strong focus on her passion for writing and struggles getting recognition or pay for her efforts. Particularly engaging are the glimpses into the creative community of the Harlem Renaissance, including Zora’s ill-fated friendship with Langston Hughes, that offer “leap off” points for exploring the work of other writers of that time and place. Zora died poor, her reputation as a writer faded but, as the final chapter details, her works were saved first from a fire and then from obscurity as her works were rediscovered by a new generation of teachers and writers. Fradin infuses the narrative with photographs and Zora’s own words, and provides a detailed time line of Zora’s life, samples from her collected tales, source notes and a bibliography.

Mary’s Monster by Lita Judge (2018, Roaring Brook Press) In the introduction to this evocative biography, author Lita Judge writes: The novel, Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus, written by Mary Shelley and published in 1818, is one of the most famous and enduring works of the Romantic era. Nearly everyone has some knowledge of this book, but few know that its author was a pregnant teenage runaway rejected by her family and spurned by society.

Crafted in luscious, haunting free verse embedded in dark, affecting artwork, Judge’s biography of Shelley is enthralling and dense with feeling. Readers who may have given the romantic poets a passing glance only in assignments may well embrace the revolutionary power of that period in history and the force of writers as innovators and change agents. The universalities of Mary’s struggles—her struggle to be heard and find her own way,

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her intense yearning to be loved, the intense pain of rejection and jealously and the urge to create—should resound with young reader today. This is a beautiful, haunting, and significant piece.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (2014, Nancy Paulson Books) Woodson, one of the most prolific and influential writers today, details her life growing up in Ohio, South Carolina, and then New York during the 1960’s and 70’s--and into herself as a writer. Lovingly crafted free verse vignettes take the reader from place to place and moment to moment, introducing us to Woodson’s people and sharing her aches, yearnings, loves, and triumphs, and giving an important inside look at a separated society straining for better. Vivid, often achingly intimate, Woodson’s memoirs are also encouraging: Despite shifts and changes, family love remained a constant and a girl who struggled in school, recognizes and holds to her own special brilliance and becomes a great writer.

A Song for Gwendolyn Brooks by Alice Faye Duncan (2019, Sterling Children’s Books) In A Song for Gwendolyn Brooks, author Alice Faye Duncan celebrates her own writing hero in this biography in verse that focuses as much on the story of writing—of inspiration, revision, and the hope of sending a work out into the world—as it does on the writer. Gwendolyn Brooks was the first African American to win the Pulitzer prize. That she was a writer was clear from the time she was a very young girl, her gift and her budding belief in herself protected and nurtured by her parents. Employing the form of a paean, an ancient celebratory poem, Duncan starts each section with, “Sing a song for Gwendolyn Brooks,” telling a little more of Brooks’s story with each turn, stepping steadily through the story of her life and development as a writer up to the moment she claimed the Pulitzer prize to the joy of her loving family. The last two verses in the final refrain of this song speaks to the importance of nurturing young writers, Henry celebrates Gwen./Junior too./They shower her with noisy kisses./ Gwendolyn’s parents cry tears of joy./They praise her shine./They saw it first./Mr. Brooks and Mrs. Brooks/Planted love and watered it./Gwendolyn believed./She found her light.

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Poem for Peter: The Story of Ezra Jack Keats and the Creation of the Snowy Day by Andrea Davis Pinkney (2016, Penguin Young Readers Group.)

Teen readers my well remember reading the iconic picture book, The Snowy Day, but they and the adults who read it to them in the first place are unlikely to know the social significance of that beautiful, simple little book. As she unfurls Keats’s life story and hones in on the creation of this ground breaking book—the first mainstream published children’s book to feature an African American child—she reveals how a writer’s life influences his choices and how the power of that writing influences others.

Pinkey presents a bit of a master class as well, blending genres to create a moving, almost magical ode to creation, courage, and persistence.

Suzii Parsons believes that books truly matter in the lives of young people.

She is the Jacques Munroe Professor of Reading and Literacy at Oklahoma State University.

You can contact Dr. Parsons at sue.parsons@okstate.edu.

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Rae Ross

Supporting Young Children’s Oral Language and Vocabulary Development Through High-Quality Language Rich Environments Language is more than the currency of communication, it is also critical to comprehension and the expression of thoughts and ideas (Silverman & Hartranft, 2015).

Vocabulary development includes both receptive and expressive skills and is linked to oral language which encompasses processes related to comprehension. Both oral language and vocabulary influence the stages of reading and general academic success (Silverman & Hartranft, 2015). Research continues to document the importance of developing young children’s oral language and vocabulary skills from an early age through high-quality language rich environments (Kim & Kwon, 2015; Query, Ceglowski, Clark, & Li, 2011; Whorrall & Cabell, 2016).

Explicit vocabulary instruction is necessary, but alone it is insufficient for supporting children’s vocabulary development (Silverman & Hartranft, 2015). In the classroom environment, educators have the opportunity to foster children’s word and language development. Rich conversations as well as high quality linguistic environments support children’s vocabulary development (Query et al., 2011). Okyay & Kandir (2017) explored the impact of interactive story reading on children’s oral language and vocabulary development. The study also focused on creating an environment supportive of children’s language development through rich conversation. They found that meaningful conversations coupled with high-quality linguistic environments had a significant and positive impact on children’s expressive and receptive language. Studies from Olaussen (2016), Pollard-Durodola et al. (2011), and Wilson, Fang, Rollins, and Valdez (2016) also found a positive relationship between the environment and student’s language development.

Overall, the research supports the importance of creating an environment supportive of oral language and vocabulary development. Depending on the goal for instruction, approaches may vary. Instruction can be intensive and explicit, multimodal, interactive, or independent.

Using Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory as the theoretical perspective, the following aims to provide implications for educators in creating high-quality environments supportive of children’s oral language and vocabulary development.

Theoretical Perspective Constructivism is a broad term used to define a method of teaching and learning. In a cognitive constructivist classroom, knowledge is constructed individually, rather than socially.

Individuals are separate from their social and physical environment. This belief was challenged

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by many theorists including Lev Vygotsky. He did agree children construct knowledge for themselves and are active participants in the learning process (Pinter, 2006). However, he emphasized the larger role the social environment plays on children’s learning and development.

Vygotsky further explored how social and cultural interactions impacted learning (Miller, 2016).

He found a strong connection between the two which influenced his development of the sociocultural view of constructivism.

At the center of social constructivism is collaboration and social and cultural interactions (Panhwar, Ansari, & Ansari, 2016; Powell & Kalina, 2009). Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theory embeds humans in a sociocultural matrix and human behavior is not separate from this matrix (Miller, 2016). He believed social interactions were an integral part of the learning process. Furthermore, Vygotsky believed language was the most important psychological tool for development as it transforms the process of thinking (Miller, 2016).

From Vygotsky’s perspective, language development is based on the interaction between the child and more knowledgeable peers (Vygotsky, 1962). The child internalizes the information and knowledge gained from the interaction and communication with others (Panhwar et al., 2016; Vygotsky, 1978). Vygotsky’s concept of Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) was developed to describe the difference or “zone” between a child’s current knowledge and potential knowledge with the support from a more knowledgeable child or adult.

The interactions that take place (child to child or teacher to child) create the pathway through which learning and understanding take place (Pinter, 2006). Language allows children to make messages accessible, ask questions, clarify thoughts, and express ideas. According to Vygotsky, all learning happens in these social interactions with others (Vygotsky, 1978).

Magnan (2008) supports Vygotsky’s theory and argues that the social environment of the learner is the very foundation for language development regardless of first or second language acquisition. Therefore, teachers should evaluate their instruction and classroom environment in order to provide children with rich language experiences through supportive and social interactions (Silverman & Hartanft, 2016).

Creating a Language Rich Classroom Research continues to document the relationship between oral language and vocabulary development in kindergarten and later academic success in fourth grade (Dickinson & Porchse, 2011; Whorrall & Cabell, 2016). However, research also shows teachers do not engage children in enough natural, high-quality conversation to foster language and vocabulary development (Winton & Buysse, 2005). By creating language rich classrooms, teachers can better support the development of these skills. A language rich environment moves beyond the physical structure of the classroom and focuses on the quality of interactions between the child and teacher. It is also one that is safe and supportive and involves children as active participants in the learning experience through positive and productive dialogic interactions.

There are several explicit and teacher directed settings that involve students in rich conversation (Whorrall & Cabell, 2016). However, non-teacher directed settings may elicit greater oral language and vocabulary development (Gest, Holland-Coviello, Welsh, Eicher-Catt, & Gill, 2006; Whorrall & Cabell, 2016). It is important to remember regardless of a child’s home language, the characteristics of language rich classrooms also benefit children who have a first language other than English (Kim & Kwon, 2015).

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Creating a positive classroom environment A positive effect, an encouragement for communication, and respect for children are just a few characteristics of a positive classroom environment (Jozwik & Douglas, 2017). Teachers can support children’s participation in the classroom through extended conversation, feedback and responsiveness, and acknowledgement of their contributions (Silverman & Hartranft, 2016).

Girolametto, Weitzman, van Lieshout, and Duff (2000) found that when teachers engaged students in individual conversations, the children talked more, used more complex sentences, and were engaged longer in conversation. The researchers suggest this finding might be due to the classroom environment and basing the topic of conversations on children’s interest. Teachers can also guide children in an exploration of language through materials that promote use of specialized vocabulary, but again, based on children’s interest (The Access Center, 2007). Such strategies help children feel safe and secure, which in turn increases their willingness to share thoughts and ideas with teachers and peers.

The kind of environment children and adults interact in can affect the development of oral language and vocabulary skills (Goodson, Layzer, & National Institute for Literacy, 2009).

Goodson et al. (2009) looked at developing children’s ability to use words through meaningful and intentional conversations with adults. They found that taking time to talk and share experiences was related to children’s language development and later reading comprehension ability. Goodson et al. (2009) suggest the following activities foster a positive and language rich environment:  Engage with children individually in extended and contextualized conversations  Read books children are interested in with rich concepts and vocabulary  Guide children in discussion through questioning about texts  Model the use of complete sentences when asking questions or responding to statements  Provide children with opportunities to engage in conversation about past, present, and imaginary experiences A positive classroom environment also encompasses one that is organized and well managed (Silverman & Hartranft, 2016). For children to have the freedom to engage in meaningful conversations, teachers need to provide children with expectations and routines for how and when to do so. For example, during a large group lesson, if the teacher does not have expectations and procedures in place for sharing thoughts or questions, children may interrupt or talk over one another, creating an environment full of redirection instead of rich language.

During small group instruction, if a teacher is trying to provide children with additional language support, the other children in the class need to know what to do and how to do it (Silverman & Hartranft, 2016). Research has found explicit procedures and expectations in the classroom have a positive effect on children’s emergent literacy skills, language development, and task orientation (Dobbs-Oates, Kaderavek, Guo & Justice, 2011).

Creating Word Consciousness Graves (2000) identified word consciousness as one of the key components of vocabulary instruction in middle school students and how this is fostered at a young age. Word consciousness promotes an interest and awareness of words and their meanings (Graves & Watts-taffe, 2002), and creates an ability to recognize new and unfamiliar words (Manzo & Manzo, 2008). When children are word conscious, they are motivated to learn and apply new words across contexts (Lane & Allen, 2010). They are also aware of when they hear an unknown

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word and are motivated to find out its meaning (Silverman & Hartranft, 2016). This positive disposition supports reading and listening development (Graves & Watts-taffee, 2002).

Teachers can support children’s word consciousness by modeling an awareness for new words, encouraging excitement for new words, and providing opportunities to demonstrate word consciousness (Silverman & Hartranft, 2016). When children encounter words for the first time, teachers can support children’s discovery and exploration of those words. Through multiple exposures, children begin to develop vocabulary breadth. Their brain begins to organize words in a web and this web becomes tighter as the number of words children know grows as well as their understanding of the word (Whorrall & Cabell, 2016). Although word consciousness is typically associated with new words, it is important to remember word consciousness also revolves around words children already know (Silverman & Hartranft, 2016). For words children already know, teachers can help children develop an awareness of how, when, and why to use those words in contrast to other words. Focusing on word consciousness with words children are knowledgeable about develops vocabulary depth.

A word conscious teacher links new words to concepts children are familiar with and applies new words in ways that are meaningful (Lane & Allen, 2010). The more children are aware of the words in their environment, the more likely they are to seek out opportunities to learn words independently and add to their existing word web (Graves, 2000). Therefore, researchers argue word consciousness is one, if not the most important foundational principles to supporting language and vocabulary development in children (Graves ,2000; Silverman & Hartranft, 2016).

Implicit Modeling of Sophisticated Vocabulary Children are sensitive to the language they hear, and the language directed towards them.

Therefore, it is important for teachers to increase children’s exposure to sophisticated vocabulary in the classroom environment (Whorrall & Cabell, 2016). Sophisticated vocabulary includes words used by “mature language users” (Graves & Watts-Taffe, 2002, p. 16), words such as: impressive, courteous, exemplary, superior (Lane & Allen, 2010). In order for children to develop their own vocabulary repertoire, they need multiple exposures to this rich language.

Beck, McKeown, and Kucan (2008) found frequent encounters to new words and their meanings had a significant impact on reading. They found children were better able to comprehend text because more cognitive resources (words and their meanings) were available.

Teachers have the opportunity to serve as a catalyst for language development by modeling the use of sophisticated vocabulary and complex language (Silverman & Hartranft, 2016). In addition to multiple exposures to words and their meanings, children need the opportunity to draw connections between new vocabulary and prior knowledge and experiences (Lane & Allen, 2010). As teachers expose children to rich vocabulary, they begin to internalize and file these words and language structures. Over time, the use of sophisticated vocabulary supports children’s receptive language development (Silverman & Hartranft, 2016).

Several strategies support sophisticated language acquisition. However, a simple and powerful strategy is frequent modeling of vocabulary use through familiar concepts (Lane & Allen, 2010). This strategy not only draws on children’s prior and existing knowledge, but also gives children a platform to connect and internalize their new learning. The following examples model a teacher’s use of sophisticated language in a deliberate but natural approach through feedback.

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Teacher: The illustration of your dog is quite impressive! You used an abundant amount of detail.

Teacher: You were very precise and accurate when counting your unifix cubes!

Teacher: I appreciate how pleasant and courteous you all were to our guest speaker.

These examples not only draw upon children’s prior and existing knowledge through familiar contexts, but also embed the new sophisticated vocabulary in a natural way.

Another approach to embed and model rich vocabulary in the classroom is through classroom routines and procedures. Instead of stating, “let’s work together” the teacher would say, “let’s collaborate.” The teacher would draw children’s attention to the connection between work together and collaborate to strengthen the association by creating a connection between the two words. Although the learning of these words may be implicit and incidental, the teacher’s use is explicit and purposeful. Studies have found incidental learning from context has a positive effect on children’s vocabulary growth (Graves, 2000; Wilson et al., 2016). Table 1 (see Appendix A), developed by Lane and Allen (2010), contains a list of sophisticated vocabulary words focused on classroom routines.

Stimulating Oral Language in the Classroom A classroom devoted to the development and support of oral language and vocabulary begins with the teacher creating opportunities for students to listen to and use language. A classroom supportive of conversation engages individuals in meaningful exchanges with others following rules of turn taking, listening, and responding (Glaser & Moats, 2008). The goal of conversation is to encourage peer interactions, more student talk, and longer utterances. This task is often easier said than done. Teachers find children respond in conversation minimally or not at all, and often, teachers end up doing all of the talking. There are several activities and routines teachers can implement daily to support conversation and the development of language. The purpose of the activities described below is not to add more to the already existing structure of the classroom. Rather, the purpose is to enhance daily routines and activities already in place to foster oral language and vocabulary development throughout the school day.

Whole-Class Activities Teachers can use whole-class activities to introduce themes and concepts children will explore together (Silverman & Hartranft, 2016). Through whole-class activities, children develop a common language and can practice using that language in a supportive group. Kriete (2003) used morning meeting as an opportunity to practice greeting, sharing, and class cooperation.

During greeting time, students were prompted to greet each other by name. Sharing involved students articulating their thoughts, feelings, ideas, and feedback was given in a positive manner.

This group activity was used to foster class cohesion through active participation.

Dialogic reading, developed by Zevenbergen and Whitehurst (2003), is another wholeclass activity supportive of children’s general language development. Children become active participants in the reading experience through dialogue and language use. Teachers scaffold children’s talk during the book reading to support language use through prompting and expansion. Zevenbergen and Whitehurst (2003) suggest teachers provide children with multiple readings of the same text because it increases children’s understanding of the text, and further develops their expressive language skills.

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Peer-to-Peer Activities In addition to whole-class activities, teachers can encourage students to interact and collaborate with their peers. Language-rich classrooms provide students with opportunities to work in pairs or in small groups, and emphasis is placed on communication and cooperation.

Buddy Reading, between older or big buddies and younger or little buddies, is one activity supportive of language development. The activity typically follows a whole-class lesson on vocabulary so students have the background knowledge to bring to the discussion when they work together. The big buddy typically reads the text exploring, pronouncing, and trying out vocabulary words in the text (Silverman & Hartranft, 2016). Big buddies also provide cognitive and linguistic support to little buddies as they attempt to use language and experience the new vocabulary. Overall, the goal of buddy reading is to foster rich conversations about new information with big buddies serving as models of language use, and little buddies practicing their language use in a supportive environment (Saenz, Fuchs, & Fuchs, 2005).

Literature circles support a variety of skills including language development through reading comprehension and vocabulary (Elhess & Egbert, 2015). A literature circle brings children together to discuss and respond to a text of choice. When the group meets, each child has a specific role in order to facilitate the discussion (Silverman & Hartranft, 2016). The teacher remains in the background, and only “intervenes to provide basic control functions” (Elhess & Egbert, 2015, p. 13). Literature circles also expose children to responses and perspectives other than their own which influences their collaborative and conversational skills. Elhess and Egbert (2015) found literature circles have a positive impact on language learning including: enhanced responsibility and motivation, expanded collaborative discussion, increased student participation, and developed oral proficiency. Their research also shows literature circles have the potential to create a positive and language-rich environment because of the interactive discussions and collaborative tasks.

Conclusion The language environment has the potential to develop children’s oral language and vocabulary development (Dickinson & Porchse, 2011; Whorrall & Cabell, 2016; Winton & Buysse, 2005). Educators have the opportunity to create a language-rich environment through positive interactions and a respect for children’s attempts at language use (Jozwik & Douglas, 2017). Children need to develop word consciousness in order to create an interest, excitement, and awareness of words and their meanings (Graves & Watts-taffe, 2002). Word consciousness motivates children to learn new words and apply those words in different settings. The teacher also influences word consciousness through her own modeling of word awareness and sophisticated vocabulary. When a classroom supports oral language and vocabulary development, children are engaged in opportunities to listen to and use language through meaningful conversation, whole-class activities, and peer-to-peer interactions. Looking back at Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, one can see how influential the environment and interactions are in the context of learning. Therefore, teachers should continue to reflect on their instructional practices in order to create an environment rich in language use and conducive of social interactions.

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Rae Ross is a Reading Specialist at Jenks Public Schools. She is a doctoral student at University of Oklahoma. Rae may be reached at rae.ross@ou.edu References Beck, I.L., McKeown, M.G., & Kucan, L. (2008). Creating robust vocabulary: Frequently asked questions and extended examples. New York: Guilford.

Dickinson, D. K., & Porche, M. V. (2011). Relation between language experiences in preschool classrooms and children’s kindergarten and fourth-grade language and reading abilities.

Child Development, 82, 870–886. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01576.x.

Dobbs-Oates, J., Kaderavek, J. N., Guo, Y., & Justice, L. M. (2011). Effective behavior management in preschool classrooms and children’s task orientation: Enhancing emergent literacy and language development. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 26(4), 420–429. Retrieved from http://libraries.ou.edu/access.aspx?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/lo gin.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ938474&site=ehost-live Elhess, M., & Egbert, J. (2015). Literature Circles as Support for Language Development. English Teaching Forum, 53(3), 13–21. Retrieved from http://libraries.ou.edu/access.aspx?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/lo gin.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1077926&site=ehost-live Gest, S. D., Holland-Coviello, R., Welsh, J. A., Eicher-Catt, D. L., & Gill, S. (2006). Language development sub-contexts in Head Start classrooms: Distinctive patterns of teacher talk during free play, mealtime, and book reading. Early Education and Development, 17, 293–315. doi:10.1207/s15566935eed1702_5.

Girolametto, L., Weitzman, E., van Lieshout, R., & Duff, D. (2000). Directedness in teachers’ language input to toddlers and preschoolers in day care. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 43, 1101–1114. doi:10.1044/jslhr.4305.1101.

Glaser, D., & Moats L. (2008). An Introduction to Language and Literacy. Longmont, Colorado: Sporis West.

Goodson, B., Layzer, C., & National Institute for Literacy. (2009). Learning to talk and listen: An oral language resource for early childhood caregivers. National Institute for Literacy.

Retrieved from http://libraries.ou.edu/access.aspx?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/lo gin.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED511969&site=ehost-live Graves, M. F. (2000). A vocabulary program to complement and bolster a middle-grade comprehension program. In B.M. Taylor, M.F. Graves, & P. van den Broek (Eds.), Reading for meaning: Fostering comprehension in the middle grades (pp. 116-135). New York: Teachers College Press; Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

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Graves, M. F., & Watts-Taffe, S. M. (2002). The place of word consciousness in a researchbased vocabulary program. In A. E. Farstrup & S.J. Samuels (Eds.), What research has to say about reading instruction (3rd ed., pp. 140-165). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Jozwik, S. L., & Douglas, K. H. (2017). Effects of multicomponent academic vocabulary instruction for English learners with learning difficulties. Learning Disability Quarterly, 40(4), 237–250. Retrieved from http://libraries.ou.edu/access.aspx?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/lo gin.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1156524&site=ehost-live Kim, S., I., H., & Kwon, K. (2015). The role of home literacy environment in toddlerhood in development of vocabulary and decoding skills. Child & Youth Care Forum, 44(6), 835– 852. Retrieved from http://libraries.ou.edu/access.aspx?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/lo gin.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1078263&site=ehost-live Kriete, R. (2003). Start the day with community. Educational Leadership, 61(1), 68-70.

Lane, H.B., & Allen, S. (2010, February). The vocabulary-rich classroom: Modeling sophisticated word use to promote word consciousness and vocabulary growth. The Reading Teacher, 63(5), 362–370.

Magnan, S. S. (2008). The unqualified promise of teaching for communicative competence: Insights from sociocultural theory. In: J. P. Lantolf & M .E. Poehner, eds., Sociocultural theory and the teaching of second languages (pp. 350-379). London: Equinox.

Manzo, U. C., & Manzo, A. V. (2008). Teaching vocabulary-learning strategies: Word consciousness, word connection, and word prediction. In A.E. Farstrup & S.J. Samuels (Eds.), What research has to say about vocabulary instruction (pp. 80-105). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Miller, P. (2016). Theories of Developmental Psychology. New York NY: Worth Publishers.

Okyay, O., & Kandir, A. (2017). Impact of the interactive story reading method on receptive and expressive language vocabulary of vhildren. European Journal of Educational Research, 6(3), 395–406. Retrieved from http://libraries.ou.edu/access.aspx?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/lo gin.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1149725&site=ehost-live Olaussen, B. S. (2016). Classroom discourse: The role of teachers’ instructional practice for promoting student dialogues in the early years literacy program (EYLP). Universal Journal of Educational Research, 4(11), 2595–2605. Retrieved from http://libraries.ou.edu/access.aspx?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/lo gin.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1118720&site=ehost-live Panhwar, A. H., Ansari, S., & Ansari, K. (2016). Sociocultural theory and its role in the development of language pedagogy. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 7(6), 183-188.

Pinter, A. (2006). Teaching Young Language Learners. Oxford, New York: Oxford University.

Pollard-Durodola, S. D., Gonzalez, J. E., Simmons, D. C., Kwok, O., Taylor, A. B., Davis, M. J., … Simmons, L. (2011). The effects of an intensive shared book-reading intervention for preschool children at risk for vocabulary delay. Exceptional Children, 77(2), 161–183.

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Powell, K. C., & Kalina, C. J. (2009). Cognitive and social constructivism: Developing tools for an effective classroom. Education, 130(2), 241–250. Retrieved from http://libraries.ou.edu/access.aspx?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/lo gin.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ871658&site=ehost-live Query, R. R., Ceglowski, D., Clark, P., & Li, Y. (2011). Hispanic families’ perspectives on using a bilingual vocabulary kit to enhance their prekindergarten children’s vocabulary development. Early Childhood Research & Practice, 13(2). Retrieved from http://libraries.ou.edu/access.aspx?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/lo gin.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ956372&site=ehost-live Saenz, L., Fuchs, L., & Fuchs, D. (2005) Peer-assisted learning strategies for English language learners with learning disabilities. Exceptional Children, (71).

Silverman, R. D., & Hartranft, A. M. (2016). Developing vocabulary and oral language in young children. New York, NY: Guilford.

The Access Center. (2007). Literacy-Rich Environments. Retrieved, from http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/literacy-richenvironments.asp Whorrall, J., & Cabell, S. Q. (2016). Supporting children’s oral language development in the preschool classroom. Early Childhood Education Journal, 44(4), 335–341. Retrieved from http://libraries.ou.edu/access.aspx?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/lo gin.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1102236&site=ehost-live Wilson, J., Fang, C., Rollins, J., & Valadez, D. (2016). An urgent challenge: Enhancing academic speaking opportunities for English learners. Multicultural Education, 23(2), 52–54. Retrieved from http://libraries.ou.edu/access.aspx?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/lo gin.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1097857&site=ehost-live Winton, P., & Buysse, V. (2005). How is the pre-K day spent? NCEDL prekindergarten study.

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Vygotsky, L. S. (1962). Thought and language. Cambridge MA: MIT Press. Retrieved from http://s-f-walker.org.uk/pubsebooks/pdfs/Vygotsky_Thought_and_Language.pdf Zevenbergen, A. A., & Whitehurst, G. J. (2003). Dialogic reading: A shared picture book reading intervention for preschoolers. In A. van Kleeck, S. A. Stahl, & E. B. Bauer (Eds.), Center for Improvement of Early Reading Achievement, CIERA. On reading books to children: Parents and teachers (pp. 177-200). Mahwah, NJ, US: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

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Appendix A Table 1 Sophisticated Vocabulary Words for Classroom Routines Classroom Supplies Walking in Line Accumulate Adjacent Allocate Approach Allot Disorderly Arrange Efficiently Collect File Deplete Halt Distribute Linger Gather Orderly Hoard Parallel Issue Perpendicular Replenish Proceed Reserve Proximity Retrieve Queue Stockpile Swiftly

Group Time Articulate Ascertain Assemble Coherent Contribute Converse Convey Cooperate Deliberate Determine Disperse Elaborate Oblige Portray

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Jennifer Snell

Word Learning with Emergent Learners Understanding the expanse and volume of words that children are expected to read and recall meanings of can be overwhelming. Research by Juel and Minden-Cupp (2000) explains that by the end of eighth grade, if children successfully “negotiate all the texts normally encountered” they will confront “over 80,000 different words” (p. 461). Therefore, giving children opportunities to build a strong foundation of word learning (using oral contexts to deduce word meaning) and word knowledge (ability to correctly apply words), guide students to continue developing word awareness on their own (Silverman & Hartranft, 2015).

Building of word knowledge begins with a child’s first encounter with oral language and continues as he/she learns to read and write. Many children’s first encounter with learning words is with parents and siblings through natural participation in meaningful dialogue, through shared reading experiences, and simply by talking with other children in group play settings. Home literacy activities such as reading with children, taking trips to the library, parental modeling of literacy engagement through reading, and time spent talking having conversations with young children lay the foreground for further development of literacy education in preschool (Dickinson and McCabe, 2001).

Through these everyday experiences, children continue to develop word consciousness and word awareness expertise in four oral language modes: 1) phonology (producing and manipulating sounds to create words), 2) syntax (using words in sentences to help create meaning), 3) semantics (understanding word meanings), and 4) pragmatics (using the words in conversation). Children who are four and five years of age have the ability to acquire knowledge of word meanings and add “approximately 2,000 words to their vocabularies each year” (Tompkins, 2015, p. 41). Having a strong foundation of word knowledge lays the pathway for future success in reading and writing. Research completed by Tracey and Morrow (2017) tells us that children who enter school with proficient levels of word awareness and knowledge tend to excel in emergent and beginning reading and writing tasks. On the other hand, children who do not enter school with this same background of word knowledge can suffer in emergent and beginning literacy development.

Theoretical Perspectives for Word Development and Learning One theoretical perspective that supports the importance of early word learning is the Literacy Processing Theory (Clay, 2001). Marie M. Clay is well known for her work in literacy development. As a clinical child psychologist, she has studied literacy development in children and has developed literacy theories such as Emergent Literacy Theory (1966 as cited in Doyle, 2013) and Literacy Processing Theory (2001). Tracey and Morrow (2017) explain that Emergent Literacy Theory deals with early word awareness and word learning within literacy development and provides instructional guidance to promote early literacy growth. Emergent Literacy Theory explains that literacy development is ongoing and unlike other theories, word learning begins with early experiences of both being talked to and read to (Tracey & Morrow, 2017).

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Clay’s Literacy Processing Theory was developed as a result of her questioning the correlations found between children’s literacy performance in the first year of school and following their rankings among peers in later years (Doyle, 2013). Clay (2001) has developed her theories on the premise of gaining insight as to how literacy develops in young children. She conducted longitudinal studies which highlight behavioral performances of preschool aged children in learning to read and write. Clay also discovered, through observation, that young children have prereading behaviors which illustrate their knowledge of many aspects of literacy such as matching by pointing and repeating words during 50% of shared reading opportunities and locating one or more words on the page upon request (Clay, 2001). She discovered that children as young as five years of age construct their own understandings of words from their unique stores of knowledge that they bring with them when entering school. She has found that these experiences, blended with formal literacy instruction, initiates the construction of complex literacy processing systems (Doyle, 2013). This theoretical knowledge has helped guide teachers in understanding the way young children’s cognitive development can be built upon in order to create successful readers and writers.

Development of Word Learning Blewitt, Rump, Shealy, and Cook (2009) have concluded that “the size of a young child’s vocabulary appears to contribute substantially to success in school” (p. 294). Their further research has reported that the implementation of shared book reading supports word learning in young children as it influences vocabulary acquisition (Blewitt, et. al). It is also evident that for shared reading to be effective in the area of word learning, adult readers must be willing and able to explicitly define and discuss both common and unknown words with the child. Another facet of word learning comes from tapping pre-existing knowledge the child has about words, concepts and topics. Tapping into this pre-existing knowledge allows children to more readily associate new words with existing knowledge of topics, thus building a larger word bank of knowledge (Kaefer, 2017). And, of course, vocabulary growth stems from the development of word knowledge.

Children must make connections between phonological (using sounds that make up a word) and orthographic information (physical spelling of the word) for success in building sight word vocabulary (Ricketts, Bishop & Nation, 2008). Teachers guide the development of word learning by beginning teaching of phonological awareness, including phonemic awareness which leads the child to begin assigning letters to sounds moving to orthographic awareness (physical word spelling). To better understand this process, researchers have examined the layers of alphabet (representation of the relationship of letters and sounds), pattern (the repetition of groupings of letters in different words), and meaning (associating the groups of letters to have meaning) in which each build upon one another and then, as readers mature, these layers interact developing a fluent reader (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, & Johnston, 2008).

Teachers can recognize reading growth when a child first recognizes the word on the page (graphophonemically, through decoding the sounds of the letters) and then can take that word and understand its meanings (semantically, through applying meaning to the decoded word). Having word knowledge is imperative for a child to move into gaining strong comprehension skills. Torgesen (2000) states, “To comprehend written material, children need to be able to identify the words used to convey meaning, and they must be able to construct meaning once they have identified the individual words in print” (p. 56). Without the ability of decoding and semantic knowledge, comprehension, the ultimate goal of reading, could suffer.

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Research Based Teaching Practices of Word Learning Shared Reading There is an abundance of research that supports the idea that shared book reading increases children’s word knowledge. Shared book reading, which consists of an adult interactively reading aloud with a child and allowing the child time to ask questions and study pictures, has proven to be a reliable way to increase awareness and knowledge of words through the process of reading (Blewitt, Rump, Shealy, & Cook, 2009; Brown, Byrnes, Watson, & Raban, 2013; Kaefer, 2018). Blewitt, et. al (2009) conducted a research study that sought to understand conditions needed during shared book reading in order to influence vocabulary acquisition in children. They focused upon questioning exactly how the types, placements and sequencing of extratextual elements affect preschoolers’ word learning during the use of shared book reading. Using the dialogic style theoretical framework by Whitehurst and Lonigan, encourages children “become the storyteller”. This is done by an adult asking questions about the story and pictures and by expanding on the given responses of the children. The results support two conclusions. First, the initial process of word learning, involving the consolidation of a word-referent association is benefitted by both low and high demand questioning. Second, deeper understanding of word knowledge and individual word meaning is better supported when adults begin with low demand questioning and then later add high demand questioning as the children become more familiar with the new words (Blewitt, et. Al, 2009).

Also utilizing the shared reading regime, Kaefer (2018) looked to discover what affects children’s background knowledge and visual attention to story book illustrations had on children’s vocabulary and word learning abilities. During shared reading time, a book was read aloud interactively with the child giving special attention to watch his/her reactions and interactions with illustrations. The results indicated that there is an interrelationship among a child’s related background knowledge, visual attention, and implicit word learning from shared reading of storybooks.

Read Aloud Read aloud is a technique used by many early childhood and elementary teachers. The technique of reading aloud is another way of introducing new words to emergent learners.

Silverman and Hartranft (2015) explain that read aloud can provide emergent readers an introduction to new words through the chosen literatures’ rich contexts. During read aloud, teachers take the time to explain words that might be unfamiliar to the learners. This helps to deepen learner word knowledge as the children hear the word repeatedly during the reading and are offered time to discuss the word and its meaning with both the teachers and peers. By attending to certain words and phrases during read aloud activities, students are gaining in vocabulary development and comprehension skills as well as building their word knowledge bank (Hayes and Flanigan, 2014; Silverman and Hartranft, 2015).

Tracking Text Hayes and Flanigan (2014) discuss the importance of teaching children to focus special attention to individual words as they are written in texts. For effective practice, the writers suggest first choosing predictable texts such as nursery rhymes, poetry or jingles. However, they suggest having caution when selecting songs and jingles because the students must be able to concentrate and “track” words with their finger. Therefore, it is not a good idea to use a song or

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jingle the students are used to dancing along with. Also, the writers suggest choosing a text that is not too long for ease of memorization. After repeated practice of the text, students should have the text memorized. At this point, the teacher reads the text aloud with clarity while pointing to each individual word. During this phase, the teacher reads with a slow and deliberate pace modeling directionality procedures (reading from left to right) for reading. Following this procedure, the teacher will then ask the students to chorally read/recite the entire text while pointing to each word.

Repetition of Reading Practice Korat, Kozlov-Peretz, and Drori (2017) found improvement in word learning after conducting a study of kindergarten children listening to repetition of reading from electronic devices such as e-books. The study included seventy-eight kindergarteners from low socioeconomic backgrounds whom were frequently read aloud to as well as frequently participated in phonemic awareness games aimed at word segmenting, counting syllables and creating rhyming patterns with words. During this study, the children were given a pretest to determine their receptive word learning, explanation of words and production of words.

Following the pretest, students participated in two reading sessions in which the child listened independently to an e-book reading that automatically provided meanings of difficult words.

After the presentation of the difficult word, the child was requested to “press on the dictionary word” where, once again, the child heard the meaning of the word (p. 62). This process was repeated twice so that in each reading session, the child heard the meaning of the word three times. Then the children were given the posttest to see if word learning occurred.

The results indicate significant differences in receptive word learning, explanation of word, and production of words. This indicates that these children did, in fact, learn more words, along with their meanings, from the repeated e-book reading. The results of this experiment were compared with another kindergarten group who received regular read aloud instruction from their teachers. The students receiving the repeated reading had more word knowledge growth than those instructed using regular read aloud.

However, there was no significant progress in word production. These findings show that the repetitive use of words during reading does enhance a child’s ability to strengthen word knowledge. This group of kindergarten children was independently read aloud to from an ebook that automatically offered meanings of difficult words in the story.

Creating Word Walls Word walls can be utilized in a number of ways in the classroom. Words used to build the walls can come from high frequency word lists, words dealing with a particular theme in reading, common sight words and words used frequently during instruction. According to Hayes and Flanigan (2014), while it is important to include high-frequency words and sight words on the word wall, it is also important to include decodable words used during instruction. These researchers also suggest including “words of interest to further engage and motivate students” (p.

155). Inclusion of these words on the word wall provides opportunity for repeated exposure and practice to words which will aid students in adding the words to their stored knowledge.

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Creating a Language-Rich Classroom Children learn new words and styles of language by not only listening to conversations, repeated readings, and interactive read aloud, but they also learn new words by being involved in conversation. Silverman and Hartanft (2015) teach that “classrooms that are language rich create a culture of conversation in which children are invited to be active participants in ongoing dialogue in the classroom” (p. 73). Classrooms that offer language-rich experiences have opportunities in which children interact and respond with one another by exchange of ideas and conversations in a positive and productive way. During this time, the teacher should model rich language using sophisticated words and complex language to help children develop their own skills. With this in mind, teachers who promote language-rich classrooms support student language skills by encouraging student expression by asking questions and helping students develop language by offering them ample time to think and collect their thoughts in order to respond and communicate effectively (Silverman and Hartranft, 2015).

Teaching Tips for Encouraging Word Learning in the Classroom There are several instructional strategies and activities that teachers can use as a part of both regular classroom instruction as well as ideas for centers and peer group work to build on students’ building of word knowledge. The following are some suggestions to accomplish these strategies.

Concepts of Print: During the emergent phase of reading, students begin to notice and make connections with the idea that the letters they are learning have sounds. They begin to make identifications with a few words such as their names, names of family, and names of familiar objects especially those identified in environmental print which is print that appears in signs, labels, and logos (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, & Johnston, 2008). To continue to build upon this awareness, teachers, by pointing to each word read, can use interactive read aloud with students stopping to discuss frequently appearing words and letters. Teacher can also encourage this by having centers that give students opportunities to replicate writing they see in the environment such as stop signs, restaurant names and familiar names of foods. Teachers need also to make print readily available in the classroom by labeling objects and centers in the classroom and pointing out these labels during instructional time (Kame’enui, E., Adams, M. J., & Lyon, G. R., 1996).

Initial Sound Sorts: Teachers can give students pictures aligned in various categories (such as ending rhyming sounds like cat, hat, bat in the /at/ family and /op/ cop, hop, pop) and ask the students to begin separating the pictures by their ending sounds. This can be built upon as the student gains knowledge of sounds by categorizing pictures into families of short medial vowel sounds (/ŏ/) and blends (/ch/). Teachers should give students at least 3 pictures in each column.

Then, teacher should ask the student to name the picture aloud and have them repeat the sound being worked with (example: with blends, say /chain/, repeat /ch/). After students have created their sound sort, ask the student to read each word in each category and then explain their thinking about why these words are grouped together (Hayes and Flanigan, 2014).

Rhyming Work: Teachers can create rhyming games to promote phonological awareness.

Follow up with rhyming games and activities after read aloud of rhyming stories, helps students to identify rhyming sounds when heard. Rhyming games should be repetitive and fun for

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students. One way to implement this strategy is through a game called “See You Later, Alligator!” (Hayes and Flanigan, 2014). This game requires that the teacher collect various words represented through pictures that rhyme (example: pictures of hat, cat, bat, mop). The teacher lays the pictures in line upon the table and asks the student to say aloud the name of each picture. The teacher is to encourage the student to think about the rhyming sounds they hear as they say the name of each picture. Then, the teacher encourages the student to remove the picture whose sound does not rhyme with the others. When the student identifies the outlier, he/she is to say “See you Later, Alligator!” and then explain their thinking process as to why this picture does not belong with the others (pp. 93-94).

Syllable Work: Another popular teaching strategy for word learning is syllable work. A fun way to teach emergent readers the concept of syllables in new words is to introduce the function of syllables by using student names. Cox (2018) introduces the idea of taking pictures of each student in the classroom and placing their pictures in a pocket chart. When emergent readers are first learning the concept of syllables, the student pictures should be separated by how many syllables are in each name. Then, the teacher points to a child’s picture and the class says the name. The teacher is to enunciate the syllables and teach the student to clap out each syllable heard. For example, when the teacher says the name “Pat-rick” the students would clap twice.

By repeating this activity daily, the students begin to understand syllable division and then this knowledge can be applied to words met during read aloud, center work with words, and words introduced during instructional time (Cox, 2018).

Sentence Building: Providing sentence frames for emergent readers helps students to use new word knowledge while building their knowledge of how words structure sentences. With this activity, Silverman and Hartranft (2015), recommend providing students with sentence frames in which students can use their word knowledge to complete the sentence. For example, the student receives the sentence frame, “I have a pet ______________________.” The student can use their word knowledge of pet types to fill in the blank. To help with this, teachers can supply a small word bank containing words and pictures to guide students in the writing of the word. After the word is added, the teacher is to re-read the sentence aloud and then ask the student to repetitively read the sentence as well. By asking students to restate the sentence frame and use target words, this helps students learn the structure of sentences and word use (pp. 52-53).

Conclusion Word knowledge is fundamental in teaching the emergent reader. The primary years of education are the time when children begin to acquire word knowledge through the fundamentals of listening to the language that surrounds them on a daily basis, both at home and in their school learning environment. As educators, we must promote rich literacy and language environments by not only encouraging beginning reading skills, but by also encouraging conversation among peers as well as engaging in conversations between teacher and student. Advocating for families to provide conversations and reading time for young children at home is also important.

Introducing ideas of sharing reading and writing activities at home to parents will help the students become stronger in their word knowledge and language development. Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, and Johnston, (2008) explain, “Through listening to and talking about life experiences and stories, children develop a rich speaking vocabulary. As they have opportunities to talk about and to categorize their everyday life experiences, children begin to make sense of

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their world and to use language to negotiate and describe it� (p. 1). Teachers must continuously work with parents of the children they teach, and continually research in order to help these students build a strong foundational literacy background, especially in word awareness and word learning.

Jennifer Snell is an education instructor at East Central University and a doctoral student at the University of Oklahoma in Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum. She may be reached at jenlsne@ecok.edu or jennifer.l.snell-1@ou.edu

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References Bear, D. R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S. & Johnston, F. (2008). Words their way: Word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Blewitt, P., Rump, K. M., Shealy, S. E. & Cook, S. A. (2009). Shared book reading: When and how questions affect young children’s word learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101(2), 294-304. DOI: 10.1037/a0013844.

Brown, P. M., Byrnes, L. J., Watson, L. M. & Raban, B. (2013). Young learners: Aspects of home literacy environments supporting hypotheses about the structure of printed words.

Journal of Early Childhood Research, 11(3), 262-273. DOI: 10.1177/1476718X13488339.

Clay, M. M. (2001). Change over time in children’s literacy development. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Cox, K. (2018). Teach syllables with children’s photos. Retrieved from https://www.prekinders.com/teach-syllables/.

Dickinson, D. K. & McCabe, A. (2001). Bringing it all together: The multiple origins, skills, and environmental supports of early literacy. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 16(4), 186-202.

Doyle, M. A. (2013). Marie M. Clay’s theoretical perspective: A literacy processing theory. In D. E. Alvermann, N. J. Unrau, & R. B. Ruddell (Eds.), Theoretical models and processes of reading (636-656). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Hayes, L. & Flanigan, K. (2014). Developing word recognition. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Juel, C. & Minden-Cupp, C. (2000). Learning to read words: Linguistic units and instructional strategies. Reading Research Quarterly, 35(4), 458-492.

Kaefer, T. (2017). The role of topic-related background knowledge in visual attention to illustration and children’s word learning during shared book reading. Journal of Research in Reading, 41(3), 582-596. DOI: 10.1111/1467-9817.12127.

Kame’eniu, E., Adams, M. J., & Lyon, G. R. (1996). Learning to read/reading to learn: Helping children with learning disabilities to succeed. National Center to Improve the Tools of Educators. Retrieved from http://www.ldonline.org/article/339/.

Korat, O., Kozlov-Peretz, O., Segal-Drori, O. (2017). Repeated e-book readings and its contribution to learning new words among kindergarteners. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 5(7), 60-72. DOI: 10.11114/jets.v5i7.2498.

Ricketts, J., Bishop, D. V. M., & Nation, K. (2008). Investigating orthographic and semantic aspects of word learning in poor comprehenders. Journal of Research in Reading, 31(1), 117-135. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9817.2007.00365.x.

Silverman, R. D. & Hartranft, A. M. (2015). Developing vocabulary and oral language in young children. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Tompkins, G. E. (2015). Literacy in the early grades: A successful start for prek-4 readers and writers. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Torgesen, J. K. (2000). Individual differences in response to early interventions in reading: The lingering problem of treatment resisters. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 15(1), 55-64.

Tracey, D. H. & Morrow, L. M. (2017). Lenses on reading: An introduction to theories and models (3rd ed.). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

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Lynn DeBolt Schroeder

Challenges of Identifying Students Who Are Both English Language Learners/Emerging Bilingual and Special Education Students The face of education has changed drastically over the years. We currently live in a highstakes testing environment that has educators concerned for their future as well as the future of their students. Any student who is considered to be at risk for unsatisfactory performance on the state-mandated testing often becomes the focus of their teacher’s concern. Students’ unsatisfactory performance can reflect poorly on their teacher’s performance reviews which could ultimately jeopardize their employment. One such group of students is the population referred to in federal legislation as Limited English Proficient. So as not to portray these students from a deficit viewpoint, in this paper they will be referred to as Emerging Bilinguals (EB). The term Emerging Bilingual focuses on the positive aspect of second language acquisition. Our global economy depends on employees who are fluent in more than one language. The students who come to us fluent in a language other than English, have the potential to graduate from our public school system with communication skills surpassing those of our monolingual students. While EB students have varying degrees of proficiency in their use and understanding of the English language, there is great concern that their inability to use academic vocabulary and academic language will hinder their performance on standardized tests.

In addition to the concern regarding high-stakes testing, Artiles and Ortiz (2002) state that a student who has been identified as a limited English proficient student is 15-20% more likely to drop out of school prior to receiving a high school diploma than their peers. Kena et al. (2016) report that 9.3% of students in the United States are served as EB students.

Another group of students who are of great concern are those who the teacher suspects might qualify for special education services. Although federal legislation identifies students receiving special education students as disabled, this article will use the term special needs so as not to focus on deficits. The term disabled or disabilities will be used if it is part of a federally defined category or is the term used in an article or website. According to Kena et al. (2016), approximately 13% of all students enrolled nationwide during the 2013-14 school year were identified as having special needs. Of this group, 35% were served under the category of specific learning disability. Stetser and Stillwell (2014) report that in 2011-2012 only 61% of students with special needs completed their high school education within four years.

Students who are English language learners/emerging bilinguals and qualify for special education services are at high risk for dropping out of school, often due to academic failure (Ormrod, 2008). The purpose of this inquiry is to examine the over- and under-identification of EB students who qualify for special education services. This inquiry will then look at the

educational guidance programs in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Colorado and New Mexico when considering evaluating EB students for possible placement in special education programs. In addition to these regional states, California and Florida will be examined due to their high percentage of EB students.

According to the United States Department of Education, National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition (2015), between 2004-05 and 2011-12, seven states showed a 100% increase in EB students. The states experiencing this rapid growth were not the states most people would expect to find on this list. As the numbers climb, schools scramble to identify appropriate strategies and procedures for dealing with students who need a tremendous amount of additional academic support. Compounding the growing numbers is the knowledge that it often takes a student seven to ten years to become proficient in academic English. Sadly, during this time period, many were misdiagnosed as having a learning disability (Collier & Thomas, 2004; Sullivan, 2011). Collier (2004) recommends waiting at least three years before evaluating students for possible placement in special education programs in order to determine whether the struggle is due to a learning disability or cultural adjustment. Taking the time to gather background information of the students who are EB is crucial for academic progress.

When evaluating students for possible special education placement, it is regarded as best practice to administer the evaluation in their home language, but Fernandez and Inserra (2013) suggest that if a student was not proficient or literate in his native language, he might perform poorly on the bilingual assessments.

Disproportionality of Special Education Placement for EB Students Sullivan (2011) published the results of an eight year data analysis comparing the rate of special education placement of EB students compared to their peers from the state department of education in a southwestern state. The state Sullivan examined used the term English language learner to identify â&#x20AC;&#x153;a child who does not speak English or whose native language is not English, and who is not currently able to perform ordinary classroom work in Englishâ&#x20AC;? (Arizona Revised Statutes 15-751, 2007). This state reported 16% of their students were EB. Of this 16%, 91% of the students spoke Spanish. Sullivan looked at the high incident categories within special education to determine which, if any, indicated over or underrepresentation of EB students. In addition to indications of overrepresentation in the categories of mild mental retardation and specific learning disability, there was a high degree of underrepresentation in the category of emotional disability. This study reported the relative risk ratio for all special education as well as the individual categories. A relative risk ratio of 1.0 indicates there is little or no difference in risk between the two groups, a ratio of >1 suggests an increased risk in EB students being identified as students with special needs and a ratio of <1 suggests a reduced risk.

Table 1 Relative Risk Ratios of EB Students Being Identified as Students With Special Needs Category 1999 2002 2006 All Special Education 0.77 0.90 1.19 Specific Learning Disability 1.3 1.21 1.82 Mild Mental Retardation 1.24 1.19 1.63 Speech-Language Impairment 0.69 0.95 1.30 Emotional Disability 0.15 0.21 0.12

As the table illustrates, the relative risk grew steadily for all special education categories. The study indicated that from 1999 to 2006 the relative risk ratio for all special education rose from 0.77 to 1.19. The high-incidence category of specific learning disability rose from 1.3 to 1.82 and speech language impairment rose from 0.69 to 1.30.

Teacher Impressions on Special Education Referral Process Fernandez and Inserra (2013) conducted a qualitative research study of twelve teachers from four different schools in Long Island, New York. These schools reported an enrollment between 50 and 100 EB students. The teachers participated in face-to-face interviews addressing the methods used to refer EB students for special education. The teachers were very empathetic to the challenges faced by EB students, but believed that special education services were in their best interest. When analyzing the interview data, the researchers found four themes prevalent in each interview: acculturation, professional development, protocols for referring English language learners to special education, and research-based teacher best practices Review of this quantitative study indicated that the teachers felt they needed more guidance and direction than was being provided to them. Often, they would leave meetings and return to their classroom after being told to provide interventions; however, they had no idea what interventions to try. The lack of guidance and assistance frustrated the teachers and pushed them toward referring students who might otherwise make sufficient progress through use of research-based interventions. The teachers felt as if they were alone and had to prove their case in order to get the student evaluated. The lack of assistance and guidance appeared to impact the number of students referred for special education evaluations.

State Guidance for Referring EB Students for Special Education Evaluation After a review of the literature, it was apparent that guidance and specific procedures are necessary to appropriately support teachers of EB students who are not performing as expected in the general education curriculum. This study describes the analysis of nine state websites to answer the research question, “What guidance/support do state websites give teachers in terms of appropriateness and process of referring EB students for possible special education placement?”

Method The research method of content analysis and comparison was used to answer the research question of, “What guidance/support do state websites give teachers in terms of appropriateness and process of referring EB students for possible special education placement?” This study focuses on the third theme, protocols for referring emerging bilingual students to special education. Each state department of education website was searched for “English language learner special education” to give a preliminary view of how easily accessible this information would be for teachers. In addition to the regional review of websites, the states of California and Florida were also examined as a comparison since they each have a high population of EB students. Although this paper was written using the more positive EB descriptor, the following reviews of state websites used the individual state preferred terms. The results are summarized in Table 2.

Table 2 Summary of State Department of Education Website Review Term used to describe Information Regarding Special Education State ELL/EB students Referrals of EB Students Arkansas

English Learners (EL) English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)

None

California

English Language Learners (ELL)

None except for policy and legal descriptions

Colorado

English Learners (EL) Learners who are Culturally and/or Linguistically Diverse (CLD)

Learners who are Culturally and/or Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Suspected of Having Educational Disabilities

Florida

English Language Learners (ELL)

None

Kansas

English Language Learners (ELLs) English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)

Best Practices in General Education Interventions and Comprehensive Evaluations of English Language Learners What Every Administrator & Educator Should Know: Separating Difference from Disability

Missouri

English Language Learners (ELLs)

Special Education and English Language Learners: Guidance for LEA Staff (included in the guidance document is a list of webinars that can be searched for separately)

New Mexico

English Language Learners (ELL)

No guidance except legal descriptions

Oklahoma

English Language Learners (ELL)

Comprehensive Academic Resource and Training Toolkit for English Learners (CARTT) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; this is not guidance for special education referral, but contains a large amount of information for administrators, teacher and families

Texas

English Language Learners (ELL) Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC)

No guidance on the referral process

As illustrated in the above table, states differ in their terminology related to EB students.

In addition, not all states even have resources that address the process of identifying EB students who have additional special learning needs. Navigating the various state websites is difficult and the end result does not give much in regards to the referral process that would be helpful to teachers or administrators.

The initial search for “English language learner special education” on the Oklahoma State Department of Education website yielded no results regarding the referral of EB students for special education services. The secondary search of English language learner brought up the link to the Title III-A, Limited English Proficient and Immigrant page. After looking through several documents, it was discovered that under the Resources tab, there is a link to a document published by WIDA (2013), a consortium of 39 states that provides guidance and assessments for multi-lingual learners. This publication is entitled, Developing a Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Approach to Response to Instruction & Intervention (RtI²) for English Language Learners: Connecting to WIDA Standards, Assessments, and Other Resources. This document was a general overview of the Tier 2 services for EB students. The information was not directed toward teachers in Oklahoma and gave no real guidance toward the referral process.

A search of the special education webpage yielded no reference of EB students. It appears that local districts are responsible for developing their own procedures and policies for referral of EB students for placement in special education programs. The State of Oklahoma recently launched a website specific to English Learners entitled CARTT (Comprehensive Academic Resource and Training Toolkit for English Learners). This website has a section for administrators, family and teachers. Although this website has a fairly large amount of useful information for all parties, there is no guidance toward possible special education referral. There is also no easy way to find this website. CARTT is listed under “Training” on the Oklahoma State Department of Education Title III webpage, but there is no explanation of what CARTT stands for or what information/training it provides.

Conclusion When looking for information, most people turn to some type of internet search to answer their questions. Teachers are no different. When struggling with policy, procedures and student performance, we often look to the guidance of our state’s department of education. Only two of the state reviewed websites had easy-to-find information for teachers. Colorado and Missouri provided information that would be useful and informative to teachers of students who are EB. None of the other visited state websites provided easy access to guidance or policy for referring EB students for a special education placement evaluation. The purpose of the decision to search each state’s website using consistent terminology was to illustrate the difficulty teachers would have when looking at states outside the state with which they are familiar. It would be very difficult for a teacher in one of these states to turn to a neighboring state’s website for guidance due to the various acronyms used.

While there appears to be a lack of guidance from state departments of education, there are resources available that classroom teachers can use to help these students move forward in the education process.

1. Can Do Descriptors can be found on the site https://wida.wisc.edu/teach/cando/descriptors WIDA Access test is used in Oklahoma to determine proficiency levels of EB students. The levels are reported as: entering, beginning, developing,

expanding, bridging and reaching. These proficiency levels are reported in the Can Do Descriptors to assist teachers in determining where their students can be expected to perform based on their proficiency level. For example, a student who scores at Level 3 in Listening is considered at the Developing level and should be able to follow two-step oral directions one step at a time, draw pictures in response to oral instructions, give a physical response (thumbs up or thumbs down) to answer questions and use gestures to act out stories.

2. Pre-teaching vocabulary is a strategy that benefits EB students. These students appear to speak good conversational English, but often do not have the academic vocabulary to be successful in the classroom setting. Teaching students the meaning of words before they encounter them in their reading can be very helpful.

You might consider having the students write their own dictionary. For each word they can break the word into syllables, indicate root words or word of origin, define, use it in a sentence and possibly draw visual representation of the word.

3. Word study activities like Words Their Way (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton & Johnston, 2016) can be a great resource for classroom teachers. This book includes an assessment that identifies the stage of spelling that best describes the student. After identifying the stage, this book provides many stage-appropriate activities and lessons to help the students improve their spelling and reading skills.

4. Conversations with families can help teachers understand whether the student is having similar difficulties in their native language. Areas of discussion should center around the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s acquisition of their first language. Were they slow to talk? Did they have a smaller vocabulary than children their own age? Are they able to follow directions when given in their first language? Has the child been exposed to printed material in their first language? If so, do they read in that language? This line of conversation can help you understand whether the child is exhibiting learning difficulties or difficulties with the language acquisition.

5. If the child appears to be struggling with reading comprehension, you might consider administering two different versions of reading comprehension passages.

The first passage is administered as a typical reading comprehension passage, the student reads the passage and then answers questions about the reading. Read the second passage to the student, then ask them questions about the reading. If the student struggles answering questions when they read and when you read, it is most likely the student does not have the vocabulary necessary to understand the readings. If children can answer questions when the passage is read to them, but struggles with the passage they read, this indicates that the area of difficulty is in reading comprehension.

As the population of EB students continues to grow, states and local districts will need to address the disproportionality of EB students referred and identified as students with special needs. At this time, there is no federal reporting requirement for EB students who have also been identified as qualifying for special education. As these student numbers increase, it is likely that disproportionality results will also be monitored. As the numbers increase, there will be more teachers having to teach themselves how to work with EB students or states and districts will need to increase the professional development offerings. Teachers should be given training

to assist them in determining when it would be considered appropriate to refer their student. In order to equip them for more linguistically diverse classrooms, professional development must be provided and policies/procedures must be developed to assist these teachers. Higher education must begin requiring university students to complete coursework in second language acquisition, just as they require education majors to complete a special education overview course. .

Lynn DeBolt Schroeder is Director of Federal Programs and Special Education at Sequoyah Public Schools in Claremore, Oklahoma. She is currently a doctoral student at Oklahoma State University. Lynn may be reached at lynn.debolt@okstate.edu.

References Arizona Revised Statute, 15-751 (2007). http://www.azleg.state.az.us/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/15/00751.htm&Title=15& DocType=ARS Arkansas State Department of Education. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.arkansased.gov Artiles, A.J., & Ortiz, A.A. (Eds.). (2002). English language learners with special education: Identification, assessment, and instruction. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.

Bear, D.R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (2016). Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction, 6th Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson.

California Department of Education. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.cde.ca.gov/ Comprehensive Academic Resource and Training Toolkit for English Learners. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://cartt.sde.ok.gov/ Collier, V.P., & Thomas, W.P. (2004). The astounding effectiveness of dual language education for all. NABE Journal of Research and Practice, 2(1), 1-20.

Colorado Department of Education. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.cde.state.co.us Fernandez, N., & Inserra, A. (2013). Disproportionate classification of ESL students in U.S. special education. TESL-EJ, 17(2) Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1017754&site=eho st-live

Florida Department of Education. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.fldoe.org/ Kansas State Department of Education. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ksde.org/ Kena, G., Hussar W., McFarland J., de Brey C., Musu-Gillette, L., Wang, X., Zhang, J., Rathbun, A., Wilkinson- Flicker, S., Diliberti M., Barmer, A., Bullock Mann, F., and Dunlop Velez, E. (2016). The Condition of Education 2016 (NCES 2016-144). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC. Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://dese.mo.gov/ New Mexico Public Education Department. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ped.state.nm.us/ped/index.html Oklahoma State Department of Education. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://sde.ok.gov/sde/ Ormrod, J.E. (2008). Educational psychology: Developing learners. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Stetser, M., & Stillwell, R. (2014). Public High School Four-Year On-Time Graduation Rates and Event Dropout Rates: School Years 2010–11 and 2011–12. First Look (NCES 2014391). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.

Sullivan, A. L. (2011). Disproportionality in special education identification and placement of English language learners. Exceptional Children, 77(3), 317-334. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ918896&site=ehost -live; Texas Education Agency. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://tea.texas.gov/ United States Department of Education, National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition, Profiles of English Learners (ELs) (2015). Retrieved from http://www.ncela.us/files/fast_facts/OELA_FastFacts_ProfilesOfELs.pdf WIDA Consortium. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://wida.wisc.edu/teach/can-do/descriptors WIDA Consortium. 2013. Developing a Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Approach to Response to Instruction & Intervention (RtI²) for English Language Learners. Available: https://www.uab.edu/education/esl/images/WIDA_RtI2_forELLs.pdf .

Dr. Shannon Clapsaddle, Dr. Larry Bohannon, and Carrie Mueller ______________________________________________________

Think Outside the Textbook: Harnessing Content Literacy “I don’t know how to teach reading. I’m not an English teacher, I’m a science teacher!” marked the beginning of our unexpected collaborative relationship several years ago. Gone are the days of clinging to to the idea that, although departmentalized, teachers are responsible for their content only (Fisher & Ivey, 2005). Teaching high school in Illinois, the authors found the intersection of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts (CCSS ELA) presented new opportunities for teachers to rethink what content area literacy looks like in middle and high school content classes. This intersection also exists among the Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science (OASS) and the Oklahoma Academic Standards for English Language Arts (OAS for ELA), particularly when considering the OAS for ELA Employability Skills. While NGSS and OASS require students to go beyond surface facts and figures to gain a deeper understanding of science content, the expectation that students encounter a wider range of reading materials increased with CCSS ELA in the Content Areas and the OAS for ELA. This article outlines a collaborative effort between a reading teacher and a science teacher, who teaches biology, physical earth science, forensics, and chemistry, to address the new standards, as well as to increase the amount of time spent reading and number of texts students read in various science classes.

Norris and Phillips (2002) described science literacy as both derived, or “being knowledgeable, learned, and educated in science” and fundamental, or “reading and writing when the content is science” within their claim that fundamental literacy skills are essential to science literacy (p. 224). If educators expect students to learn science from texts, we also must foster the literacy skills required to do so. We knew that many of our students were struggling readers because they were enrolled in mandatory remedial reading classes, and we knew that many of our students had learned to hate both science and reading based upon the interest inventories that students completed in their reading classes at the beginning of the year. Textbook reading was particularly difficult for many of our students who were struggling readers (Allington, 2002). Ivey (2002) explained, “Even the best strategies in the world will not help students read something that presents unfamiliar concepts in language far beyond their reach” (p. 20). We knew that new standards required us to provide students with opportunities to read more informational texts, and we wanted to incorporate texts that would enhance both students’ derived and fundamental literacy skills.

As we began our collaborative efforts, we discovered that a source of hesitation from the science content area teacher surfaced and needed to be addressed. The science teacher, although an avid reader herself, had little background or professional development in teaching literacy in her content area. The reading teacher knew that this

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was typical because, although she began her career in teaching English Language Arts, she did not know what to do when her students were unable to access the ELA curriculum. This encouraged her to seek professional development through graduate coursework where she earned a Reading Specialist Certification. We addressed the hesitation and knowledge gap in content area literacy instruction by focusing on a few research-based reading principles to address new standards and to grow the literacy skills of our students.

Three basic research-based principles guided our efforts to select books to read in science classes, as well as the activities we designed for those texts. First, students need to engage in high success reading (Allington, 2008). Nobody likes to engage in activities in which they do not feel successful. This meant that our students, many of whom had been placed in a freshman remedial reading class prior to or while concurrently enrolled in a Physical Earth Science class, would need to choose books that allowed for high success reading, as well as for differentiation. Second, adolescents need time during the school day to engage in reading (Jolliffe & Harl, 2008). We knew that our students were representative of most students, who read less than one hour per day. We wanted to increase the amount of time they spent reading during the school day. Third, students must be provided with strategies instruction to apply to literacy tasks, and those strategies should by modeled within content instruction, not separate from content instruction (Fisher & Ivey, 2005). We chose a few strategies and repeated them to help students internalize the strategies to become more strategic readers of nonfiction. The following describes the process of our collaborative efforts to implement these principles in a physical earth science class with Kamkwamba’s (2009) The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.

Class: 10th Grade Physical Earth Science Text: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, by William Kamkwamba Timeframe: 1 day (part of 50-minute class period) per week for 13 weeks Selecting the Text After reading The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, we realized it could be utilized in the Physical/Earth Science curriculum to reinforce some of the concepts involved in our unit of electricity and machines, which can be aligned with OASS for Physical Science (Figure 1). The book is a biography of Kamkwamba’s struggles growing up in poverty in Malawi. When his family can no longer afford to send him to school, Kamkwamba took his education into his own hands by visiting the local library and reading about things in which he was interested. He stumbled across a book that helped him explore his life-long interest in electricity and machines. He decided to build a windmill to generate electricity for the benefit of himself and his family. This project ended up garnering world-wide attention, and Kamkwamba’s life changed for the better.

Ultimately, Kamkwamba embarked on a self-directed STEM project that combined his interests and necessities to survive.

In addition to the science content, this text presented opportunities to help students bridge informational text, which is essential reading to understand science content, and narrative text, which includes characters and a plot. When students struggle to comprehend content area texts, they often struggle to connect with the information, so

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providing content-laden informational text that also includes a story structure with characters and a plot can help students to garner essential content by connecting with the characters and plot. These types of text (Figure 1) represented a deviation from more typical textbook or informational texts assigned in science classes, and we suspected that the texts would enhance student engagement, while also supporting content learning.

Finding the Time At first, we struggled to determine when we could fit reading a book into the already full curriculum. After examining the schedule, we realized that quizzes were administered on a weekly basis, and students did not utilize entire class periods to take each quiz. After the weekly quiz, students completed word searches or crossword puzzles. Although these activities were seemingly literacy-related, the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; vocabulary and comprehension skills and knowledge were not strengthened by completing them. Our starting point, then, was to use the time we found after each weekly curriculum-based quiz to incorporate time for literacy strategy instruction, as well as time for reading.

Incorporating Reading Strategies We wanted students to learn specific reading strategies that they could internalize and repeat in science class, as well as in other content area classes, to help them become more strategic readers of nonfiction. We assigned sections of the text at a time, and students were expected to read independently and create an artifact that showed evidence of their comprehension of the text in the form of written paragraphs or completed graphic organizers. We wanted to hold students accountable for their reading, as well as to assess their understanding of the targeted content.

We chose two main literacy strategies to directly teach and repeat as students read the book. The first literacy strategy was using an open approach to interpreting student responses to open-ended questions, which we sometimes modified from Think About It bookmarks (Burke, 2002). The second literacy strategy was using a graphic organizer entitled Episodic Notes (Burke, 2002). This graphic organizer requires students to draw pictures of content they read, as well as to caption and describe the pictures they draw. In addition to these literacy strategies, we also used class discussion to clarify elements of the text; these class discussions surrounded both teacher-generated and student-generated questions about the text.

Open approach to open-ended questions. We chose an open approach to interpreting how students of various reading abilities comprehended the text instead of quizzing students on more specific information. An open approach involved asking questions about the text that required students to reflect upon and write about what they read and to provide textual evidence. An open approach did not involve asking questions for which there was one correct response. Examples of open approach questions that we modified from Burkeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (2002) Think About It bookmarks (p. 139) included the following: What are some of the items William has made from scratch? (chapter 3) What are some of the items William uses in his business repairing radios? (chapter 4)

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Would you have been able to start a business at William’s age? (chapter 4) What are some of the things that William wants to do with the windmill? (chapter 9) What are some of the items that William is using to make the windmill? (chapter 9) What are some of the tactics William uses to stay in school? (chapter 10) Why is school so important to William? (chapter 10) Would you have been supportive of William, like his friend Gilbert, or would you have been skeptical, like the villagers? (chapter 10) What has been your greatest accomplishment so far? Compare your accomplishment with William’s accomplishment. (chapter 11) Episodic Notes graphic organizer. For other sections of reading assigned, they summarized what they read by using Burke’s (2002) Episodic Notes (pp. 144-145). The Episodic Notes served as a graphic organizer in which they sketched and described 3-6 main points from the text they read. Drawing pictures of the content of the text requires students to visualize what they are reading, which becomes a memory anchor or cue for the content.

Discussions. A few times we held a class discussion to address Kamkwamba’s descriptions of his culture, such as the stories adults told children about magic to frighten them, the differences in schooling between Malawi and the United States, and traditions of gender in Kamkwamba’s culture. Although these discussions did not address specific science objectives or standards, the discussions allowed students to begin to understand how information and learning can be impacted by culture, which is addressed by the OAS for ELA Standard 3: Critical Reading and Writing. These discussions allowed some students to think about this from their own culture as well as the culture represented in the text.

Implementing the strategies. To implement each new strategy, we read a selection of text aloud with students and modeled responding to the text with the strategy.

For example, to use Think About It bookmarks, the teacher verbally responded to each of the prompts with examples from the text that was read aloud, as well as asked students for examples. Students answered as many of the prompts as they wished in one paragraph. To use Episodic Notes, the teacher read a few pages of the book and asked students what pictures they could draw and how they could caption those pictures; the teacher also modeled drawing and captioning. After introducing and modeling a strategy, students were then able to work independently with the text and strategies.

Assessment At the onset of our initiative to incorporate literacy instruction in science classes, assessment was a concern, and we needed to clarify how we would address assessing both science content and literacy skills. Initially, assessing student literacy skills was a source of hesitation to incorporate literacy instruction in a science class because the science teacher had a perception that, because she had little background in teaching literacy skills, she would struggle to clearly instruct and assess literacy skills.

Science teachers are not English teachers, but that does not mean they do not know about writing. Science teachers know that complete sentences start with a capital

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letter and end with a punctuation mark. Science teachers recognize that writing for scientific purposes should be clear, concise, and descriptive. Science teachers can identify textual evidence and references to text within student responses. Science teachers also use technical, scientific vocabulary, and they support students’ acquisition of scientific terminology.

As we unpacked our perceptions of content area teachers and who is responsible for teaching literacy skills, we realized that, although we may not have been taught how to teach literacy strategies, we had been assessing literacy skills regardless of this.

Literacy strategies instruction improved our students’ literacy skills, however, because we were explicitly teaching the literacy skills through strategies instruction instead of simply assessing the literacy skills inherent in our students’ abilities to communicate their knowledge of science objectives.

Clear, open, assessment expectations. We decided that students would write four complete sentences for each set of writing prompts for an assigned section of text, and the students were relieved when they were provided with clear, but open, expectations for their writing. Students were instructed to answer as many of the prompts as they wanted as long as they included four complete sentences that started with a capital letter, ended with a period, and included a noun and a verb that went together. Our decision to require four sentences was based upon both the abilities of the students, many of whom experienced struggles with literacy, as well as our desire that students completed the reading and writing during the class (after the weekly quiz) instead of as homework. Our assessment remained uncomplicated, and by leaving it open-ended, we found that students showed us more learning than we might have asked them to produce in more closed-ended multiple-choice or short answer assessments.

Differentiation In order to differentiate reading the text for students or for time, the sections of the text can be eliminated to focus on specific science content. For example, it is not necessary to have students read all of the narrative about the details about the famine to understand that William, his family, and the entire country were starving and it changed everything. Additionally, students who struggled significantly with reading did not need to read entire sections of text assigned in order to respond to the writing prompts provided. Individual students with disabilities were directed to read specific pages to answer questions in the writing prompts provided. For more significant support for English Language Learners who might not have the language abilities to tackle the text, there is a children’s picture book and a book for middle grades students written at a 4th-6th grade level that can be used to accompany the text or instead of the text.

What They Learned One student included Kamkwamba’s motivation to build the windmill when he wrote, “William is reading about integrated science and physics and electromagnetic induction. He wants to build a windmill so his family won’t go hungry in December and January. He wants to use it to grow tomatoes and potatoes. He’d use the blades, a shaft, and rotor, some wires and something to generate electricity from the movement of the blades.” This student demonstrated comprehension of the OAS Crosscutting Concept in

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the Physical Science Standards for Motion and Stability, Cause and Effect: Systems can be designed to create a desired effect.

The book elegantly details the differences between alternating and direct current, and many advanced concepts involved with circuit-building and engineering. One student summarized her understanding of how Kamkwamba constructed the windmill based upon her reading of chapter 9 when she wrote, “He was reading about books with mechanical things to help him figure out his windmill. He wants to use it to generate power. He used metal, copper, and a rubber belt. He also used copper, wheels, gears he made from soda caps, and a motor.” This student touched upon the Interdependence of Science, Engineering, and Technology concept that, “Modern civilization depends upon major technological systems…” within the OAS Physical Science Standard for Energy.

A few shared experiences in their writing about how the book made them realize they were very lucky to have the things they do. Students were struck by the lengths Kamkwamba went to go to school, and reflected upon their own level of dedication. One student wrote about chapter 10, “School was important to William because he want[ed] the right amount of knowledge like everyone else. Having to deal with school fees he was determined to still learn even though he couldn’t be in class. I think I wouldn’t have done all of the things William did to stay in school.” Although this reflection did not address a specific science standard, it is evidence that the student was able to begin to garner a more global perspective of school and scientific learning.

When using Burke’s (2002) Episodic Notes strategy (pp. 144-145), students drew pictures of what they read and included captions that described those pictures. The pictures showed us that students were visualizing the content they were reading, which is a literacy skill that impacts comprehension of the content. For chapter 12, One student drew a step-up transformer and wrote, “William used diagrams [that described] how to make his own step-up transformer.” He also drew a picture of a flip-flip and wrote, “William constructed more and more and used random things he found, like flip-flops, to make a switch.” Another student, who was an English Language Learner, drew a boy reading a book and wrote, “William learning about mutual induction.” He also drew William climbing to the top of his windmill and wrote, “William was adding three light bulbs to the bike after he had the battery.” For chapter 13, one student drew a radio and wrote, “William and Gilbert start their own radio broadcast.” She also drew William with a bucket of corn and wrote, “William managed to get almost a pail full of corn from the government during the famine.” She also drew a picture of William and another person and wrote, “William was offered a lot of money for his corn he purchased, and he turned it down.” The Episodic Notes could be used to show that students were learning skills through literacy strategies instruction that address OAS for ELA Employability Skills in Applied Knowledge: Reading, “Read and comprehend documents ranging from simple and straightforward to more complex and detailed,” which is correlated with the OAS for ELA Standard 2: Reading and Writing Processes.

What We Learned Stories about science are inspiring to students who otherwise may seem disconnected from the content that we love. Reading William’s story provided opportunities for students to connect with elements of the plot while engaging in contextualized science content that we wanted them to explore. When we teach this text

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in the future, we will also include a culminating project in which students build their own windmills and explore alternative energy.

We also learned that a book can expand the students’ perspectives and experiences of the world in general. Several students commented that they knew that some African countries are economically-depressed, but had no idea the lengths to which that was true. The girls often commented on the way women are treated as opposed to men, and they were surprised to learn that there are still cultures that rely on a dowry system for marrying their children. These discussions touched upon the OAS for ELA Standard 3: Critical Reading and Writing standard which requires students to “…comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and respond to a variety of complex texts…from a variety of historical, cultural, ethnic, and global perspectives.” The science content was married seamlessly to the culture in which William was learning it, and the students were immersed into it.

Concluding Thoughts While reading Kamkwamba’s story in a physical earth science class, students connected to the text they were provided in ways that they could not connect with a traditional textbook. They were able to explain and describe scientific concepts, but beyond that, they were able to use the texts to draw conclusions and to think about science and their worlds differently. In our experiences, including informational text to support science curriculum impacts students’ derived and fundamental literacy skills. An appropriately selected, compelling, content-specific text can change the way we read about, write about, and talk about science in the classroom.

Dr. Shannon Clapsaddle is an assistant professor in Leadership, Middle, & Secondary Education at Southeast Missouri State University. She may be reached at sclapsaddle@semo.edu

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Dr. Larry Bohannon is a professor Early Childhood, Elementary, & Special Education at Southeast Missouri State University. He may be reached at rlbohannon@semo.edu

Ms. Carrie Mueller is a science teacher at Carbondale Community High School. She may be reached at carrie.mueller@cchs165.com

References Allington, R. L. (2002). You can't learn much from books you can't read. Educational Leadership,60(3), 16-19.

Allington, R. L. (2008). What really matters in response to intervention: Research-based designs. NY: Allyn & Bacon.

Burke, J. (2002). Tools for thought: Helping all students read, write, speak, and think.

Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Fisher, D., & Ivey, G. (2005). Literacy and language as learning in content-area classes: A departure from â&#x20AC;&#x153;every teacher a teacher of reading.â&#x20AC;? Action in Teacher Education, 27(2), 3-11.

French, T. (2010). Zoo story: Life in the garden of captives. Hachette UK. Ivey, G. (2002). Getting started: Manageable literacy practices. Educational Leadership, 60(3), 20-23.

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Jolliffe, D. A., & Harl, A. (2008). Studying the "reading transition" from high school to college: What are our students reading and why? College English, 70(6), 599-617.

Kamkwamba, W., & Mealer, B. (2009). The boy who harnessed the wind: Creating currents of electricity and hope. New York: Harper Collins.

Norris, S. P., & Phillips, L. M. (2003). How literacy in its fundamental sense is central to scientific literacy. Science education, 87(2), 224-240.

Sheinkin, S. (2012). Bomb: The race to build--and steal--the world's most dangerous weapon. New York: Macmillan.

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Figure 1 Informational Text, Science Class, Topics, and OAS for Science Alignment Informational Text The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope

by William Kamkwamba & Bryan Mealer

Bomb: The Race To Build (and Steal) The World’s Most Dangerous Weapon

by Steve Sheinkin

Science Class Physical Science, Physics

Topics

OASS Alignment

Electrical circuits, electrical current

HS-PS2-4 Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions: Magnets or electric currents cause magnetic fields; electric charges or changing magnetic fields cause electric fields.

HS-PS2-5 Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions: “Electrical energy” may mean energy stored in a battery or energy transmitted by electric currents.

Physical Science, Chemistry

HS-PS3-3 Energy: Definitions of Energy: At the macroscopic scale, energy manifests itself in multiple ways, such as in motion, sound, light, and thermal energy.

Nuclear HS-PS1-1 Matter and Its chemistry, Interactions: Each atom has a safety, chain charged substructure consisting of reactions, a nucleus, which is made of nuclear decay protons and neutrons, surrounded by electrons.

HS-PS1-5 Matter and Its Interactions: Chemical processes, their rates, and whether or not energy is stored or released can be understood in terms of the collisions of molecules and the rearrangements of atoms into new molecules, with consequent changes in the sum of all bond energies in the set of molecules that are matched by changes in kinetic energy.

HS-PS1-8 Matter and Its Interactions: Nuclear processes, including fusion, fission, and

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A Zoo Story: Life In The Garden Of Captives

by Thomas French

radioactive decays of unstable nuclei, involve release or absorption of energy.

Biology, Conservation, HS-LS2-1 Ecosystems: Conservation endangered Interactions, Energy, and Biology, species, Dynamics: Ecosystems have Ecology animal carrying capacities, which are behavior, limits to the numbers of organisms wildlife and populations they can support. management, These limits result from such human factors as the availability of living impact on and nonliving resources and from natural such challenges such as predation, populations competition, and disease.

Organisms would have the capacity to produce populations of great size were it not for the fact that environments and resources are finite. This fundamental tension affects the abundance (number of individuals) of species in any given ecosystem.

HS-LS2-8 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics: Group behavior has evolved because membership can increase the chances of survival for individuals and their genetic relatives.

HS-LS4-5 Biological Unity and Diversity: Changes in the physical environment, whether naturally occurring or human induced, have thus contributed to the expansion of some species, the emergence of new distinct species as populations diverge under different conditions, and the declineâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;and sometimes the extinctionâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;of some species.

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Advocating for Education: Sharing Your Teacher Voice, Part II Shelbie Witte, Ph.D. Oklahoma State University In the last column, I shared Elevator Speeches as a way of succinctly sharing issues that matter most to you as an educator. In this issue, I wanted to share a few ideas to inspire you to advocate for your students in the larger community by sharing your message more broadly.

Putting our thinking into the world can feel scary/intimidating/intrusive and yet, as we remember from our last issue, we must own our expertise and part of owning it is sharing it. I want to emphasize that most of this work must be done outside of the school day and on your personal devices so as to not create a conflict of interest or to be accused of using your school property for political influence.

1) Follow Your Students Lead: Want to be inspired? Take a look at the work of students from all over the world at the Letters to the Next President 2.0 site: https://letters2president.org/ Started in 2016, the National Writing Project wanted to provide a forum for youth to share about issues that mattered most to the next generation of voters. This site, built by teachers for teachers and students, engaged partners from all over the world who were interested in promoting and supporting youth civic participation. Just reading a few of these letters is enough to light a fire in your belly and motivate you to take a stand for these kids and the millions of others who have voices, but havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t had the opportunity to share them. Using the letters shared as mentor texts or as springboards for community action projects would provide a larger audience for your students. Then share, share, shareâ&#x20AC;Ś.share as widely as possible with the people in your neighborhoods and communities. Change the narrative about the types of work happening in schools by sharing loudly and proudly!

2) Op-Eds and Letters to the Editor: Many newspapers and online news providers provide opportunities for op-eds, public arguments for change, and letters to the editor.

Sharing your celebrations or concerns more broadly allows the community writ large an opportunity to better understand what happens within our schools and the impacts that policies and legislation have on the students in our schools. Dr. Lawrence Baines, at the University of Oklahoma, shares many great examples such as this one to the Tulsa World: goo.gl/jqopqz ReThink Media offers great resources online to help you narrow down the right avenue for your Op-Ed, https://rethinkmedia.org/blog/millennial-guide-companion-where-pitchyour-op-ed, as well as ways to frame your thinking for the appropriate audience.

3) The Twittersphere: Twitter is not for the meek of heart and to enter into a politically charged debate in Twitter can take years off of your life. However, some of the best educational thinking in the country is being debated and shared right now in the Twittersphere and is one of the easiest ways to engage in conversations with elected officials, educational leaders, and even celebrities.

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I started Twitter as a lurker. I did a lot of reading and paid attention to how messages were being constructed and how they were being received. I found like-minded people and others that I did not agree with and followed both, because balance is important!

Some of my favorite educational Twitter users to follow include: @PaulWHankins @nenagerman @Shekemasilveri @Heisereads @Triciabarvia @claudiaswisher @anterobot @frankisibberson @skajder If you decide to be an Advocacy Twitter user, appropriate use and placement of hashtags, #elaok for example, can make sure that your advocacy message is being seen by all of the right people. When Twitter users retweet your message, it grows legs of its own and can be seen by thousands of people before you realize youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve pushed the Tweet button. Be careful...yes, you can delete a tweet, but as we know not everything deleted is really deleted and deleted Tweets often have a life of their own through screenshots. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also important to put a disclaimer on your Twitter account that the thinking expressed is your own and not representative of your school or classroom.

And a final word of caution: entering your thinking into these spaces is opening the door for others to comment on it. There will be a range of comments, from level-headed to bizarre, and ultimately, most of the comments have nothing to do with you, personally, even though they may feel like it. Ignore the negative, focus on the positive, and continue to be an active and engaged advocate for your profession and for your students.

Shelbie Witte is the Chuck and Kim Watson Endowed Chair in Education and Professor of Adolescent Literacy and English Education at Oklahoma State University. She also serves as the director of the Oklahoma State University Writing Project and the founding director of the Initiative for 21st Century Literacies Research .

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A note from the editors: We have a unique feature in this edition, a book review of Literacy Engagement through Peritextual Analysis. This new book sheds light on the importance of peritext, the non-text features included in texts that we read. In addition, Linda McElroy’s Research Summary Column also highlights the same book directly following this review. Both of these will help prepare you to participate in an exciting opportunity to hear from the editors of this book, Oklahoma’s own Shelbie Witte, from Oklahoma State University, Don Latham, and Melissa Gross. You may also choose to read all, or portions of, the book before the discussion next fall. Be sure to check our website and Facebook page for details of how to join the discussion.

BOOK REVIEW Dr. Barbara J. McClanahan Literacy Engagement through Peritextual Analysis: A Review Peritext—it’s been right there under our noses all the time, but few of us have acknowledged it or given it a second thought. Peritext is a term used to encapsulate all the items within a book that are not what we think of as the “important part.” These items are such things as the cover including any dust jacket, the table of contents, the foreword, the glossary, the author’s notes, or anything else connected to or within a text that is not the “meat.” In Literacy Engagement through Peritextual Analysis (LEPA), editors Shelbie Witte, Don Latham, and Melissa Gross and their colleagues draw our attention to these often-ignored aspects of texts and provide insights as to how we can use them to enrich our own reading and that of the students we teach.

In conversations with students and colleagues about peritext, I learned that I wasn’t the only one who skipped all the peritext (what one of Dr. Witte’s students referred to as “white noise”) to dive into the “real stuff.” I was definitely not like Donna Alvermann, who shared in the Foreword to LEPA that she always pondered the peritext, considering herself a sleuth determining how that “extra stuff” enhanced the reading experience. I was clueless for many years that it could add anything at all to my appreciation or understanding of a book. In fact, it was not until I began a master’s program in reading that I became aware of the power of using the cover image to anticipate with children what might be between the covers. As I continued through my graduate programs, I gained more awareness of the value of this “extra stuff,” but I had no idea it had a name!

Enter Witte, Latham, and Gross with LEPA. This volume contains a collection of articles written by researchers and practitioners who share their experiences incorporating the use of peritext to deepen comprehension and appreciation of various kinds of texts for a range of grade levels. In the introduction, Witte explains that peritext is indeed more than white noise; in fact, paying attention to it using the “groundbreaking” Peritextual Literacy Framework (PLF) brings clarity to the entire text. Moreover, she says, study of peritext promotes visual literacy and critical thinking, important goals in today’s classrooms. The volume is organized in three sections framed around these three propositions—the PLF, visual literacy, and critical thinking.

In the first section, Latham and Gross introduce us to the PLF which they have developed as an extension of the work of Genette (1997) on paratext, identifying peritextual literacy as a kind of literacy for the first time. The PLF is structured on six identified functions or purposes of peritext: production, promotional, navigational, intratextual, supplemental, and documentary.

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The remaining articles in LEPA are variations on the PLF theme; each chapter is written to demonstrate specific uses of the PLF in a range of grade levels. The authors share their initial efforts to utilize the PLF, with varying degrees of success, often reflecting on what can be changed to improve the experience for students. Since the PLF is so new, learning how to use it effectively is something of a trial-and-error proposition.

Since reading LEPA, I have subsequently read two children’s books. I will share briefly how my reading of one of the books was enhanced with the awareness gained from LEPA. Al Capone Does My Homework (Choldenko, 2013), is a combination historical fiction and mystery for intermediate-grade children. Having learned about the PLF, I began assessing the peritext it offered as I read it. The cover page with its captivating title features the outline of a cell door, a pair of handcuffs, and a prison guard’s cap, clearly designed to draw in young readers. On the back of the book are images of two of the other books in Choldenko’s Alcatraz series with short blurbs of praise or lists of awards the books have earned. These elements fall into the category of “Promotional” in the PLF. Making students aware of this designation and how it is used with the books they read helps them understand that these items are presented for a purpose— specifically to engage their interest.

Immediately after the Table of Contents (a navigational type of peritext, according to the PLF) which lists the chapters with intriguing titles, is a two-page photograph of Alcatraz with locations which figure in the story clearly labeled. This falls in the “Supplemental” category of the PLF. Having been on a tour of Alcatraz several years ago, this photograph triggered memories of the buildings we visited and helped orient me as I read the text. Even without prior knowledge of Alcatraz, however, the photograph can be used to help the reader visualize the events and the setting much more readily, if the reader realizes that is its purpose. At the end of the book, there is a section labeled “Author’s Notes;” here Choldenko shares a great deal about the research she did in order to write the book and some of the real events that were incorporated into the story. On the PLF, this section falls into the “Documentary” category.

I have taken the time and space sharing my experience with Al Capone Does My Homework to demonstrate how easy the PLF is to apply to a given text. But beyond simply identifying the various categories of peritext, the PLF also offers questions that can be used to deepen the children’s—or any reader’s—understanding of these items. Why are they there, what do the authors or creators of this text want me to do with these bits of text or images, or what have they failed to include that would be important to know? So, the PLF leads us to identification of the peritext, through the visual literacy analysis as described above in thinking about the cover and photograph of Alcatraz, and ultimately to the critical thinking piece—the questions we should be teaching children to ask about all texts they encounter.

Given the relatively recent development of the PLF, the range of text types that practitioners and researchers have used with the PLF, as showcased in LEPA, is really quite remarkable. Novels, even graphic novels or historical fiction, are not surprising to find, but the range extends to nonfiction texts, participatory novels, online news articles, Disney films, and documentary films, all of which are discussed in LEPA. Certain text types such as films required the practitioners to adapt the PLF to fit, suggesting its flexibility.

On the whole, I found this to be an eye-opening and valuable addition to my understanding of text and literacy. Its language is inviting, not overly academic, and almost mysterious, as if the reader is being let in on a big secret, but in a way that lets him/her feel a part of the discovery. This is certainly a volume that deserves to be on the shelf of everyone

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responsible for teaching reading, from the earliest grades to adults. The PLF is definitely being added to the coursework for my pre-service teachers.

Barbara J. McClanahan, Ed.D. Professor, Southeastern Oklahoma State University

References Genette, G. (1997). Paratexts: Thresholds of interpretation. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Witte, S., Latham, D., & Gross, M. (Eds.) (2019). Literacy Engagement through Peritextual Analysis. Chicago: ALA Editions and the National Council of Teachers of English.

Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Literature Cited Choldenko, G. (2013). Al Capone does my homework. New York, NY: Penguin Group

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RESEARCH SUMMARY Linda McElroy, Ph.D. Column Editor Peritextual Analysis: What IS That? How Can It Help the Readers We Teach?

Teachers are always seeking ways to support students in understanding the texts that they read. Using “peritext” is one helpful type of support. This research column will define this concept and discuss ways to incorporate it in instructional activities.

Excellent resources for the discussion are a current book, Literacy Engagement Through Peritextual Analysis, edited by Shelbie Witte, Don Latham, and Melissa Gross, which was copublished by the National Council of Teachers of English and the American Library Association, along with selected research articles which are referenced in the book. Clear definitions are provided by the 2019 book and by one of the research articles, “The Peritextual Literacy Framework: Using the Functions of Peritext to Support Critical Thinking,” by Gross and Latham.

The concept of “peritext” is grounded in a broader concept of “paratext”, which was developed by Gerard Genette. He described two components that go beyond an actual text to support readers’ understanding and engagement with the text. The components include: (a) Peritext, which includes elements that are part of a work, such as the title page, introductory notes and acknowledgements, table of contents, index, and source notes. (b) Epitext, which includes elements that are not part of a work, but point to it, such as book reviews, author websites, and works of critical literary analysis.

Gross and Latham’s 2017 article reviews numerous other studies related to use of paratext. It then explains the development of a Peritextual Literacy Framework (PLF) that focuses on peritext and categorizes the functions of peritext. The PLF is presented in both the book and the article. Portions of the PLF are listed below.

The Peritextual Literacy Framework: Types of Peritext: Production (elements that uniquely identify a work) Author, book designer, copyright, ISBN, illustrator, publisher, series title, title and subtitle, translator Promotional (elements that interface between the work and its potential audience) Advertisements, author biography, author website URL, award mediations, blurb/bla-bla, dust jacket, endorsements, list of other works by the author, list of other works by the publisher, list of other works in the series Navigational (elements that assist the reader in understanding the organization of the work and how to search the contents) Chapter divisions, index, intertitles, page numbers, table of contents Intertextual (elements within the work that interface between the work and the reader) Acknowledgements, afterword, dedication, foreword, preface Supplemental (elements outside the text proper that augment understanding of content) Pictures, captions, endpapers, glossary, maps, photographs, tables, time lines

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Documentary (elements that connect the audience to external works used in the production of the work or that extend the content of the work) Bibliography, discography, image credits, references, source notes, suggested reading, webography (Gross & Latham, 2017, p. 122) Gross and Latham, along with colleagues Jennifer Underhill and Hyeria Bak, conducted a research study to test the efficacy of the Peritextual Literacy Framework by using a Peritext Book Club in which middle school students read STEAM texts (science, technology, engineering, art, and math). Participants in the study were twelve students who read STEAMrelated nonfiction books and met once a month to discuss ways the peritext affected their motivation to read, their ability to retrieve information from the texts, and how the peritext might affect their opinion of the credibility of the information.

The school librarian recruited students in grades six through eight to participate in the book club, and the librarian led the meetings. The book club met once a month and provided the participants with pizza and beverages, along with a copy of the book, which they were allowed to keep. The books were young adult nonfiction books. At each book club meeting, a new type of peritext function and associated elements were presented, and peritext functions from previous meetings were reviewed. The sessions were digitally recorded, and the researchers observed all sessions.

Book titles and discussion topics are specified in the article. Interactive digital games and activities, pre- and post-intervention surveys, open-ended discussions, and a final paper-based quiz provided data about participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; knowledge about peritext. In general, students understood the concept of peritext (elements in the book that are not part of the text), even though they could not all define each type of peritext. They could explain ways to use peritext in deciding whether to read a book, to navigate a text and search for information, and to assess the credibility of an author. Students reported enjoying the experience. Further research is needed to explore the use of peritext in other settings and to develop lesson plans and teaching strategies to support studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; reading skills and abilities to think critically about nonfiction texts.

Another research study cited in the book demonstrated that the concept of peritext can be helpful across a wide range of ages of students and types of texts. This study focused on the role of peritext in understanding narrative picture books which had been winners of the Caldecott Medal, an award for outstanding illustrations. The researchers analyzed peritextual elements in Caldecott winners published from 1938 to 2013. The peritextual features that were analyzed included dust jackets, dedication/copyright pages, beginning endpapers, illustration before the title page, title page, half title page, final endpapers, and notes (author note, illustrator note, informational note). Peritextual features can introduce characters, settings, and other story elements. Sometimes the choices of illustrations and even colors of endpapers in these peritextual elements can provide background and introduce moods. The richness of information in these peritextual features supports the effectiveness of including discussions about them when teachers are introducing picture books to readers, including the youngest emergent readers. In addition, older readers can benefit from learning about peritextual features in the Caldecott books, as teachers can use the picture books as mentor texts to introduce understanding the importance of peritextual features before readers encounter the features in more advanced texts.

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Other chapters in Literacy Engagement through Peritextual Analysis discuss using the concept of peritextual analysis in varied types of media texts. One chapter describes a study related to analyzing online news articles, by considering peritextual elements such as headlines, bylines, news provider/press agency, author biography and URL, still images, audio and video, hyperlinks, image credits, source notes, and related articles. Additional chapters expand on other ways to build peritextual analysis into instructional strategies for many other types of texts. The potential is amazing for instructional applications!

Final Thoughts: I recently settled in to enjoy a novel on my Kindle app. I noticed that the app opened with page one of the novel. Because of my current interest in peritext, I scrolled backward and found several pages of helpful information. I could easily have missed an illustration, a quotation that set the mood for the story, and extensive acknowledgement information that gave me background information and provided evidence for the author’s expertise with elements that made the story more credible. Small illustrations and quotes at the beginning of each chapter were much more meaningful, based on information from those introductory pages. Just as I could have easily missed these elements, so will our students skip right over these kinds of features unless we as teachers specifically model for them and teach them to value these peritextual elements.

As I have read this collection of current professional literature, I have thought back to my experiences as a classroom teacher and reading specialist and to all the ways I tried to build background knowledge for my students before they started to read stories. I have realized that I could have strengthened my instruction by including peritextual elements. I have also thought about my more recent experiences with helping preservice teachers to incorporate “critical literacy” where they carefully analyze a piece of text by considering the author’s expertise and perspectives and to consider whether the text supports one perspective and marginalizes other perspectives. Simply cautioning my preservice teachers to analyze these factors has been insufficient. I believe that introducing peritextual features will be helpful, and I predict that these new teachers will be more prepared to help their future students to notice the clues and support in the texts they will read!

Dr. Linda McElroy is a Professor at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. She previously taught in Oklahoma schools as a classroom teacher and as a reading specialist.

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References Genette, G. (1997) Paratexts: Thresholds of interpretation. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Gross, M. & Latham, D. (2017). The peritextual literacy framework: Using the functions of peritext to support critical thinking. Library and Information Science Research, 39(2), 116-123.

Gross, M., Latham, D., Underhill, J., & Bak, H. (2016). The peritext book club: Reading to foster critical thinking about STEAM texts. School Library Research, 19.

Martinez, M., Stier, C., Falcon, L. (2016). Judging a book by its cover: An investigation of peritextual features in Caldecott award books. Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Literature in Education, 47 (3), 225-241.

Witte, S., Latham, D., & Gross, M. (2019). Literacy engagement through peritextual analysis. Chicago: American Library Association.

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Tech Talk: Making the Most of Technology in Your Classroom Part 2: Presentation and Publication Tools Shelley Martin-Young Publishing students' work might be the last step in the writing process, but it is still an important part that is often overlooked. Students put time and effort into their writing and having a purpose for that writing can be a factor that motivates the reluctant writer. If students know that they will have an authentic audience for their writing, they are more likely to put extra time and effort into their work. Being able to have a goal to work towards keeps even the most reluctant writer in your class interested in the sometimes-difficult process.

Celebrating our young authors is vital to the writing classroom. Publishing is the fun part where students can actually see all of their hard work in print. Publishing can be as simple as typing their final piece in a word document and adding illustrations and a construction paper cover, hanging their work in the hallway where everyone can see it, creating a class book of students' work, or reading their work to other students and parents. The use of technology is another important and easy way to publish studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; work. For the remainder of this piece I will include my favorite presentation and publication tools.

Canva is one of the very best free tools for presenting and publishing studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; work.

Canva allows students to make flyers, posters, infographics, magazine covers and more. This is a free website that lets your students use the hundreds of templates that are available, or to design their own creations. Canva has an unlimited supply of images, photo filters, fonts, icons, shapes, and templates. This site is easy to use and a great place to allow your students to make their work beautiful. As a matter of fact, many of The Oklahoma Reader's pages are designed using Canva.

See the cover below as an example. Another perk of Canva is the Teacher Materials page.

Teachers can look for suggestions and lesson plans from other teachers. You can access the Canva website here.

Adobe Spark is another tool that will work wonderfully in assisting your students in publishing their work. While Adobe Spark does have paid versions, the free version has plenty to help your students make their work eye-catching and more appealing. Adobe Spark allows your students to make photo journals, movies, infographics, portfolios, flyers, and much more. Adobe Spark will allow students' stories to come to life. It is easy for students to use and its ease makes it very engaging for students. Like Canva, Adobe Spark offers easy templates, and lesson plans for the teacher. Adobe Spark has safety measures in place that allow sharing students' creations

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easily and without worry. Spark has recently joined with NASA to add more to their Adobe Spark for Education including a technology inventing contest with a grand prize of a trip to NASA. You can access Adobe Spark here and the special NASA Spark here. An example of a student made video can be viewed here. A few of the many templates available on Adobe Spark are pictured below.

This blog post shows how teachers can use Spark with students from kindergarten through 12th grade. Scholastic also has lesson plans to incorporate students work into Adobe Spark. There are so many uses for Adobe Spark that you will fall in love with it immediately. Here are more ideas for use in the classroom.

While Canva and Adobe Spark have uses other than video creation Screencast-o-matic is a tool that is primarily used as a video creation and editing tool. It is free to use and gives students the ability to create videos adding text, images, and automated captioning. There is an upgrading option which gives you space in the cloud, but the free version is all the students will need. Screencast-o-matic gives the teacher many options as well including making flipped learning accessible, lecture capture, video announcements, and the capability of creating student assignments. There are many uses for Screencast-o-matic in the classroom and you can see a few of them here. Check out Screencast-o-matic for a great video creating tool.

One of my favorite presentation tools is Thinglink. Thinglink allows students to add music, videos, charts, graphs, and sound easily to presentations. Thinglink makes static presentations interactive. Thinglink is also great for virtual field trips and online interactive storytelling. With Thinglink students can turn research that they might consider boring into an instant interactive presentation. By taking a picture of what they are researching, like the hummingbird below, students can add maps, videos, facts, other pictures, and even the sound the hummingbird makes, with just the click of a button.

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With the easy editor, students can tag images, videos, and 360 degree media. Students can also easily embed audio, video, and web links into their presentations. There is also a mobile app available where you can save pictures and directly add voice recording to photos on your camera.

Below is another example of student work using Thinglink.

You can find a link to Thinglink for Education here.

Finally, I will discuss two video presentation tools that are simple for students to use, Powtoon and Animoto. Powtoon is a very easy way to create videos and presentations. Powtoon brings your presentations to life and also allows students a creative way to create digital stories.

There are dozens of templates to choose from, or students can create their own. Powtoon allows your students to turn their presentation into a cartoon. Powtoon offers many comic graphics for your students to choose from. Again, there are paid versions, but the free account will work nicely in your classroom.

Animoto is a platform that combines images, text, video, and audio into a video that is easily shareable. Animoto videos are great for students and teachers alike. I use Animoto to create my back to school videos and introduce students to new concepts. Animoto, like many of the other tools I have talked about, gives you the option of choosing templates. All you have to do is add photos or video clips. Animoto is also very easy to use. All you have to do is drag and drop, making this tool easy for your youngest authors. This sample video shows a students' work made into a video.

While posting students' work outside the classroom is a great way to celebrate your authors, using some of these presentation and publishing tools ups the game and brings your students' work to life. In the next issue of The Oklahoma Reader, I will share all things Google.

Shelley Martin-Young Oklahoma State University, Doctoral Candidate Graduate Teaching Assistant ~ Teaching Language Arts and Children's Literature

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Linda McElroy OKLA STATE PRESIDENT Hello, OKLA members and friends!

We are wrapping up a busy and very successful year as the Oklahoma Literacy Association (OKLA)! I have been so honored to serve as your state president for the past two years.

The Board of Directors and I are excited that our organization is completing the transition with the International Literacy Association (ILA, formerly the International Reading Association). Thanks to Vickie Hinkle, our ILA Coordinator, for helping us make the transition. You will notice new branding and an entirely new website soon (www.oklahomaliteracy.org). The transition is taking time and effort, and I appreciate support from our board members and from ILA. Avery Bredice from ILA came to meet with council leaders and the Board of Directors this spring. It was a jam-packed day of information, and we left inspired and determined to continue to work together to strengthen OKLA in conjunction with ILA. Please bear with us as we make changes in all of our social media.

We are celebrating the successful professional development opportunities offered during the past year. Our annual conference was held on April 6, 2019, with keynote speaker Dr. Doug Fisher, Oklahoma author Gwendolyn Hooks, outstanding breakout sessions, and exhibitors who sent us home with new resources and ideas. Thanks to Sheri Vasinda, conference chair, and the planning committee, OSU-Tulsa students, and the Tulsa County Reading Council for all of their help with the details! Watch for information about the 2020 conference on the website and Facebook!

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We have also offered two new opportunities for professional learning over the past year. Last June we had a very successful online book club last. Sheri Vasinda from OSU and two of alumni of OSUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Master of Education in Reading, Stacey Goodwin and Lacey Haynie, facilitated the discussions, as they will do again this summer. The book for this summer was chosen through a survey at the conference and on Facebook, and the book that will be discussed this June is Visible Learning for Literacy: Implementing the Practices that Work Best to Accelerate Student Learning (2016) by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and John Hattie.

Additionally, this past year we hosted a series of author chats with authors of articles from The Oklahoma Reader. These events were informative and interesting. We will also have another book discussion opportunity this fall in conjunction with the Oklahoma Council of Teachers of English (OCTE) to discuss the new book Literacy Engagement Through Peritextual Analysis (2019), edited by Shelbie Witte, Don Latham, and Melissa Gross. Shelbie Witte is an Associate Professor at OSU. Please continue to check the new website and our Facebook group for information about participating in these informative conversations.

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HTTP://WWW.OKLAHOMALITERACY.ORG/

Our Council Kickoff/Leadership event last fall was lots of fun. We enjoyed hearing from the Brown Brothers (Permabound Books) about the Redbud Read-Aloud contest. Thanks to Liz Willner and Oklahoma City University for hosting the event. We will hold a similar Kickoff this fall. Watch Facebook and our website for details!

We hope you will visit our website often, along with our Facebook page, for news and information in the coming months. Thanks to Connie Wise, Woodward Public Schools, for serving as our Communications/Media Chair and Sheri Vasinda, OSU, for working on the updated website.

Continue to join us as we help our students understand that “We are READERS!” As reading teachers, our role is much bigger than just “teaching children to read.” Our task is to “Create READERS!” Our ultimate goal, in our interactions with students (no matter their ages), is to provide experiences so they develop self-efficacy and a belief about themselves of “I can do this!” Take time to read something just because you want to!

Dr. Linda McElroy is a Professor at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. She previously taught in Oklahoma schools as a classroom teacher and as a reading specialist.

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Authors are requested to submit only unpublished articles not under review by any other publication. A manuscript should be typed, double spaced, not right justified, not hyphenated, and should follow APA, 6th Edition guidelines (Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association). Tables and graphs should be used only when absolutely necessary. Include a cover page giving the article title, professional affiliation, complete address, e-mail and phone number of the author(s). Special sections have specific requirements that are described below. The editors reserve the right to revise and/or edit all copies.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS FOR THE OKLAHOMA READER

The Oklahoma Reader welcomes manuscripts that support the growth and development of classroom teachers, reading specialists, and other literacy professionals throughout their careers. Manuscripts should successfully translate literacy research into practice through concrete strategies and techniques. Considering that the main audience of The Oklahoma Reader consists of PreK-12 teachers, manuscripts that offer practical ideas for successful literacy instruction are encouraged and prioritized. Manuscripts should be limited to 4000 words including tables, figures, and reference(s). Submit the manuscript electronically as a Word document attached to an e-mail message addressed to oklahomareader@gmail.com.

Manuscripts will be reviewed anonymously by three members of The Oklahoma Reader Editorial Advisory Board. Manuscripts are evaluated on the basis of clarity, interest, organization, content, and style. If accepted, revisions may be requested. Manuscripts must be original work which has not been previously published nor is undergoing simultaneous review in another journal.

The Oklahoma Reader also seeks submissions dealing with instructional practices (teacher-to-teacher), and classroom research (teacher research). These are described as follows. All submissions should be submitted electronically as a Word document attached to an email message addressed to oklahomareader@gmail.com.

Teacher to Teacher: Submit descriptions of teaching activities that have helped students learn an essential literacy skill, concept, strategy, or attitude. Submissions should be no longer than 1500 words and align with the following format: Title (if adapting from another source, cite reference and provide a bibliography Purpose of Activity, including the literacy skill, concept, strategy, or attitude the students will learn Description of activity with examples, questions, responses. Please provide enough detail so someone can implement the activity.

How activity was evaluated to know if purpose was achieved.

Teacher Research: Submit manuscripts that describe research or inquiry conducted in classrooms. Submissions should be 1000-2000 words and align with the following format: Description of the question or issue guiding the research/inquiry, including a short review of pertinent literature.

Description of who participated in the study, what the sources of data were, how the data were gathered and examined.

Description of the findings and conclusion from the research/inquiry.

Title, author, publisher of the resource.

Short description of the resource.

Critical review of the resource including strengths and weaknesses.

Short discussion of how the resource might be useful to a teacher.Â

oklahomareader@gmail.com

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THE OKLAHOMA READER

Wanted: Editor or Editing Team for July 2020 - June 2023

Interested parties must be members of The Oklahoma Literacy Association (OKLA) and may apply as an individual interested in being the sole editor, an individual interested in becoming part of an editing team, or as an editing team.

New editors will be invited to work with the current editors during the 20192020 publication year.

PLEASE TO

SEND

SHERI

A

LETTER

VASINDA,

PRESIDENT,

BY

OF

INTEREST

INCOMING

SEPTEMBER

30,

SHERI.VASINDA@OKSTATE.EDU

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OKLA 2019

O*R

The Oklahoma Reading Association (ORA) Is now The Oklahoma Literacy Association (OKLA)!

Membership in the Oklahoma Literacy Association gives all interested in literacy education the opportunity to develop and support literacy initiatives and activities at the international, national, state, and local levels.

Opportunities to participate in activities that support quality professional development, partnerships with other agencies advocating for literacy, research, as well as the promotion of quality instruction, materials, and policies are all extended and enriched through membership in OKLA. We invite you to become a member of the Oklahoma Literacy Association if you are not yet a member!

Membership information can be found here.

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VOLUME 55

ISSUE 1

SPRING 2019

THE OKLAHOMA READER A JOURNAL OF THE OKLAHOMA LITERACY ASSOCIATION, AN AFFILIATE OF THE INTERNATIONAL LITERACY ASSOCIATION EDITORS

ASSISTANT EDITOR EDITORIAL REVIEW BOARD

Donita Shaw Julie Collins Shelley Martin-Young

Oklahoma State University University of Central Oklahoma Oklahoma State University

Abby Weyen

Oklahoma State University

Gretchen Cole-Lade Rebecca Marie Farley Sylvia Hurst Linda McElroy Sharon Morgan Claudia Otto Brian Thompson Liz Willner Jodi Wolf Debby Yarbrough

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma Baptist University University of Central Oklahoma Univ. of Science and Arts of Oklahoma Oklahoma State Dept. of Education Oklahoma State University Sand Springs Public Schools Oklahoma City University Edmond Public Schools Woodward Public Schools

Oklahoma Reading Association Officers

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President

Linda McElroy

Univ. of Science and Arts of Oklahoma

President Elect

Sheri Vasinda

Oklahoma State University

Vice President

Sylvia Hurst

University of Central Oklahoma

Secretary

Rebecca Marie Farley

Oklahoma Baptist University

Treasurer

Debby Yarbrough

Woodward Public Schools

Past President

Liz Willner

Oklahoma City University

ILA Coordinator

Vickie Hinkle

MidAmerica Christian University