S tudents in America's schools represent a mosaic of ethnicities and cultures. Current demographic changes include the growth of an increasingly diverse student population with greater academic, economic, and social needs. A recent report about the Columbus, Ohio, city schools, for example, reveals that during the past decade, the number of English language learners (ELLs) has quadrupled and the number of students from low-income families has increased by 19%, so that two thirds of the entire student body is at or below the poverty level (Candisky, 2007). Despite a series of laws attempting to equalize educational opportunities for minority and high-risk stu-dents, such efforts continue to be unfulfilled dreams (Utley & Obiakor, 2001). National data for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students (i.e., African, Hispanic, and Native American) reveal high rates of dropping out of school, disproportionate special education placement, greater failure in meeting the state and national standards across basic subjects, and the poorest outcomes of all students in our schools (National Research Council, NRC, 2002;Wagner & Cameto, 2004).Challenges facing educators in meeting the needs of CLD students include but are not limited to developing cultural awareness, identifying pedagogical approaches, and adjusting curriculum content (Banks et al., 2005). Consider the
This study examined the effects of a supplemental early reading intervention on the beginning literacy skills of 12 kindergarten/first-grade urban English language learners (ELLs). The Early Reading Intervention (ERI; Simmons & Kame'enui, 2003) was the instructional intervention used with all students. A multiple-baseline design across students was used to investigate the effects of the instruction on phoneme segmentation fluency (PSF) and nonsense word fluency (NWF), as measured by the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS; Good & Kaminski, 2002). Data analyses showed that all students increased in the number of phonemes segmented and the number of letter sounds produced correctly. Gains were commensurate with the amount of instruction received.
This study reports the results of a peer-mediated intervention, total class peer tutoring, on the academic performance of six urban students at risk for reading failure. A multiple baseline design across subjects was used to evaluate the effects of this intervention. The results showed that five of the six students significantly increased their sight-word acquisition and maintenance. All target students' reading fluency and comprehension scores on the standardized Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Oral Reading Fluency (DORF) passages were higher during intervention than at baseline. Greater fluency gains were shown on constructed paragraphs that included the tutoring sight words. More modest fluency and comprehension gains were found in DORF passages that did not contain words taught in the intervention. Social validity measures taken from teachers, parents, and students revealed positive evaluations of the intervention. Limitations, future directions in research, and practical implications are discussed.
As student populations are becoming more diverse in ability and ethnicity across American classrooms, teachers are faced with instructional challenges in meeting their students’ learning needs. Challenges are heightened for general and special education teachers who teach students with learning disabilities (LD) and have a culturally and linguistically diverse background. This article analyzes three main domains of culturally responsive reading instruction for students with LD: (a) instructional delivery, (b) environmental support, and (c) curriculum context. Specific strategies and teaching tools are described in each domain to assist teachers in making their daily reading instruction more culturally responsive and relevant to the needs of their students.
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