Project Overview
Project Objectives
Project Timeline

Project Overview

The AASSA Emergent Literacy Project is a collaborative effort to provide professional development opportunities and create an online resource for educators teaching emergent literacy in a multilingual context. The project originated from a grant, entitled Preventing Reading Difficulties: A Guide to Early Identification and Intervention in Multilingual Classrooms which was funded by the U.S. State Department Office of Overseas Schools with support from the National Association of Elementary School Principals.

The project aims to help educators in international schools set up balanced emergent literacy programs and to aid educators in identifying and helping students who need additional language stimulation to meet literacy expectations. Using assessments appropriate for multilingual students, educators are better able to discern whether students are struggling due to second language learning or whether they are at risk for learning difficulties and then adjust instruction accordingly.

Approximately one hundred educators from nine different countries in South America participated in the AASSA Emergent Literacy Conference held at Graded School in São Paulo, Brazil August 27th – 29th 2009. Kindergarten and first grade teachers as well as specialists and administrators from twenty four international and bilingual schools spent three days exchanging knowledge and attending workshops on effective ways to promote literacy and prevent reading difficulties in a multilingual context. Educators participated in workshops on language and literacy development, storytelling, and family literacy. Parents and children also participated in Family Literacy workshops on Storytelling in English and Portuguese, Read Alouds, and Publishing with eBooks.

The conference was supported by the International Reading Association. Dr. Adelina Arellano-Osuna and Emy Montiel, from the IRA, International Development Division participated in the conference and met with local educators and literacy professionals to investigate beginning a Brazilian IRA affiliate.

Canadian teacher trainers Gretchen Tolfo and Joanne Robertson demonstrated Firm Foundations, Our Turn to Talk and Reading 44 programs created by teachers in North Vancouver, District 44 to develop language and teach early literacy skills in a play-based kindergarten environment, as well as balanced literacy strategies for early primary classrooms. While incorporating great teaching strategies for all learners, the programs are particularly useful when teaching in multilingual classrooms.
In conjunction with researchers, Dr. Linda Siegel from the University of British Columbia, Dr. Ana Luiza Navas from Faculdade de Ciencias Médicas da Santa Casa de São Paulo and the Learning Disabilities Association of Alberta, Canada, emergent literacy assessments are being developed in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Kindergarten and 1st grade teachers in 19 different international schools will be piloting the assessments with multilingual students in their schools to collect data and help the researchers establish benchmarks. These assessments will be available in the public domain and free to all. Researchers and educators are excited about collaborating to create literacy resources which will be useful for their work in AASSA schools, as well as be available to local public schools in their home countries.
All of the assessment, instructional and family literacy resources created with this project will be available on this website.

Project Objectives

1. Help educators in international schools set up a comprehensive balanced emergent literacy program and to aid educators in identifying and helping students who need additional language stimulation to meet literacy expectations.

2. Merge current research and best practices by collaborating with university professors studying multilingualism and international school educators teaching in the multilingual context.

3. Collaborate with educators teaching in English, Spanish and Portuguese throughout AASSA schools to create a web based repository of assessment and instructional materials, as well as and best practices literature for teaching Emergent Literacy in international schools in South America.

4. Create multilingual Emergent Literacy screening assessments which will are valid for students in international schools and can be used to better inform and individualize instruction.

5. Empower educators to cultivate multilingualism and stimulate native language development through Family Literacy practices.

Project Timeline

July 2008
1) Consulting Team is determined and joins to develop cross-linguistic assessment battery, intervention program, and outline all project components.
• Dr. Linda Siegel, University of British Columbia
• Dr. Sylvia Linan-Thompson, University of Texas at Austin
• Dr. Ana Luiza Navas, Faculdade de Ciencias Médicas da Santa Casa de São Paulo

2) Begin development of project webpages which will be hosted by AASSA and OSAC websites.

August 2009
3) Participating schools will send representatives to Emergent Literacy Conference where members of the consulting team will conduct training on current research in literacy instruction and all program components for teachers, as well as invite parents from local schools to participate in Multilingual Family Literacy component of conference.
4) Distribute materials to participating schools
5) Set-up emergentliteracy.ning for collaboration and communication between different participating schools.
6) Participating schools begin to submit resources for AASSA Emergent Literacy Project website.

September 2009
7) Participating schools will administer assessments in English and students’ native language (Spanish or Portuguese) to kindergarten and 1st grade students.
8) Begin classroom instruction for all students
9) Conduct intervention with students at risk in 1st grade classroom

October 2009
10) Submit spreadsheets to emergentliteracy@gmail.com

November 2009
11) Researchers analyze data and establish preliminary benchmarks

December 2009
12) Re-assess students in English
13) Identify kindergarten students not meeting benchmarks.

January 2010
14) Submit spreadsheets to emergentliteracy@gmail.com
15) Conduct intervention with students at-risk in Kindergarten classrooms

May 2010
16) Re-administer assessments in English and students’ native language (Spanish or Portuguese) and measure achievement and improvement
17) Submit spreadsheets to emergentliteracy@gmail.com
18) Gather qualitative feedback. Conduct efficacy survey with participating schools and determine which schools will continue with program.

June 2010
19) Compile data; analyze, establish benchmarks for assessments and add to website

July 2010
20) Assessments, videos and resources finalized on website and submitted to OSAC.