Creating an Effective Curriculum for Children with Learning Disabilities

Literacy for All: Creating anEffective Curriculum forChildren with LearningDisabilitiesMarion Blank, Ph.D.Columbia UniversityDirector: A Light on LiteracyUniversity of Tel AvivMarch 2006

Some HeadlinesIt's Official: OUR KIDS CAN'T READ-New York PostBush's Plan to Push Reading in 'HeadStart' Stirs Debate -New York TimesL.A. Workers Held Back by LowEducation Rate -Los Angeles TimesU.S. Suffers from Wide Literacy Gap-Chicago Sun-Times

One Sample StatisticU.S. Reading Results 4 th gradersReading: The Nation’s Report Card, National Center forEducation Statistics http://nces.ed.gov/

"School had been unremittingtorment for him. … The scars leftby his school experiences reacheddown to his very soul. No amount oflove or admiration …ever totallyerased his low self-esteem or theconviction that he was unable tolearn."

"I always tell people that from themoment a kid gets up in themorning until he goes to sleep atnight, the central mission of the dayis to avoid humiliation at all costs."Dr. Mel Levine

What is Wrong?The COMPONENTS of LiteracyDecoding: identifying the printedwordA LANGUAGE ISSUEComprehension: Understanding theprinted messageA LANGUAGE ISSUE

A Sample SegmentA World TransformedFor the American people, everyday lifechanged in the century following the CivilWar more than the life of earthlings hadchanged in the thousand years before.….As millions from everywhere becameAmericans, they invented a new Way of Life.And they gave a new meaning to almosteverything.

Why Is This Important ?It is central to the languageof literacy

Why Is This Important ?• Students who cannot understand thelanguage of literacy in books also do notunderstand the language of literacy inthe classroom• Conversely, once students understandthe language of literacy in theclassroom, they are enabled tocomprehend the language of literacy inbooks

The Next StepDetermining The Source ofthe Difficulties

Key Features of theLanguage of Literacy• Language of the “there and then”• Laden with “higher level” concepts• Rests on an invisible language system• Structured via subtle, non-explicit butcritical frameworks

Language of the “Here andNow”M: It’s dripping. I’ll put it in a glass for later (icecream cone)C: You put it in a glass?M: Uh huhC: So it won’t drip.M: That’s right.C. Let me see.M. Well, get down from the chair and you’ll see.C: Where?

Language of the “Thereand Then”For the American people,everyday life changed in thecentury following the CivilWar more than the life ofearthlings had changed in thethousand years before.

School and theAdvance of Society“When society goes beyond relativelyprimitive techniques,…the culturecomes to rely on formal education as ameans of providing skills… theeducational system is the sole means ofdissemination-the sole agent ofevolution, if you will.”J. Bruner A Theory of Instruction

Characteristics of “Thereand Then” Language• Objects & events under discussion aredisplaced in time & space• Range of topics is unlimited & coversknowledge base of the society• Lengthy sequences of complicatedverbal information are presented• The presenter (writer or lecturer)assumes that the material will beretained

The Verbal ConceptsFor millions of years the bones lie under theground. Rain falls. It seeps down through theground, dissolving minerals in the rocks. Therainwater carries the minerals along as ittrickles down, down to the bones.Like all bones, the Brontosaurus bones arefilled with holes too small to see. Therainwater seeps into the holes. The waterevaporates. But the minerals in the waterstay and harden in the bones. Little by littlewhat once was bone turns to stone.

When the Concepts areUnfamiliarSmith had made a promise. But couldTurboland keep it?By 1961 some jabots had reached a fewhundred kiloms up into the surrounding belt.But the glerf was almost a quarter of a millionkiloms away!A trip to the glerf and back would take eightyims. By 1961 only one Turbian had even beenup in a jabot-and for only fifteen stashes!…..

When the Concepts areFamiliarKennedy had made a promise. But couldAmerica keep it?By 1961 some rockets had flown a few hundredmiles up into space. But the moon was almost aquarter of a million miles away!A trip to the moon and back would take eightdays. By 1961 only one American had evenbeen up in space-and for only fifteen minutes!….

The Invisible LanguageSystemorHow to Create A UnifiedMessage AcrossDisparate Sentences

For millions of years thebones lie under the ground.Rain falls. It seeps downthrough the ground,dissolving minerals in therocks.

For millions of years the bones lie under theground. Although they are deep underground,they are affected by events that take placeabove ground. One such event is that rainfalls. Although the rainwater first hits thesurface, it does not stay there, on top of theground. Instead, it seeps down into theground and begins a process that will affectthe bones. Gradually, after it goesunderground, it dissolves minerals that it hascontact with in the rocks. So now it is notsimply rainwater, but rainwater with mineralsin it. Next, that rainwater, with the minerals,trickles down, down to the bones…

Characteristics of theInvisible LanguageSystem• Meaning exists only if the reader/listenerintroduces implicit information• Amount of implicit information required varieswidely within and across texts• The need to introduce implicit information isnever discussed• The implicit information is critical to making atext predictable

Organization of the Texts•Narrative• News report• Editorial• Chronologically linked exposition• Unit/attribute format• Stylized formats

Characteristics of TextOrganizationInformation organized into differentformats that• provide predictability• lessen memory demands of thetext• vary according to type ofinformation• are rarely identified

So To Recap• Language of the “there and then”• Laden with “higher level” concepts• Rests on an invisible language system• Structured via subtle, non-explicit butcritical frameworks• Little resemblance to the language ofeveryday life

HOW TO BRIDGE THECHASM• Suggestions for MORE READING is nota viable option‣ Children today will not dolots of reading‣ If they did the reading, it wouldjust mire them in confusion andlack of comprehension

A Possible Option: UsingClassroom DiscourseIf used properly, it offers ameans for presenting viaspoken language,• a mirror for revealing the properties ofthe texts of the curriculum and• a scaffold for enabling a student toattain that language

A Sample Segment ofClassroom DiscourseT: OK. Current events, Glenn?S: Pablo Casals, the well-known cellist, died at 96.T: OK, shush, Jim.S: The war in the Middle East is still going on.T: Is it going on in the same way? Frank?S: Egypt asked Syria to intervene. They want asecurity meeting or a quick meeting of the UNSecurity Council.T: OK, for what reason? …Anyone know why Egypthas called a meeting of the UN Security Council?What has the Security Council just initiated.S: A cease fire.

A Sample Segment ofClassroom DiscourseT: For instance, what were your 1934 Reciprocal TradeAgreements? How did they work? What were theydesigned to do? Ellen?S: I don't know.T: We studied that just last week when we werestudying the New Deal. All right, Ron?S: Well, we agreed, I think we agreed to lower thetariffs for import duty in our country. Then theother country would reciprocate by agreeing tolower theirs.T: Very good.

A Sample Segment ofClassroom DiscourseT: (tapping on map of world) PINK! PINK! PINK! PINK!What are all the pink bits? Rowan!S: They're ours, Miss.T: Yes, British Empire. What fraction of the Earth'ssurface is British?S: I don't know, Miss.T: Anyone …Jennifer Baker!S: Two-fifths.T: Yes. Two fifths. Ours! That's what this war is allabout. Men are fighting and dying to save all thepink bits …

Evaluating the Discourse onthe Key Features• There & then – not taught; tested viaquestions• Concepts: not taught; tested via questions• Implicit Language: even more implicit thanthe confusing written texts• Organization: it exists but it is theorganization of ritual or prayer; not theorganization of higher level intellectualexposition or inquiry

A Blueprint for ChangeYou are now the author of thetext—• a text to get students tounderstand what they aregoing to read—• NOT a text to test of whatthey have (or have not) read

The Organization of theTextThe Topics:Currently: Decontextualized conceptsReplaced by: Predicated concepts

Capitalizing on a CulturalGreat ResourceFILMSThe Bear Born Free Hope and GloryEmpire of the Sun To Kill a MockingbirdOctober Sky Sea Biscuit In the Heat of the NightBridge of the River KwaiPattonMississippi Burning Paths of Glory

“There and Then: MovingNonpresent to the PresentFilms: Allow you to‣make the non-present present(past, future, hypothetical)‣repeat the present as often asneeded

Dealing with the ImplicitInformation• Create a text that links the key ideas• Make student responsible for the informationprovided, usingsimple questionsfill insparaphrase• The “requests” are aimed not at testing, butat ensuring that student has grasped the keypoint needed for proceeding meaningfully withthe text

ConceptsLimit the concepts you are going toteach to the ones central to the theme• High levels of redundancy• Extensive use of comments• Varied, but simple questions

“There and Then: MovingNonpresent to the Present• Concretizing Key Elements Via VisualOrganizers (diagrams, tables, calendars, key words)• Mapping the Flow of Information• Requiring Summaries using the MappedInformation• Requiring (Written) Summaries —withoutvisual cues

Recording the Informationeatingmother killedbaby leaves

A Sample SummaryA mother and baby bear were out eatingwhen the mother was killed. After tryingto help the mother, the baby finallygave up. Now he has to get food on hisown and for most baby bears that isalmost impossible. So he is facing ahuge problem.

Organization of the Text:Moving OnThe potential –from grades 1 to 12-isenormous• literature—character analysis• history-documenting key periods & events• news reporting—writing up scenes (e.g., minecrash) as news events• editorials- reviewing the same scene for an editorial• research papers –using film as the take off point forresearch issues (e.g., prisoners of war) —”Has thetreatment become more or less humane in the pastcentury?”