Holding Stories in the Palm of Your Hand: Improving Language & Communication in Students who use...

Presenters:

Maryellen Rooney Moreau, M.Ed., CCC-SLP

Mandy Longo, M.S., CCC-SLP,

Elizabeth Padilla, NBCT, M.A., CCC-SLP

Holding Stories in the

Palm of Your Hand: Improving

Language & Communication in Students who use American

Sign Language

ASHA 2014 Orlando

November 21, 2014, 10:30am

Disclosures

Copyright © 2014, MindWing Concepts, Inc. • 1-888-228-9746 •

Web: www.mindwingconcepts.com

Maryellen Rooney Moreau, M.Ed. CCC-SLP,

• Financial: Maryellen has ownership interest in MindWing Concepts, holds intellectual

property rights and patents. Maryellen is employed as president of MindWing Concepts.

In that capacity, She designed Story Grammar Marker® and Braidy the StoryBraid®

along with many other books and materials. She consults, trains and presents on these

topics.

• Nonfinancial: No relevant nonfinancial relationships exist.

Mandy Longo, M.S. CCC-SLP

• Financial: Mandy authored the publication Holding Stories in the Palm of Your Hand

with Maryellen Rooney Moreau, published by MindWing Concepts, Inc. and has royalty

agreement with MindWing Concepts., Inc.

• Nonfinancial: Longtime colleague and friend of Maryellen Rooney Moreau, owner of

MindWing Concepts, Inc

Elizabeth Padilla, NBCT, M.A., CCC-SLP

• Financial: No relevant financial relationships exist.

• Nonfinancial: Longtime colleague and friend of Maryellen Rooney Moreau, owner of

MindWing Concepts, Inc.

Regulatory Requirements

Florida Statute subsection (6) Section

1003.55:

– The Florida Department of Education shall

develop a model communication plan, to be used

in the development of a student’s IEP.





The Methodology

Beginning

Middle

End

Name:__________________________ Date:____________

Story Graphic Organizer

Copyright © 2014 • Maryellen Rooney Moreau • 1-888-228-9746

• www.mindwingconcepts.com

Beginning

Middle

End



Setting

Solution

Name:__________________________ Date:____________

Story Graphic Organizer

Problem

Character

Events



Copyright © 2014 • Maryellen Rooney Moreau • 1-888-228-9746 • www.mindwingconcepts.com

What is the

Story

Grammar

Marker®?

A hands on, multisensory

tool that has colorful,

meaningful icons that

represent the organizational

structure of a story. The

tool itself is a complete

episode, the basic unit of a

plot.

Character

Setting

Kick-off

Feeling

Plan

Planned Attempts (Actions)

Direct Consequence

Resolution

8



A narrative is a story. It involves

the telling or re-telling of events

and experiences orally and in

writing. A story can be true or

fictitious and takes into account

one or more points of view.

Narrative



Narratives are “stories about real or imagined

events that are constructed by weaving together

sentences about situational contexts, characters,

actions, motivations, emotions, and outcomes”

“Narration is an important vehicle for academic,

social, linguistic and cultural learning. Children

use narratives to relate events, establish and

maintain friendships, and express their thoughts

and feelings about important topics”

Petersen, Gillam & Gillam, 2008, p. 115



Narration is an important vehicle for academic, social, linguistic, and cultural learning. Children use narratives to relate events, establish and maintain friendships, and express their thoughts and feelings about important topics.McCabe, A. & Bliss, L. (2003). Patterns of narrative discourse: A multicultural, life span approach. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Why are narratives important?

Strands of Language

Pragmatics

Phonology

Semantics

Syntax & Morphology

Discourse

Metalinguistics





How does “narrative” link language development to literacy?

CCSS

COLLEGE AND CAREER

Without “discourse” there is no efficient connection between

language development and literacy.



Narrative retelling is a useful task for

predicting which children may be at

risk for later literacy problems.

Based on the results of this study, narrative macro-structure appears to

play an especially important role in the development of later literacy

skills…Language intervention involving oral narratives may boost

children’s reading comprehension as well as carry over to later written

language skills.

Wellman, et. al. (20011). Narrative ability of children with speech sound disorders and the prediction of later literacy skills. LSHSS,

42, 561-579.





CONVERSATION NARRATION EXPOSITION

The “Here and Now”………………………………….The “There and Then”

D I S C O U R S E

Carol Westby (1985)

The Oral-Literate Continuum

We help children develop literate oral

language by assisting them in

progressing along the

Oral- Literate Continuum (discourse).



The Narrative

Developmental Sequence:

Where It All Comes Together!

PROBLEM

Research into deaf children’s literacy

development since Conrad (1979) does not

point towards a big improvement in

performance (Mayer, 2007).

Response to Intervention– 3 Tiered Model

Tier I Instruction

Core reading instruction using a reading curriculum which includes the 5 key components

of reading instruction

At least a 90 minute reading block which includes a variety of grouping formats

Students are typically grouped heterogeneously for small group instruction

Assessment:

Universal screening assessment 3x/year

Assessments contained within reading curriculum and school-wide outcomes based

assessments

80%

15%

5%

Tier II Instruction

Tier I core reading instruction and

30 minutes daily of small group skill-based intervention. Identification and monitoring of skill deficit is

based on assessment data. Intervention is provided or supervised by a highly skilled teacher.

Students are grouped homogenously for small group intervention

Intervention is provided in 14 week cycles and students may be provided multiple rounds of intervention.

Assessment:

All assessment provided within Tier I with the addition of bi-monthly progress monitoring

assessments and “digging deeper” assessments to guide intervention

Tier III Instruction

Tier I core reading instruction and

60 minutes daily of small group (e.g. 1:3) skill-based reading intervention. Intervention is highly systematic and

explicit and allows for multiple opportunities for response. Provided or supervised by a highly skilled teacher and

target skills determined and monitored by assessment data

Intervention is provided in rounds of 9 weeks

Assessment:

Assessment provided with Tier II; however, progress monitoring assessments are administered weekly

Incre

asin

g levels

of support

Given high quality core instruction 80% of students should reach reading

benchmark standards, 15% will require some additional support and 5% will

require substantial intervention

ASL Fluency facilitates reading

development in English.

-Strong and Prinz 1997

Deaf children with deaf mothers have better reading

skills than those deaf children who have parents who

do not sign.

Comparative studies of deaf children with hearing

parents and deaf children with deaf parents show that

deaf children with deaf parents are superior in

academic achievement, reading and writing, and

social development -Ewoldt, Hoffmeister, & Israelite, 1992

Research Shows…

There is a correlation between ASL competency and reading

skills.

-Ramsey 2000

Discourse skills used in signing are critical to reading

comprehension

-Kuntz 2006

There is a significant correlation between performance on the

SATs (reading comprehension) and ASL linguistic tests.

-Hoffmeister 2000

ASL fluency provides the child

with a linguistic foundation that

enables development of literacy

skills in English.

- Strong and Prinz, 1997; Singleton et al., 1998; Hoffmeister,

2000; Chamber- lain and Mayberry, 2000; Padden and Ramsey,

2000

VL2: Reading Research & Deaf

Children (June 2011)

• http://youtu.be/vWeEw-

gtBL4?list=PLCv77TT9h6pI79tULKvIBk2jy

P5kkDpZJ

Three strongest predictors of reading success:

1.Strong Language Foundation

2.Parental Involvement

3.Feeling Comfortable Communicating

http://youtu.be/vWeEw-gtBL4?list=PLCv77TT9h6pI79tULKvIBk2jyP5kkDpZJ



BICS Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills

Language ability for daily conversation, chatting, play, basic

interactions with those in environment Contextualized: context

embedded (gesture, facial expressions, concrete

objects/pictures for reference).

CALP Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency

Language ability to understand and communicate

content areas of the classroom curriculum

Decontextualized: context reduced (fewer

non-verbal cues; more abstract language

and dense sentence structure)

The Iceberg ModelCummins, J. (1984) Page 20 In Holding Stories



CUP Common Underlying Proficiency

• Scripts and Schemas (A movie theater process)

• Problem/Solving: (A fallen tree in the path of your car)

• Content learning (photosynthesis diagram)

In this theory, CALP is transferrable across languages.



“A second language develops from the foundation

of the first language.”

“The stronger the first language, especially CALP,

the stronger the second language can be.”

“Deaf children may not have had the opportunity

to develop BICS and CALP in their primary

language.”

-University of Northern Colorado

Think on this…

• Reading curriculums are designed for students who are

entering school already fluent in the English language.

• Hearing, English-speaking students receive English

Language Arts instruction (instruction in a language

they are already fluent in) every single day of school

for 13 years.

• Many children who are deaf come to school not fluent

in any language.

• Most students who are deaf have no curriculum and no

instruction in their first language…ever.

Conscious knowledge of the

formal aspects of language.

Metalinguistics

Information Processing Model

By Bailystok and Ryan 1985

Metalinguistic awareness is unnecessary for first language,

it becomes crucial for any individual’s development of a

non-native second language.

Successful language learning is influenced by the

development of analyzed linguistic knowledge (a linguistic

understanding of the devices in one’s language) and

control.

Metalinguistics

Metalinguistics is what allows for the transfer of L1 knowledge to L2

Making second-language learners aware of

linguistic forms at their disposal and how

to control these forms makes learners

aware of implicit knowledge and in turn

makes knowledge explicit.

-(Bialystok and Ryan 1985)

Listen

UnderstandTalk

Fluency

in L1

ReadWrite

Gain Metalinguistic Skills K-5

Begin Learning L2

Hierarchy of Language Acquisition

for a child who is hearing and

speaks English

Listen

Understand Talk

Fluency

in L1

ReadWrite

Gain Metalinguistic Skills K-5

SKIP

What happens with our deaf students?

AND – don’t forget about the push for inclusion!

“Unless the language levels of deaf children are

within 1 or 2 years of those in the regular class in

which they are placed, they are virtually cut off from

the entire verbal input process that is basic to

educational experiences.”

»A. McConkey Robbins (2000)

“Students who are behind do not learn faster than students who are

ahead”

“Catch-up growth is driven primarily by proportional increases in

direct instruction time”

“Catch-up growth is so difficult to achieve that it can be the

product only of quality of instruction in great quantity”

» Fielding (2011)

“Students who are behind need to make

catch-up growth. Catch-up growth is

annual growth plus some additional part

of a year’s growth.”

–L. Fielding, N. Kerr, P. Rosier

(2007)

“Educators often have the poorest

data for the students for whom they

need the most precision”

»L. Fielding (2007)

“Adults who consistently do not and

cannot create double annual growth

should not continue to be in charge of

creating it for that critical population of

students who require it”

-L. Fiedling (2009)

What have we learned?

• Deaf children who are fluent ASL users are able to use their

Common Underlying Proficiency (CUP) and metalinguistic

skills, to apply that knowledge to learning a second

language, and become literate users of the English

language.

• However, most children who are deaf are not fluent ASL

users. They do not have the L1 or the metalinguistic skills

required to learn L2.

• Deaf children with language delays cannot ever catch up

without intense, direct intervention by qualified

professionals.

So what do we do?

We need to think about how we can

ensure that our students have a solid

first language

First Language Development

HOW?• Family Support

• Bi-Bi Education

• Qualified Teachers

• More training for SLPs

• Specific ASL Instruction

• Qualified Interpreters

• Peer and Adult role models

• Increased language support/therapy

• Ability to evaluate and progress monitor ASL language

development

Language Therapy (2x30???)

• Direct instruction is proportional to the

deficiency.

• The greater the deficiency, the more time

they get.

• “Direct instruction to the deficient sub-skill

is fundamentally different than re-teaching

the morning’s lesson” –L. Fielding (2007)

• “Some children may require instruction that

is 4 or 5 times more powerful than the rest

of the students” –Crawford (2007)

What’s the Magic Formula?

1 hour of direct instruction

per day

for every year of delay in

language and vocabulary

Story Grammar Marker Narrative Analysis

• Prek – adult

• Assesses narrative story-telling skills

• Analyzes student’s production of macrostructure and

microstructure

• Based on the hierarchy of skills identified in the

VCSL and other ASL checklists

What is literate oral language?It is the combination of:

Macro-structure The overall organization of a story or expository text selection

&

Micro-structure The linguistic complexity of sentences that

make up the macro-structure

Elements of micro-structure connect

the elements of macro-structure. Copyright © 2012, MindWing Concepts, Inc. • 1-888-228-9746 •


Narrative Macro-structure

is…

…the global organizational structure

or “story grammar” of a narrative

(story) – independent

of content.



Macrostructure

• Character

• Setting

• Initiating Events

• Feelings

• Plan

• Sequenced Actions

• Direct Consequence

• Resolution

1. Micro-structure, as defined by Justice (2004), is the internal linguistic organization of the

narrative.

2. Micro-structure is commonly referred to as “story sparkle” (Westby). It focuses on

vocabulary and sentence development as well as cohesive ties (see page 39-40 of SGM®

manual.)

3. Micro-structure is the elaboration and cohesion that makes a story (narrative) meaningful.

(SGM® manual page 39-44.)

4. Micro-structure’s literate language features:

• Elaborated noun phrases (ex. The big, scary fish…)

• Verb phrases (tense use & adverb use, ex. The big, scary fish swam slowly.)

• Mental State verbs (the character may: remember, know, think, realize, etc.)

• Linguistic verbs (whispered, yelled, asked, etc.)

• Conjunctions (and, but, so, because, first, then, next, finally, etc.)



Micro-structure: Gluing the Sentences Together

More English Microstructure

• Subject and Predicate

• Pronoun Referent

• Verb Structures

• Elaborated Noun Phrases

• Conjunctions

• Adverbs

• Mental State Verbs

• Linguistic Verbs

ASL Microstructure

• Spatial Referencing/Indexing

• Classifiers

• Verbs

• Sentence Structure

• Negation

• Handshape

• Location

• Movement

• Non-Manual Markers

• Conjunctions

Other Areas

• Perspective Taking

• Theory of Mind

• Social Emotional

• Pragmatics

• Mental States

• Critical Thinking

• Problem Solving

• Conflict Resolution



Narrative Analysis

• Select appropriate Stimulus Story

• Play Story DVD

• Record Student doing a re-tell

• Use forms to rate the language

• Chart Data

• Develop Targeted Interventions

• Annual Assessment & Progress Monitoring

Macrostructure Rating Form

Narrative Retell - ASL



ImplementationTraining Focus

• Itinerant DHH Staff

• Classroom Teachers

Implementation

– Year 1 & 2

Narrative: Story Structure- Microstructure

» Story Grammar- Macrostructure

– Year 3

» Theory of Mind

» Expository Text

– Year 4

» Common Core

» Expository & Narrative Text

4 Year Business Plan

Collaboration of SLPs and Teachers of the Deaf• What is the expertise of a Speech and Language

Pathologist?

• What is the expertise of the Teachers of the

Deaf?

• Determine roles and responsibilities

Considerations

Impact on Student Performance• 2 experts working together = increased student

achievement

• Improvement in comprehension using visuals to

represent concepts

• Improvement in language use and understanding of

topics

• Improvement in sentence structure

• Improvement in social pragmatics

Results

Workshops in Your School District

or for your Organization!

For Professional Development Information, please

contact us at 1-888-228-9746 or go to

www.mindwingconcepts.com/request-proposal.htm



http://www.mindwingconcepts.com/request-proposal.htm



How to reach…

Maryellen:

Call her (toll free): 888.228.9746

[email protected]

Mandy:

[email protected]

Elizabeth:

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



Thank you for attending our presentation!

• ASHA 2014 Orlando – Discount:

– 10% off through December 31, 2014

– Use code: ASHA14 in our online store check-out

http://mindwingconcepts.com/store.htm,

call 888.228.9746 or fax a PO to 413.734.7476

© Lafontaine &

Moreau 2014 -

www.mindwingconcept

http://mindwingconcepts.com/store.htm

Holding Stories in the Palm of Your Hand: Improving Language & Communication in Students who use...

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Transcript of Holding Stories in the Palm of Your Hand: Improving Language & Communication in Students who use...