August 6, 7, 8 2007Janice Wood, Bronwyn McLemore, Brian Gifford

ELLM/Plus is a comprehensive, research-based

curriculum for 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children.

Explicit, literacy-based, whole-group

instruction is reinforced and extended through

practice at learning centers, and small-group

instruction at a Teaching Table. Rituals and

routines are established to promote creativity,

persistence, and an eagerness to learn in all

children.

Goal: To increase opportunities for children to

learn and acquire the basic skills needed to

become successful readers and learners.

ELLM/Plus Overview

The

Early

Literacy

and

Learning

Model/

Plus

ELLM/Plus Performance Standards

ELLM/Plus Performance Standards are aligned with:

• Florida’s Voluntary Prekindergarten Education

Standards

• Florida’s School Readiness Performance

Standards

• The Head Start Performance Standards

• Sunshine State Standards

Monthly Performance Standards

Monthly Instructional PacketsPerformance Standards

Information for ConceptDevelopment

Vocabulary Word Definitions

Multi-leveled Activities for allContent Areas

Vocabulary Booster Activities

ELLM/Plus Songs, Poems,Nursery Rhymes

Take-Home Bracelets

Activity Pictures

Independent Reading Book

Creating Learning-RichEnvironments

Productive learning environments

include five key elements:

Learner-focused

Knowledge-focused

Assessment-focused

Community-focused

Improvement-focused

Young children need

developmentally

appropriate rituals

and routines that

allow for movement

and engaging

activities. Children

should not have to sit

and do paperwork, or

listen to the teacher

talk for long periods

of time.(Florida Department of Education,

2005)

Effective Instruction

for Early Learners

Review

Practice

Teach

Connect to Background

Knowledge

Explain the Purpose

Information for Concept

DevelopmentELLM/Plus is

designed to expand

children’s

vocabularies and

refine their

understanding and

comprehension of

words they know and

use.

Reading Aloud

Reading aloud provides important instruction for children at

all age levels, and is the most highly recommended

activity for the development of language and literacy.

(Dreher, 2003)

Print

ConceptsLearning concepts

of print at an early

age positively

influences children’s

language

development and

emergence as

readers and

writers.(Reutzel and Cooter, 2004)

Learning CentersIndependent Reading

Word Wall

Listening

Letter

Writing

Exploration

Housekeeping/

Community

Art

Dramatic Play

Free Choice Centers

Extending

Concepts in

Learning

Centers

Review

Practice

Teach

Connect to

Background

Knowledge

Explain the Purpose

Materials created by the children

themselves have more instructional

power than store-bought materials, and

are proof of active learning.(Messick, 2002)

Decoding new

words and

recognizing

words quickly will

ensure that word

recognition will

assist rather than

compete with

comprehension.(Adams, 2003)

• Talk with the children about the picture.

• Say the word and ask children to repeat it.

• Go through one of the following activities:

• Letter Count - As a group, count the number of

letters in the word (say each)

• Cheerleading - Create a cheer for the word with a

motion for each letter

• Comprehension - Have students use the word in a

complete sentence.

• Add the word to the Word Wall.

Adding Words to the Word Wall

Oral Language provides children with

opportunities to access their knowledge in a way

that will help them understand the world.(Watson, 2003).

• Develop positive feeling towards

learning

• Encourage children to explore

language

• Include poetry, songs, and games

• Be playful in nature

Phonological Awareness

Activities Should:

• Concept of Word

• Beginning Sound Recognition

• Rhyming Word Recognition

• Beginning Sound Application

• Rhyming Word Application

• Syllable Segmentation

Phonological Awareness Levels

Phonologicalawareness is

listening to andunderstandingthe differentsounds andpatterns of

spokenlanguage.

(Yopp & Yopp, 2004)

Emergent Writing

The development of children’s

writing begins with their active

engagement with others, with

objects, and through personal

experiences.(McCarrier, Pinnell & Fountas, 2000)(

Letter

reproduction

is an even

more

complex

process than

letter naming

and letter

sounding.

(Dodd & Carr, 2003)

I am thinking of a word.

What can it be?

Listen to my definition

and please tell me.

Children learn their own strategies

to determine the meanings of

unknown words.(Baker, Simmons, & Kameenui, 1998)

? ? ? ? ?

Provides a set of tools

to help teachers:

• gain information about

children’s progress to

plan future learning

experiences and to be

shared with parents,

• create learning-rich

environments, and

• think about their own

teaching and consider

ways it might be

strengthened.

Charting Children’s ProgressAn ongoing process that requires…

1. Careful observation of children at work and at play,

2. Listening to children as they work and play together,

3. Taking notes or using informal checklists,

4. Reflection on instructional practices, and

5. Using this information to chart children’s progress

and decide how to best help them continue to learn

and grow.

Children’s Progress Instruments

• Child’s Learning Progress Chart

• Readiness Progress Snapshot

• Children’s Journal Writing and

Learning Portfolios

• Classroom Letter Recognition Kit

Letter and Sound KnowledgeChildren need to develop skills in three

areas of letter and sound knowledge: letter

naming, letter-sound recall, and letter

reproduction. Letter-sound recall is more

difficult than letter naming. Letter

reproduction is the most difficult of these

three skills. (Dodd & Carr, 2003)

Creating Learning-Rich

Environments• Classroom Environmental Checklist

• Guided Learning Center Checklist

• Targeted Instructional Strategy

(TIS) Checklists

• Thinking About My Day – A Review

ELLM/Plus teachers must

be aware of what they can

do to facilitate optimal

health. The physical health

component addresses:

exercise, nutrition,

physical health, dental

health, auditory, and visual

development. Children

should be engaged in the

components of physical

health throughout the day.

Using letter clusters during

instruction allows young

children to hear the same

letters and their sounds over

and over. Repetition increases

the strength of neural

connections (Wolfe & Nevills,

2004). As repetition occurs,

the child’s brain formulates a

neural model of the letter that

includes its shape, name, and

sound. Encouraging children

to listen to and repeat letters

helps them build neural

connections that will in later

years enhance their

capabilities of learning words.(Shore, 1997)

Physical Health Standards

• Importance of Healthy Living

• Strategies for Staying Safe

• Building and Maintaining Healthy Bodies

• Growth and Development

Preschool children need

to move to be happy, to

express themselves, to

develop their bodies, their

intellect and their motor

skills. The goal of

ELLM/Plus is to have

preschool children master

a set of fundamental skills

that will form a foundation

for more complex skills

they will learn as they

mature.

It is critical to involve

families in the

educational process of

their children so they

develop an

understanding of the

vital role they play as

partners in that process.

The ELLM/Plus Family

Component provides

many opportunities for

families to participate in

their child’s education.

ELLM/Plus Family Model

School-Based Literacy EventsELLM/Plus teachers host 4 family meetings throughout

the year, with an emphasis on literacy.

Families who maintain frequent contact with thecenter/school have higher-achieving children than thosefamilies who have less frequent contact (Brady, 1999).

Family Calendar

Monthly Family Tips

Thank You!

Janice Wood at JAWood@unf.edu

Bronwyn McLemore at Bmclemor@unf.edu

Brian Gifford at BGifford@unf.edu

904-620-2496