This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Muriel Saville-Troike, Lynne Erting, Harold S. Chu, Larry Hepburn, Patricia Cahape Hammer, Armando Heredia, Sonia Nieto, Miami-Dade County Public Schools Research Services, Masako Shin, and Tami Barnett.
(1997). Becoming Bilingual: Facilitating English Literacy Development Using ASL in PreSchool. Sharing Ideas. This paper discusses ways to facilitate the emerging literacy of deaf children by encouraging bilingualism in American Sign Language and English within the context of what is known from research and practice about emerging literacy in hearing and deaf children. This approach focuses on enrichment by the addition of a second language (English) while supporting the primary language (ASL) as the language of instruction. Three broad topics are emphasized: (1) developing metalinguistic awareness of the two languages; (2) shared storybook experiences; and (3) writing development. Other factors, such as the importance of fingerspelling, social interaction, and the use of environmental print are addressed within the three areas of focus. (Contains 58 references.) [More] Descriptors: American Sign Language, Bilingual Education, Deafness, Emergent Literacy
(1981). Multi-Cultural Competency-Based Vocational Curricula. Auto Body Repair. Multi-Cultural Competency-Based Vocational/Technical Curricula Series. This document, one of eight in a multi-cultural competency-based vocational/technical curricula series, is on auto body repair. This program is designed to run 40 weeks and cover 7 instructional areas: use of basic repair tools; metal bumping (theory and practice); metal refinishing (theory and practice); panel replacement; glass work; spot welding; and basic frame straightening. A duty-task index lists competencies in each instructional area that the student should be able to perform at the end of the program. For example, in the glass work section, a student should be able to (1) adjust or align windows in doors; (2) remove damaged glass and install replacement; and (3) seal leaks around the windshield and rear window. In section 1, each instructional task area contains a list of performance objectives, evaluation criterion, performance guide, and a list of tasks to be covered. In section 2, the introduction and duty-task index is repeated in English, Spanish, and Laotian. Section 3 lists technical terms concerning auto body repair in English, Spanish, and Laotian. Descriptors: Auto Body Repairers, Auto Mechanics, Behavioral Objectives, Bilingual Education
(1997). Sunflower/Girasol: Spanish/English Elementary School Science Activity Curriculum. Evaluation of the Educational Efficacy of the Plant and Water Units. The Sunflower/Girasol program is a Spanish/English bilingual science discovery program for Hispanic children in grades 2-6, designed to improve science instruction and educational opportunity for this group. The report describes the program's proposed activities and products, progress to date, and results of an evaluation of the first two units of the curriculum, on plants and water. The units were field tested in 1996 in 120 bilingual and mainstream grade 1-5 classrooms in six states and Puerto Rico. Results indicate enthusiasm on the part of teachers, and increased student interest and motivation. Most of the participating teachers had no training in use of the materials but found the activities easy to implement. A year later, a more controlled evaluation was conducted in four schools, in grades 3 and 4, with control groups using commercially available curricula. Results of this second evaluation were found to support the efficacy of the Sunflower/Girasol science curriculum model. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Elementary Education, English, Hispanic American Students
(1994). Issues in Problem Solving Discourse: A Preliminary Study of the Socialization of Planning Skills during Science Lessons in a Kindergarten Classroom. This case study explored how social interaction during science lessons leads to the development of planning skills in students. An analysis of group discussions was conducted. Questions addressed were: (1) What is the nature of planning discourse during science problem-solving activities with young children?; and (2) How is collaborative planning during science problem-solving encouraged by the teacher to help a student structure problem-solving attempts? An urban elementary school located in a transient, low-income, predominately Latino neighborhood was selected. The class tended to be bilingual, but the analysis focused on activities where English was used primarily. The classroom population was 30 children, and one-third were fluent English speakers. Participant observation notes and unstructured interviews were conducted. Classroom documents and video and audio tapes of 1-2 hour durations were analyzed. Discourse and conversation analytic methods were used to complete both macro and micro analysis of classroom discourse. Results suggest that the teacher's general framing of learning as problem-solving opportunities for all participants profoundly affected the nature of instructional talk, and contributed to an emphasis on learning about planning during social interaction. In this case study, the teacher was in the process of building a classroom environment that engendered group problem solving by creating opportunities in which students could actively participate in planning activities. The social organization, shaped by a complex integration of linguistic, visual, and kinesic texts, provided students with a means to make sense of practical activity as forms of problem solving that require planning. Active participation in social interaction around planning had the consequence of shifting students' roles from receivers of knowledge to producers of knowledge. (Contains 37 references.) [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Child Development, Classroom Techniques, Discussion (Teaching Technique)
(1996). Children of La Frontera. Chapter 1: Introduction. This introduction to the papers assembled in "Children of La Frontera" provides background information on Mexican immigration to the United States, Mexican migrant workers and their children, and implications for schools. It discusses economic forces in both Mexico and the United States that push and pull Mexicans to "El Norte"; the economic impact of the migrant agricultural workforce, including its contribution to an inexpensive food supply, subsidizing of California agriculture, payment of taxes, and underutilization of social services; the view of immigrants and migrant workers as economic and cultural threat; efforts to deny education to the children of undocumented immigrants; assimilationist approaches to education in U.S. schools versus bilingual, bicultural approaches; international collaborations in education at the national and state level; the involvement of migrant children in agricultural labor; factors in the migrant life style that affect educational performance; and the challenges of providing a good education to children who speak English as a second language. Contains 28 references. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Child Labor, Economic Factors, Educational Cooperation
(1997). Coyote as Reading Teacher: Oral Tradition in the Classroom. Although traditional indigenous stories are widely recognized for their artistic merits and their role in the linguistic and cultural continuity of indigenous peoples, they are seldom used in schools. This paper discusses the instructional uses of traditional coyote stories, with particular reference to bilingual revitalization programs involving the teaching of indigenous languages. Instructional uses fall into two broad areas of school-based language learning: the development of academic discourse proficiencies and the development of second-language proficiency (using original versions for indigenous language revitalization purposes and translations for students dominant in the indigenous language and learning the national language). Coyote stories vary widely in their structural complexity and themes. In this variability lies their power as a genre, from a pedagogical point of view. Two extended examples illustrate the features that, respectively, lend themselves to the two broad language learning objectives: developing textual consciousness and literacy-related discourse competencies and providing a source of second-language comprehensible input. The two stories are the Nez Perce "Coyote and the Shadow People," which has a complex story line similar to the Orpheus myth, and from central Mexico, "The Opossum and the Coyote," a simpler children's tale with repetitive structure. Contains 17 references. [More] Descriptors: Academic Discourse, American Indian Languages, American Indian Literature, Bilingual Education
(1981). Communication Assessment of the Bilingual Bicultural Child: Issues and Guidelines. This collection provides information on the communicative assessment, bilingualism, concepts in testing, and assessing language in context. The text is comprised of the following chapters: (1) "Communication Assessment of the Bilingual Bicultural Child," by J. Erickson; (2) "Concepts in Bilingualism and Their Relationship to Language Assessment," by P. McCollum; (3) "Issues and Procedures in the Analysis of Syntax and Semantics," by L. Locke; (4) "Considerations in Phonological Assessment," by J. Anderson; (5) "Conceptualizations of Bilingual Children," by D. Omark; (6) "Evaluating Language Assessment Tests," by E. Leemann; (7) "Discrete Point Language Tests of Bilinguals," by E. C. Day and others; (8) "Quasi-Integrative Approaches," by P. McCollum and E. C. Day; (9) "Assessing Communicative Competence,; by E. C. Day; (10) "Pragmatics and Language Assessment," by K. Sridhar; (11) "The Role of Contextual Factors in Language Use and Language Assessment," by J. Walters; and (12) "Pragmatics and Ethological Techniques for the Observational Assessment of Children's Communicative Abilities," by D. Omark. Three appendices include suggestions for interviewing children, rules for calculating mean length of utterances for Spanish, and an annotated bibliography. Descriptors: Annotated Bibliographies, Biculturalism, Bilingual Education, Bilingual Students
(1997). Project Based Learning and Assessment: A Resource Manual for Teachers. The idea behind this guide is that assessing student performance through projects not only allows for the observation of affective behaviors and cognitive strategies that affect learning, but also helps to make instruction fully responsive to students' needs. This resource kit was developed to assist teachers in understanding the purpose of project work as a practical and meaningful way of learning and assessing the progress of learning English. The main focus of this kit is to guide teachers in developing projects for learning and assessment of their adult students. The kit includes an introduction, a guide for developing and implementing projects (including background information, project framework, pre-project activities, assessment, and sample projects), abstracts of projects for different levels, and a bibliography. Numerous diagrams, figures, charts, rubrics, checklists, and lesson plans are included. (Contains 28 references.) (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education) [More] Descriptors: Adult Education, Bilingual Education Programs, Classroom Techniques, English (Second Language)
(1996). Developing a Program for Elementary ESL Students. A study investigating the design of elementary school programs for limited-English-speaking children is reported and the resulting recommendations for a program designed for Hispanic migrant children in a Washington school are presented. The three major issues addressed include: the appropriate amount of instruction in native language arts; how to provide an environment conducive to learning English; and applying ideas concerning the ideal learning environment to a particular school setting. Background information was gathered through observation at schools in the surrounding area and in a major metropolitan area with a wide variety of student language backgrounds, to determine the kinds of programs already implemented. Findings at each of these schools are detailed here. Research on effective program design is also reviewed. Recommendations made for the school in question include: implementation of native language instruction in reading for the Hispanic students; preview-review support in content areas; provision of mathematics instruction in the native language at least two times a week; increased family involvement, including a program sending books home regularly, including parents in holiday activity planning, and home visits; and training in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teaching methods so sheltered English can be used in the classroom. Contains 16 references. [More] Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Case Studies, Elementary Education, English (Second Language)
(2005). Miami-Dade County Public Schools Statistical Abstract 2004-2005. The purpose of this document is to present, in summary fashion, statistical information on the status of public education in Miami-Dade County. Information is provided in the areas of organization, educational programs and services, achievement, and other outcomes of schooling. Also included are multi-year statistics on student population, achievement, staff, finances, and a summary of the results of research reports completed in 2004-05 and program evaluations completed in 2003-04. In addition, this document contains information on the indicators of educational and other achievements that will serve as baseline for planning purposes. This document also provides a means of comparison between Miami-Dade and the twenty largest school districts in the United States with regard to staffing levels, salaries, and expenditures per pupil. This "Statistical Abstract 2004-05" is intended to serve as a companion document to the "District and School Profiles, 2004-05" and the "Feeder Pattern Profiles, 2004-05". While the "District and School Profiles" provides statistical information describing some of the more important characteristics of individual schools in the Miami-Dade County public school system and the "Feeder Pattern Profiles" provides data aggregated for schools in a feeder pattern, this document provides a districtwide overview. [More] Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Profiles, Public Schools, Public Education
(1981). Testing Instruments for Reading Skills: English and Korean (Grades One to Three). MORE (Minimal Objectives for Reading Essentials) in English and Korean is organized by levels for the purpose of diagnostic testing and instruction for limited English proficient Korean students in bilingual and/or English as a second language classrooms. This program suggests that the development of English reading skills by limited English proficient students should be based on children's first language in terms of transferability of reading skills in the areas of auditory/visual discimination, phoneme/grapheme correspondence, structural analysis, vocabulary, and literal and interpretive comprehension. The Inventory at each level has 15 objectives (17 for grade 1 and 16 for grade 2 in Korean). Each objective has five test items. Administration and scoring of the Inventory is the responsibility of the classroom teachers. It is also the teacher's responsibility to maintain the individual and class Profile Sheets. The results of this diagnostic Inventory should be used for identifying a student's skill need, for determining remediation programs, and for organizing skill grouping. [More] Descriptors: Auditory Discrimination, Bilingual Education, English (Second Language), Korean
(1980). Curriculum Decision-Making: The Puerto Rican Family and the Bilingual Child. A three stage study was conducted in order to select and test procedures for involving Puerto Rican parents in decision making for elementary school bilingual curricula. The first stage of the study focused on literature reviews that investigated the influence of the family on achievement and intelligence, cultural characteristics of Puerto Rican parents that should be considered by schools when developing relationships with the Puerto Rican community, and the past involvement of Puerto Rican parents in school decision making. During the second phase, selected procedures for obtaining information from Puerto Rican parents about their perceptions of schools' responsiveness to the needs of Puerto Rican children and about the specific needs of particular children were developed. One of the identified procedures was field tested during the third stage. Recommendations for future research and policy formation are included. [More] Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Bilingual Education, Curriculum Development, Decision Making
(1996). Phonemics within the Transitional Bilingual Program: From Haitian Creole to English. Two studies investigated the intrinsic and contextual difficulties of English spelling for native Haitian Creole-speaking children (NHCSs), and the effect of phonemic awareness on the achievement on beginning spellers. Each study had 20 NHCS kindergarten children as subjects. In the first, the subjects were trained in English phonemics (blending, isolation, segmentation, deletion), then tested for phonemic awareness. Results showed the children made errors in increasing order of severity in segmentation, deletion, blending, and isolation, and made significant errors in cluster onsets and cluster coda. The second study had an experimental group of 10 students and a control group of similar size. The experimental group was trained in the same aspects of phonemics and also in pronunciation of syllables illustrating onset rime, vowel coda, cluster onset, and cluster coda, incorporating instruction addressing error patterns found in the first study. Results indicated a significant experimental effect of phonemic training on students' spelling. Recommendations for further research are offered. A 32-item bibliography is included. Descriptors: Bilingual Education Programs, Creoles, Elementary Education, English (Second Language)
(1981). An Analysis of the Reading and Cognitive Development of Italian-American Bilingual and Monolingual Students. This is a comparative study of the cognitive, reading, and achievement levels of Italian Americans in bilingual programs and of their monolingual Italian and American peers. Three groups of students age 10 to 13 were matched within and across groups, according to schools, grade level, dialect, and socioeconomic status. Group I was subdivided into Italian Americans born in the United States and in southern Italy. Group II consisted of Italian students who emigrated from southern to northern Italy. Group III was composed of American students. Factors including number of years in the United States, sex, age, grade, environment, teacher estimate, and report card grades were analyzed. To examine cognitive and reading levels, a nonverbal intelligence measure and reading tests were administered. Achievement was determined by combining teacher estimates and report card grades. The data were then analyzed in order to: (1) indicate which of the variables (cognitive, reading, and achievement levels) are related within and among the three groups, (2) examine the differences among first and second language proficiency levels between groups, and (3) indicate the overall variance between first and second language reading and achievement levels within Group I. Relationships among the variables were determined, as well as factors related to each. The specific conceptual, language, and literacy needs of Italian American bilinguals were determined. Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Bilingual Education, Bilingualism, Children
(1981). The Development of Bilingual and Bicultural Competence in Young Children. Young children's natural processes of language acquisition, the ways they learn a second language, and guides for teaching children a second language are discussed. Topics addressed include social influences on language acquisition, code-switching in bilingual communities, and the relationship of enculturation and acculturation to the development of bicultural competence. In addition, children's development of metalinguistic awareness in their second year, the influence of first language acquisition on second language acquisition for children 2 years of age or older, vocabulary acquisition, peer influence on language learning, and children's language use in the context of social interaction are explored. Four hypotheses that have been proposed to account for observed differences in children's ability to become bilingual in educational contexts are reviewed. Concluding sections of the paper offer three basic principles which underlie the teaching of a second language to young children and 10 guidelines for teaching second language learners. Directions for future research are indicated. [More] Descriptors: Biculturalism, Bilingual Education, Bilingualism, Cognitive Development