NYS- ells-disabilities-standard-scores-december-2014.pdf
This is a special education field advisory that was released in December, 2014. It details the use of standardized scores with culturally and linguistically diverse children. Read More
Category: Standard American English (SAE)/ Mainstream American English (MAE)
Standard American English (SAE) is the mainstream or standard dialect of English most commonly spoken in the United States. Standard dialects are distinguishable because they are generally supported and used by institutions such as governments, schools, literature, and television. It is also sometimes called “Mainstream American English” or MAE.
Appropriate Assessment Procedures- Part 2 (Preschool Disability Evaluations: Module 13)
This module examines different sources of bias that are present in commonly used standardized language tests. Read More
Grammar Fundamentals for a Pluralist Society: Module 6 (Real World Applications…)
Module 6 in this series discusses real world applications in disability evaluations. Find the other videos in this module series Read More
Grammar Fundamentals for a Pluralistic Society: Module 5 (Phrases, Clauses and Sentences)
Module 5 in this series outlines some morphosyntactic features of American English dialects relating to the use of phrases, clauses and sentences. Find the other videos in the module series below: Read More
Grammar Fundamentals for a Pluralistic Society: Module 4 (Adjectives, Adverbs…)
Module 4 in this series outlines some morphosyntactic features of American English dialects relating to the use of adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions. FInd the other videos in this module series below: Read More
The Achievement Gap: Increasing the Language Skills of Children from Low Income Backgrounds (Part 1)
Stephanie Downey Toledo defines the achievment gap: the disparity in educational quality certain students experience compared to others. She goes on to explain why the achievement gap matters, including the impact the achievement gap has on individual students, communities and society. Find the other modules in this series below: Read More
Strategies to Support Emergent Literacy: Increasing the Language Skills of Children from Low Income Backgrounds (Part 3)
Children from low income backgrounds can be at risk for difficulty with both print awareness and phonological awareness, the foundations of emergent literacy. Intervention consisting of explicit instruction in phonological awareness just two times a week for half an hour demonstrated effectiveness. Stephanie provides strategies that providers and parents alike can use with children from low income background to support emergent literacy. Find the other modules in this series below: Read More
Reading Development Module 8: Bilingual Considerations
Stephanie Downey Toledo is a bilingual speech language pathologist in New York City as well as a professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. She has collaborated with the LEADERS project on this module series and others.
It is important to distinguish between language difference and disorder. This holds true with reading. As SLPs it is important to consider whether a student’s reading development is being impeded by a disability or a language difference. What are the main factors affecting student success? Is it a difference in literacy instruction or content/ background knowledge? What has the student’s language acquisition looked like in both languages? How might socio-economic and cultural status be affecting reading development? When possible, we should support bilingual reading development.
