RTI FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERSPatty Cornelius, M.Ed. ESL Liaison, Lakota Local Schools

Objectives You will be able to…

Define RtI and its role in the education of English language learners (ELLs)

Evaluate the effectiveness of core instruction in meeting the needs of ELLs

Define and discuss progress monitoring issues for ELLs

Indentify effective practices for ELLs who require more intensive interventions

What is RTI? Response To Intervention (RTI) integrates

assessment and intervention within a multi-level prevention system to maximize student achievement and reduce behavior problems. With RTI, schools identify students at risk for poor learning outcomes, monitor student progress, provide evidence-based interventions and adjust the intensity and nature of those interventions depending on a student’s responsiveness, and identify students with learning disabilities or other disabilities http://www.rti4success.org

Why focus on ELLs? Achievement outcomes for ELLs in general are dismal On the 2007 National Assessment of Education

Progress (NAEP), the average reading score for ELLs was188 points out of a possible 500 (compared to 224 for non-ELL fourth graders) This is a 36 point achievement gap! 26 point gap between Hispanic and white students 28 point gap between African American and white

students 33 point achievement gap between disabled and non-

disabled studentsSource: Movit, Peytrykowska, and Woodruff, 2010

Factors that Contribute to the Gap Ineffective or poorly trained teachers

56% of teachers in the U.S. have at least one ELL in their class, but only 20% are certified to teach ELLs

Lack of access to appropriate instructional and assessment materials Instructional and assessment materials often not

normed for ELLs Failure by schools and teachers to implement

culturally responsive practices Approximately 60% of ELLs are in English only

classes with little differentiation for language and culture backgroundsSource: Movit, Peytrykowska, and Woodruff, 2010

Considerations for ELLs Language proficiency Academic English Background knowledge Formal education history Culture

The Role of Culture Activity Read the comments about English

language learners that are often heard in schools throughout the country.

How might you respond? Write an “elevator speech” (1 minute) with

a response Role play your response with a person

sitting near you

Tier 1: The Core ELLs need to be included in the core!

Language development should supplement not supplant Historically, ELLs have often been pulled out of

Tier 1 core instruction and have not been exposed to content standards in the same manner and at the same level as their English speaking peers.

Language development is a Tier 1 responsibility!

Core instruction must be differentiated so that it is comprehensible for all language levels

Effective Core Practices for ELLs Systematic Attention to Language

Development Content and language objectives made clear

Focuses on developing the content specific language

Explicit and intentional vocabulary development Intentional goal of each lesson Allow students to interact with words through games,

dialogue, and other activities (Marzano) Vocabulary should be posted and reviewed often

Adapted from RTI for English Language Learners Participant Workbook, Pearson Education, Inc., 2010

Effective Core Practices for ELLs (cont’d)

Build on students’ background knowledge and experiences Helps makes links between schema and text Students understand more of the content when they

have the appropriate background knowledge

Use techniques that make the lesson more comprehensible Visual clues, gestures, modeling, demonstrations,

graphic organizers Scaffold instruction

Adapted from RTI for English Language Learners Participant Workbook, Pearson Education, Inc., 2010

Effective Core Practices for ELLs (cont’d)

Create opportunities for practice and application of content and language knowledge Provide differentiated materials for different levels Provide time for oral language practice

Sentence frames, sentence starters Hands-on, engaging materials Guided practice (I do, we do, you do) Activities that appropriately measure students’

content knowledge regardless of language proficiency

Adapted from RTI for English Language Learners Participant Workbook, Pearson Education, Inc., 2010

Effective Core Practices for ELLs (cont’d)

Repeat, Repeat, and Repeat “Say it, show it, repeat it” Exposure to information in a variety of ways

Technology, audio taped text, oral presentations

Assess often and reteach if necessary Formal and informal assessments Assessment must drive instruction!

Adapted from RTI for English Language Learners Participant Workbook, Pearson Education, Inc., 2010

Other Important Aspects of the Core

Culturally relevant texts available in the classroom

Learning materials are inclusive and avoid stereo-types

Higher level thinking skills are utilized Cooperative learning groups with clear

expectations Opportunity for interaction with native

English speakers What else?

Before moving to Tier 2, Closely examine Tier 1

Before we examine what is wrong with the student, we must examine what is wrong with the instruction!

When ELLs are struggling, we need to first consider the possibility that they are not receiving adequate instruction before we assume they are not responding due to a deficit of some kind (Harry & Klinger, 2005)

Parents as Resources Provide base experiences from which language

acquisition can grow Ensure that instruction is culturally responsive Support child’s acquisition of language and

literacy Talk with child in both languages, read to them,

assist with homework Provide information such as:

Strengths and learning needs Health, developmental milestones, educational history of children Family’s use of language and/or cultural background Strategies already used at home to help the child learn

Source: Movit, Peytrykowska, and Woodruff, 2010

Progress Monitoring for ELLs Establish a baseline Set a goal and determine realistic rate of

growth Assess frequently to monitor growth Use multiple assessments Use valid, and reliable assessments

Select assessments that are normed for ELL populations or that are available in multiple languages

Progress Monitoring Issues for ELLs (cont’d) Assessing reading proficiency can be difficult

There is a huge difference between learning the process of reading vs. learning vocabulary for what you are reading!

Teachers need to know if students can read in their native language Assessments only in English provide no

information about possible early literacy skills that have been developed in a child’s first language

Progress Monitoring Issues for ELLs (cont’d) Knowing a child’s instructional reading level

is crucial, yet our usual battery of reading assessments may not yield reliable results for ELLs Blindly using results from a reading inventory without

an understanding of second language acquisition might suggest the student has a serious reading problem when they don’t

If the student has no problems reading in the native language, they will most likely not have problems reading in English

If the student has a reading problem in their first language, they very well may have difficulty in reading English

Turn and Talk How might you gather information about

a student’s reading ability in his or her native language?

When ELLs Need More…Interventions should be:

Purposeful Intentional Explicit

Targeted Tier 2 Interventions for ELLs

What? Target key skills that are will impact overall

academic achievement Reading: phonological awareness, phonics, fluency,

vocabulary, comprehension, reading strategies Math: number sense, computation, problem-

solving, algebraic foundations Writing: handwriting, spelling, conventions, writing

process

Adapted from RTI for English Language Learners Participant Workbook, Pearson Education, Inc., 2010

Targeted Tier 2 Interventions for ELLs

How? Small groups Specific content AND language objectives Content and materials appropriate for

students Explicit and intensive teaching of skills Immediate and corrective feedback

Adapted from RTI for English Language Learners Participant Workbook, Pearson Education, Inc., 2010

Key Questions to Consider in Tier 2 for ELLs

How much L1 support with be provided? Who will provide the intervention? (It’s not

always the ESL teacher!) How will the teachers collaborate? How often, how frequently? What assessments will measure both

language and academic progress? How can we communicate progress to

parents? Adapted from RTI for English Language Learners Participant Workbook, Pearson Education, Inc., 2010

Tier 3 Intensive Individual Different materials and methods than before Additional time each day (before, during, or

after school) Progress monitoring occurs every week Can be provided by teachers other than the

ESL teacher Parents involved and have input Assistance may be push in or pull outAdapted from RTI for English Language Learners Participant Workbook, Pearson Education, Inc., 2010

When to Evaluate Further

“A multidisciplinary team needs to evaluate the quality of instruction the student has received, the results of the instruction, and the status of language proficiency at each tier BEFORE a referral a special education assessment.”

RTI for English Language Learners Participant Workbook, Pearson Education, Inc., 2010

Jigsaw Activity Gather into groups of four Your group will be assigned a section of

the article “Response to Intervention and English Learners”

Each group member will take on one of the roles to discuss and present the section of the article you have read

Be ready to share your learning with the group

RTI/ESL Acronyms and Important Terms

RtI teams need to understand the terms that are specific to ELLs

Using a common language in a building and district is important to the success of RtI

Refer to the document ESL Acronyms and Terms for RtI Teams

References/Resources Echevarria, J., & Vogt, M. (2010). RtI for English

Language Learners Participant Workbook. New Jersey; Pearson Education.

Harry, B., & Klinger, J.K. (2005). Why are so many minority students in special education? Understanding race and disability in schools. New York; Teachers College Press.

Movit, M., Petrykowska, I., & Woodruff. D. (2010). Using school leadership teams to meet the needs of English language learners. National Center on Response to Intervention.

Contact Information

Patty CorneliusLakota Local Schoolspatricia.cornelius@lakotaonline.com(513) 200-6834 cell(513) 777-2258 office