Early Literacy Skills Builder (ELSB) is a powerful curriculum for students with significant developmental disabilities, including autism, who need to develop the foundations of literacy (conventions of print, phonemic awareness, letter-sound correspondence, and some sight word vocabulary.)
Features:
- Is thoroughly researched
- Provides a multiyear curriculum
- Develops foundational literacy skills
- Includes student response options for verbal or nonverbal responding
- Provides scripted lessons
- Includes a DVD training video
- Integrates software to simplify instruction and progress monitoring
Five years of research through the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, proved ELSB to be a highly effective literacy program: Even more effective than a sight-word-only program! ELSB is based upon the principles of systematic and direct instruction. It incorporates scripted lessons, least-prompt strategies, teachable objectives, built-in lesson repetition, and ongoing assessments. The seven ELSB levels contain five structured lessons each.
All students begin at Level 1. If a student struggles here, Level A has been included. Scripted instruction may be done in small groups or one-on-one for two 30-minute daily lessons. Once a level has been completed, formal assessments are provided. ELSB includes everything you need to implement a multiyear literacy curriculum: It provides an aligment to state and national standards, including the common core!
Research Details:
Dr. Diane Browder, principal author of ELSB, directed an analysis of 128 studies on teaching reading to students with cognitive disabilities, which indicated the effectiveness of using systematic instruction techniques to teach sight words. ELSB research was conducted through Project RAISE and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Five years of research have been completed. Sixty students from the Charlotte Mecklenburg School System with moderate-to-severe disabilities received daily instruction in the ELSB curriculum. These students were compared with a control group using a sight-word-only approach. ELSB students earned significantly higher scores on the pre/post test for the ELSB curriculum as well as the Nonverbal Literacy Assessment and receptive language measures.
Data from the first 3 years of classroom research show that the ELSB group had higher gain scores (posttest minus pretest) than the control group on all four dependent variables. Accordingly, the Institute of Education Sciences (funding agency) approved the discontinuation of the Edmark control group in 2008. Students continued to make significant progress in years 4–5.
ELSB Authors
Components:
- Implementation Guide
- 6 Teacher’s Manuals
- 6 Student Response Books
- 6 Student Assessment Manuals
- Moe the Frog Puppet
- All About Moe Stories
- Oh My, Apple Pie Story
- DVD for staff training
- Discs with printable PDFs and other reproducible resources
- Sight word flashcards
- Magnetic dry erase board
- Post-it flags
- 2 Storage boxes
ELSB Software or ELSB iPad App may be used in conjunction with the print version or alone as a literacy curriculum.
As a supplemental resource, see Early Literacy Communication Package — a GoTalk 4+ and the Early Literacy Communication Overlays book featuring 50 tear out pages of overlays to compliment the ELSB program.
Need more information? Have questions or comments about ELSB? Contact our expert at [email protected].
Supporting Research Articles:
Browder, D. M., Ahlgrim-Delzell, L., Courtade, G., Gibbs, S. L., & Flowers, C. (2008). Evaluation of the effectiveness of an early literacy program for students with significant developmental disabilities. Exceptional Children, 75, 33-52.
Browder, D. M., Ahlgrim-Delzell, L., Flowers, C., & Baker, J. (2012). An Evaluation of a Multicomponent Early Literacy Program for Students with Severe Developmental Disabilities. Remedial and Special Education, 33 (4).
Browder, D. M., Ahlgrim-Delzell, L., Spooner F., Lee, A., & Hicks, C. (2011). Early Literacy Research for Students with Severe Developmental Disabilities University of North Carolina Project RAISE. Verona, Wisconsin: Attainment Company, Inc.
Related Research Articles:
| Subject | English Language Arts, Literacy |
|---|---|
| Age Group | Elementary |
| Author | Diane Browder; Susan Gibbs; Lynn Ahlgrim-Delzell; Ginevra Courtade; Angel Lee |
| ISBN | 1-57861-632-8 |
| Format | App, Print, Software |
