The Literacy Gaps: Bridge-Building Strategies for English Language Learners and Standard English Learners

AcknowledgmentsAbout the Authors1. Introduction to the Achievement Gap and the "Literacy Gaps Model" Demographic Patterns Language Spoken and Socioeconomic Factors ELL Achievement Standard English Learners The National Literacy Panel The Literacy Gaps Model Overview of Book Chapters Summary2. Decoding: Word Recognition Strategies and Fluency Introduction The Gap Between the Student and the Text Decoding and Readability of Text Decoding English Language Development Background Knowledge Summary3. Background Knowledge and Experiences Schema Fit: Becoming a Text Participant Context: Becoming a Text User (Active Participant) Linkages: Becoming a Text Analyst (Reading Critically) Summary4. Comprehension Comprehension Gap Academic Language Passage Comprehension Summary5. English Language Development and Academic English Specialized Language Needs of ELLs Needs of Standard English Learners Academic Language Development Lesson Plan Summary6. Perceptions and Expectations Were Called on Less Frequently and Were Provided Less Time to Respond Were Given the Answer Rather Than Helped to Solve the Problem Themselves Were Criticized More Often, and Praised Less Were Paid Less Positive Attention, but Disciplined More Strictly7. Cultural Differences Connecting the Literacy Domains in Second Language Acquisition Parental Involvement and the Literacy Domains Culturally Responsive Teaching Comprehensive Education Multidimensional Approaches Empowerment Transformative Learning Emancipatory Education Summary8. Socioeconomic Differences Implicit and Explicit Codes Discourse Patterns Interactional Styles Written Language Codes Resource Access Summary9. Language Variables Academic Language Competence Summary10. Grouping Strategies Micro Structures That Bridge Language Proficiency Gaps Macro Structures That Bridge Language Proficiency Gaps Summary11. Beyond the Gap/Envisioning the Future The Literacy Gaps Model SummaryGlossaryIndex

Ivannia Soto-Hinman, associate professor of education at Biola University, specializes in language acquisition, secondary literacy and urban education. She has presented on literacy and language topics at various conferences, including the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) and the American Educational Research Association (AERA). <br /><br />Soto-Hinman, whose family emigrated to the U.S. from Costa Rica, began school in kindergarten as an English language learner (ELL). Soto-Hinman's firsthand experience as an ELL has shaped her entire career working with immigrants. She began her career in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), where she taught middle school English and English language development (ELD) at the second largest middle school in the country, Chester W. Nimitz Middle School. While in LAUSD, Soto-Hinman also served as a literacy coach, and later a literacy specialist, in LAUSD's Local District 6. She was a program administrator on a secondary reading grant at the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) before becoming a full-time faculty member in the School of Education at Biola University.<br /><br />Soto-Hinman has also served as a consultant to WestEd on behalf of the California Department of Education (CDE), and a variety of school districts in California, providing technical assistance for systemic reform of ELL education and Title III. For the past three years, she has worked as a consultant at Stanford University's School Redesign Network (SRN) on systemic school and district redesign. Soto-Hinman is also a contributing author on Houghton Mifflin's newly California state-adopted reading intervention program for ELLs called <em>Portals</em>.

"This book presents content that is crucial for narrowing the achievement gap and powerful practical instructional strategies for increasing student achievement."