Holding Stories in the Palm of Your Hand: Improving Language & Communication in Students who use American Sign Language

ASHA 2014 Orlando
November 21, 2014, 10:30am
Holding Stories in the
Palm of Your Hand: Improving
Language & Communication in Students who use American
Sign Language
Presenters:
Maryellen Rooney Moreau, M.Ed., CCC-SLP
Mandy Longo, M.S., CCC-SLP,
Elizabeth Padilla, NBCT, M.A., CCC-SLP

Disclosures
Maryellen Rooney Moreau, M.Ed. CCC-SLP,
• Financial: Maryellen has ownership interest in MindWing Concepts, holds intellectual
property rights and patents. Maryellen is employed as president of MindWing Concepts.
In that capacity, She designed Story Grammar Marker® and Braidy the StoryBraid®
along with many other books and materials. She consults, trains and presents on these
topics.
• Nonfinancial: No relevant nonfinancial relationships exist.
Copyright © 2014, MindWing Concepts, Inc. • 1-888-228-9746 •
Web: www.mindwingconcepts.com
Mandy Longo, M.S. CCC-SLP
• Financial: Mandy authored the publication Holding Stories in the Palm of Your Hand
with Maryellen Rooney Moreau, published by MindWing Concepts, Inc. and has royalty
agreement with MindWing Concepts., Inc.
• Nonfinancial: Longtime colleague and friend of Maryellen Rooney Moreau, owner of
MindWing Concepts, Inc
Elizabeth Padilla, NBCT, M.A., CCC-SLP
• Financial: No relevant financial relationships exist.
• Nonfinancial: Longtime colleague and friend of Maryellen Rooney Moreau, owner of
MindWing Concepts, Inc.

Regulatory Requirements
Florida Statute subsection (6) Section
1003.55:
– The Florida Department of Education shall
develop a model communication plan, to be used
in the development of a student’s IEP.

The Methodology

Name:__________________________ Date:____________
Story Graphic Organizer
Beginning
Middle
End
Copyright © 2014 • Maryellen Rooney Moreau • 1-888-228-9746
• www.mindwingconcepts.com

Beginning
Middle
End

Name:__________________________ Date:____________
Story Graphic Organizer
Setting
Character
Problem
Events
Solution

What is the
Copyright © 2014 • Maryellen Rooney Moreau • 1-888-228-9746 • www.mindwingconcepts.com
Story
Grammar
Marker®?
A hands on, multisensory
tool that has colorful,
meaningful icons that
represent the organizational
structure of a story. The
tool itself is a complete
episode, the basic unit of a
plot.
Character
Setting
Kick-off
Feeling
Plan
Planned Attempts (Actions)
Direct Consequence
Resolution
8

A narrative is a story. It involves
the telling or re-telling of events
and experiences orally and in
writing. A story can be true or
fictitious and takes into account
one or more points of view.
Narrative

Narratives are “stories about real or imagined
events that are constructed by weaving together
sentences about situational contexts, characters,
actions, motivations, emotions, and outcomes”
“Narration is an important vehicle for academic,
social, linguistic and cultural learning. Children
use narratives to relate events, establish and
maintain friendships, and express their thoughts
and feelings about important topics”
Petersen, Gillam & Gillam, 2008, p. 115

Why are narratives important?
Narration is an important vehicle
for academic, social, linguistic, and
cultural learning. Children use
narratives to relate events, establish
and maintain friendships, and
express their thoughts and feelings
about important topics.
McCabe, A. & Bliss, L. (2003). Patterns of narrative discourse: A multicultural, life span approach. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Strands of Language
Pragmatics
Phonology
Semantics
Syntax & Morphology
Discourse
Metalinguistics

How does “narrative” link language development to literacy?

Without “discourse” there is no efficient connection between
CCSS
language development and literacy.
COLLEGE AND CAREER

Narrative retelling is a useful task for
predicting which children may be at
risk for later literacy problems.
Based on the results of this study, narrative macro-structure appears to
play an especially important role in the development of later literacy
skills…Language intervention involving oral narratives may boost
children’s reading comprehension as well as carry over to later written
language skills.
Wellman, et. al. (20011). Narrative ability of children with speech sound disorders and the prediction of later literacy skills. LSHSS,
42, 561-579.

We help children develop literate oral
language by assisting them in
progressing along the
Oral- Literate Continuum (discourse).
The Oral-Literate Continuum
CONVERSATION NARRATION EXPOSITION
D I S C O U R S E
The “Here and Now”………………………………….The “There and Then”
Carol Westby (1985)

The Narrative
Developmental Sequence:
Where It All Comes Together!

PROBLEM
Research into deaf children’s literacy
development since Conrad (1979) does not
point towards a big improvement in
performance (Mayer, 2007).

Response to Intervention– 3 Tiered Model
Tier I
Instruction
Core reading instruction using a reading curriculum which includes the 5 key components
of reading instruction
At least a 90 minute reading block which includes a variety of grouping formats
Students are typically grouped heterogeneously for small group instruction
Assessment:
Universal screening assessment 3x/year
Assessments contained within reading curriculum and school-wide outcomes based
assessments
5%
15%
80%
Tier II
Instruction
Tier I core reading instruction and
30 minutes daily of small group skill-based intervention. Identification and monitoring of skill deficit is
based on assessment data. Intervention is provided or supervised by a highly skilled teacher.
Students are grouped homogenously for small group intervention
Intervention is provided in 14 week cycles and students may be provided multiple rounds of intervention.
Assessment:
All assessment provided within Tier I with the addition of bi-monthly progress monitoring
assessments and “digging deeper” assessments to guide intervention
Tier III
Instruction
Tier I core reading instruction and
60 minutes daily of small group (e.g. 1:3) skill-based reading intervention. Intervention is highly systematic and
explicit and allows for multiple opportunities for response. Provided or supervised by a highly skilled teacher and
target skills determined and monitored by assessment data
Intervention is provided in rounds of 9 weeks
Assessment:
Assessment provided with Tier II; however, progress monitoring assessments are administered weekly
Increasing levels of support
Given high quality core instruction 80% of students should reach reading
benchmark standards, 15% will require some additional support and 5% will
require substantial intervention

Research Shows…
Comparative studies of deaf children with hearing
parents and deaf children with deaf parents show that
deaf children with deaf parents are superior in
academic achievement, reading and writing, and
social development -Ewoldt, Hoffmeister, & Israelite, 1992
Deaf children with deaf mothers have better reading
skills than those deaf children who have parents who
do not sign.
ASL Fluency facilitates reading
development in English.

There is a correlation between ASL competency and reading
skills.
-Ramsey 2000
Discourse skills used in signing are critical to reading
comprehension
-Kuntz 2006
There is a significant correlation between performance on the
SATs (reading comprehension) and ASL linguistic tests.
-Hoffmeister 2000

ASL fluency provides the child
with a linguistic foundation that
enables development of literacy
skills in English.
- Strong and Prinz, 1997; Singleton et al., 1998; Hoffmeister,
2000; Chamber- lain and Mayberry, 2000; Padden and Ramsey,
2000

Three strongest predictors of reading success:
1.Strong Language Foundation
2.Parental Involvement
3.Feeling Comfortable Communicating
VL2: Reading Research & Deaf
Children (June 2011)
• http://youtu.be/vWeEw-gtBL4?
list=PLCv77TT9h6pI79tULKvIBk2jy
P5kkDpZJ

The Iceberg Model
Cummins, J. (1984) Page 20 In Holding Stories
BICS Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills
Language ability for daily conversation, chatting, play, basic
interactions with those in environment Contextualized: context
embedded (gesture, facial expressions, concrete
objects/pictures for reference).
CALP Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency
Language ability to understand and communicate
content areas of the classroom curriculum
Decontextualized: context reduced (fewer
non-verbal cues; more abstract language
and dense sentence structure)

CUP Common Underlying Proficiency
• Scripts and Schemas (A movie theater process)
• Problem/Solving: (A fallen tree in the path of your car)
• Content learning (photosynthesis diagram)
In this theory, CALP is transferrable across languages.

“A second language develops from the foundation
of the first language.”
“The stronger the first language, especially CALP,
the stronger the second language can be.”
“Deaf children may not have had the opportunity
to develop BICS and CALP in their primary
language.”
-University of Northern Colorado

Think on this…
• Reading curriculums are designed for students who are
entering school already fluent in the English language.
• Hearing, English-speaking students receive English
Language Arts instruction (instruction in a language
they are already fluent in) every single day of school
for 13 years.
• Many children who are deaf come to school not fluent
in any language.
• Most students who are deaf have no curriculum and no
instruction in their first language…ever.

Metalinguistics
Conscious knowledge of the
formal aspects of language.

Metalinguistics
Information Processing Model
By Bailystok and Ryan 1985
Metalinguistic awareness is unnecessary for first language,
it becomes crucial for any individual’s development of a
non-native second language.
Successful language learning is influenced by the
development of analyzed linguistic knowledge (a linguistic
understanding of the devices in one’s language) and
control.

Metalinguistics is what allows for the transfer of L1 knowledge to L2

Making second-language learners aware of
linguistic forms at their disposal and how
to control these forms makes learners
aware of implicit knowledge and in turn
makes knowledge explicit.
-(Bialystok and Ryan 1985)

Listen
Understand Talk
Fluency
in L1
Read
Write
Gain
Metalinguistic
Skills K-5
Begin
Learnin
g L2
Hierarchy of Language Acquisition
for a child who is hearing and
speaks English

What happens with our deaf students?
Listen
Understand Talk
Fluency
in L1
Read
Write
Gain
Metalinguistic
Skills K-5
SKIP
AND – don’t forget about the push for inclusion!

“Unless the language levels of deaf children are
within 1 or 2 years of those in the regular class in
which they are placed, they are virtually cut off from
the entire verbal input process that is basic to
educational experiences.”
»A. McConkey Robbins (2000)

“Students who are behind do not learn faster than students who are
ahead”
“Catch-up growth is driven primarily by proportional increases in
direct instruction time”
“Catch-up growth is so difficult to achieve that it can be the
product only of quality of instruction in great quantity”
» Fielding (2011)

“Students who are behind need to make
catch-up growth. Catch-up growth is
annual growth plus some additional part
of a year’s growth.”
–L. Fielding, N. Kerr, P. Rosier
(2007)

“Educators often have the poorest
data for the students for whom they
need the most precision”
»L. Fielding (2007)

“Adults who consistently do not and
cannot create double annual growth
should not continue to be in charge of
creating it for that critical population of
students who require it”
-L. Fiedling (2009)

What have we learned?
• Deaf children who are fluent ASL users are able to use their
Common Underlying Proficiency (CUP) and metalinguistic
skills, to apply that knowledge to learning a second
language, and become literate users of the English
language.
• However, most children who are deaf are not fluent ASL
users. They do not have the L1 or the metalinguistic skills
required to learn L2.
• Deaf children with language delays cannot ever catch up
without intense, direct intervention by qualified
professionals.

So what do we do?
We need to think about how we can
ensure that our students have a solid
first language

First Language Development
H• FOamWily S?upport
• Bi-Bi Education
• Qualified Teachers
• More training for SLPs
• Specific ASL Instruction
• Qualified Interpreters
• Peer and Adult role models
• Increased language support/therapy
• Ability to evaluate and progress monitor ASL language
development

Language Therapy (2x30???)
• Direct instruction is proportional to the
deficiency.
• The greater the deficiency, the more time
they get.
• “Direct instruction to the deficient sub-skill
is fundamentally different than re-teaching
the morning’s lesson” –L. Fielding (2007)
• “Some children may require instruction that
is 4 or 5 times more powerful than the rest
of the students” –Crawford (2007)

What’s the Magic Formula?
1 hour of direct instruction
per day
for every year of delay in
language and vocabulary

Story Grammar Marker Narrative Analysis
• Prek – adult
• Assesses narrative story-telling skills
• Analyzes student’s production of macrostructure and
microstructure
• Based on the hierarchy of skills identified in the
VCSL and other ASL checklists

What is literate oral language?
It is the combination of:
Macro-structure
The overall organization of a story or expository text selection
&
Micro-structure
The linguistic complexity of sentences that
make up the macro-structure
Elements of micro-structure connect
the elements of macro-structure.

Narrative Macro-structure
is…
…the global organizational structure
or “story grammar” of a narrative
(story) – independent
of content.

Macrostructure
• Character
• Setting
• Initiating Events
• Feelings
• Plan
• Sequenced Actions
• Direct Consequence
• Resolution

Micro-structure: Gluing the Sentences Together
1. Micro-structure, as defined by Justice (2004), is the internal linguistic organization of the
narrative.
2. Micro-structure is commonly referred to as “story sparkle” (Westby). It focuses on
vocabulary and sentence development as well as cohesive ties (see page 39-40 of SGM®
manual.)
3. Micro-structure is the elaboration and cohesion that makes a story (narrative) meaningful.
(SGM® manual page 39-44.)
4. Micro-structure’s literate language features:
• Elaborated noun phrases (ex. The big, scary fish…)
• Verb phrases (tense use & adverb use, ex. The big, scary fish swam slowly.)
• Mental State verbs (the character may: remember, know, think, realize, etc.)
• Linguistic verbs (whispered, yelled, asked, etc.)
• Conjunctions (and, but, so, because, first, then, next, finally, etc.)

More English Microstructure
• Subject and Predicate
• Pronoun Referent
• Verb Structures
• Elaborated Noun Phrases
• Conjunctions
• Adverbs
• Mental State Verbs
• Linguistic Verbs

ASL Microstructure
• Spatial Referencing/Indexing
• Classifiers
• Verbs
• Sentence Structure
• Negation
• Handshape
• Location
• Movement
• Non-Manual Markers
• Conjunctions

Other Areas
• Perspective Taking
• Theory of Mind
• Social Emotional
• Pragmatics
• Mental States
• Critical Thinking
• Problem Solving
• Conflict Resolution

Narrative Analysis
• Select appropriate Stimulus Story
• Play Story DVD
• Record Student doing a re-tell
• Use forms to rate the language
• Chart Data
• Develop Targeted Interventions
• Annual Assessment & Progress Monitoring

Narrative Retell - ASL

4 Year Business Plan
TraIinmingp Floecmus entation
• Itinerant DHH Staff
• Classroom Teachers
Implementation
– Year 1 & 2
Narrative: Story Structure- Microstructure
» Story Grammar- Macrostructure
– Year 3
» Theory of Mind
» Expository Text
– Year 4
» Common Core
» Expository & Narrative Text

Considerations
C•oWllahbaot rias ttihoen eoxfp SeLrtPisse aonf da TSepaecehcher asn odf Lthaen gDueaagfe
Pathologist?
• What is the expertise of the Teachers of the
Deaf?
• Determine roles and responsibilities

Results
Impact on Student Performance
• 2 experts working together = increased student
achievement
• Improvement in comprehension using visuals to
represent concepts
• Improvement in language use and understanding of
topics
• Improvement in sentence structure
• Improvement in social pragmatics

Workshops in Your School District
or for your Organization!
For Professional Development Information, please
contact us at 1-888-228-9746 or go to
www.mindwingconcepts.com/request-proposal.htm

How to reach…
Maryellen:
Call her (toll free): 888.228.9746
mrmoreau@mindwingconcepts.com
Mandy:
mandy.longo@rmtcosbd.org
Elizabeth:
elizabeth.padilla@ocps.net

Thank you for attending our presentation!
•ASHA 2014 Orlando – Discount:
– 10% off through December 31, 2014
– Use code: ASHA14 in our online store check-out
http://mindwingconcepts.com/store.htm,
call 888.228.9746 or fax a PO to 413.734.7476
© Lafontaine &
Moreau 2014 -

Holding Stories in the Palm of Your Hand: Improving Language & Communication in Students who use American Sign Language

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