User's Guide to the Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation Tool, Pre-K (ELLCO Pre-K) / Edition 1

by Miriam Smith

Overview

SAVE when you order the ELLCO Pre-K User's Guide and ELLCO Pre-K Tool together!

Trusted by schools across the country, ELLCO helps build better literacy programs by assessing the quality of both the classroom environment and teachers' practices. With ELLCO, educators reliably gather the essential data needed for professional development and program improvement that lead to better literacy outcomes for young children. These two NEW editions of ELLCO are even better because they're

• Age-specific. Assessment is effective and accurate with the new ELLCO editions, designed especially for preschool and early elementary environments. ELLCO Pre-K prompts users to look for preliteracy activities like storybook reading, circle time conversations, and child-originated storywriting, while ELLCO K–3 has been reworked to reflect the evolving literacy skills of K–3 students.
• Streamlined. Each new edition of ELLCO has just two parts: a classroom observation to gather critical information about 5 key elements of the literacy environment, and a teacher interview, which supplements the observation with educators' firsthand reflections.
• Easier to administer. Users will get complete information about conducting classroom observations, scoring accurately, and limiting bias. They'll also get helpful descriptors for all 5 levels of the rating scale.
• Informed by user feedback. The new editions of ELLCO were created using feedback from the education professionals who know the tool best.

With these new editions of the assessment tool thousands trust, preschools and elementary schools will have the information they need to determine the effectiveness of their classroom environments, strengthen the quality of their programs and teaching practices, and improve young children's early literacy outcomes.

Measure 5 key literacy elements:

• classroom structure
• curriculum
• the language environment
• books and book reading opportunities
• print and early writing supports

Order with the ELLCO Pre-K Tool and save $10! Use code S1050 when placing your order.

The User's Guide is part of ELLCO, the bestselling classroom observation tool that helps schools assess the quality of literacy practices and supports and give children the best possible start in language and literacy development. Trusted by schools across the country, ELLCO helps educators reliably gather the data needed for professional development and program improvement, leading to better literacy outcomes for young children.

Learn more about ELLCO Pre-K and ELLCO K"“3.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781557669469
Publisher:	Brookes Publishing
Publication date:	03/01/2008
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	104
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Dr. Smith has always enjoyed working directly with young children and teachers of young children. Beginning in 1987, she collected and analyzed data for the longitudinal Home–School Study of Language and Literacy Development. Her work on that project brought her into many classrooms as an observer and researcher and propelled her interest in classroom environments and practices that promote children’s early language and literacy development. Later work conducted for the Center for Children & Families at EDC cemented her commitment to working directly with teachers, supervisors, and education leaders to promote conditions that positively affect children’s learning. Currently a consultant to EDC, Dr. Smith continues to engage in research, writing, and professional development with teachers of young children. An active volunteer in local schools and child care programs, she most enjoys spending time in the “living lab” of daily life with her three children.

Ms. Brady is recognized nationwide for her contributions to the field of early childhood education. She provides leadership to a range of complex projects that focus on research, assessment, technical assistance, and professional development that translates research and recommended practice into useful programs and products for practitioners and policy makers. Her groundbreaking work with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards has led to a performance-based assessment to certify accomplished early childhood teachers. In recent years, Ms. Brady has concentrated her efforts on the design of professional development approaches that build teachers' knowledge and skill in content areas, especially language and literacy. Ms. Brady and her colleagues are examining the impact of literacy-related professional development on teachers' practices and children's learning. Ms. Brady presents her work at major conferences and seminars in the United States and abroad and has contributed to numerous publications, including Critical Issues in Early Childhood Professional Development (Zaslow & Martinez-Beck, Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2006).

Louisa Anastasopoulos, M.P.P., has extensive experience conducting classroom observations, child assessments, and interviews with teachers and parents. Her work has dealt with examinations of classroom quality as well as with early language and literacy. She has been instrumental in the design of teacher and parent interview protocols and has spent a great deal of time interacting with preschool teachers and staff. Her bilingual expertise has contributed to her ability to work with a wide variety of teachers and parents. Ms. Anastasopoulos holds a master of public policy, with a focus on education policy, from the Georgetown Public Policy Institute.

Read an Excerpt

https://brookespublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/ELLCO-Pre-K_Excerpt.pdf

Table of Contents

About the Authors
Acknowledgments

1. Introduction
   Organization of the ELLCO Pre-K
   Underlying Assumptions of the ELLCO Pre-K
   Who Should Use the ELLCO Pre-K?
   How Does the ELLCO Pre-K Compare with the ELLCO Toolkit?
   Contents of the User's Guide
   References
   
   
2. Effective Elements of Early Literacy: Kendra's Story
   Vignette 1: Entering
   Vignette 2: At the Writing Table
   Vignette 3: Construction Zone
   Vignette 4: Circle Time
   Vignette 5: Lunch Time
   Vignette 6: Ready to Go Home
   References
   
   
3. Structure of the ELLCO Pre-K
   Overall Structure and Levels
   Anchor Statements
   Descriptive Indicators
   Evidence Section
   Teacher Interview
   
   
4. How to Conduct an ELLCO Pre-K Observation
   Guidelines for Observing in Classrooms
   Scheduling and Duration of Observations
   Conducting Observations with Professionalism and Respect
   Preparing for the Observation
   Taking Evidence and Rating Items
   Focusing on the Evidence
   Rating Strategies
   Avoiding Bias
   The Teacher Interview
   Completing the Score Form
   
   
5. A Review of Sample Items
   Recording Evidence
   Understanding the Rubrics
   From Evidence to Rubric to Rating
   Example 1: Item 8"”Discourse Climate
   Example 2: Item 16"”Quality of Book Reading
   Example 3: Item 17"”Early Writing Environment
   
   
6. Using the ELLCO Pre-K for Professional Development
   Tips for Incorporating the ELLCO Pre-K into Language and Literacy Practices
   Step 1: Create a Positive Climate for Teacher Development
   Step 2: Preview the ELLCO Together
   Step 3: Conduct an Initial Observation
   Step 4: Share Results
   Step 5: Generate Goals
   Beginning Steps Toward Change
   Section I: Classroom Structure (Organization, Contents, Management, Personnel)
   Section II: Curriculum (Approaches, Child Choice, Diversity) Section III: The Language Environment (Discourse Climate, Extended Conversations, Vocabulary, Phonological Awareness)
   Section IV: Books (Organization, Characteristics of Books, Books for Learning)
   Section IV: Book Reading (Approaches, Quality)
   Section V: Early Writing (Environment, Support, Environmental Print)
   References
   
   
7. Using the ELLCO Pre-K in Research
   Training
   Practicing and Calibrating Ratings
   Interrater Reliability
   Recalibration in the Field
   References
   
   

Technical Appendix
Psychometric Properties of the Literacy Environment Checklist
Interrater Reliability
General Statistics
Reliability Analysis
Measuring Stability and Change
Psychometric Properties of the Classroom Observation
Interrater Reliability
General Statistics
Reliability Analysis
Measuring Stability and Change
Correlation with Another Widely Used Measure
Predicting Child Outcomes
Psychometric Properties of the Literacy Activities Rating Scale
Interrater Reliability
General Statistics
Reliability Analysis
Measuring Stability and Change
Correlations Among the ELLCO Toolkit (Research Edition) Measures
Addendum
References

Resources
Web Sites
Web Resources
Research Articles, Books, and Book Chapters

Editorial Reviews

"Captures the essence of good teaching where indirect as well as direct styles of interaction are valued and where children are supported in developing their own knowledge."

Clinical Professor and Director of the Language Acquisition Preschool, Department of Specch Language Hearing, University - Betty Bunce

"An organizing and validating instrument that helps classrooms to transform into zones of inquiry and conscious communication."

Ethnographer, Consultant for Documentation and Professional Development, Early Reading First grant, Northeastern Illinoi - Cynthia P. Gehrie

"The perfect tool . . . for those of us who seek to close the opportunity-to-learn gap during the early learning years."

Maurice R. Sykes

"This exemplary resource is a must–have . . . I use it all the time and find the data it provides to be valid and reliable indices of the early childhood classroom environment."

Professor, College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University - Laura Justice