1. Adolescent Newcomers: Improving Vocabulary and Comprehension in a Universally-Designed Scaffolded Digital Reading Environment Sabina Neugebauer, Harvard Graduate School of Education, United States of America Paola Uccelli, Harvard Graduate School of Education, United States of America Bridget Dalton, CAST, United States of America Elaine Mo, Harvard Graduate School of Education, United States of America Patrick Proctor, Boston College, United States of America Catherine Snow, Harvard Graduate School of Education, United States of America Ge Vue, CAST, United States of America

2. Overall Project Goals To develop and test a universally designed (Rose & Meyer, 2002) scaffolded digital reading environment (Dalton & Proctor, 2007) to improving reading achievement and engagement of 5 th grade students, including bilingual students and struggling readers

3. Intervention Students read 8 fiction and non-fiction hypertexts with embedded supports for vocabulary, comprehension, and assessment for sixteen weeks. Universal Design for Learning Program Features: Multiple means of representation Multiple means of expression All instructional supports available in Spanish and English Reading is connected to writing, multimedia composition and oral language

4. Research Questions What are the benefits and limitations of a UDL intervention for improving 5th grade Spanish-speaking newcomers’ vocabulary and reading comprehension in the U.S.? What students seem to benefit the most from this intervention?

5. Participants StudentGenderBorn in U.S.Time in the U.S. Special Education * 1. JuanaFNO6 monthsNo 2. JaneFNO2 yearsNo 3. WillMNO3 yearsYes 4. KatyFNO3 yearsNo 5. FrancisMNO4 yearsYes 6. MartaFNO4 yearsNo 7. JaviMNO7 yearsYes 8. JoseMYESn/aNo 9. RodrigoMYESn/aNo All student names are pseudonyms to protect the identity of these students

6. Measures Student Profiles Individually Administered Pre-test Woodcock-Muñoz Language Survey-Revised Picture Vocabulary Letter Word ID Passage Comprehension Pre and Post Intervention Assessment Group Administered Pre and Post-Test Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation (GRADE)

7. Growth Student Pre-Test Fall, 2006 Post-Test Spring, 2007 Vocabulary Pre-test Grade Equivalent Vocabulary Post-test Grade Equivalent 1. Juana n/a 4.4 2. Jean 2.75.4 3. Will* 3.02.7 4. Katy 3.03.8 5. Francis* 3.02.7 6. Marta 3.85.8 7. Javi* 3.53.8 8. Jose 3.04.6 9. Rodrigo**. 8.2 Student Performance comparing pre and post vocabulary scores on the GRADE

8. English Literacy Skills: Student WCM GE Scores K

9. Spanish Literacy Skills: Student WCM GE Scores K

10. Complementary English skills (WCM GE Scores) K

11. Profiles for Success Initial Grade-level English skills –A student with grade-level English skills improved to reach 8th grade equivalent scores (Rodrigo). Initial above-grade level Spanish skills –A student with grade-level skills in the home language improved from no English up to 4th grade equivalent scores in vocabulary and 3rd grade equivalent scores in reading comprehension (Juana). Collaborative work: Complementary Skills in English –Students with low scores in English, but with complementary reading skills, who enjoyed working together (Jean and Marta) improved.

12. Contacts Sabina Rak Neugebauer neugebsa@gse.harvard.eduneugebsa@gse.harvard.edu Paola Uccelli uccellpa@gse.harvard.edu http://www.cast.org/ References August, D.L., & Shanahan, T. (Eds.). (2006). Developing literacy in a second language: Report of the National Literacy Panel. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. August, D., Carlo, M., Dressler, C., & Snow, C. E. (2005) The Critical Role of Vocabulary Development for English Language Learners. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice 20 (1), 50–57. Dalton, B. & Proctor, P. (in press). The changing landscape of text and comprehension in the age of new literacies. XX YY (Eds.) International Handbook of New Literacies. Genessee, F., Lindholm-Leary, K., Saunders, W. M., & Christian, D. (Eds.). (2006). Educating English language learners: A synthesis of research evidence. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation, AGS, 2001 Palinscar, A. S., & Brown, A. L. (1984). Reciprocal teaching of comprehension-fostering and comprehension- monitoring activities. Cognition & Instruction, 1(2), 117. Proctor, C. P., Dalton, B., & Grisham, D. (In press). Scaffolding English language learners and struggling readers in a universal literacy environment with embedded strategy instruction and vocabulary support. Journal of Literacy Research. Rose, D. H., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). Short, D. & Boyson, B.A. (2004). Creating Access: Language and Academic Programs for Secondary School Newcomers. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.