Elsb — Early Literacy Skills Builder (Apply the "science" of reading to students moderate-to-severe developmental disabilities, including autism)

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.Components Implementation Guide 6 Teacher's Manuals 6 Student Material Books 6 Student Assessment Books Moe the Frog Puppet All About Moe Stories DVD for staff training CDs with printable PDFs and other reproducible resources Sight Word Flashcards Magnetic Board with Stars 2 Storage Boxes