Classroom Literacy Block Content for Lower-Performing First Graders: Are There Differential Instruction Effects on Gains for Language Minority Students?

Abstract

The present study examines the relationships between classroom literacy instruction activities and lower-performing students' reading and language gains over their first-grade year. Data from N = 94 students (approximately half of whom are language minority learners) from 28 classrooms in 11 schools were used for analyses. Three-level model results showed that lower skilled language minority (LM) students generally exhibited more growth than their lower skilled non-LM peers, and that classroom instruction effects on student growth depended on LM status. In particular, lower performing LM children appeared to benefit from increased vocabulary and comprehension instruction time, whereas their non-LM peers yielded higher gains when their teachers provided increased oral language, word study, and text reading instruction time. Future research might investigate optimal differentiated instruction for these two groups of at-risk students.