About the Intervention
Descubriendo La Lectura (DLL) is a Spanish-language literacy intervention for struggling first-grade Spanish-speaking students. DLL provides daily 30-minute, one-on-one tutoring sessions delivered by trained bilingual teachers to the lowest performing 20% to 25% of Spanish-language students. The intervention is implemented at an individualized pace lasting approximately 12 to 20 weeks. Each lesson includes prescribed activities covering phonics, letter identification, word tests, concepts about print, writing vocabulary, hearing and recording sounds, and text reading. The program requires rigorous teacher selection and a highly structured, ongoing professional development system including year-long graduate-level coursework, school visits from teacher leaders, and minimum six professional development sessions annually. Teachers coordinate regularly with classroom teachers to discuss student progress and align reading strategies.
Statistical Findings
Positive effect: on Letter Identification
Positive effect: on Sound in Words
Positive effect: on Writing Vocabulary
Positive effect: on Concepts about Print
Positive effect: on Ohio Word Test
Positive effect: on Text Reading Level
Positive effect: on Total Score
Positive effect: on Logramos Reading
Positive effect: on Logramos Language
Positive effect: on Logramos Vocabulary
Positive effect: on Logramos ELA total
More Intervention Details
Focus Areas
Economically Disadvantaged, English LearnersPrograms & Services
General Education, English as a Second Language (ESL) ProgramDelivery Methods
Face-to-FaceDisability Support
N/ATarget Groups
Student(s)Citation
Borman, G. D., Borman, T. H., Houghton, S., Martin, A., Park, S. J., Wilkinson-Flicker, S. & Zhu, B. (2019). Addressing Literacy Needs of Struggling Spanish-Speaking First Graders: First-Year Results from a National Randomized Controlled Trial of Descubriendo La Lectura (ED604084). ERIC. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED604084.pdf.
Study Demographics
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Participant Race
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Participant Gender
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Other Participant Characteristics
Geographical Setting
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