Keeping with SEEL’s goals of improving early literacy, SEEL researchers do the following:

• Keep SEEL current with contemporary research
• Conduct research on the implementation of SEEL by practicing teachers
• Gather data concerning SEEL’s impact on children’s literacy abilities
• Maintain ethical practices in research

Project SEEL: Systematic and Engaging Early Literacy Instruction

Research-based Principles that Influence the Development of Strong Literacy Skills

Orchestrate interactive, social conversations

• Acknowledge and elaborate student ideas
• Use questions and comments for various purposes (request information, request actions and objects, make comments, express emotions, acknowledge, agree, request permission, etc)
• Use more commenting than questions

Make instruction explicit

• Systematically follow a sequenced curriculum
• Highlight targets and make salient so children readily notice the pattern or rule
• State the goal and model the desired behavior
• Repeat with variation (vary presentation, communicative functions, repeat as children are attending to their own or other’s behaviors)

Make instruction intense

• Provide frequent intense, salient exposure
• Provide frequent reasons and ways to respond
• Vary contexts and activities used

Keep children engaged, motivated

• Capitalize on expressing arrange of emotions (curiosity, amazement, disgust, delight, sadness, anger, fear, etc.)
• Use hands-on, concrete activities
• Be playful and energetic
• Vary presentation
• Provide supports so children feeling successful, confident

Make instruction meaningful

• Create hands-on shared experiences to read, write, and talk about
• Relate content to what children know
• Use authentic, social contexts (snack, transitions) in addition to small group and large group lessons
• Relate content to children’s prior knowledge and personal experiences
• Use meaningful themes
• Build authentic reasons to read and write (to communicate, achieve purposes or functions) into lessons