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Abstract
Elementary teachers meet with challenges organizing instruction to differentiate for diverse learners writing in a new complex language. Building on sociocultural theories of learning, this qualitative multiple case study describes effective characteristics of instructional scaffolds between teachers and first-grade English language learners (ELL) within the context of Reading Recovery lessons, a well-researched early intervention program with documented effectiveness. Observations took place during conversation to compose and message writing components of lessons. Participants included three Reading Recovery teachers and six ELL. Digital video recordings, field notes, interviews, lesson records, and student artifacts collected for eighteen weeks comprised the data. Video and conversation analysis was used to elaborate the interactional details. A collection of interconnected yet stand-alone manuscripts details the findings. The first, Vygotskys reflection behind the glass: Blending theory and practice in one-on-one writing instruction, discusses how Vygotskys sociocultural theories frame teaching and learning at the growing edges of students competencies. The second, Interactions scaffolding hearing and recording sounds in words: A case study of an early intervention literacy teacher and an English language learner, depicts how one teachers instructional scaffolding fostered a students self-regulation of a useful strategy to write new words. The third, Expanding a meager knowledge of words for strategic actions in writing, describes how a teacher scaffolded her students word learning journey. The fourth, Using conversational analysis to examine writing instruction, details the characteristics of effective conversations for composing to write. The fifth, It looked like ice dancing: Orchestrating interactions that scaffold the writing of ELL, identifies types of instructional assistance used to bridge actual development to potential development in students writing. Just as in paired ice skating, coordination of lifts and leaps requires intentions and collaboration of both partners. Teachers orchestrated instructional talk to foster independent strategic actions for emergent writers. While scaffolds do support learning, the characteristics of those scaffolds are critical for students to become self-regulated writers. Like ice dancing partners skate in tandem to support one another, the teachers scaffolding proved to be stronger when built contingent on individual students strengths.