The GrapeSEED English learning program for children is based on the oral language acquisition and critical listening principles of natural language learning. Research-based, it closes the achievement gap in language, and increases reading fluency, resulting in improved test scores for all populations.
GrapeSEED has been deployed in over 16 countries and is being used on a daily basis in more than 600 schools by more than 40,000 students.
Educators in the United States are using the program for English language learners, early childhood education in preschool and elementary classrooms, and with children who are either struggling in reading or have learning disabilities.
5. HOW WE GOT STARTED
WITH GRAPESEED
In 1967, Meysen
Academy was founded
in Japan.
The school provided
locals and their children
an early education
learning environment
where children were
taught through play,
stories and singing.
7. As the schools grew over
the next 45 years, and as
the teachers refined their
practices, they looked for
better, more effective
ways to teach English to
young children.
But there was nothing
that they could turn to.
There had to be a
better way!
WITH SUCCESS, CAME
NEW CHALLENGES
8. INITIATED WORLD-WIDE RESEARCH
“In all successful language teaching
methods, the focus is on the message
and not the form, on what is being said,
rather than how it is said.”
“Students learn to use the language to express
or request facts, ideas, and feelings; to accept,
refuse, or influence the actions of others; and
to get things done in a personal environment.”
"Language, oral and written, is primarily a means of
communication used by people in multiple and varied social
contexts to express themselves, interact with others, learn about
the world, and meet their individual and collective needs. “
9. KEY FINDINGS
• Natural, meaningful communication comes
first, not grammar
• Vocabulary grows via frequent use of
common expressions, not by rote memory
• Pronunciation develops with constant
listening, reading and communicating
• Higher proficiency comes from progressively
complex use of the language over time
10. WHAT IT INCLUDES
Classroom
Home
3-5 songs
3-5 stories
1-4 action
activities
1-2 chants
50-70
vocabulary
cards
2 shared
reading big
books
2-3 shared
reading
poems
2-3
phonogram
cards
2-3
phonogram
word cards
Writers
Home
Connection
RESULT: GRAPESEED
Each Unit Contains:
11. WHAT IS GRAPESEED
GrapeSEED has an oral
language acquisition and critical
listening focus that is designed
for the way children naturally
learn language.
Backed by research and proven
results, it levels the playing field
for children, and closes the
achievement gap.
12. WHAT GRAPESEED INCLUDES
High quality educational materials
Comprehensive teacher training
Professional development services
Computer software and multimedia
Online support solutions and services
13. WHAT MAKES GRAPESEED
DIFFERENT
Natural, meaningful communication based approach
Careful application of the scientific research on
practice and repetition
Multi-sensory tools and strategies that employ
visual, auditory, and kinesthetic methods
14. WHAT MAKES GRAPESEED
DIFFERENT
Validated by ongoing research studies and decades
of classroom experience
Extensive training, mentoring, and support services
to teachers and principals
15. TEACHER MATERIALS
Introduces and reviews language-level
vocabulary and expressions in a variety of
content
Reinforces concepts with original visual
illustrations
Designed to support comprehension and
communication
Provides teachers with a variety of
presentation styles to enhance retention
16. STUDENT MATERIALS
Develops students’ listening skills by presenting
academic content in an entertaining format
Attracts students to engage with lessons taught
in the classroom
Illustrates concepts with position, movement,
and direction
Demonstrates emotions and progressions of
thoughts over time, helping students to
understand and construct complex language
18. STUDENT MATERIALS - EXAMPLES
Mr. Lineman teaches letters and
phonics
Stretches and shrinks its form to
create the letters
Verbally pronounces the letters
and its sounds
Combines letters into words
Makes learning fun, and is loved
by the children for its humorous
behavior
19. PROVEN BY RESEARCH STUDIES
Significant gains helped move students out of at-risk status
ESL students reached grade level proficiency in half the time as the
national average
Highly significant growth in all areas of language development and
literacy
Gains in all subgroups, not just in at-risk populations
Boys out-performed girls because of extremely high engagement
Dose effect – the more GrapeSEED is used, the better the results
Gains are sticking- children retain their skills into higher grades
22. HOW SCHOOLS BENEFIT
Astonishingly high student
engagement accelerates memory
and learning
Immediate school success for at-
risk student subgroups
Increases test scores in language
for all students
Increases School Performance
Profile (SPP) scores
Comprehensive, proven program
that is a complete English learning
solution
23. BENEFITS FOR STUDENTS
Provides immediate success that
improves confidence
The students learn English
language faster
Creates a newfound excitement
stemming from successful
communication
Begins a lifetime of excellence in
the language
Builds hope for a better future
24. GRAPESEED IN THE USA
Educators in the United States
are using the program not only
for immigrant children, but also
with preschool and early
elementary children for language
development, with economically
disadvantaged children, and with
children who have learning
disabilities.
26. Thank You
To learn more, please visit:
grapeseed.com
contact.us@grapeseed.com
1 (800) 449-8841
Editor's Notes
Natural Learning Process
Communication comes first, not grammar
Vocabulary grows via frequent use of common expressions, not by rote memory
Pronunciation develops with constant listening, reading and communicating
Higher proficiency comes from progressively complex use of the language over time
GRAPH 1:
Our results follow the natural progression of children learning language, i.e listening comes first (children have to be able to hear the words of the language before they can speak) and our kindergarten students were certainly successful in listening.
Next, speaking comes in. And our first and second graders were high in speaking and oral language.
And finally, what we want in third grade is that reading is there. And our students were successful in reading by the end of second grade.
Over 85% of the GrapeSEED second graders were at Bridging and Reaching on the WIDA Reading Assessment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRAPH 2:
CELF is a nationally normed test - meaning growth is measured against national norms, which change on a bi-weekly basis.
Since children naturally grow simply with time, normal growth, when compared to national norms, would appear as a flat / horizontal line. Does that make sense? I’ll repeat it: normal growth compared to national norms would appear as a flat line.
You can see the steep upward slope in measured growth in all six sub-categories. Clearly the GrapeSEED students are growing at a much faster rate. Such growth is essential for closing the gap.
GRAPH 1:
The researchers took note of a so-called “dose effect”. The more GrapeSEED “medicine” the children received, the better their performance. This chart shows the dose effect at work.
It compares (starting on the left) children who had no GrapeSEED, to children who had GrapeSEED only in kindergarten, only in first grade, and finally, on the far right, those who had GrapeSEED in both kindergarten and in first grade.
Clearly, the children who had the most GrapeSEED performed the best on their DRA (reading test) scores.
Finally, the researchers pointed out a finding of great importance to educators: the gains from GrapeSEED were sticking with the children, even after they had left the program.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
GRAPH 2:
The researchers highlighted an unexpected result of the Clintondale studies. This graph shows the boys out-performing the girls on the sight word test. Educators in the US consider this to be very significant as national studies show girls out-performing boys.
Boys matched or out-performed girls in skill areas; and no difference was found between boys and girls in ability to read books