Teaching English Language
Learners
Collaboration of Secondary Science and
ESL Teacher Development Specialists
July 2011
• Video from Biology EOC
The Process of Second Language
Acquisition
The process of second language acquisition is
divided into five identifiable stages of learning.
• Stage 1: Silent Stage
• Stage 2: Early Production
• Stage 3: Emergence of Speech
• Stage 4: Intermediate Ability
• Stage 5: Advanced Fluency
Stage 1: Silent Stage
• Can last for about 10 hours to 6 months
• Learner does not speak second language but is able
to respond to new words and pronunciation.
• Learner has understanding of new words as well as
their meanings and pronunciations.
• Learner faces “language shock” and are seen as
rejecting the words of second language
• Learner observed engaging in “self-talk”; BICS (Basic
Interpersonal Communication Skills) – social
language
Stage 2: Early Production
• Last about 6 months
• Learner develops an understanding of about
1,000 words
• Learner gains ability to speak a few words and
use some simple phrases of the second language.
• Mispronunciation is common during this stage.
• Teachers introduce new words in second
language to enhance vocabulary
Stage 3: Emergence of Speech
• Learner begins to speak in the second language
• Learner starts forming simple statements,
improve pronunciation, take a few steps towards
reading and writing in second language
• Learner tries to form big sentences and tends to
make mistakes in grammar
• Teacher encourages greater usage of words and
learner conversing in second language.
• CALP – Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency
– academic language
Stage 4: Intermediate Ability
• Can last for one year after speech emergence
• Learner uses complex sentences and attempts
to use the newly acquired language to a
greater extent.
• Learner attains a certain level of proficiency
where they can hold and state their opinion,
and discuss
• Learner begins to think in second language
Stage 5: Advanced Fluency
• Takes a couple of years to gain complete
proficiency in second language.
• Takes time to get fully absorbed into the mind
of the learner.
• Learner has ability of fluent conversations and
clear thinking in second language
• Learner develops separate vocabulary
• Learner attains a level of confidence of
expressing oneself.
The enhancement of the language skills and the
expansion of the language vocabulary is a
continuous process. The process of learning a
language never ends in the true sense of the
term.
Manali Oak
Diversity of English Language
Learners
What is Diversity?
The inclusion, welcome, and support of individuals
from all groups, encompassing the various
characteristics of persons in our community. The
characteristics can include, but are not limited to:
age, background, citizenship, disability, education,
ethnicity, family status, gender, gender
identity/expression, geographical location, language,
political views, race, religion, sexual orientation,
socioeconomic status, and work experience.
Why Diversity?
Diversity is important because it provides
our society and culture with unique and
inspirational perspectives. Diversity can
create new ideas and changes that can
be beneficial to a society.
What is an English Language Learner
(ELL)?
• An ELL is an active
learner of the English
language that may
benefit from various
support programs.
• ELLs are a highly
heterogeneous and
complex group of
students.
The Many Faces of ELLs - Statistics
ELLs are:
• The fastest growing
segments of the student
population!
– > 70% increase between 1992
and present
– Highest growth between
grades 7-12
The Many Faces of ELLs - Statistics
• Do not easily fit into simpler
categories, they
compromise a very diverse
group.
– 57% are born in the U.S.
– 43% born outside U.S.
– Varied levels of language
proficiency, socioeconomic
backgrounds, academic
expectations, content knowledge
and immigration status
The Many Faces of ELLs - Statistics
• ELL students are
increasingly present in
all U.S. states.
– Formerly concentrated in a few
States, but presently almost all
states have populations of ELLs.
– States in the Midwest and South
have significant increases in their
numbers of ELL students.
– Nationwide, ~ 43% of secondary
educators will teach ELLs.
The Many Cultures of ELLs
• HISD Students are coming
from more than 90 countries
with different culture and
complexion.
• It is important for teachers to
understand the different ways
students from other cultures
interpret verbal and non
verbal communication.
• In addition, emotions are
displayed differently, which
can lead to miscommunication
and incorrect interpretation.
ELL KEY TERMS
The terms used to describe ELLs blur, overlap, and change with time,
as well as with shifting socio-political dynamics.
• ELL (English Language Learner): an active learner of the English language
who may benefit from various types of language support programs. This
term is used mainly in the U.S. to describe K–12 students.
• ESL (English as a Second Language): formerly used to designate ELL
students; this term increasingly refers to a program of instruction designed
to support the ELL. It is still used to refer to multilingual students in higher
education.
• LEP (Limited English Proficiency): employed by the U.S. Department of
Education to refer to ELLs who lack sufficient mastery of English to meet
state standards and excel in an English-language classroom. Increasingly,
English Language Learner (ELL) is used to describe this population,
because it highlights learning, rather than suggesting that non-nativeEnglish-speaking students are deficient.
ELL KEY TERMS
• EFL (English as a Foreign Language) Students:
nonnative-English-speaking students who are
learning English in a country where English is not the
primary language.
• 1.5 Generation Students: graduates of U.S. high
schools who enter college while still learning English;
may include refugees and permanent residents as
well as naturalized and native-born citizens of the
U.S. 7
Part 3
Created opportunities for input and
output
• -English language learners need opportunities
in small settings to have cooperative
interactions that lead to more comprehensible
input because classmates modify or adapt he
message to the listeners needs.
‘
Understand and acknowledge the
affective filter
• English language learners need an effective
environment in which their emotional state or
affective filter is understood, acknowledge,
and respected. The affective filter can
interfere with the acquisition of a new
language through the emotions of
embarrassment and anxiety.
Created opportunities for Silence
• -English language learners need time to listen
to others speak, digest, hear, develop
receptive vocabulary, and the opportunity to
observe their classmates interactions.
Awareness of the Diverse cultures and
languages of all students
• English language learners need a classroom
environment where the students feels
accepted, encouraged, and empowered, and
understood. The next table discusses possible
cultural differences in student behavior. English language learners need teachers to
understand how their culture impacts their
learning and link their learning to their
personal, culture, and world experiences.
Constant and consistent opportunities
for hands on experiences
• -English language learners need opportunities
to engage in hands-on experiences that assist
an ELLs to face two learning tasks; the need to
understand the science content in the lesson
& the language associated with the content.
Scaffold inquiry can provide essential support
for ELLs to build science literacy.
Consistent guided Support
• English language learners need guided
support from the teacher and help from
peers. Support is not only verbal support but
can be in form of multiple forms of
assessment, providing clear feedback, and
setting achievable real time challenging goals
for students to be able to demonstrate their
understandings of the content in a variety of
ways and give more opportunities for
listening, reading, speaking, and writing.
Consistent and Clear Vocabulary
Instruction
• -English language learners need practice in
learning new words, and given the ability to
tie new vocabulary to prior learning and use
visuals to reinforce meaning. Students need
new vocabulary words that occur in the text as
well as those related to the subject matter.
Opportunities to have clear
understanding of objectives
• -English language learners need to be able to
comprehend and communicate content and
language objectives after each concept to
allow time to work with and build their
academic language throughout the unit.
Effective use of Questioning
• -English language learners need alternative
questioning that allows for checking student
learning and understanding. Quality
questioning can drastically shape
conversations and push ELLs to use more
challenging terms and grammar.
Opportunities for effective
communication
• -English language learners need the
opportunity to communicate abstract ideas
illustrated by various forms of media; from
photos, diagrams, graphs, charts, math &
chemistry symbols, and lab experiences. ELLs
need efficient classroom talk that allows for
working with new information such that it
becomes knowledge and understanding.
HISD ESL Approach
The Multilingual Department through its
four major divisions (Bilingual/ESL
Programs, Title III Program, Migrant
Education Program and the Refugee
Program) is committed to serve HISD
schools by providing expertise, guidance,
support and training in the areas of
Bilingual/ESL Education and Programming
Bilingual Education/ESL
An instructional program offered in selected middle
schools for students whose native language is
other than English (Spanish, Vietnamese, etc.) and
who need to enhance English language skills.
The program provides limited English proficient
(LEP) students with a carefully structured
sequence of basic skills in their native language, as
well as gradual skill development in English,
beginning at PK, through English as a Second
Language methodology
English Proficiency
The student's level of English proficiency is designated by
LPAC (Language Assessment Proficency Committee )
when students are initially identified as LEP, annually
during end-of-year LPAC reviews, and as needed. The
levels of English proficiency are Preliterate, Beginning,
Intermediate, Advanced, and Transitional. These
levels may be determined based on ESL level
characteristics, oral English proficiency, English
standardized achievement scores (when applicable),
writing characteristics, student interviews, and/or
teacher observation of language use.
Texas ELL Portal
http://www.elltx.org/trainings.html
The Texas English Language Learner
Instructional Tool (TELLIT)
Courses designed to help teachers learn how to
address the linguistic, cognitive, and affective
needs of English Language Learners. During
these courses, participants will view video
segments of teachers using effective strategies
that enhance instruction and promote
academic achievement for ELL students.
ELL Student
Group
Chancery
SIS Code
Characteristics
Preliterate
4
Speaks little or no English
Limited reading/writing skills in native language
Preliterate level writing characteristics on writing rubric
TELPAS composite rating level: Beginning
Beginning
1
Speaks little or No English
Limited English prevents written achievement assessment
May demonstrate literacy skills in native language
Beginning level writing characteristics on writing rubric
Able to respond to yes/no questions in English
Able to respond to simple questions with one or tow words in
English, TELPAS composite rating level: Beginning
Intermediate
2
Some oral English, minimal English literacy Skills
Ability to complete English achievement tests
Demonstrates mastery of the beginning level ESL strategies
Intermediate level writing on writing rubric
TELPAS composite rating level: Intermediate
Advanced
3
Good command of English oral skills
Has English Writing and language skills has not reached 40% on
both total reading and total language subsets of English NRT
Demonstrates mastery of intermediate ESL level objectives
ELPS in the Science Classroom
Training Goals
• To build background knowledge of the ELPS
• To provide linguistic support for ELLs and
other struggling students
• To build a deeper awareness of the
language of Science
Where are we now?
• In your teams ask your self the following
questions:
– What are ELPS?
– What are the five language domains?
– What is a content objective?
– What is a language objective?
– Which teachers must include language objectives
in their lesson plans?
Evaluation
 English Language Proficiency Standards
 Learning Strategies (Thinking), Listening, Speaking, Reading,
and Writing
 Content objective - what students should know and be able
to do
 Language objective – a specific development in students’
academic English
 All teachers
Statutory Requirement
Texas Administrative Code §74.Chapter 74: Curriculum
Requirements Subchapter A. Required Curriculum
§74.A.4: English Language Proficiency Standards
TEA’s response to the need for
English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS)
• Introduction
• District responsibilities
• Cross-curricular Second Language Acquisition
• Essential Knowledge & Skills
• Language proficiency levels
• Implementation date 2008-09
Introduction
• Implementation with each course’s TEKS
• Acquisition of social and academic language
• Effective integration of second language
acquisition with quality content area
instruction
School District Responsibilities
• Identify students’ language proficiency levels
• Provide linguistically accommodated instruction
• Provide content instruction that includes the cross-
curricular second language acquisition essential knowledge
and skills (TEKS for ELLs)
• Provide foundation second language acquisition instruction
for ELLs in the beginning and intermediate levels (ESOL)
Student Expectations
• Learning Strategies (Thinking)
• Listening
• Speaking
• Reading
• Writing
ELL Proficiency Level Descriptors
Four levels of language proficiency
• Beginning
• Intermediate
• Advanced
• Advanced High
ELL Proficiency Level Descriptors
Descriptors for each language domain
–Listening
–Speaking
–Reading
–Writing
Implementation date
• Effective: December 25, 2007
• Implementation: 2008-2009
Language for the 5E Model
of Instruction: Sentence Starters (handout)
The 5E Phases
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Engage
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Evaluate
Instructional
Considerations:
• Post them
• Point to them during
class discussions
• Use for group activities
with teachers or
students to develop
questions
Let’s think about
language….
Language is like building materials.(Zwiers)
Bricks
+
Mortar
=
Academic
Language
What kinds of words are bricks?
What kinds of words are mortar?
What words do we teach
most often?
Bricks or Mortar?
Three Tiers of Vocabulary
Math
Language
Science
Language
Literature
Language
General Academic language for
knowing, thinking, reading and
writing
Foundation of home and community
language and cultural factors
History/Social
Studies Language
When students enter school
for the first time, those from
• Professional families- Have accumulated
experience with 45 million words
• Low-income families- Have accumulated
experience with 13 million words
• Professional Families- 2-1 Positive
Statements/Negative Statements
• Low-income families- 1-2 Positive
Statements/Negative Statements
Tier III/Brick Words
Math
Language
Science
Language
Literature
Language
History/Social
Studies Language
• Content-specific terms/vocabulary
• Technical words
• High-yield words that play a key role in the
lesson
• Tools for understanding the lesson
• Words in big, bold-faced print
When teaching brick words,
• we have “expert blind spots”.
• we have lost the sense of being a learner in
the early stages of the discipline.
• we need to communicate our thinking
strategies to students.
Building Academic Language Essential Practices for Content Classroom Jeff Zwiers
Tier II Words/Mortar Words
General Academic language for
knowing, thinking, reading and
writing
• General academic words that are common
terms in everyday communication
• Words used across a variety of domains
• Subtle words or expressions that connect
bricks
Example of Tier II Words
implies
contains
reflects
represents
supports
consequently
therefore
factors
contrast
differ from
analyze
ramifications
 ELA
 Social Studies
 Math
 Science
 Any discipline
Why do we need to teach academic
vocabulary?
• Hard to learn incidentally (especially for
poor/reluctant readers)
• Found in content area texts and state tests
• Crucial to full comprehension, yet no one
takes responsibility for it
• Teachers often overlook its importance
Brick vs. Mortar
If we simply pile bricks up to make a walloverdo vocabulary quizzes and dictionary
work-the wall will fall. The bricks need mortar
to stick together.
Jeff Zwiers Building Academic Language
Tier II and Tier III in the HAPG’s
Academic
Content
Let’s look deeper into the language
of our content area.
Language of Science Pgs.85-90
Zwiers, Jeff. 2007. Building Academic Language:
Essential Practices for Content Classroom.
READING FROM ZWIERS:
SCIENCE
Protocol:GROUPS
Text Rendering Experience
Product: most significant
...sentence
…phrase
…word
Upon return: ELPS Triads
Aligning ELPS to HISD Objectives
• ELPS Triad Document (groupings of SEs)
(handout)
• Refer to your HAPG
• Link to Objectives.
• Think about the language that would be used
to teach this objective
• Think about the language that students would
need to ask and answer questions
• Think about the language of the assessment
Aligning ELPS to HISD Objectives
•
•
•
•
Refer to the ELPS or ELPS Triads document
What domain might the skill belong to?
Which ELPS in that domain matches that skill?
How many ELPS should I link?
Reflection
In what ways was this opportunity to
practice alignment of ELPS to an
objective been helpful?
Why Differentiate for ELL
Students?
A practical Approach to
Differentiation for ELLs
Why differentiate for ELLs?
• No two ELLs enter your classroom with
identical abilities, experiences, and needs.
Learning style, language proficiency,
background knowledge, readiness to learn,
and other factors can vary widely within a
single classroom.
• Regardless of their individual differences, all
students are expected to master the same
concepts, principles, and skills.
Why differentiate for ELLs?
• We need to meet our ELLs at their level of
understanding
• Research suggests that science can enhance
their language development of students with
limited English
A Practical Approach to Differentiation
for ELLs in a Science Classroom
• Teaching is “a decision making process;” it
begins with an educated answer to the
question ‘who am I teaching’ and follow-up
answers to ‘what’ (content) am I teaching, and
‘how (strategies) will I teach it.
• This process represents the path to effective
ELLs’ instruction & differentiation in the
classroom for language acquisition and
content specific mastery.
Who Am I Teaching?
ENGLISH
PROFICIENCY
(Stages of
Language
Acquisition)
Understanding
ELLs
ACADEMIC
SKILLS
(Prior & current
Academic
Records)
EXPERIENTIAL
BACKGROUND
(Culture and
Prior Living
Experiences)
English ProficiencyUnderstanding of the stages of English
language acquisition and their
impact on instruction
Preliterate – no verbal production, focus on
listening comprehension, build receptive
vocabulary; draw, copy, act…
Beginner – one, two word responses,
production of known structures; name, list,
label …
Intermediate – simple sentences, developing
higher levels of language/thinking; recall,
define, restate, summarize, contrast …
Advanced – complex errors in speech and print;
focus on reading and writing correctly,
analyze, support, evaluate, create …
Transition – fluency approaches native
speaker, focus on writing mechanics; all
indicators
ENGLISH
PROFICIENCY
(Stages of
Language
Acquisition)
Academic Skills
Understanding of components
that form students’ prior
academic record
and their impact on instruction
ACADEMIC
SKILLS
(Prior & current
Academic
Records)
- Academic calendar
- School day setup
- Native literacy skills level
-Kind of skills & knowledge
- Student’s developmental
stage at departure/arrival
- Instructional delivery
method
- Parents educational level
- Native language structure,
phonological system, 2nd
language proficiency quality
- School discipline
- Possible special education
needs
Experiential Background
Understanding of the
components of culture and
their impact on instruction
Culture
- Religion / Taboos
- Child rearing practices
- Male/female roles
- Beliefs about success &
failure
- Morality
- Humor
- Acculturation stage
- Affective filter
- Motivation
- Social class : Poverty
EXPERIENTIAL
BACKGROUND
(Culture and
Prior Living
Experiences)
A Practical Approach to
Differentiation for ELLs
Who Am I
Teaching?
What (content)
am I teaching?
How (strategies)
Will I teach It?
• Stages of language acquisition
• Prior & current academic
records
• Culture and prior living
experiences
• Including essential academic
and content vocabulary
• Scaffold instruction
• High stakes instructional
strategies
• build background knowledge
to make connections and
encourage communication
“Students cannot learn that which is
inaccessible because they don’t understand.”
by Tomlinson, The Differentiated Classroom
What (content) am I teaching?
How (strategies) Will I teach It?
C. PROVIDING MULTISENSORY
DIRECT INSTRUCTION
The true test of multi-sensory instruction is
whether or not all four language-learning
avenues—saying, hearing, writing, and
seeing—are used at the same time. The
curriculum must guide the teacher to guide
the student to connect his/her four
language-learning avenues.
WHY MULTISENSORY INSTRUCTION?
Reason # 1 - Learner Engagement
"If you really want to engage learners, try taking a multisensory approach.
Presentations that appeal to auditory, visual, and kinesthetic modalities
simultaneously connect more deeply and have a lasting impact," (Maal, 2004)
Reason # 2 - Greater Capacity for Learning
"Recent research in the field of 'multiple intelligence / emotional intelligence' into how
we learn, suggests that diversity of sensory and intellectual stimuli is key to
increasing our capacity for learning," (Westley, 2003).
Hearing information, presented simultaneously with iconic visual input, is the most
effective means of instructing. Using two channels of processing, simultaneously,
allows the brain to process the information all at once and improves recall
pathways through one channel or the other (Tiene, 2000).
SRTRATEGY 1: Multiple Intelligences Strategy
Multiple strategies are the ways people are smart – the mode in which they
process information effectively (Gardner, 1993)
Intelligence
Definition
Teaching
Assessing
Bodily/
Kinesthetic
Body-smart, sportsmart, hand-smart –
Introduce motions, encourage
roleplaying, allow movement
Have students show, not tell, encourage the use
of roleplay to document learning, encourage
the use of mime, dance, the invention of
physical games to document learning;
performance based assessment
Intrapersonal
Self-smart
Give opportunity for self-teaching,
computer tutorials, internet,
programmed learning
Use self-evaluation rubrics, allow the person
choices in which to best show the learning,
encourage the use of self-made multimedia
reports
Interpersonal
People smart
Encourage group work, celebrate
group skills, teach pieces and
encourage reciprocal teaching
Encourage group reports, use group evaluation
reports, evaluate the products of the group,
holding all members responsible
Linguistic
Word-smart
Give reading/follow up, encourage
additional reading/writing
Use written response activities, oral reports,
dialogue journals, learning logs
Logical/
mathematical
Number-smart, logicsmart
Quantify instruction, relate
instruction to logical constructs,
relate instruction to math/logic
puzzles
Have students design a math or logic game that
shows what has been learned, have students
design “mind-benders”
Musical
Music-smart
Teach with rhythm, rap, relate
instruction to songs, poetry
Have students demonstrate understanding by
writing a rap or song
Visual/Spatial
Picture smart
Teach with visuals, charts,
drawings
Have students make posters, charts,
illustrations, dioramas, constructions
STRATEGY 2: REALIA STRATEGIES: Connecting Language Acquisition to the
Real World
Realia is a term for real things – concrete objects
– that are used in the classroom to build
background knowledge and vocabulary. Realia
is used to provide students with opportunities
to use all the senses in learning.
Category
Realia
Uses
Household items
Eating utensils, kitchen appliances (from different
cultures), miniatures such as household furniture, oldfashioned items no longer commonly seen
Active experiences, vocabulary
development, role-playing, story
reenactment, prereading activities, oral
language practice, story problems in
math, science experiments
Food
Fruit, vegetables unusual items unfamiliar to students;
many plastic food items are available for classroom use
Sensory experiences, vocabulary
development, acting out stories,
grammatical activities (singular, plural)
Clothing
Different kinds of hats, gloves, sweaters, boots, any
examples of ethnic clothing to support understanding
Vocabulary development, story
reenactment, writing support, oral
language practice
Literacy materials
Books, magazines, newspapers, encyclopedia, reference
books, checkbooks, bankbooks
Role-play, vocabulary development,
easy access for research, exposure
Farm or occupational
items
Rakes, plows, harnesses, tools, baskets, hay, nails,
models of barns
Vocabulary development, prereading
activities, role-playing, knowledge of
size and weight
STRATEGY 3: Learning Centers
Learning Centers are places set up in the
classroom where students can engage in
hands-on activities that allow them to obtain
additional experience in using new skills,
expand skills usage to more closely match
their individual needs, and work cooperatively
with other students.
Logic Center - Students use these center to create “brainbenders,” logic
problems that can be solved by other students using props provided, or
made by students.
Video Center – Video camera, tripod, and tapes are available in this center
so students can videotape scenes from classroom activities, enactments,
and other activities written and produced by students.
Research Center – Encyclopedias, reference books, a computer Internet
access, are all available at this center to encourage student to research on
topics unders study in the classroom.
Multiple Intelligences Center – Seven different ways of studying a topic are
presented in centers corresponding to Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences.
E. STRUCTURING GROUPS TO MAXIMIZE
ELL LEARNING
Mainstream teachers with both ELLs and
English-dominant students in their classrooms
can use group-learning strategies as a
powerful tools for fostering language
acquisition. (Marzano, 2006)
STRATEGY 1: COOPERATIVE LEARNING
There are a number of elements that set cooperative learning apart from other
grouping techniques (Cochran, 1989; Johnson & Johnson, 1999)
•Heterogeneous grouping
•Positive interdependence
•Face-to-face supportive interaction
•Individual accountability
•Interpersonal and small group skills
•Group processing
Principle
Example
Benefits to ELLs
Cooperative learning tasks are designed
so that individuals must work together
for the task to be accomplished
Jigsaw activities involve each member of
the team being given a piece of the
information so that they must work
together or no one will have all the
necessary data.
ELLs must be encourages to participate
in the task or the whole team will fail to
accomplish their assignment.
Positive interactions are developed and
encouraged.
The group’s evaluation is based on
individual and group marks. Group
members are rewarded for peer tutoring
and supporting weaker students.
Because peer tutoring and group support
of individuals are encouraged and
rewarded, all students are supported to
succeed.
Students have opportunities to work
indifferent teams.
A variety of plans are used for grouping
such as interest groups, random groups,
heterogeneous groups, etc.
ELLs have an opportunity to get to know
other students in meaningful ways and to
demonstrate their competence in a
variety of ways.
Social, language, and content skills are
all learned in the process of interacting
with the group.
Social and academic language
interactions in cooperative learning
groups help students to learn pro-social
behaviors as well as content knowledge.
ELLs benefit from the verbal
interactions, learning social norms, and
content-related knowledge.
STRATEGY 2: RECIPROCAL TEACHING
Reciprocal teaching (Palincsar & Brown, 1986) is a reading
strategy in which students take turns teaching small sections
of text. It is usually done in small groups. All students initially
read a section of the text. One student begins by summarizing
a section of the text and questioning the others about the
meaning of the section. Any difficult parts are identified and
discussed and then predictions are made about the next
section to be read. The students take turns summarizing,
clarifying, and questioning until all sections of the text have
ben read, summarized, and discussed.
STEP
WHAT TO DO
LEARNING STRATEGY
Group formation
Form a group of students to read cooperatively. Choose the
sequence of reciprocal teachers (students).
Cooperation
Read
Each member of the groups reads the first section of the text to
himself/herself.
Silent Reading
Summarize
The first student summarizes the section just read.
Summarizing
Question
The first student questions other members of the group moving
from low-level to high-level questions.
Literal, Inferential, Critical, Questioning
Identify
The first student identifies any area of text that presented
difficulty to any member of the group.
Comprehension monitoring
Problem Solving
The group discusses possible solutions or strategies that could
be used.
Cooperation
Prediction
The first student makes a prediction about what is likely to
happen in the next section of the text.
Predicting, inferring
Read
The group reads the next section silently.
Silent reading
STRATEGY 3: Skills Grouping – Planning for more
individualized instruction
Skills grouping (Gibbons, 1993) is the act of arranging students in
groups based on their need for instruction in a specific skill.
Skills grouping is done for a short period of time, usually for
only a few lessons, and is effective only when the groups are
based on the teacher’s knowledge of the language and skill
levels of students. The criterion fro grouping is based on
teacher observation of a specific instructional need. This
greatly enhances the delivery of comprehensible input
because the lessons are planned to scaffold learning at the
student’s present level of functioning (Krashen, 1985).
Observe
Document needs
Follow up with authentic
practice
Provide guided practice
Document needs
Model skill
Group students with like
needs
Explain skill
Activating/Building on
Knowledge
Prior
Activating prior knowledge is finding out what students know,
don't know, or have misconceptions about regarding a topic of
study.
Students learn more effectively when they already know
something about a content area and when concepts in that area
mean something to them and to their particular background or
culture.
When teachers link new information to the student's prior
knowledge, they activate the student's interest and curiosity, and
infuse instruction with a sense of purpose.
Strategies To Activate/Build on
Prior Knowledge
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Perform a short demonstration.
Present a problem.
Ask a question: “What do you think…?”
Describe or show a surprising event.
Show an object and ask probing questions about object.
Students brainstorm.
Students classify objects.
Show a picture for students to study.
Act out a problematic situation.
Read a short reading.
Think-Pair-Share.
Students free write in journal.
Class analyzes a graphic organizer. Put the students in a situation or simulation.
Students manipulate word sorts.
Students draw a picture of what they think.
Whole-class conversations.
Storytelling.
Ask students what they already know, then develop a common classroom vocabulary
that can be used to develop new understandings.
Teaching Academic Vocabulary
4 Main Principles that guide vocabulary instruction:
1. Students must be actively involved in developing their
understanding of words and ways to learn words.
2. Students must personalize word learning.
3. Students must be fully immersed in words.
4. Students must be provided with multiple opportunities to
learn words.
*It is important to teach vocabulary within the science context,
not in isolation.
Principle 1 - Students must be actively involved in
developing their understanding of words and ways to
learn words:
• Semantic Mapping: students generate a list of words related
to a topic. Student then categorize the words and create a
semantic mapping of words related to the topic.
• Word Sorts: the teacher provides a list of words related to the
topic, and students categorize them according to meaning,
similarity in structure, derivations, or sounds.
• Illustrating Vocabulary Words
Principle 2 - Students must personalize word
learning through activities:
• Mnemonic Strategies: APE MAN, King Henry Doesn’t Usually
Drink Chocolate Milk, My Very Excellent Mother Just Served
Us Nachos.
• Personal Dictionaries/Vocabulary Briefcase: students
illustrate and define words in a way that makes sense to them.
• Student Journaling
• Review Games (teacher and student created)
Principle 3 - Students should be fully
immersed in
words:
The classrooms should be a
language-rich environment
that focuses on words and learning words.
• Interactive Word Walls: word+picture visibly posted.
True interaction with the word wall means students contribute their
own definitions and drawings to the wall and play games using the
wall on a consistent basis.
• Science Dictionaries: easily accessible to every student.
• Root Words: comparing/contrasting words with similar roots.
Use a highfrequency word list for general academic and science-specific
language.
(*Refer to Teaching Basic and Advanced Vocabulary by Robert
Marzano. Frequency lists are clustered by content area ranking
words from a 1: basic-level vocabulary to a 5: advanced-level
vocabulary)
Principle 4 - Students must be provided with multiple
opportunities to learn words:
Key vocabulary
should be taught and reviewed more than once. Multiple sources of meaning
should be provided.
• Realia: using real items found in the world around us as an aid
to teaching English
• Drawings
• Pictures
• Video
• Gestures
• Dramatization
Scaffolding in science for ELLs
A closer look at utilizing Listening, Reading,
Writing, & Speaking strategies for the beginning
to advanced high English Language Learner in
science classrooms
What Makes Science Language Different?
Engaging in the science language requires students to read informational text and to
write and speak scientifically.
The science learner must:
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Understand and communicate specialized vocabulary terms and phrases that
are unique to science
Understand and communicate vocabulary terms and phrases that have
different meanings when used in science
Interpret and create scientific symbols and diagrams
Recognize and understand organizational patterns common to science texts
Make sense of text using text structure and page layout that may not be user
friendly
Infer implied sequences and recognize cause and effect relationships
Infer main ideas and draw conclusions that may not be explicitly stated
Use inductive and deductive reasoning skills
How can I help my ELL with reading science
In general…
Link information to prior knowledge to activate the learner’s
schema in order to make sense of the new information
Focus on important habits such as previewing material,
recognizing chapter headings, identifying introductions,
reading every first sentence in a paragraph, understanding
visuals and graphs, summarizing, and answering end-ofchapter questions
Enhance, expand on, and make unfamiliar information clear
through re-presentation of text
Provide opportunities for academic conversations
How can I help my ELL with reading science
Some ways to re-present text include:
• Role-playing: Students act out the text
• Cooperative Dialogue Writing: Students work
with a team to write a dialogue based on a
text
• Genre-transforming exercises: Students
rewrite a passage using a different genre
How can I help my ELL with reading science
Planning
When planning to use text in science it is
helpful to break your planning into three
sections:
1. What you will do before the reading
2. What you and the children will do while the
reading is going on
3. What you will do after the text has been read
How can I help my ELL with writing in
science
In general…
Scaffold written assignments to give them the support
they need to complete the assignment
Focus on one or two specific writing objectives for each
assignment
Instead of correcting every error a student makes,
correct only errors that impede understanding and
errors that pertain to the targeted objectives
How can I help my ELL with science
Scaffolding strategies:
Insert graphic
Connections to the Instructional
Practice Rubric
“Where do the ELL Strategies fit in?”
Key Instructional Strategies in Science
A. Activating/building on prior knowledge for
English language learners
B. Teaching academic vocabulary
C. Providing multi-sensory direct instruction
D. Scaffolding content-area reading
E. Structuring groups to maximize ELL learning
F. Building opportunities for academic
conversation
G. Scaffolding content-area writing
A. Activating/building on prior knowledge
for English language learners
I-1 Facilitates organized, student-centered,
objective driven lessons
Level 3
Students connect lesson content to prior
knowledge in order to build new learning. (For
example, students connect lesson content to
personal experiences or interests.)
B. Teaching academic vocabulary
I-6 Communicates content and concepts to
students
Level 3
Teacher uses developmentally appropriate
explanations and explains new terms and
vocabulary.
C. Providing multi-sensory direct
instruction
I-3 Differentiates instruction for student needs by
employing a variety of instructional strategies
Level 3
Students engage with lesson content in multiple ways
that that are appropriate to lesson objectives and
responsive to students’ needs. For example, multiple
learning modalities.
I-6 Communicates content and concepts to students
Level 3
Teacher communicates content and skills using visuals
or technology in situations where such methods
facilitate student understanding of lesson objectives.
D. Scaffolding content-area reading
I-4 – Engages students in work that
develops higher-level thinking skills
Level 3
Teacher provides students the support
and guidance(e.g., scaffolding) needed
to exercise higher-level thinking skills
E. Structuring groups to maximize ELL
learning
I-3 – Differentiates instruction for
student needs by employing a variety of
instruction strategies
Level 3
Teachers strategically utilizes flexible
instructional groups and varied
instruction arrangements that are
appropriate to the students and to the
instructional purposes of the lesson.
F. Building opportunities for academic
conversation
I-4 – Engages students in work that
develops higher-level thinking skills
Level 4
Students communicate their thinking
and reasoning processes, and
encourage peers to do the same, when
appropriate.
G. Scaffolding content-area writing
I-4 – Engages students in work that
develops higher-level thinking skills
Level 3
Teacher provides students the support
and guidance(e.g., scaffolding) needed
to exercise higher-level thinking skills