The ABCs of
Language and
Content
Objectives
Kellie Jones, Department Head of Bilingual/ESL
Services (K-8)
Brockton Public Schools
kelliemjones@brocktonpublicschools.com
• If you don’t know where
you’re going, you won’t
know when you get there!
• John Saphier, The Skillful
Teacher
Session Objectives
•
Content Objectives
• Participants will identify elements of
effective language objectives.
• Participants will analyze a lesson’s
language objectives.
•
Language Objectives
• Participants will discuss with a partner
their analysis of a lesson’s language
objectives.
• Participants will write language and
content objectives for a grade
appropriate lesson.
Language Objectives
•
Research Base
•
•
Seven year research project (1996-2003) conducted for
the Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and
Excellence (CREDE) by Dr. Jana Echevarria of
California State University at Long Beach and Dr.
Deborah Short of the Center for Applied Linguistics
(CAL)
Research project analyzed ELL student writing in
classes that used sheltered instruction methodologies,
including separating language and content objectives,
with those who did not. After comparing growth of
the two groups, the language/content objective group
out-performed the control group on every subtest.
(language production, focus, support/elaboration,
organization, mechanics)
Language and Content
Objectives
• Rationale
•
•
•
•
•
This is the foundation of effective sheltered
instruction.
Teachers identify both content skills/knowledge to
be acquired and the language knowledge needed to
access or express the content.
These objectives are based on content area and ELD
standards that are grade-level and proficiency
appropriate.
These language and content objectives are developed,
posted, discussed with the students, instructed
towards mastery of them, and reviewed at the end of
the lesson.
This enables students to attend to development of
both content and language knowledge, engage them
in their own learning, and consolidate their
knowledge.
Objectives
•
Good Objectives
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Are Explicit
Are Observable
Are Measurable
Are Connected to Standards (ELPBO or Curriculum
Objectives)
Are Related to the Content Objectives (access content
knowledge or express content knowledge)
Are Highlighted as Separate Objectives
Are Written in Kid Friendly Ways
Good Objectives
•
•
•
•
•
May focus on a language skill (reading, writing, listening,
speaking)
May focus on a language function (describe, analyze, synthesize,
evaluate, etc.)
May focus on vocabulary
May focus on language to express culture or social skills
May focus on the mechanics/syntax of language
General Guidelines for Writing Language
Objectives
•
Objectives should be written at the lesson level
in student friendly language.
•
☺ Students will find words beginning with the letter “b” in
the poem.
•
Students will learn the alphabet to apply necessary cognitive
strategies to delineate sounds.
•
Objectives should be focused and not include
multiple embedded objectives.
•
☺ Students will listen for numbers between 1-20 to match to
corresponding number of
•
Objectives do not state the activity the
students will engage in but rather why
students engage in the activity.
•
☺ Students will say demonstrative adjectives (this,
that, these, those) to introduce family members.
•
Students will introduce family members.
•
Objectives incorporate the function,
structure and vocabulary needed to
complete the task.
•
☺ Students will apply transitioning
words/vocabulary (first, next, then, finally) to
sequence events in an oral presentation.
objects.
•
Students will recognize and identify numbers 1-20, trace
them, write them in journals.
•
Objectives should be specific.
•
☺ Students will write a list of similar characteristics found in
the two poems read.
•
•
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Students will give oral presentations.
Students will name the characteristics of prose poetry.
•
•
•
Objectives should be stated in terms of what
students should know or be able to do (not for
the teacher).
•
☺ Students will use key words from geometry (i.e. cylinder,
cone) to identify the shapes
•
of common supermarket products.
•
We will learn the names of three dimensional shaped objects
Objectives include the four domains:
listening, speaking, reading and writing
within a lesson/unit.
•
*Adapted from research and writings on ContentBased Language Instruction (CoBaLTT),
•
Diane Tedick, et al., 2004
Language Objective “Buzz” Verbs
Math
English Language Arts
Science
Social Studies
Ask
Define
Discuss
Label
List
Listen
Name
Present
Read
Say
State
Tell
Write
Define
Discuss
Dramatize
Exaggerate
Explain
Express
Form an opinion
Improvise
List
Listen
Locate
Name
Perform
Read
Recite
Retell
Rephrase
Role-play
Say
Speak
State
Talk about
Tell
Write
Analyze
Ask
Compare
Contrast
Defend
Define
Evaluate
Label
Listen
Outline
Present
Propose
Research
Read
Record
Say
State
Synthesize
Talk(with)
Write
Chart
Compare
Contrast
Debate
Defend
Describe
Dramatize
Elicit
Explain
Form an Opinion
Label
List
Listen
Narrate
Outline
Perform
Present
Propose
Read
Recite
Report
Role-play
Say
State
Summarize
Take a
Stand/Position
Use
Write
Content Objective “Buzz” Verbs
Math
Add
Adjust
Apply
Chart
Combine
Confirm
Connect
Consider
Decipher
Deduce
Demonstrate
Display
Draw
Drop
Explore
Find
Follow
Identify
Interact
Make
Manipulate
Match
Measure
Organize
Practice
Provide
Recycle
Select
Show
Sort
Subtract
Test
Use
ELA
Act out
Characterize
Coach
Compare
Confirm
Connect
Consider
Contrast
Create
Demonstrate
Develop
Distinguish
Draw
Express
Follow
Identify
Interact
Interpret
Make
Match
Narrate
Organize
Outline
Persuade
Play
Predict
Prompt
Propose
Provide
Recall
Review
Select
Show
Summarize
Use
Visualize
Science
Adjust
Apply
Choose
Combine
Confirm
Connect
Coordinate
Create
Decipher
Deduce
Demonstrate
Derive
Develop
Display
Distinguish
Draw
Evaluate
Experiment
Explore
Follow up
Gather
Hypothesize
Identify
Interpret
Manipulate
Match
Observe
Organize
Perform
Practice
Prove
Provide
Review
Search
Sort
Tamper
Target
Test
Social Science
Choose
Confirm
Connect
Consider
Create
Define
Delineate
Display
Draw
Explore
Find
Identify
Interact
Interpret
Make
Organize
Persuade
Plot
Produce
Provide
Recycle
Reproduce
Select
Sort
Test
Visualize
Sample Language and Content
Objectives
• Grade Six Social Studies Lesson
• Content Objective:
• Students will identify the means of
transportation by native Americans in
New York in colonial America.
• Language Objective:
• Students will preview the chapter
(headers and visuals) and discuss pictures
in the chapter.
Language Objective Analysis
•
Review SIOP lesson plans written for a week-long professional development
workshop. Analyze the lesson plans for the standards of good
language objective writing.
•
Explicit
•
Observable
•
Measurable
•
Connected to the ELPBO
•
Related to the Content Objectives (access content knowledge
or express content knowledge)
•
Highlighted as Separate Objectives
•
Written in Kid-Friendly Ways
•
Which area of focus do you see most often?
•
Language skill (reading, writing, listening, speaking)
•
Language function (describe, analyze, synthesize, evaluate,
etc.)
•
Vocabulary
•
Language to express culture or social skills
•
Focus on the mechanics/syntax of language
Language and Content
Objectives
•
Content
Objective:
• After reviewing
all the factors
of 100 and
discussing our
strategies, we
will be able to
build
rectangular
solids with 100
interlocking
cubes.
•
Write a possible language
objective for this math
objective.
Objective Writing Activity
•
At your table, choose a piece of text and write a content and
language objective for a lesson.
Content Objective
Language Objective