
As you find you locate your PLC and find your
binders, please read the current event article
regarding ALD and college entrance.

Please revisit the DLT rubric
◦ Pay close attention to side 2
◦ This is the focus of the video presentation
Please revisit the DLT rubric prior to observing the lesson, specifically the
second side which focuses on the evidence piece of the DLT. As we learn
together how to use the DLT as an instructional and learning tool, use the
questions listed below to help frame your focus while watching the video.


What strategie(s) are being used to present the learning target to
students?

What strategies are being used to hold students accountable for knowing
what they will be learning and doing during the day’s lesson?

What else are you noticing about how the learning target is being
scaffolded for students?

Thank you to Ms. Recinos, Mr. Frank, and their students!


Following the video clips, please take some
time to share with a partner your written
responses to the video guiding questions
Following the video clips, please take some
time to personally reflect on how you use
DLTs in the classroom
District Wide Academic Support Team
October 2011
Peggy Ratner – Math
Lisa Burgess – ELA/ELD
Lonny Wood – Social Science

By the end of today’s presentation, I will be
able to distinguish between content
vocabulary (bricks) and functional language
(mortar) as evidenced by creating and sharing
content-specific academic language sentence
frames.
INFORMAL LANGUAGE
ACADEMIC LANGUAGE
• repetition of words
• variety of words, more
sophisticated vocabulary
• sentences start “and” or “but”
• sentences start with transition
words, such as “however”,
“moreover”, and “in addition”
• use of slang such as “dude”,
“whatever”, and “like”
• replaces slang with accurate
descriptors
• appropriate for use in casual,
social settings
• appropriate for use in all academic
and workplace settings
• can vary greatly by ethnicity,
region, gender, age
• common language register for all

the language used in the classroom and workplace.

the language of a wide range of text.

the language of assessments.

the language of academic success.

the language of power.
UCSD student 19 yrs. old; sophomore appeals
ouster over English requirement:

Academic Background
◦ 3.2 GPA: earned an A plus in physics and a B plus in
vector calculus.
◦ Scored a perfect 800 on the math portion of the SAT
and passed UC’s foreign language requirement
because he is fluent in his parents’ native Polish
◦ took two writing classes during his freshman year,
earning a B in one and a C in the other
◦ failed to meet the English proficiency requirement
freshman year
◦ got A’s and B’s in high school English

Academic Language Requirement

Consequence
◦ required to pass a writing course within their first
three quarters at UC
◦ The requirement can be met by obtaining a sufficient
score on the appropriate ACT or SAT exams or in AP
English in high school.
◦ regardless of letter grades, students are required to
pass a final essay exam in each class to meet the
writing requirement. “It’s all or nothing,” said Kubal,
who said he got nervous before both exit exams
◦ a letter acknowledges Kubal’s strength in math and
science, but stresses that the writing requirement will
not be waived and that Kubal is dismissed

Rationale
◦ “Admission is based on the student’s work in
high school,” ….. “This is an education
requirement, it’s about analytical thinking
necessary to be successful at the University of
California
◦ The need for students to have the ability to use
English “correctly, clearly, and pertinently on all
the lines upon which … thought is exercised”

By the end of today’s presentation, I will be
able to distinguish between content
vocabulary (bricks) and functional language
(mortar) as evidenced by creating and sharing
content-specific academic language sentence
frames.
 “Bricks” are content-specific vocabulary
pertinent to the topic / content being taught
in class
 What are we talking or reading about?
oVocabulary specific to the topic (bricks)
Dutro and Moran (2002)
content
words
held together
by functional
language
excerpted from S. Dutro and K. Kinsella
 Of what use is Academic Language acquisition?
Does it vary by content?
 What are the language domains and how are
they applied across the curriculum?
 How does the language register of the
classroom change by content?

Think-Pair-Share format:
◦ With a partner, discuss one question-30 sec. switch
Academic Language Development Toolkit
 Use to accurately gauge ALD focus
Academic Language Discussion Posters

Use to generate and practice academic discourse


PLCs will use the Academic Language
Function Toolkit to identify the sentence
frames you feel are most pertinent to your
content area
Using the “Content Specific Sentence Frames”
graphic organizer, create possible completed
sentences that students might use

Sentence Frame:
◦ In conclusion, ___ have ___ and ___; however, ___
are not always ___.

Completed Sentence (math):
◦ In conclusion, fractions have numerators and
denominators; however, the numerators are not
always smaller than the denominators.

Exit Slip

Friday’s PLC activity