The SIOP Model for
Elementary Classrooms
with English Learners
Prepared for the SFSD by Marcia Gaudet and Suzanne Maxwell
Content from Making Content Comprehensible for Elementary English
Learners THE SIOP MODEL, Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2010
Content Learning Goals:
I can identify the 8 components of the SIOP model.
I can reflect on student needs and how the SIOP model
meets those needs.
Language Learning Goals:
I can listen to and read a story about two English
Learners (ELs).
 I can discuss and list 3 challenges for ELs in a
classroom.
I can list 3 SIOP features that help students overcome
these challenges.
Think of a time when
you were learning a
new language. In one
word, describe your
experience. Write that
word on a sticky note.
Sticky Note
Who are ELLs?

Who are ELL students in South Dakota?
◦ Refugee students - placed through the UN
& Secondary refugee students (no financial
help)
◦ Students who are immigrating on other types
of visas: Ethiopia - Diversity visa, Mexico, etc.
◦ Students born in the USA whose home
language is other than English
◦ International students who have been adopted!
◦ Students who are children of visiting
professionals and higher ed students (studying
at Augustana, etc.)
Where do ELLs come from?


In the SFSD there are
over 61 languages
from 67 countries
At the Immersion Center
we are now seeing
students from:
 Iraq, Yemen (Arabic)
 Somalia,Kenya,Tanzania,
Congo,Ethiopia, Burundi,
Liberia, Ivory Coast
 Burma, Thailand, Nepal
 Mexico, Guatemala
What are Three Foundational
Issues in ELL?
 1.
Acculturation
• Explicitly teach US study skills/behavior
 2.
Language Acquisition
• Teach content while teaching literacy
• Context embedded/Adaptations for Lang.
 3.
Classroom Instruction that Works
• SIOP: Sheltered Instruction Observation
Protocol
Federal Legislation: Lau vs. Nichols
(1974)

This was a lawsuit on behalf of Chinese students in
San Francisco public schools.

The Supreme Court ruled that identical education
does not constitute equal education under the Civil
Rights Act.

“There is no equality of treatment merely by
providing students with the same facilities, textbooks,
teachers, and curriculum; for students who do not
understand English are effectively foreclosed from
any meaningful education.”
Federal Legislation:
Equal Educational Opportunity Act
(1974)

Within two weeks of Lau vs. Nichols, Congress passed
the Equal Opportunity Act.

“No state shall deny equal educational opportunity to
an individual on account of his or her race, color, sex,
national origin or by failure of an educational agency
to take appropriate action to overcome language
barriers that impede equal participation by its
students in its instructional programs.”
We need to ensure that we are
teaching our ELs GRADE LEVEL
CONTENT while simultaneously
increasing their ACADEMIC
English proficiency!
Chapter 1, #2
For English
learners,
BICS is really
just the tip
of the
iceberg!
CALP is what
takes many
years to
develop and
what is
needed to
obtain
academic
success!
Many teachers say…..”I don’t understand why my ELs
aren’t doing well in my class. They can speak English
just fine!”
CALP
BICS
Basic Interpersonal
Communication Skills
Cognitive Academic
Language Proficiency

Academic English
required to be
successful in grade
level content classes.
“Playground”
English

Technical terms specific to
content areas
1-3 years to fully develop

Develops slowly; 4 -7 years
depending on the individual
and sociocultural factors

Conversational English
used both inside and
outside the classroom.


Examples of BICS & CALP
BICS…Social Language
CALP…Academic English

Listening: Follows general
classroom directions

Listening: Can follow specific
directions for academic tasks.

Speaking: Converses easily
about social situations with peers
and teachers. May speak English
without an accent.

Speaking: Expresses reasons for
opinions. Asks for clarification
during academic tasks.

Reading: Reads academic
materials with good
comprehension.

Writing: Can write an essay
supporting a point of view.


Reading: May decode reading
material with ease, but may not
comprehend what is read.
Writing: Can fill out school
forms. Can find and copy the
answers to questions in
textbooks.
Turn and Talk
Cummin’s Model of Academic Language
Cognitively Undemanding (Easy)
Cognitively Undemanding
A.
C.
•Art, music, physical education
•Phone conversations
•Following simple directions
•Notes on refrigerator
•Face-to-face discussions
•Written directions
Context-Embedded
(Many Clues)
B.
Con
Context-Reduced
(Few Clues)
D.
•Demonstrations
•Reading a textbook
•Audio-visual assisted lesson
•Explaining new, abstract concepts
•Science experiments
•Lecturing with few illustrations
•Social studies project
•Math concepts and applications
Cognitively Demanding
Cognitively Demanding (Difficult)
Where do these activities fit within the quadrants?
D Completing and end-of-the-chapter book test
___
C Getting groceries using someone else’s list
___
A Following daily procedures
___
B Lessons using manipulatives
___
A Greeting your teachers
___
C
___ Assembling a new desk with written instructions
C Reading how to use a new product
___
B Group work with specifically assigned partners/group members
___
D Using only textbook materials
___
B Providing rubrics or timelines for projects
___
D Homework
___
B Role-playing a character’s response with a classmate
___
A Keyboarding
___
D Teaching the standards without background
___
Time
Stage
Characteristics of the student…
Level 1
Preproduction
•Has minimal comprehension
•Does not verbalize
•Nods “yes” and “No.”
•Draws and points
0 – 6 months
•Show me…
•Circle the…
•Where is…?
•Who has…?
Level 2
Early Production
•Has limited comprehension
•Produces one or two word responses.
•Uses key words and familiar phrases.
•Uses present-tense verbs.
6 months to
1 year
•Yes/no questions
•Either/or questions
•Who…..?
•What…?
•How many….?
Level 3
Speech Emergence
•Has good comprehension
•Can produce simple sentences
•Makes grammar and pronunciation
errors
•Frequently misunderstands jokes
1 – 3 years
•Why…?
•How…?
•Explain…
•Questions requiring phrase or
short-sentence answers.
Level 4
Intermediate Fluency
•Has excellent comprehension
•Makes few grammatical errors
3 -5 years
•What would happen if…?
•Why do you think…?
•Questions requiring more than a
sentence response
5-7 years
•Decide if…
•Retell…
Level 5
•The student has a near-native
Advanced Fluency level of speech.
Teacher prompt
Chart taken from: Classroom Instruction that works with ELLs pg. 15
Sociolinguistic Development
Level 6
Abstract language more accessible
Advanced Fluency
May need help with college essays
Level 5
Decontextualized, abstract vocab
SD Exits ELs
Advanced Fluency 5 – 7 years
4.8 Composite
Level 4
2,000 receptive words
Intermediate Fluency 3 - 5 years
3 - 5 years to attain
Level 3
7,000 receptive words
Speech Emergence: 1 - 3 years
2-3 years to attain
4.0 Read/Write
Often quiet, don’t
ask questions
Level 2
1,000 receptive words
Early Production: 6 months to 1 year
Level 1
Pre-Production: 0-6 months
1-2 receptive words
Note: In America 6 year
olds in English speaking
homes have 10,000 to
24,000 words of English
in 1st grade when
learning to read.
- 30 Features Grouped
into 8 Components
heltered nstruction
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Lesson Preparation
Building Background
Comprehensible Input
Strategies
Interaction
Practice/Application
Lesson Delivery
Review & Assessment
bservation
rotocol
How we serve ELLs in the SFSD
Level 4,5, & 6 ELL
SFSD Serving
1800+ ELLs
Regular Content & Classrooms
270+
Level 1
Immersion
Programs
Level 2 & 3 ELL
Regular Classrooms & Content
Level 1 ELL
Immersion
All other ELL
levels are
served in ELL
centerbase
schools
• Elem: 10 ELL
centerbase
schools
Centers
• Middle: 2 ELL
centerbase
schools
Elem – Pull-out/Push-in
MS,HS - Sheltered
• High School: 3
ELL centerbase
schools
Feature 1 - Lesson Preparation
Content Objectives
Language Objectives
Content Concepts Appropriate for Age and Educational
Background
Supplementary Materials
Adaption of Content to All Levels of Student Proficiency
Meaningful Activities that Integrate Lesson Concepts
with Language Practice Opportunities
Learning Objectives are Essential
1.
2.
3.
4.
They guide both teaching and learning in a classroom.
You need to have both content and language learning goals.
They are the foundation of a lesson.
They should be written in kid friendly language, posted and
reviewed with students.
5. Attainment of the objectives should be assessed and
reviewed with the students at the end of the lesson.
Content Learning Goals…

describe what the
students will be learning

come from grade level
content standards
Language Learning Goals…

describe how the students
will demonstrate their
knowledge

build students’ academic
language proficiency in
each subject area
Examples of Content and Language Objectives
Content Learning Goals:
(what they will learn)
1.
1.
1.
Students will be able to identify
specific landforms on a map of
South America.
Language Learning Goals…
(how they will demonstrate
their knowledge through
reading, writing, listening and
speaking)
1.
Students will be able to identify
reasons for why the Boston Tea
Party happened.
Students will be able to present
an oral report about one landform
and its influence on a country’s
history.
1.
Students will be able to write a
paragraph to persuade other
colonists to help take part in the
Boston Tea Party.
Students will be able to identify
an author’s purpose for writing
a text.
1.
Students will be able to orally
justify their answer using this
sentence starter…
The author’s purpose for writing this
text was to _______ the reader. I
know this because the text is ______.
Feature 2 – Building Background
Concepts are Linked to Students’ Background
Experiences
Links Explicitly Made Between Past Learning and
New Concepts
Key Vocabulary Emphasized
Building Background Knowledge

How is building background knowledge different from
activating background knowledge?
TURN AND TALK using this sentence frame...
oAll learners have background knowledge which has been
acquired
through
school and
life experiences.
Building
background
knowledge
is different from
activating background knowledge because…..
oConnecting current learning to previous learning is
activating prior knowledge.
oHowever, some ELs have little, to no prior knowledge about a
topic. Therefore brainstorming about it or doing a KWL chart
may not be helpful.
oIt is critical that teachers use techniques to build their
and talk
knowledge of a topic and fill in the Turn
gaps.
Beach Ball Share Out
Interventions for When Students
Lack Background Knowledge
Needed for Academic Success
1. Pre-Teach Vocabulary Words!
o
Teachers should select vocabulary terms that are
CRITICAL for understanding a text or concept.
o
These words should be presented using both linguistic
and nonlinguistic representations.
o
Students should have multiple meaningful interactions
with the words.
Interventions Continued……
2. Provide meaningful and relevant experiences
for students. The quality of an experience
enhances the likelihood of it being stored in the
permanent memory.
o
Bring in realia or use supplemental materials (Google
images)
o
Show a movie or video clip prior to teaching a lesson
(Learn360 videos)
o
Take field trip
o
Use picture books to introduce students to new
information
Interventions Continued……
3. Introduce a conceptual framework which
will allow students to build their
background knowledge.
o
Use graphic organizers to help students understand key
ideas
o
Preview the text with students, focusing on key ideas
o
Link present learning to past learning
Feature 3 – Comprehensible Input
 Speech Appropriate for Students’ Proficiency
Levels
Clear Explanation of Academic Task
A Variety of Techniques Used to Make Content
Concepts Clear
Comprehensible Input:
Nonlinguistic Representation

Words alone cannot convey meaning to ELLs.

Nonlinguistic representation help ELLs.

Nonlinguistic representations include real objects,
pictures, pictographs, diagrams, physical models,
video clips, recorded sounds, gestures, and
movement.

Seeing is remembering.
Maisha ya kipepeo
Demale anajaalia ya wazima kwamba alikuwa yai
mbolea na wa kiume.
 Hatches ya yai katika vidogo larba.
 Ya larva anakula na kukua kiasi kubwa. The larva
inaona yenyewe na aina twig na nje ngumu shell.
 A kikamilifu-grown wazima kipepeo anaibuka
kutoka chrysalis.
 Wazima kuishi kwa muda mfupi tu. Wao
hawawezi kula; wao kunywa tu kupitia stra yao
kama cirkel proboscis. Watakuwa kuruka, mate,
na kuzaliana.

Kipepeo Lifecycle
Metamorphosis ya Butterfly ya Rouanez
wote
yai
yai
Yai hatches katika
larva vidogo (kiwavi)
kiwavi ya kula na kukua
kiasi kubwa
Watu wazima wa
kike aliandika
kwamba alikuwa
yai fertilzed na
wa kiume
kiwavi ya
kujishikiza
jani la na
aina ngumu
nje shell
Kija
ni
Pupa
A butterfly
kikamilifu mzima
anaibuka kutoka
chrystalis ya
Watu wazima kuishi kwa muda
mfupi tu
Ndani ya Chrysalis
mabadiliko ya kiwavi
katika kipepeo
Feature 4 – Strategies
 Ample Opportunities Provided for Students to
Use Learning Strategies
Scaffolding Techniques Consistently Used,
Assisting and Supporting Student Understanding
A Variety of Questions or Tasks That Promote
High-Order Thinking Skills
Strategies
Cognitive Strategies:
Metacognitive Strategies:
•Rereading
•Highlighting
•Reading Aloud
•Taking Notes
•Talking to Someone
•Finding Key Vocabulary
•Mapping Information
•Predicting/Inferring
•Self-Questioning
•Monitoring/Clarifying
•Evaluating
•Summarizing
•Synthesizing
•Visualizing
Activities that build these strategies:
SQP2RS: Survey, Question, Predict, Read, Respond, Summarize
A framework used for teaching content with expository text
Graphic Organizers
Feature 5 – Interaction
Frequent Opportunities for Interaction
Grouping Configurations
Sufficient Wait Time
Clarify Concepts in L1
Ways To Get Students Interacting:
Inside/Outside Circle
Think-Pair-Share
Gallery Walk
Beach Ball Share
Mulling to Music
Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down
Carousel Brainstorming
Fist of Five
Give One, Get One
A study done by Stahl & Clark
found that students who knew that
they WEREN’T GOING TO BE
CALLED ON during vocabulary
instruction RECALLED FEWER
WORDS than students who knew
that they might be called on in
class.
Feature 6 – Practice/Application
 Hands-On Materials and/or Manipulatives
Provided for Students to Practice Using New
Content Knowledge
Activities Provided for Students to Apply Content
and Language Knowledge
Activities Integrate All Language Skills
Fun Ways For Students To Practice
What They Have Learned:
I Have, Who Has
Concept Vocabulary Puzzles
Memory Game
Jeopardy
Flyswatter
I Have, Who Has Example:
I have cullet.
Who has a word that
means to throw something
through the window?
Feature 7 – Lesson Delivery
 Content Objectives are Clearly Supported by
Lesson Delivery
Language Objectives are Clearly Supported by
Lesson Delivery
Students are Engaged 90% – 100% of the Time
Pacing of the Lesson Should be Appropriate for
Students’ Ability Level.
Feature 8 – Review & Assessment
Comprehensive Review of Key Vocabulary
Comprehensive Review of Key Content Concepts
Regular Feedback Provided to Student on Their
Output
Assessment of Student Comprehension and
Learning of All Lesson Objectives Throughout the
Lesson.
Develop Lesson Using
Assessment, Standards
and SIOP Model
Reteach
Teach Lesson
Make Adjustments
to Improve
Student
Comprehension
Assess Student
Comprehension and
Student Work
Review Key
Concepts and
Vocabulary
The Story of Graciela and Jocelyn
“Hola Prima,” called Graciela to her
cousin, Jocelyn, on the playground “Ayuda
con mi
tarea!” Graciela asked her cousin for help
with a homework assignment. “Cúal es el problema?”
replied Jocelyn. Graciela went on to explain that she had
to write a paper about recycling. She had to write an action
plan, but she didn’t know what an action plan was.
The two girls are cousins from Central America who
entered fourth grade in Bray Elementary School together
seven months earlier. They were placed in different classes
in this suburban setting, but because the fourth grade
science teachers all did the same projects, Jocelyn knew
how to help her cousin.
Jocelyn’s Classroom
She explained that they had already started to work
on that project. They had looked through the trash can in
the lunchroom and found many things that could be
recycled. They are creating a bulletin board with
vocabulary and pictures about recycling. They had watched
two videos, one about neighborhood families recycling and
one about a recycling plant. They were going to make
paper the next day.
“We have to make a poster with our partner telling
why it is important to recycle,” Jocelyn told her cousin.
“We made a list in class of reasons and I decided to try to
stop pollution in the sea. Ms. Sylvan showed us two
posters from last year’s class. Then she bookmarked some
websites for me to look at. Some of them are in Spanish
and you can listen to people talking about pollution and
recycling. “What did you do in class?”
Graciela’s Classroom
Graciela explained that one day the teacher had
talked to them for a long time about what recycling is and
why it is important. “She told us to take notes when she
talked, but it was hard. She talked too fast and she didn’t
write anything on the board. Then we read a few pages in
our science textbook and answered questions yesterday.
Today she gave us this sheet and told us to start writing
our ideas.” Graciela showed her cousin the assignment:
Think of a recycling project. What needs to be improved in your
school or town? Write an action plan proposing the school board or the
town council take steps to alleviate the problem or introduce a new
program.
Jocelyn shook her head slowly as she looked at the
paper. “I know what we can do. Let’s go ask Ms. Sylvan.
She just came out of the cafeteria.”
Elbow Partner

Turn to your neighbor and tell
them:
1. What helped Jocelyn to
be successful with the
recycling project?
2. What made it hard for
Graciela to be successful
with the recycling
project?
+ or – Beach Ball Sharing
Directions:
We are going to
toss the ball
around the room.
When you catch
the ball look to
see which symbol
is facing you, this
will determine
what information
you share with the
group.
+
Tell what helped Jocelyn to be
successful with the recycling
project.
Something that helped Jocelyn
to be successful with the project
was that……..
-
Tell what made it hard for
Graciela to be successful.
Something that made it hard for
Graciela to be successful with the
project was that……..
Musical Share - Mulling to Music
•When
the music starts, stand up and begin filing back and
forth through the rows towards the top row. When you
reach the top row, make your way down to the front row
and begin again.
•When
the music stops, turn and find the person closest to
you. Share your answers to these two questions:
1.Share
3 challenges that ELs face in the classroom?
1.Share
3 SIOP features that could help the student
overcome those challenges?
Continue walking when the music begins again.
What Helps Me Learn
(Hear from the students themselves)
Content Learning Goals:
I can identify the 8 components of the SIOP model.
I can reflect on student needs and how the SIOP model
meets those needs.
Language Learning Goals:
I can listen to and read a story about two English
Learners (ELs).
 I can discuss and list 3 challenges for ELs in a
classroom.
I can list 3 SIOP features that help students overcome
these challenges.
Questions
or
Comments