SEI Lesson Tool
Name: Deborah LaPierre
Date: 2 week unit
Grade Level: 5th
Teaching Context
Curriculum or Content Area: English Language Arts
Non-fiction Text Features, Comparing and Contrasting two similar
people or animals.
There are 8 students, 4 students in each of two groups with a
total of 4 ELL students.
My ELLs’ linguistic and cultural background(s): I have little statistical information about the cultural and linguistic backgrounds of my
students. I do know that three of my students are from Spanish-speaking backgrounds and one is from an African background. One of
my Spanish students lives with parents who have limited English proficiency and they request a translator at meetings. The other two
students are exposed to Spanish occasionally at home.
I find that the Spanish speaking students, even my 4th grade level 3 student, are generally more English proficient than the African
student, who is a level 4. This is undoubtedly because the Spanish language is more linguistically closer to English.
My ELLs’ level(s) of English Proficiency: My 5th grade ELL students are all level 4.
WIDA ACCESS Spring 20131
See WIDA “Can Do” descriptors2 to help connect proficiency level with ACCESS scores
Listening
Speaking
Writing
Reading
Student(s):
PE *student has underlying psychological issues that are reflected in writing and speaking scores
5.2
1.0
2.3
5.9
MB
4.2
3.5
2.9
5.0
NM-R
4.9
4.2
5.3
4.9
1
2
For more information about WIDA ACCESS Scores and levels, see http://www.wida.us/assessment/ACCESS/ “Interpretive Guide for Score Reports”
http://www.wida.us/standards/CAN_DOs/
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5.0
AV
4.7
4.5
5.0
Other support services that my ELLs receive: All of my ELL students are also Special Education students with IEPs. They all receive
support services in ELA and one student receives support in Math outside of the general education classroom. Three of the students
receive ELL support services outside of the general education classroom and one student does not because the parents opted out of
services.
Lesson Standards and Objectives
Common Core State Standards (discipline, standard number, and description):
L.5.3: Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
RI.5.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what a text says explicitly or drawing inferences from a text.
RI.5.4: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.
SL.5.4: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support
main ideas or themes: speak clearly at an understandable pace.
W.5.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience.
W.5.7: Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
Content Objective(s)
Language Objective(s):
*Students will synthesize information
from texts to describe similarities and
differences between two people or two
animals.
*Students will read two articles and locate three similarities and three differences between two people or
animals.
**Students will be able to generalize their
knowledge of non-fiction text features to
present them on a poster project.
*Students will write complex sentences using appropriate connecting words to present three similarities and
three differences between two people or animals.
**Students will integrate non-fiction text features into their final poster presentation.
**Students will orally present their final writing piece and explain their use of text features.
**Students will respond orally to other student presentations by asking relevant questions.
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Language Objectives Differentiation for Proficiency Levels:
For Level 4 students:
Students will read articles with student and teacher support using the Partner Reading Strategy #3 and
Information Gap strategy.
Students will locate and identify three similarities and three differences between two people or animals using
a Venn Diagram, Tiered Vocabulary unique to their subject, and the RAFT.
Students will write expanded sentences describing the similarities and differences between two people or
animals with teacher and peer support.
For Level 3 students/All of the above and also:
Students will be given a compare and contrast template to support them with the language necessary to
compare and contrast two things in writing. I also gave this template to a level 4 student and a native
speaking student who have specific learning disabilities in written language. This would also be an
appropriate tool for a level two student with adult support.
Example:
_________ VS. __________
____________________ and _______________ are the same in some ways and
______________ and _______________ are different in some ways.
First, __________________ and __________________ are the same because
__________________________________________.
Second, __________________ and _______________ are the same because
___________________________________.
Third, __________________and ______________ are the same because
_____________________________________.
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_______________________ and ____________________ are also different from each
other. ___________________ is/has ____________ and ____________________
is/has __________________. Next, _________________ is/has
__________________________ and _________________ is/has
___________________________________. Finally, _____________________ is/has
______________________ and _______________ is/has
___________________________.
These are the ways that ______________ and ______________ are the same and also
how they are different.
Mentor Text or Source: A variety of internet based biographies and articles geared towards children when possible. Examples include:
The Gray Wolf, reading level L, www.readinga-z.com, The Red Fox, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/red-fox
Goldust, www.wwe.com/superstars/goldust/, Daniel Bryan, www.wwe.com/superstars/danielbryan.
A variety of non-fiction books to show specific examples of non- fiction text features including: Snakes, by Barbara Taylor (to
demonstrate a Did You know Fact?), Shark! Discovery Kids (to demonstrate a Diagram and Background), Eyes on Nature: Reptiles,
(to demonstrate Captions and Borders), The Snake Book Dorling Kindersley Book, (to demonstrate Font), Tyrannosaurus Rex, by
John Sibbick, (to demonstrate Table and Graph), Snakes Alive, by Janet Lambert (to demonstrate photographs and illustrations),
Before the Dinosaurs, by Miriam Schlein, (to demonstrate Chart), Usbourne Picture World History of Dinosaurs, (to demonstrate
Sidebars)
Targeted Tiered Vocabulary3 from Mentor Text or Source
3
For more information on Tiered vocabulary, see Beck & McKeon (1985), Calderón (2007).
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Tier 2 & Tier 3 words should be integrated into student product/assessment.
Tier 1 words
Tier 2 words
Tier 3 words
Basic words most children know in their primary
language: may include connectors or compounds
Essential to comprehension: i.e., process & transition, specificity, sophistication
polysemy, transitional terms, idioms, clusters, cognates…
Low frequency, content specific, typically glossed in the back
of the text book
same
compare
Did you Know Fact?
different
contrast
captions
diagram
sidebars
background
borders
font
table
graph
photograph
illustration
chart
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Student Prerequisite Skills or Background Knowledge:
What content or language knowledge or skills do my ELLs need to successfully complete the content and language objectives? What background knowledge or skills might my ELLs already have in their
primary language but may need help in transferring to English?
Students will need a working knowledge of non-fiction text features as well as an understanding of their importance to the meaningful
content of a non -fiction book. Students will need to scan a text in order to locate key information and complete a graphic organizer
with the information. Students will need to know and use appropriate connecting words to write sentences to produce a final written
product. Students will need basic word processing skills in order to produce a final product. Students will need internet research skills
in order to locate photographs, graphs, and charts to include in their final product. Students will need to demonstrate understanding of
the process by presenting their final poster project to the group and answering appropriate questions.
Many of my ELL students are already fairly proficient in word processing and in accessing the internet to save pictures, charts and
graphs. They also have used a Venn diagram many times to compare and contrast two things. Some of the Tier II vocabulary words,
like the word “photograph” have a very close cognate in Spanish.
My ELL students are being given the opportunity to choose a topic that they are both interested in and in which they have background
knowledge. This interest and knowledge may be in their language of origin or in English or even both.
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Assessment of content learning and language development:
Have I included Tier 2 & Tier 3 words in my assessment of my student’s discourse: written or oral?
I will monitor student understanding of Tier II and Tier III words both orally and in writing. Students will do a “text feature scavenger
hunt" where the group will locate examples of non-fiction text features in a variety of books. I will informally assess student
understanding by observation of their conversations. Students will also be required to use Tier II and Tier III vocabulary that is unique
to their particular topic. For example, the student who compared and contrasted gray wolves and red foxes had to interpret words like,
“vixen”, “offspring”, “alpha”, and “regurgitate”. I will also assess their understanding of the vocabulary from their individual topics
when they answer text dependent questions. I will also assessment their understanding of text features when they present their poster
to the group.
Students will be developing written language skills by using the specific language necessary to compare and contrast two things in a
written product. The students will be developing listening and speaking skills as the work together to do the Non-fiction text feature
scavenger hunt, to partner read their informational articles and when they present their poster projects. Students will develop their
reading skills as they read their informational articles in pairs, and answer their text dependent questions.
This unit thoroughly addresses the four language domain areas of reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
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Content and Concept Language Integration
How have I integrated all possible domains into my teaching and learning strategies and activities?
Discourse Integration:
Which domain(s) does my strategy/activity target?
Speaking Writing Listening Reading
Lesson Sequence:
Sheltered Instruction Strategies
How does this strategy connect my content and language objectives?
How does this strategy facilitate my students’ ability to access the content?
How does this strategy facilitate my students’ ability to comprehend the mentor text,
build essential knowledge, or produce oral or written discourse connected to the
content objective?
How does this strategy provide comprehensible input for my students?
Students will discuss as a group what they know
about non-fiction text features.
X
Teach the Key Content Vocabulary, non-fiction
text feature Tier II and Tier III vocabulary, using
The Seven Step vocabulary strategy. For step 6
have students complete simple sentence frames
with a word bank.
X
X
X
X
This allows students to help each other by both listening
and speaking.
X
Tiered Vocabulary (see above)
The Seven Step Vocabulary Strategy
Visual models from mentor texts for clarification,
allowing students to develop understanding of vocabulary
by listening to a teacher with the use of visual
representations of the vocabulary being taught. This
strategy utilizes all four language modalities.
Examples of sentence frames:
A ________ _________ ___________ ___________ is an
interesting or little known fact about a topic designed to
grab a reader’s attention. Photographs and illustrations
often have a ______________ or a short sentence that
explains the content of the photograph or illustration. The
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______ is the size and style of typed text that is used.
___________are colors or pictures that are around placed
around the outside edges of the pages.
Students will participate in a non-fiction text
feature “scavenger hunt” locating examples of
Tier II and Tier III vocabulary in a variety of
texts as a group.
X
X
X
This allows students to demonstrate understanding of
vocabulary by listening and speaking to other students and
locating visual representations of the vocabulary being
taught.
Students will partner read their informational
articles in order to assist each other in decoding
and comprehension and to assist in looking for
similarities and differences.
X
X
X
Partner Reading Strategy
Students will demonstrate understanding of their
own individual text by answering text dependent
questions
X
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Variation #3: Partner reading for Comprehension
Have level 4 ELL students work with native speaking
students when possible. Students will read a paragraph at a
time to each other.
X
X
X
Text Dependent Questions: students will answer
questions on their specific texts.
Example:
Questions
Level
What is the
purpose of the
question?
What is the size
and weight of an
average Gray
Wolf?
Key details
Establish a size
and weight
comparison
between a gray
wolf and a red
fox.
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What is the size
and weight of an
average red fox?
How do wolves
hunt?
Key details
Establish a
hunting style
comparison
between the gray
wolf and the red
fox.
How do foxes
hunt?
Teacher will model writing 3 paragraph essay
with three similarities and three differences using
a teacher selected topic and a completed Venn
diagram.
Students will be “Nature Magazine Experts” or
“Sports Magazine Experts” who will be
presenting finished poster project to peers and to
parents at Parent Showcase.
Think Aloud Strategy: modeling use of connective
and transitional words, introductory sentence and
concluding sentence.
X
X
RAFT Drafting Strategy
Finished project will be a poster with written product and
examples of text features.
Example:
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Role
Audience
Format/Genre
Topic
Writer for a
nature
magazine
readers
Compare and
contrast essay
Two similar
animals
Writer for a
sports
magazine
readers
Compare and
contrast essay
Two similar
basketball
players
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Students will edit draft of paragraphs.
X
X
COPS Strategy: capitalization, organization,
punctuation, spelling
Students will revise similarities and differences
paragraphs.
X
X
X
X
Sentence Combining revising strategy
Teacher will assist level 4 students in selecting sentences
from written work.
Example: “Wolves hunt in packs. Foxes hunt alone.”
Becomes “Wolves hunt in packs, led by the alpha male
and foxes usually hunt alone.
Students will word process final written product,
select photographs from the internet to print and
assemble poster, including required text features
based on the criteria of the poster rubric.
Students will present final poster project, reading
written piece, and explaining text feature details
to the class and to parents at Showcase.
X
X
Teacher will assist individual students as necessary.
*please see attached rubric*
X
X
X
Teacher will assist students as necessary.
Further Practice:
Homework or extension activities: How do these activities reinforce the comprehension and discourse as well as content or language objectives I have set for my ELLs?
In an upcoming unit, students will be comparing and contrasting two Tall Tale stories, so practice comparing and contrasting as a
comprehension strategy and a writing exercise has been beneficial. Students will also be reading a number of non-fiction texts so
knowledge of text features and their significance will also aid in students’ ability to comprehend texts. By modeling tasks, students are
learning to think about their learning and ultimately take more responsibility for themselves as students. The editing and revising
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strategies used in this unit will continue to be used in other lessons. Students will continue to have opportunities to practice listening,
speaking, reading, and writing meeting appropriate language objectives for ELLs and indeed for all students, while learning the
required content at the L+1 instructional level.
Students will have an opportunity to share their finished products with the parents at an Academy Showcase.
Lesson Integration Checklist:
□ My Content and Language Objectives support each other.
□ I differentiated my language objectives to accommodate my students’ proficiency levels.
□ I used my students’ proficiency levels when choosing my instructional strategies to support their content and language
learning.
□ I chose activities that integrate speaking, writing, reading, and listening to the extent possible.
□ I differentiated my assessment to accommodate my students’ proficiency levels.
□ My assessment reflects the targeted language from my lesson’s mentor text or source.
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Name ________________________ date _____________
Poster Project Rubric:
My poster has a three paragraph compare and contrast essay. ______
My poster has at least two photographs with captions. ________
My poster has at least one Did You Know Fact?. _________
My poster has a chart, diagram, table or graph. ___________
My poster has a title._______
My poster is neat and everything is spelled correctly. _______
If all 5 are checked off =4
If 4 are checked off=3
If 3 are checked off=2
If 2 are checked off=1
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MY GRADE IS: ____________