SIOP ASSIGNMENTS
Part 1 due March 1
Part 2 due March 8
These two mini-assignments are designed to allow you time to deeply analyze one lesson plan and to
integrate a focus on language.
Almost every activity we provide for our students is full of language demands. In order to successfully
engage with these activities our students need to have the language competencies and/or scaffolding to
support them with the language demands that are most challenging. In order to best support students,
we must first identify language demands; then craft objectives to support students’ language learning;
and, finally, design lessons in ways that provide opportunities for students to access and use language in
ways that facilitates both their depth of understanding of the content and growth in language proficiency.
Note: If you do not have very many EL students in your classroom, you may want to work with a
classmate who does.
Assignment #1: Language Demands and Language Objectives
Your first goal is to identify as many language demands in as many areas of your lesson as possible. To
complete this activity use your lesson plan; your knowledge of your students needs (your linguistic
profile assignment might come in handy here); your knowledge of standards and grade-level curricular
objectives; information you have learned from your reading in this class (Gibbons; Ellis; and
Echevarria); and handouts related to this portion of the SIOP.
Part 1:
Analyze your lesson to determine the language demands of the lesson. In other words, what do
students need to do with reading, writing, speaking and listening in order to be successful with the
activity? Make a list of as many language demands as you can, categorized by these four domains.
Part 2:
Now that you’ve identified a laundry list of language demands, we can begin to think about a focus for
language in the lesson plan. In looking over the language demands, some questions to consider include
the following: Which of those language demands are the most critical for students understanding and
interacting with the content? Which ones most closely meet the current language development
needs of your students?
Step 1: Highlight your choices from your list based on your answers to these questions. (Feel
free to continue adding to your list as new ideas occur to you.)
Step 2: Begin to think about these demands as possible teaching points. Write about 6-8
possible language objectives for your lesson. Indicate the level of proficiency of the students you have
in mind as the target. Language objectives are similar to learning goals/learning objectives in your
lesson plans in that they should have measurable outcomes. It might be helpful to think about the
language you would like to see your students using in their reading, writing, speaking and listening as a
result of their participation in your lesson. (Note that in a final lesson plan you would choose to focus
on 1-2 of these objectives. We want you to include 6-8 to encourage you to explore the wide variety of
possibilities within any lesson.)
Step 3: Review the TESOL and/or CAELD standards to identify the specific standards that your
language objectives best work towards.
What to turn in on March 1:
1. A list of language demands broken down by reading/writing/speaking/listening. You may want to
subcategorize further if it is helpful to you. Your assignment may be in bullet form and need not
make specific reference to the materials mentioned above.
2. Your list of language objectives
3. Please include a lesson plan (or narrative description of the lesson) that is detailed enough for us to
understand the context of the lesson plan (you may want to include a 1-2 sentence description of the
unit and/or preceding or follow-up lessons); the learning goals/objectives; the specific activity
students will be engaged in; and your plan for assessment. Be sure to reference the language
proficiency of the students you are working with. If you have a variety of proficiencies in your
classroom you might choose one level to focus on.
4. 1-3 paragraph description of why these particular language objectives were chosen (include
reference to the language proficiency of the students you are working with). Include reference to the
language needs of students (linguistic profile may come in handy here) and the learning
goals/objectives. You may also want to include a brief discussion of the difficulties or questions you
encountered in this activity.
5. A one paragraph description of how your language objectives connect (or perhaps don’t seem to
connect) to the TESOL/CAELD standards
Evaluation criteria:
--List of language demands covers all four domains (as applicable)
--List of language objectives covers a range of areas of language use (i.e. not limited to one area such as
vocabulary or syntax)
--Language objectives flow from language demands
--Language objectives are appropriate for the student’s English proficiency level
--Connections to TESOL/CAELD standards are clear and appropriate
--Lesson plan (or narrative description) is in included and in sufficient detail to understand the goals and
activities
Assignment #2: Supporting language objectives and language
development
In this portion of the assignment you’ll think about the specific ways that language will be supported
and developed in your lesson. Return to your language objectives and begin to think about the ways that
you might include structures and scaffolds to support student language learning. You might find that
some activities/approaches/structures/scaffolds mentioned in the readings seem to be a good match for
your particular lesson. You may have ideas from other classes, from your CT or your own experience in
your classroom.
What to turn in March 8:
1. Lesson Plan: You may turn in a formal lesson plan or a narrative description that describes the
activities you have designed to support language development in the context of your lesson.
2. In addition, please address the following in a short (2-4 page) write-up:
a. How have you explicitly integrated a focus on language? In other words, how will
students work towards your language objectives through this activity?
b. Why did you choose the specific activities in your lesson plan?
c. How will you know if students have met your language objectives? (Describe your
formal or informal assessment plan.)
d. In what ways have you integrated what you have learned about second language
acquisition into your lesson plan? You may want to refer to specific readings from the
course.
e. What questions do you still have about this lesson plan or about planning for EL students
in general?
Evaluation criteria:
--Lesson activities are connected to language objectives
--Formal or informal assessment is consistent with objectives
--Connection to SLA are clear
--All questions are addressed in the write-up