TEACHING THE
LANGUAGE OF
SOCIAL
STUDIES
PRESENTER:
Areli Schermerhorn
OCTOBER 8, 2010
NYSUT CONFERENCE
Goals
• To identify
strategies to
assist English
Language
Learners in their
classrooms.
• To view how the
strategies can be
used to adapt
instruction in the
Social Studies
classroom.
What is language?
• The verbal and nonverbal expressions
believed to have been
first used by Homo
sapiens during the
Paleolithic Era
• A system of
communication with its
own set of conventions
or special words
What are some strategies for adapting
instruction for English Language Learners
in the Social Studies classroom (or any
other classroom)?
Activate students’ prior
knowledge and provide
background knowledge
• Use semantic webs, data retrieval
charts, KWL, and other graphic
organizers.
• Show illustrations, maps, photos.
• Hold class discussions to activate prior
knowledge.
Two Truths and One Fib
• In the ten years between 1996 and 2006, the
nation’s K-12 ELL population rose by nearly
50 percent.
• ELLs benefit from redundant key information,
e.g., visual cues, pictures, and physical
gestures about lesson content and classroom
procedures.
• The opportunity to interact in the second
language is central to developing second
language proficiency.
BACK AND FORTH BINGO
• Ask your classmates
the question.
• When your classmates
answer “yes”, they can
sign the squares.
• When your classmates
answer “no”, they can’t
sign the squares.
• Get different signatures
for each square.
• When you get three
signatures in a row, you
have BINGO!
Joseph
Adolf
St alin
Hit ler
Winst on
Benit o
Mussolini
General
Harry
Churchill
Hideki
Tojo
Truman
Ne ville
Franklin
Chamb erlain
D.
Roosevelt
Women in World War II
• http://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=gkYG
XHmtZcg&feature=r
elated
BUILD VOCABULARY
• Use gestures, body
language, visuals,
pictures and actual
objects to introduce
new vocabulary
IMPORTANT VOCABULARY
Name: ___________________________________ Date: ____________________
Block:_________________________
WORD:
Pic ture/graphi c
DEFINITIO N:
EXAMPLE:
WORD:
DEFINITIO N:
EXAMPLE:
WORD:
Pic ture/graphi c
You are out!!
Word: excommunication
Definition: exclusion from the
Roman Catholic Church as a
penalty for refusing to obey
Church laws.
Word: Crusades
Definition: holy war to capture the
holy land (Jerusalem)
Build Vocabulary
• Help students create
meaningful
sentences as a
whole class or in
groups.
Word Splash
 “Splash” words on the board or on a
worksheet
 Model connecting two or more words
together to create a sentence
 Students connect two or more words to
create sentences.
 Share sentences with partner/class.
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
_
Build Vocabulary
• When writing, ask
students to
brainstorm a list of
words that relate to
the subject. Post
these words for
student reference
castles
knights
Middle Ages
war
Serf
Feudalism
Give One … Get One
•
•
•
•
Think about_______
Write words about_________
Stop
Stand up get more words from your
classmates
• Write new words on your list.
• Sit down
• Share your words
Sentence Builder
• Write sentences
using at least two
words from your list.
• Share the sentence
with classmate,
class.
Build Vocabulary
• Play concentration,
bingo, and other
vocabulary games
to review
PATRIARCHAL
POLYTHEISM
CULTURAL
DIFFUSION
PALEOLITHIC
NOMAD
NEOLITHIC
TECHNOLOGY
DOMESTICATION
URBAN
PRESENT INFORMATION IN
A VARIETY OF WAYS
• Use manipulatives and multimedia
• Use films, pictures, and other visuals
• Use cooperative learning and peer
tutoring
Modify Material
• Reduce sentence and paragraph
length, using active voice, simplifying
sentence structure
• For example, modify a Jeopardy game
by having students identify answers,
instead of the customary
answer/question format
PEOPLE
USE GRAPHIC
ORGANIZERSACHIEVEMENTS
ANCIENT CIVILIZATION
GEOGRAPHY
BELIEF SYSTEM
Name:_________ ________________________________ Date: ______________________________________
RELIGION
ORIGIN
FOUNDER
HOLY
BOOK
MAJOR BELIEFS
WESTERN RELIGION CHART – WORD BANK
 CHRISTIANITY
 MIDDLE EAST
 KORAN (QURAN)
 ISLAM
 ABRAHAM
 JESUS CHRIST
 MONOTHEISM – BELIEF IN ONLY ONE GOD
 TEN COMMANDMENTS
 TORAH
 JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD
 FIVE PILLARS – FAITH, PRAYER, ALMS, FASTING,
PILGRIMAGE
 JUDAISM
 BIBLE
 MUHAMMAD
Textbooks and reading
materials
• Have a variety of
reading materials at
different reading
levels
www.mrdowling.com
• World History topics
such as Ancient Egypt
• Written at the 6th grade
level
• Many supporting
activities such as
interactive quizzes,
homework
assignments, and tests.
Texbook and reading
materials
• Show material in
drawings, pictures,
chart as well as
words
Main idea: The United Nations works for world peace.
CLASSROOM ROUTINES
• Model everything
• Read aloud, think aloud
• Use the same format for assignments
and worksheets until students recognize
it.
• Establish a daily routine. Write daily
schedule on the board
Wednesday, September 17, 2010
Global History 9
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Word: Nomad (Important voc. Worksheet)
Question of the Day (Regents question)
Find a partner - matching words/definition
Teacher Read Aloud: First People
Partners - First People- Comprehension questions
Chart Notes - with partner - Paleolithic/Neolithic
Archaeology computer video
Ticket out the door
Homework -Crossword puzzle
Word: Nomad
• Definition: a person
who moves from
place to place in
search of food
• Example: During
the Paleolithic Era
nomads hunted
animals and
gathered berries.
ASSESSMENT
• Maintain high
expectations for
students’ content
acquisition
• Teach students testtaking skills
• Allow students more
time to complete
assignments
Can ESL students receive a
special ESL diploma?
No.
ESL students are held to the
same standards as traditional students.
Are there any testing
modifications for ESL students?
• Extended time ( i.e. time and a half)
• Use of bilingual dictionaries and glossaries.
• Native Language Exams and or translators
(if available). Core Regents exams in all
areas (except English) will be translated into
five languages: Chinese, Haitian-Creole,
Korean, Russian and Spanish.
• A third reading of the listening selection (ELA
exam).
• Optimum testing environment.
TEACH TEST-TAKING
SKILLS
• REGENTS QUESTION OF THE DAY
Question: Early peoples who moved frequently as they
searched for the food they needed for survival are
called
•
•
•
•
(1) village dwellers
(2) subsistence farmers
(3) nomads
(4) guild members
________________________________ is the incorrect answer
Because__________________________________________
____________________________________________
__________________________________ is the correct answer
Because _________________________________________
_________________________________________________
____________________________________________
Helpful Vocabulary Building
Strategies
• Word of the Day - Important Vocabulary
Worksheet
• Give One --- Get One
• Word Splash
• Visual Notes
• People Hunt
• Concentration/memory games
• Back and Forth Bingo
• Bingo games
Helpful Internet Resources
• www.mrdowling.com
• www.nysedregents.org
• www.regentsprep.org