Epsilon Sigma Lambda, our ESL book study, met for the first time. It was great having our very own bilingual expert, Ana, to share her valuable expertise with us, along with DeeDee, our resident Spanish Immersion teacher. Below are some highlights of our discussion from 99 Ideas and Activities for Teaching English Learners with The SIOP Model, by Mary Ellen Vogt and Jane Echevarria.
Preface
These research based activities can apply to nearly any content area or grade level. Ana shared the importance of writing language objectives, possibly one or two with each lesson. There should be thoughtful and purposeful use of the activities that are tied in with our lesson objectives. We should state explicitly the learning behavior we plan to elicit (explain, diagram, discuss, predict, summarize, etc.). The activities should support and reinforce student learning of key content and language concepts across the SIOP components. Everyone agreed that these activities are just "good teaching" for any student, not just our ELLs.
Chapter 1 Overview of the SIOP Model
DeeDee shared that students must master the English language and content concurrently, along with the features and components of SIOP. Our goal is for students to become lifelong learners. We also discussed the challenge of providing appropriate wait time for our kids, and that it is even more important for our ELLs. At least with this greater awareness, we can challenge ourselves to improve with that strategy. The book recommended implementing one component of the SIOP model each month, or even a quarter. It can take 2-3 years to fully implement the model. Perhaps this can be a personal goal we set for ourselves.
Chapter 2 Preparation
Jessica shared activities for enhancing lesson preparation. There was good discussion about Task Analysis or Backwards Planning--beginning with the end in mind. Sheryl shared that when starting a new book or story with our students, showing a video of the boor prior to the lessons is very beneficial for ELLs. It helps to build that background knowledge and vocabulary. Ginny said that she is more in tune now with the ESL students in her room and surprised at the lack of their vocabulary skills. We also talked about enlarged text and highlighting. Even though we cannot highlight in our textbooks, there is a highlighting tool on our online readers in www.thinkcentral.com
Chapter 3 Building Background
Shanna talked about the use of KWL charts for this component and Kim joined in with some of the variations that she has successfully used in her classroom. Ana also shared the importance of using real pictures for visuals instead of drawings to teach concepts and vocabulary. The Backwards Bookwalk was an "ah-ha" for many of us and the anchor charts for signal words were a big plus for teaching vocabulary. Sheryl shared a variation of Think-Pair-Share that is Think-Pair-Share-Write. This can be great for ELLs (or any student) that need more opportunities to write. Kim also discussed and activity called Daily Academic Vocabulary that she has used with her students. The 4-Corners Vocabulary was discussed and we were all intrigued that the teacher does not start with naming the vocabulary word, instead, beginning with an illustration (remember to use real pictures!) It can even become a predicting game for the class. Cathy shared her experiences with On Our Way to English. She is using this resource with our non-English speaking ELLs and sees its benefits for all students. There is a more detailed description of this under the resources tab on this blog.
