Hello! And welcome to the EL website. Currently we are using this site for SDAIE training. If you are a teacher that is taking part in the teacher training program, please read on. If you are not, future information on the EL program at Mirage will be coming soon. If you have any questions, please call me at 602-467-5346. INTRODUCTION Welcome to the Mirage SDAIE training for the weeks of February 21-April 1. SDAIE stands for Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English. The purpose of SDAIE is to provide comprehensible instruction at the appropriate grade level for learners who are acquiring English as a second language. On this website each week, you will find an introduction to what we are doing for the week, a list of the items that need to be read, and a list of assignments and their due dates.
Week Five: Wow, can you believe we are almost through? Let's review what we read about last week:
TPR (Total Physical Response): "Originally developed by James Asher, an American professor of psychology, in the 1960s, Total Physical Response (TPR) is based on the theory that the memory is enhanced through association with physical movement. It is also closely associated with theories of mother tongue language acquisition in very young children, where they respond physically to parental commands, such as "Pick it up" and "Put it down". TPR as an approach to teaching a second language is based, first and foremost, on listening and this is linked to physical actions which are designed to reinforce comprehension of particular basic items.
A typical TPR activity might contain instructions such as "Walk to the door", "Open the door", "Sit down" and "Give Maria your dictionary". The students are required to carry out the instructions by physically performing the activities. Given a supportive classroom environment, there is little doubt that such activities can be both motivating and fun, and it is also likely that with even a fairly limited amount of repetition basic instructions such as these could be assimilated by the learners, even if they were unable to reproduce them accurately themselves." This information was taken from an article on www.onestopenglish.com
Some other activities for TPR might include using a physical action for vocabulary words, such as doing a stirring motion for the word "mix", using plays, or acting out any kind of material.
Mutiple Intelligences: This theory is very important because many times the EL student is not able to perform adequately in the linguistic, reading, or writing area. Using the other intelligences will give them a chance to show their knowledge through other means.
Here is a definition for it and an example of how one would cover the intelligences in teaching it.
"One of the most remarkable features of the theory of multiple intelligences is how it provide eight different potential pathways to learning. If a teacher is having difficulty reaching a student in the more traditional linguistic or logical ways of instruction, the theory of multiple intelligences suggests several other ways in which the material might be presented to facilitate effective learning. Whether you are a kindergarten teacher, a graduate school instructor, or an adult learner seeking better ways of pursuing self-study on any subject of interest, the same basic guidelines apply. Whatever you are teaching or learning, see how you might connect it with it
For example, if you‚re teaching or learning about the law of supply and demand in economics, you might read about it (linguistic), study mathematical formulas that express it (logical-mathematical), examine a graphic chart that illustrates the principle (spatial), observe the law in the natural world (naturalist) or in the human world of commerce (interpersonal); examine the law in terms of your own body [e.g. when you supply your body with lots of food, the hunger demand goes down; when there's very little supply, your stomach's demand for food goes way up and you get hungry] (bodily-kinesthetic and intrapersonal); and/or write a song (or find an existing song) that demonstrates the law (perhaps Dylan's "Too Much of Nothing?")." This was taken from an article on http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/multiple_intelligences.htm
Increasing Wait Time: Did you know that EL students need about a 45 second wait period before they respond? This is because of the translation going on in their heads.
Building Prior Knowledge: With EL students, and any student, students comprehend material better when they are able to connect it to prior experiences. If they do not have prior experience, it is important to build this base before going on. This can be done through graphic organizers, visuals such as pictures or videos, listening to audio about a subject, allowing students to speak on subjects, reading about different content, writing activities, connecting the content to home, using the environment, and visual thinking.
Manipulatives: Manipulatives allow the student to observe, experiment with, build, assemble, disassemble, and manipulate objects to develop an understanding of the content. Things such as plastic animals, realia, pictures, demonstrations, and dramatization are all a form of a manipulative.
Grouping: EL students can benefit from grouping strategies because of the active learning and input involved. It is not just for peer translation. Grouping needs to be done with a purpose. There are several ideas for grouping that were given to you in last week's packet.
This week, we will be looking at adapting the text and using alternative assessments.
Adapting the Text: One of the most important things to think about is that the EL child may be limited on how they can respond to you, but they still have the intelligence and learning ability of their grade level peers. They may not be able to read and write at grade level, but they can still learn the material. There are several ideas in your packet on how to adapt the text in order to make it appropriate for the EL learner. Some of these ideas are to re-write the text in a simple way so that the EL learner can read it, find a simple version of the text, create a big book or flip book of the text, demonstrate the text through plays, or using study aides. This way, you are not watering down your instruction, you are just presenting it differently.
Alternative Assessments: One has to keep in mind the objective that is being assessed. Here is an example:
tsw name five farm animals
tsw name five farm animals by writing about it in their journal
tsw name five farm animals after reading about it in a text
tsw name five farm animals by drawing a picture
These are all different objectives. The typical EL student will probably have some trouble with at least two of these.
It would be better if they were written like this (or something similar):
tsw name five farm animals
tsw write about five farm animals
tsw read a text about farm animals, tsw name five farm animals from that text
tsw draw a picture of five farm animals
One has to decide which objective they wish to assess.
Here is a practical example. In Science, the class is shown a slide show on stars. The objectives of the lesson are "tsw comprehend how stars are formed, tsw name three different types of stars, tsw name five different types of star formations". They use various manipulatives to learn the different types of stars, how stars are created, and different star formations. The teacher then gives the class a multiple choice test on stars. The EL child fails. What was being assessed here? The child's ability to read was being assessed. An alternative assessment for the EL child would have been to use another way in which they can demonstrate their knowledge of stars. How can you do this? By understanding where they are in their language level and using the multiple intelligences. This way you can come up with another assessment.
The importance of Task Analysis and Pre-assessment: Task analysis is the process in which an objective is broken down into its subskills. Pre-assessment is when you determine where the child is in relation to a particular skill or level. They both go hand in hand.
Here is an example for a German class. The teacher would like to teach an EL student how to read German short vowel words. What are the skills necessary in knowing how to do that? For one, the child needs to know the German alphabet. They also need to know the sounds for the letters. And they need to understand the skill of blending in German. The pre-assessment will have determined where the child is in relation to all of these skills. If the child does not know the letters, then the teacher will know which area to focus on in order to get them to be able to read short vowel words.
Now here is the dilema. Should the EL child be assessed on their ability to read German short vowel words? Eventually. They should be assessed in their progress in getting to that skill, depending on where they were initially.
Ok, so with all of that said, here is the assignment (or should I say final project) for next week:
1. Create a lesson plan that utilizes a pre-assessment, lowering of the effective filter, language sensitivity, cultural connection, objective created from Bloom's Taxonomy, tapping prior knowledge, one or more multiple intelligences, use of manipulatives, a grouping strategy, wait time, adaptation of the text, total physical response, and an alternative assessment for your objective. Please also identify one EL state standard that you are meeting. You can just describe these things in your lesson plan. You don't have to physically create it, such as the assessment. This sounds a lot more complicated then it actually will be. If you visit some of the websites that I have given you, they have examples of some of these things, if not all. Please email to me.
What I would like to do is to give everyone a copy of the lessons that I receive. That way, you will be able to see several different ideas on how to teach different content to EL students.
2. Review the SELP test I gave you and the SELP report of the unidentified student. In a paragraph, summarize the abilities of the student, and things that a teacher would need to be sensitive to in lesson planning. Please email to me.
Please email, call, write, tape messages to my door, or anything else if you need clarification. By the end of next week, I will need you to come by my room at some point and sign the attendance sheet. I am doing this as a precaution. If you are on leave or at another campus, please send me a note with your signature on it.
