Sheltering English in Language Arts Lessons:Making What You Know Explicit for ELLs

Karie Mize, Ed.D. (mizek@wou.edu)Associate Professor, ESOL/Bilingual Education

Western Oregon Universityhttp://www.kariemize.weebly.com

Carmen Cáceda, Ph.D. (cacedac@wou.edu)Assistant Professor, ESOL/Bilingual Education

Western Oregon University

National Council of Teachers of EnglishLas Vegas, NV – November 16, 2012

Outline of Presentation

• Audience check-in• Similarities between ESOL and NCTE• Important differences

– Sheltered Strategies– Explicit Language Instruction

• ELLs in the new CCSS standards

• Q & A

ELs in ELA

• English Learners (ELs) [aka English Language Learners (ELLs), Emerging Bilinguals (EBs)] are a growing segment of our school populations

• ELs have content needs (such as English Language Arts, Math, Science, etc.) and linguistic needs (like my *Foreign Language*)

• ELs need to "catch up" to native-English speaking (NES) peers who are rapidly increasing their own knowledge

English Language Arts vs. English Language Proficiency/Development

• English Language Arts (ELA) for all students; English Language Proficiency (ELP standards) and English Language Development (ELD classes) for ELLs

• NCLB: States aligned ELP to ELA standards, so the standards for ELs are usually a pathway to the Language Arts standards. What can ELs be expected to do at each oral proficiency level? Lots of overlap!

Beginning Early Intermediate Intermediate Early Advanced Advanced Proficient

Who is in the “driver’s seat”?Language Arts

LessonSTEM

LessonELD

Lesson

Driver (Stds.) Literacy STEM ESOL

Passenger STEM ESOL Literacy

Passenger ESOL Literacy STEM

The CCSS recognizes:• Literacy instruction is a shared responsibility

among teachers in all disciplines– In grades K–5, the standards articulate

expectations for students in the areas of reading, writing, speaking and listening that apply to all subjects

– In grades 6-12, the standards are divided into two sections—those specifically for ELA and those for history/social studies, science, and technical subjects.

Disciplinary Literacy: Understanding Language within the Disciplines (ELA/STEM)

• College and career readiness requires reading with “an appreciation of the norms and conventions of each discipline” and writing with consideration of different kinds of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

• Just as literacy can no longer be taught only in the English Department or English Language Arts block, ELLs cannot be expected to learn everything they need to know in ELD

• Every teacher is now recognized as a language & literacy teacher

Teaching IN English (all ELA teachers) is different than teaching ABOUT English (ELD and ELA teachers)

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Once you know the driver (standard/purpose of the lesson) and

where you’re going, then think about the quality of the trip (make that content accessible to ELLs by SHELTERING the

instruction).What is Sheltered Instruction:• Make content accessible WHILE learning English

– Two for one instruction: language + content objectives– Don’t wait for students to know English before teaching them content

• Modify instructional practices in mainstream settings– Same standards, different methods of achieving them

• Adapt without changing basic content and objectives– Not remedial or watered down, but the next step for each student

Sheltering Content Instruction (ELA and STEM) for ELLs

• Working definition of Sheltered Instruction: “Anything that is helpful for an ELL”

• Not just *good instruction* or *best practices*• If you prepare your lessons to benefit your ELLs,

all students will benefit; if you don’t think about ELLs in the planning and preparation stages, they will fall through the cracks.

• Sheltered strategies often involve using a different lens on current practicese.g., Name Erase instead of Popsicle Sticks

• We also have to think explicitlyabout language, and teach what we often take for granted as native/fluent speakers

Sheltered Instruction (SI): ESOL Observation Form

• Found at www.wou.edu/esol

Purposeful Use of Four Language Skills (RWLS)

Connect Oracy to Literacy Switch up the order of events

(discuss questions first, then read)

ORACY

Listening Speaking

Reading Writing

LITERACY

ORACY

RECEP

Listening Speaking PRODU

TIVE

Reading Writing CTIVE

LITERACY

Connect PRODUCTIVE skills to RECEPTIVE skills Students comprehend more than they can produce, so

provide comprehensible input (i + 1)

Fluency & Accuracy• Fluency: ease of both oral and written

comprehension and of the production of speech and writing

• Accuracy: precision and correctness with which students speak, write, comprehend languageIt’s important to provide opportunities to develop both in multiple contexts, but not always at the same time!

• Sensitive error correction• There’s a time for editing in the Writing Process

Turn and Talk

• 10:2 in GLAD (10 minutes of input/instruction to 2 minutes of processing time)[aka “Think, Pair, Share”]

• “Write, Pair, Share” or “Pair, Share, Write”

Introduction? What is one take-away concept from the first part

of this session?

Explicit Language Objectives

• SIOP: Clearly define (write and state) language objectives [equated with 4 language skills]– Read; Write; Active listening; Purposeful speaking

• Dutro & Moran: bricks and mortar– “If I had known we needed ,

I would have gone to the .”

Functions• The tasks or purposes of language. The use of

language to accomplish things in informal and formal settings

• Social purposes (e.g., expressing needs and wants, greeting, agreeing and disagreeing, complaining)

• Academic purposes (e.g., asking questions, explaining cause and effect, drawing conclusions)

• Increasing competence in any language function requires the use of increasingly complex sentence structures or forms

Forms• Language forms (e.g., verbs, nouns, adjectives) are tools to

enact language functions, in other words, to make specific meanings for particular functions

• Parts of speech, verb tenses and subject/verb agreement, use of pronouns and conjunctions, and sentence structure (complex and compound sentences and word order)

• Vocabulary– Mortar words (general utility)– Brick words (content-specific)

• Using mortar templates to linking forms and functions: ______ are _________, but are ________.If I were ________, I would …

Functions and Forms

• Functions = ESOL Goal– Long-term, desired outcome– Language goal for ELs (that also helps NESs)– A set quantity

• Forms = ESOL Objectives– Lesson-specific– Gradual release of responsibility

• Taught/modeled• Opportunities for students to practice with peers

(GLAD: guided oral practice)• Individual practice (writing?)

ELs in the CCSS ELA Standards1. Reading: Engaging with Complex Texts to Build Knowledge

Across the Curriculum2. Writing: Using Evidence to Inform, Argue, and Analyze3. Speaking and Listening: Working Collaboratively,

Understanding Multiple Perspectives, and Presenting Ideas4. Language: Using and Developing Linguistic Resources to Do All

of the Above

Sociocultural perspective: Language must be in CONTEXT

ELsInTheELA-CCSS.pdf at http://kariemize.weebly.comUnderstanding Language at http://ell.stanford.edu

Sheltered Instruction: Differentiated Language Demands

Begin with a sentence the FEP/native English speaker mightsay in the lesson:

____________________________________Break this sentence down into the ELP levels:

– A:– EA:– I:– EI:– B:

Expressing needs and likesB: animals, birds, food, shelter (wants vs. needs)EI: Birds need _____. (noun)I: Birds need _____ and _____.EA: Birds need ____ for . . . and ____ for . . .A: In order to survive, birds need . . .

Sheltered Instruction: Lesson Planning

GOALS

Content (ELA/STEM) Goal

Language Goal (ESOL Function)

OBJECTIVES

Content (Students/I will be able to . . .)

Language (ESOL Forms) (for levels of ELLs in the class or choose 2 if hypothetical)

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(P:)A:EA:I:EI:B:

B:EI:I:EA:A:(P:)

OR

Example: Oregon’s ELP Standards

Sheltered Instruction: Lesson Planning

• Dirt >>> Clay >>> Rock >>> Granite• Found lesson plan >>> WOU template;

Content Goals and Objectives >>> Evaluate, modify, and add sheltered strategies; get feedback >>> Address feedback and add ESOL objectives

• Comparison of different lesson formats

We see on the Understanding Language website how the CCSS value a Sociocultural Perspective on Language

Acquisition and Language Pedagogy• Understanding Language: Language, Literacy, and

Learning in the Content Areas– http://ell.stanford.edu/

• “In the context of the expectations for all students articulated by the Standards, ‘language instruction’ for ELs can no longer be envisioned as isolated from the context of meaningful and engaging academic work.”

Language is a resource used to realize our personal and professional selves! We must continue to search for

the joy, and help students do the same…

Heads Together:Take away ideas/actions?

Heads Together:Take away actions?

Thank you!

Karie Mize mizek@wou.eduhttp://www.kariemize.weebly.com