Benchmark – SIOP Presentation

Kelly Champ
ESL-223N
November 19, 2017
Instructor Christine Burke
Instructional Policies That Have Influenced
ELL Instruction
 1868: The 14th Amendments of the US Constitution declared that “All persons born or naturalized in the US and
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the US and of the state wherein they reside, No State shall make or
enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the US nor shall any state deprive
any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process law, nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.
 1906: Nationality Act was Congress first federal language law that required all those seeking naturalization to
speak English.
 1923: 34 states had passed laws mandating that English be the language of instruction in public schools.
 1931: Roberto v Alvarez. The Lemon Grove School Board, Lemon Grove Grammar School denied Mexican children
and education. This lawsuit established the first successful school desegregation court decision in the history of the
US.
 1946: Mendez v Westminster Board of Education - the 9th Circuit of the US Court of Appeals ruled that Segregation
of Mexican and Mexican Americans students was unconstitutional.
 1954: Brown v Board of Education – This civil rights case established equal educational opportunity for all public-
school students.
 1958: The National Defense Act encouraged the study of foreign languages in school by providing funds to
schools with high scores in the areas of science, math, and foreign languages. This was also the first act to provide
aid to schools with English as a Second Language programs.
 1964: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 declared that “No person in the US shall, on the grounds of race, color,
or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, of be subjected to discrimination
under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance (US Congress, 1964).
 1965: Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) – President Johnson passed this act to provide funds for
special educational programs that were necessary for students. Bilingual Education was one of these programs
receiving funding under this act.
Instructional Policies That Have Influenced
ELL Instruction
 1967: The Elementary and Secondary Education act of 1965 (ESEA) was amended to create the Bilingual
Education Act (Title VII). This act provided federal aid for school districts that established programs to meet the
special needs of limited-English-speaking students. Title VII was reauthorized in 1968, 1974, 1978, 1984, 1988, 1994,
and 2001 (when it was incorporated into the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001).
 1968: Bilingual Education Act – This act mandated Bilingual Education in all schools and was the first time Congress
approved funding for Bilingual Education. It provided federal funding encouraging districts to incorporate Bilingual
Education.
 1975: NABE, National Association for Bilingual Education was founded. A school district in Texas passed a law that
stated school who allowed undocumented children in their classrooms would not receive funding.
 1980: Civil Rights Language Minority Regulations were ratified and had four basic components: identification,
assessment, services, and exits. It also required staff to be qualified to teach bilingual instruction.
 1999: 43 states and DC had laws providing for bilingual education and English as a second language (ESL)
instruction.
 2001: No Child Left Behind – Bilingual education was incorporated into NCLB and the name was changed from
Bilingual education to language instruction education program at the national level. Bilingual education was then
made a state administered formula grant program. NCLB required states and districts to measure every student’s
progress in reading and math from third grade through eighth grade and again between 10 th and 12th grade. This
act further stated that teachers teaching in Bilingual Education programs must be fluent not only in primary
language but also in English. It also gave parents the choice to enroll their children in the Bilingual Education
program for a maximum of 3 years. After 3 years, no matter the English ability of the student, instruction must be in
English.
 Socioeconomic, Political, and Legal
Influences on ELL Instruction
 No Child Left Behind Act: “Curriculum and instruction focuses on test content and strategies, and
English as a second language classes have become more like English language arts classes for
native English speakers” (Menken, 2010, p. 522).
 “Since 1990, the ELL student population in the U.S. has increased by 95%, while the school-age
population in general has grown only 12%” (The Education Alliance, (Brown University)
 “Although the United States does not have an official national language policy delineating specific
language policies and practices for schools, many states have passed language policy legislation
that ensures the status of English over other languages. Spanish speakers account for
approximately 60% of the total number of ELLs in the United States”(The Education Alliance, Brown
University).
 Voters have directly impacted English language education policy.
- “California’s 1998 Proposition 227, for example, requires that all California public schools conduct
instruction in English. It also mandates that ELLs be taught overwhelmingly in English through
sheltered/structured English immersion and then transferred to a mainstream English-language
classroom” (National Council of Teachers of English, 2008, p. 2).
- “Voters in Arizona and Massachusetts have approved similar initiatives, and 25 states have
English-only laws which shape ELL education”(National Council of Teachers of English, 2008, p. 2).
 Other things to consider:
- Poverty level - Emotional factors
- Parents’ educational background - Students’ prior educational experiences
- Sociocultural factors - Other educational factors (i.e. Special Education)
 What is the SIOP model?

 SIOP: Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol

 SIOP Model implements many characteristics advised for high-quality instruction for
all students. These include: multiple opportunities for cooperative learning, reading
comprehension strategies, writers’ workshop, and differentiated instruction.
 Curriculum is enhanced with vital pieces for academic achievement, such as the
inclusion of language and academic content objectives for every lesson/unit,
building on prior knowledge and experiences, acquisition of subject-related
vocabulary, and emphasizing literacy practice through repetition.
 According to Echevarría, Vogt, and Short, they write, “Accomplished SIOP
teachers determine students’ baseline understandings in their subject area and
move them forward, both in their content knowledge and in their language skills
through a variety of techniques” (Echevarría, Vogt, and Short, 2017, p. 21).
 “There is a high level of student engagement and interaction with the teacher,
with other students, and with text, which leads to elaborated discourse and critical
thinking” (Echevarría, Vogt, and Short, 2017, p. 21).
 SIOP Model Framework

From ”Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP Model”
 Lesson Preparation
 Teachers introduce the lesson planning process by explaining content and
language objectives, use additional teaching materials, and produce meaningful
experiences for students to engage in and make connections to.
 Record detailed lesson plans to make sure all components are represented.
 Make sure content and language objectives are clearly defined so that students
become familiar with and understand what they should know and be able to do
by the end of the lesson. Explain it verbally and in writing (usually on board).
Content objectives: what students will learn about in relation to the subject
Language objectives: what students need to learn about in English in order to
practice, articulate, and apply new knowledge, demonstrate their
understanding, and complete assignments and activities
 Teachers should initially consider what content they would like to teach and use
district/state standards and grade-level expectations as guidelines to develop
curriculum areas.
 Use supplementary materials when necessary to enhance the learning and create
more meaningful experiences for students to make concrete connections.
 Building Background
 When educators build on students’ background, he/she is better able to make
new connections and relate to their previous experiences and knowledge, while
extending their understanding of academic terminology.
 In the article, Building Background: What It Takes to Really Make a Lesson Connect
with Students, authors, Calderon and Jimenez write, “The connection of a new
word with everyday life made the lesson complete. The sharing of personal
experiences opens a way for students to recall and relate information.
Furthermore, students develop analytical thinking skills which should allow them to
develop their own pedagogical strategies” (Calderon & Jimenez, 2009, p. 48).
 Teachers should build background knowledge by applying strategies that fill the
gaps and assist students in making connections to what they already know with
what is being explicitly taught.
 Specific links between previous learning and new learning can be inspired through
open-ended questioning, partner/whole group share-outs, referring back to notes,
text, other classroom visuals, and consistently reviewing key concepts and
vocabulary.
 Emphasis on key terms: first presented by teacher (written and verbalized) and
students write down, orally repeat, and constantly reviewed for repetition.
 Comprehensible Input
 Comprehensible Input determines how teachers adapt their explanations,
modelling of activities, and use multimodal strategies to increase students’
understanding of tasks.
 The teacher is especially mindful of making sure his/her speech is understandable
for students’ ability levels. Articulation is clear and slow, but natural, so all students
are able to accurately take in the information.
 Pauses and repetition of instructions and/or activity is often needed for more
beginning-level students to successfully process the information. As they progress,
the teacher adjusts as needed.
 The teacher should deliver lessons clearly and concisely and thoroughly explain
instructions for activities. Some effective methods include: step-by-step, modelling,
and if given orally, complemented by written instructions for later reference.
 Teachers should use a mixture of techniques to make content area clear. These
may include: body language/gestures, visual aids to accompany verbalization,
providing examples, previewing the material prior to initial lesson for familiarity,
allowing students to practice and express their thoughts in differentiated forms,
offering many exposure opportunities to practice and connect, and incorporating
technology when appropriate.
 Strategies
 This component highlights the teaching of various learning strategies for students,
emphasizes scaffolding to support learning, and encourages more sophisticated levels
of thinking and skills.
 Cognitive learning strategies: when students mentally and/or tangibly control
information; application of particular techniques to support development and learning
of material
 Metacognitive learning strategies: intentionally examining thinking; students are more
aware, reflective, interactive, and engaged in their learning
 Language strategies: students purposefully use techniques that support their speaking
and comprehension skills to advance their knowledge and learning
 Scaffolding is the assistance that a teacher gives students to support their learning and
building of independence.
- Verbal scaffolding: think-alouds, paraphrasing, highlighting definitions, eliciting
more information/expanding of student responses
- Procedural scaffolding: applying instructional framework, think-pair-share,
utilizing small group work, grouping stronger students with less experienced peers
- Instructional scaffolding: visual aids, graphic organizers, specific
models/representations
 Teachers need to plan and ask students questions that promote a higher-level of
thinking to develop problem solving and critical thinking abilities.
 Interaction
 Teachers foster students’ abilities to practice and expand their speech skills, with the
addition of creating different grouping configurations to support language
development and learning of academic content.
 In an article written by Kareva and Echevarria, they note, “Students learn both
conversational and academic language through interaction with one another and
with their teachers. In SIOP classes, oral language practice helps students to develop
and deepen content knowledge and support their second language speaking,
reading and writing skills” (Kareva and Echevarria, 2013, p. 242).
 Teachers should balance linguistic turn-taking, both between students and teacher
and in student-student interactions, where they have opportunities to further explain
their responses to more than a yes/no or one-word answer.
 Different grouping configurations throughout each lesson are significant ways for
students to be able to learn new knowledge, discuss it, and successfully process
it/make new connections. Grouping configurations can transition to/from: whole
group, small group, partner share and/or to independent work.
 “All students, including English learners, benefit from instruction that frequently includes
a variety of grouping configurations. Whole-class groups are beneficial for introducing
new information and concepts, modeling processes, and review. Flexible small groups
promote the development of multiple perspectives and encourage collaboration.
Partnering encourages success because it provides practice opportunities, scaffolding,
and assistance from classmates” (Flood, Lapp, Flood, Nagel, 1992, Tompkins, 2006).
 Practice and Application
 Activity delivery to apply and strengthen language and academic content
development through different means.
 Guided practice describes the process of an educator guiding a student through
exercises before letting them complete it independently.
 This practice application period is usually supported with the use of hands-on materials
and manipulatives, which helps students make abstract thinking/concepts more
concrete.
 Teachers need to create experiences for all students to ‘discuss and do’ to make
relevant connections to the content, leading to more meaningful purpose.
 “Reading, writing, listening, and speaking are complex cognitive language processes
that are interrelated and integrated” (Echevarría, Vogt, and Short, 2017, p. 187).
 Effective teachers should:
- Link discussions and include critical questions related to text or content area
- Structure peer interactions
- Support students who are having more difficulty with sentence starters, prompts,
and/or signal words
- Give students a chance to actively listen and respond to others
- Provide multiple writing opportunities
 Lesson Delivery
 Teachers organize a specific lesson that meets language and academic
objectives (as explained to students) and stimulates student interaction and
engagement.
 SIOP educators consistently refer back to content and language objectives to stay
on track in their teaching and maintaining of explicit instruction.
 Students are allocated a sufficient amount of time and opportunity to practice
and construct development in meeting objectives independently.
 Students should be engaged in the lesson for approximately 90%-100% of the time
(paying attention, listening, and responding to direction/questions).
 Time is of the essence for ELL students.
- Allocated time: the amount of time a teacher assigns for students to
explore/research and work towards the objective
- Engaged time: the amount of time that students are actively partaking in the
lesson
- Academic learning time: the amount of time students are actually on task and
directly correlates with the noted language and learning objectives
 Teachers should evaluate each lesson and appropriately pace themselves when
delivering information to students.
 Review and Assessment
 Teachers conclude the unit by reviewing key terms and content with students,
assess their knowledge and learning, and provides detailed comments to students
to help them understand areas of improvement.
 “Both formative and summative assessments of students’ progress provide
information about whether it is appropriate to move on or whether it is necessary
to reteach and review” (Bean, 2014; Kapinus, 2014).
 Teachers should directly review key vocabulary and content so students internalize
the main ideas and understand what will be on the assessment.
 In reviewing, the teacher should consistently refer back to language and content
objectives to help students see that these areas were thoroughly discussed and
met.
 An effective unit review strategy and way for students to reflect is “Outcome
Sentences”. The teacher posts different sentence starters for students to choose
and complete:
- I wonder… - I still want to know…
- I discovered… - I do not understand…
- I learned… - One question I still have is…
 Why is the SIOP model important to consider?
Innovative Ways to Utilize SIOP
 SIOP is an instructional framework that supports varying educational environments
and perspectives, where diversity, students, and education are the ultimate
purpose and driving factor.
 SIOP is an effective framework that guides both teachers and students through the
learning process and supports scaffolding to building independence and
applicable strategies to each individual.
 The content and language objectives are clearly defined and noted at the
beginning of each lesson and revisited constantly to make sure that the instruction
and tasks are on track (for both students and teacher).
 Student interaction and engagement is a key component to their overall success.
The SIOP model creates many opportunities for students to partake in, engage,
and make learning relevant and meaningful through hands-on learning, positive
connections and extension of experiences, all while building on background
knowledge.
 Through the SIOP model, teachers are able to be more effective and reflective
about their philosophy and best teaching practices. Students are able to develop
and strengthen their responsibility and ownership as students, become critical
thinkers, and deeply reflect on their learning experience as a whole.
 References
 Bean, R. (2014). Developing a comprehensive reading plan (pre-K-Grade 12). In
S.B. Wepner, D.S. Strickland & D.J. Quatroche (Eds.), The administration and
supervision of reading programs (5th ed., p. 11-29). Columbia University. New York:
Teachers College Press.
 Calderon, J. and Jimenez, M. (2009). Building background: what it takes to really
make a lesson connect with students. GIST Education and Learning Research
Journal. Volume 9. p. 41-52. Retrieved from
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1062700.pdf
 Echevarria, J., Vogt, M. and Short, D. (2017). Introducing the SIOP model. In
Making content comprehensible for English learners: the SIOP model. Available
from https://viewer.gcu.edu/ervngR
 The Education Alliance – Brown University. Teaching diverse learners: policy.
Available from https://www.brown.edu/academics/education-alliance/teaching-
diverse-learners/policy
 Flood, J., Lapp, D., Flood, S., and Nagel, G. (1992). Am I allowed to group? Using
flexible patterns for effective instruction. The Reading Teacher. Volume 45. p. 608-
616.
 References
 Kapinus, B. (2014). Assessing students’ reading achievement. In S.B. Wepner, D.S.
Strickland & D.J. Quatroche (Eds.), The administration and supervision of reading
programs (5th ed., p.135-144). Columbia University, New York: Teachers College
Press.
 Kareva, V. and Echevarria, J. (2013). Using the SIOP model for effective content
teaching with second and foreign language learners. Journal of Education and
Training Studies. Volume 1(Issue 2). p. 239-248. Available from
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1054872.pdf
 Menken, K. (Nov. 2010). Teaching to the test: how no child left behind impacts
language policy, curriculum, and instruction for English language learners. The
Journal of the National Association for Bilingual Education. Volume 30 (Issue 2).
Retrieved from
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15235882.2006.10162888
 National Council of Teachers of English. (2008). English language learners: a policy
research brief produced by the national council of teachers of English. Retrieved
from
http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/PolicyResearch/ELLResearchBrief
.pdf
 Tompkins, G. (2006). Literacy for the 21st century: a balanced approach (4th ed.)
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.