This document outlines the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) model, an approach for making content comprehensible for English learners. The SIOP model incorporates eight components: lesson preparation, building background, comprehensible input, strategies, interaction, practice/application, lesson delivery, and review/assessment. Teachers are encouraged to implement the components gradually, using them as a template to plan lessons that engage students and effectively teach both content and language. The goal is to help English learners develop their academic language and subject matter knowledge.

1. Sheltered Instruction
Strategies to Make Content
Comprehensible for English
Learners

2. What is SIOP?
“Approach for teaching content to English
learners in strategic ways that make the
subject matter concepts comprehensible
while promoting the students’ English
language development” (p. Echevarria, Vogt,
& Short, 2008, p. 5)

3. What is SIOP?
● Methods for teaching English Learners
in the regular classroom.
● SIOP Model = lesson planning and
delivery

4. How Should I Begin?
● One component at a time
● Add other components gradually
● Use SIOP model as a lesson plan
template once you become familiar with
all components and features

5. Lesson Preparation

6. Content Objectives
● Identify what students should know and
be able to do
● Simply stated, orally and in writing
● Tied to grade level standards
● One or two per lesson
Recognize that the earth is part of a system called the
solar system that includes the sun (a star), planets, and
many moons and the earth is the third planet from the
sun in our solar system.

7. Language Objectives
● Give students a chance to explore and
practice before demonstrating mastery
● Must be observable
● ELs develop receptive skills faster than
productive skills
Draw and label a diagram of the solar
system.

8. Supplementary Materials
● Real-life context
● Bridge prior experiences with new
learning
● Hands-on manipulatives, realia,
pictures, visuals, multimedia,
demonstrations, literature, adapted text

9. Adaptation of Content
● Adapt materials, do NOT diminish content
● Lessen the gap between what students know
and what they must learn
● Jump-start mini-lesson, role play, peer tutors
Graphic organizersOutlines Leveled study
guide
Highlighted text Taped text Adapted text
Jigsaw readings Marginal notes L1 texts

10. Building Background

11. Link Concepts to Background
Experiences and to Prior
Learning
● Make explicit connections
● Provide meaningful experiences
● Teach students to build background
themselves
● Build a bridge from previous lessons to
today’s lesson
● Review graphic organizers, notes, student
work samples

12. Key Vocabulary Emphasized
● Students are active in developing their
understanding of words
● Semantic maps, word sorts
● Students personalize word learning
● Self-selection, personal dictionaries
● Students are immersed in words
● Students build on multiple sources of
information

13. Comprehensible Input

14. Speech Appropriate for
Proficiency
● Adjust rate of speech and enunciation
● Avoid idioms
● Use language that is straightforward
and clear
● Paraphrase and repeat often
● Simple sentence structures

15. Clear Explanation of Academic
Tasks
● Step-by-step instructions
● Model with a finished product
● Oral and written directions

16. Strategies

17. Continuum of Strategies
● Teacher-centered to Student-centered
● Goal = Students develop independence in
self-monitoring of strategy use
● Explicit instruction and modeling
● Substantial support in the early stages of
teaching a new concept
● Gradually decrease amount of support
● Teach > Model > Practice > Apply
Example: Note-taking strategy

18. Variety of Question Types
● Focus on higher-order thinking skills
● Carefully plan questions before lesson
delivery
● Of 80,000 questions, 80% are
knowledge level questions
● Ask HOQs while reducing language
demands

19. Interaction

20. Frequent Opportunities for
Interaction
● It’s tempting for teachers to do most of
the talking, but these students are the
ones who need more opportunities to
practice using English.

21. Opportunities for Interaction
● Literature circles
● Think-pair-share
● Jigsaw readings
● Debates
● Dialogue journals
● Expert Stay Stray
● Dinner Party

22. Grouping Configurations
● Whole class - introducing new information
● Small groups - encourage collaboration
● Partners - provide scaffolding and practice
opportunities
● At least two grouping configurations during a
lesson

23. Sufficient Wait Time
● Els need additional time to formulate the
phrasings of their thoughts
● Impatient students can write down their
responses while waiting
● 50-50 and Phone a Friend

24. Practice/Application

25. Practice/Application
● Aim for practice of all four language
skills
● Students must have opportunities for
comprehensible input and output
● ELs are more likely to use language that
was used during lesson delivery

26. Integrate All Language Skills
● We move through the processes naturally
● ELs don’t need to be proficient speakers
before they start to read and write
● Language processes are supportive -
practice in one promotes development in
the others

27. Lesson Delivery

28. Students Engaged 90 - 100 % of
the Time
● Engaged = paying attention and on task
● Students are following the lesson,
responding to teacher, performing
activities as expected
● ELs can’t afford to waste learning time
● 5 minutes wasted daily = 15 hours a
year

29. Review and Assessment

30. Review and Assessment
● ELs are less able to evaluate which
pieces of input are important to
remember
● Teacher must pause to review and
summarize throughout a lesson
● Provide constructive feedback

31. Review of Key Concepts
● Outcome Sentences
● I wonder…
● I discovered…
● I still want to know…
● I learned…
● I still don’t understand…
● I still have a question about…
● I will ask a friend about…

32. Regular Feedback to Students on
Their Output
● Clarify and correct misconceptions
● Develop students’ proficiency by
modeling correct English usage when
restating a student’s response

33. Assessment of Comprehension
and Learning of All Objectives
● Students need to know how they will be
assessed
● Informal - conversations, quick-writes,
brainstorming
● Authentic - applies to real life
● Multiple indicators
● Assess content AND language objectives

34. Group Responses
● Thumbs up/thumbs down
● Response boards
● Number 1 to 3 for self-assessment

35. Assessment Adaptations
● Number of items
● Time
● Level of support/scaffolding
● Difficulty/skill level
● Product type
● Participation

36. References
Echevarria, J., Vogt, M., & Short, D. J. (2004). Making content
comprehensible for English learners: The SIOP model. 2nd ed. Boston:
Pearson.
Echevarria, J., Vogt, M., & Short, D. J. (2006). Administrators' resource
guide for the SIOP model. Glenview, IL: Pearson.
Echevarria, J., Vogt, M., & Short, D. J. (2008). Making content
comprehensible for English learners: The SIOP model. 3rd ed. Boston:
Pearson.
Vogt, M., & Echevarria, J. (2008). 99 ideas and activities for teaching
English learners with the SIOP model. Boston: Pearson.
Vogt, M., & Echevarria, J. (2006). Teaching ideas for implementing the
SIOP model. Glenview, IL: Pearson.