1. Academic Language Acquisition
in the Classroom
How do we actually use these ideas
with academic language learners????
2. Objectives
• In this module you will ….
▪ Develop an understanding of the terms “designated
instruction” and “integrated instruction”
▪ View a lesson and observe how engagement
strategies within IS4 support learners of academic
English
▪ Discuss strategies that can be implemented in your
content classes to support learners of academic
English
▪ Discuss lesson design supporting learners of
academic English
4. What?
How?
Informational
Resources
Curriculum
Standards
Thoughtful
lesson design
PLCs to
collaborate
Flipped
Teaching Professional
Why?
Development
To provide students
with equal access to
21st century skills
Scaffolding
Feedback
Formative
Assessment
College
& Career
Pathways
School
Culture &
Climate
Access to
Technology
Golden Circle of Education
5. Designated vs. Integrated
• What does designated mean? What does
integrated mean?
• In elementary school structures, do we have a
designated or integrated model?
▪ Both. Designated ELD instruction should occur daily for our EL
students, as well as integrated instruction through content
delivery.
Designated vs. Integrated
6. Activity
• What does this look like?
▪ In groups of 2-3, place the statements in the appropriate area.
Designated
Integrated
BOTH
Designated vs. Integrated
7. Using IS4 to Support Acquisition of
Academic English
• IS4 and Common Core will support our Academic
Language Learners, not cut them out of the
learning process
https://www.teachingchannel.org/vi
deos/prep-students-for-new-text
Strategies to support
Academic Language
8. Scaffolding vs. Differentiation vs.
Modification
• When students feel they are being taught “a
‘watered-down’ version of the curriculum”, they
often do not value the tasks (Wigfield and Eccles,
2000).
• Research has shown that English Language
Learners (ELLs) thrive not only academically, but
also psychologically, when they are specifically
taught academic vocabulary (Taylor & McAtee,
2003).
9. Scaffolding
• Scaffolding - bridge to support learning, but a
bridge that is designed to disappear over time.
Not a permanent structure.
• Example: “Chunk” the text into smaller pieces,
breaking into small groups for discussion of task,
working with small groups one on one; think time
11. Differentiation
• Differentiation-requires knowledge of students’
varying levels of understanding.
• Different in elementary and secondary.
• Formative assessment, quizzes, and traditional
assessments help decide when differentiation is
needed.
• Differentiation can also be provided over the
course of a unit of instruction. Vary
activities/practices/assessments/etc.
12. Modification
• Changing the assignment, and therefore
changing the rigor
• Example: Homework is reduced, or even
eliminated; essays are reduced to a paragraph
response; labs are to be observed rather than
completed.
13. The Nitty Gritty
• Strategies to support AL acquisition:
▪ Pair sharing, group discussion, guided interaction: cooperative
learning
▪ Visuals- graphic organizers, images, maps, graphs
▪ APK- explicit connections to previous concepts
▪ Model thinking- think alouds
▪ Identify the key concept of the lesson and consider providing
direct instruction on vocabulary
▪ Listening with a focus
Strategies to support
Academic Language
15. ….by discussing lesson design
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/common-core-teaching-division
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/academic-choice-lesson
Let’s talk about lesson design!
What strategies do you already use? What would
you like to try out?
Editor's Notes
In business- Simon Sinek uses the golden circle to explain the difference between huge and successful companies with less successful companies
Explain the usual path and then the successful path
In education- we need to apply the rules of the golden circle as well.
Why is the CORE of our purpose; we have students that are struggling- they may be a few grade levels below- their struggles may be even greater. BUT- we came in to this profession to support our students.
How is the instructional process and practices to support learning
What is the resources and support that we can provide beyond the classroom
Let participants pair share designated vs. integrated re: ELL instruction
Then ask the question- do we have designated or integrated- pair share- discuss as a group
Activity requires a Venn Diagram and the strips of paper
Teachers should come to the conclusion that there are many ways to support English Language Acquisition outside of designated- it is not just the ELD teacher’s responsibility
Key idea is to express that we already have norms in place that support English Language acquisition. We need to continue to focus on a clear lesson objective and thoughtful use of engagement strategies
Video should be about engagement- use the matrix
Look at the matrix first, brief discussion- then watch video- for student engagement only- and discuss as a group- how do these strategies- either seen or identified on the matrix- support ELLs?
Discussed a lot in this area of education- this your bread and butter
On this slide- hand out the weekly planner- point out how this supports teachers in recognition of varied strategies/assignments/activities/actions/etc. over a week. Varying instructional practices and assignments is the key to differentiation.
This is a reminder slide- key idea to communicate is that this is not what a longtime learner of English needs. If we modify assignments, they can lose their rigor. We are looking to scaffold and differentiate- not modify as a general rule.
With the first bullet- hand out the formative assessment handout (3 pages)- remind them that it is checking for understanding to inform or adjust instruction. Without CFU, you do not know what the students don’t know
Visuals do not require language to recognize. BUT- the description or discussion, using academic language- does require language
Using words/concepts that have been previously taught is important. It is an oral clue that they can jump into this new idea
Model thinking is important- it requires teacher to use both academic language and to illustrate the metacognitive process to students.
Identifying the key concept is crucial for both clear lessons, and to recognize what might be needed for the academic language learner. Will provide clarity for all- translation, dictionaries, etc. (remind them about the brick words)
When listening is the skill, provide students with a transcript. (Example- important historical speech- allows them to hear it and read it)
Remind participants of the golden circle of education- we have our why- 21st century skills for all; we have our how- thoughtful lesson planning and engaging instruction; and we have what- the resources we will use to provide that powerful instruction to give all of our students those 21st century skills in every subject