Kiisty Walkei

Beai Nis. Claik,

Thank you foi the invitation to evaluate youi implementation of the SI0P
Nouel. I enjoyeu watching you teach, anu I saw many of the featuies of SI0P piesent
uuiing this lesson.
Fiist, I woulu like to commanu you on youi effoits in planning anu piepaiing
this lesson. It is eviuent, thiough the supplementaiy mateiials you useu, that you
put a gieat ueal of time anu effoit into teaching. Youi supplementaiy mateiials
incluueu: uemonstiation of iocks being pusheu togethei, semantic maps to activate
backgiounu knowleuge, volcano mouel, pull-uown maps, text (Pompeii Buiieu
Alive), anu a tianspaiency showing paits of a volcano. Thiough the use of the
supplementaiy mateiials, the content was moie accessible to youi stuuents.
The way you staiteu youi lesson was gieat with the content objective, biief
oveiview of what stuuents woulu be uoing, anu vocabulaiy woius. Bowevei, you
uiu not state oi post a language objective explicitly. A language objective shoulu be a
leaining goal that piepaies stuuents foi the type of acauemic language they neeu in
oiuei to compiehenu the content anu complete the activities in the lesson. A
language objective foi this lesson coulu have been, " I will ieau about volcanoes,"
anu, "I will wiite the steps that happen befoie a volcano eiupts."
0ne majoi component of the SI0P Nouel that I felt was missing fiom this
lesson is inteiaction. Stuuents neeu inteiaction in oiuei to inteinalize new
infoimation. You uiu pioviue teachei uominateu inteiaction, but I woulu have likeu
to see moie talk anu aigument about why volcanoes eiupt anu how volcanoes eiupt.
A quick buuuy shaie woulu have auueu some goou inteiaction anu piomoteu
stuuent engagement at the same time. I finu that sometimes stuuents think they
unueistanu something until they tiy to explain it. Aftei tiying to explain the piocess,
they might iealize they uon't unueistanu it as well as they thought. 0nce they iealize
this, stuuents can stait asking the iight kinus of questions to get claiification on the
concepts that they uo not yet compiehenu. Also, as stuuents talk about the content, a
teachei can listen to stuuent conveisations to uo a quick foimative assessment anu
auuiess any misconceptions that stuuents have.
You useu many hanus-on mateiials, but veiy few stuuents hau a chance to
use the manipulatives. I wonuei if each gioup of stuuents coulu make the mouel of
the volcano at theii table, anu they coulu uiscuss what is happening with theii peeis
to get moie hanus-on activities. While they uiscuss what is happening, they coulu
label the paits of the volcano on theii papei while ielating it to theii mouel. As
stuuents aie uoing this, you coulu walk aiounu anu ask thoughtful questions to get
the stuuents' iueas flowing anu to check foi unueistanuing. Then, they coulu ieau
the stoiy in theii gioups anu talk about what happens befoie a volcano eiupts. As an
exit slip, stuuents coulu tell you what a volcano is anu why it eiupts. This foimative
assessment woulu uiiectly coiielate with youi content objective.
I uo feel like you aie uoing a gieat job at implementing the featuies of the
SI0P Nouel into youi teaching. These aie just a few suggestions I hau to enhance
youi teaching even moie. I also maue a few notes on the evaluation page. Please
look it ovei, anu we can meet to uiscuss any questions you have.
Sinceiely,
Kiisty Walkei
Kiisty Walkei
ELEB 444u Final Exam
1. Bow woulu you iesponu to a teachei who says, "Well, if I follow the SI0P Nouel
anu make suie my English leaineis aie able to access content using these activities,
techniques, anu appioaches, my on-level kius anu native English speakeis will be
boieu."
A. Bo you agiee with the statement. Why oi why not. What suppoits youi position.

B. Bow can teacheis with only a few English leaineis in theii classiooms oiganize
instiuction so that all stuuents' neeus aie met.

A. I do not agree with the teachers statement because the SIOP Model supports all
levels of learners and is simply good instruction practices. Every level of learner will
benefit from explicit objectives and vocabulary words, supplementary materials,
meaningful activities, interaction, learning strategies, reviews, etc. The features of SIOP
are not necessarily all about learning a new language. SIOP aids in learning the
language, but more than that, it makes the new content more accessible for every type of
learner.
The SIOP Model is Vygotskys Sociocultural Theory in practice. Vygotsky
theorized that society and culture affect learning. During communication, learners jointly
construct knowledge, which is internalized by the individual. SIOP practices include a
great deal of interaction, which is needed for students to internalize the new knowledge.
Also, Vygotsky explains in his Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) model that
children can do more with support than they would be capable of independently. In the
ZPD, the learner is capable of higher level of performance because there is support from
interaction with a teacher or peers. Scaffolding, provided by the teacher, is the base or
foundation for learning. The SIOP Model includes comprehensible input from the teacher
and scaffolding techniques, which are both needed in order for a student to comprehend a
new content.
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B. One of the features of the SIOP Model is adaptation of content. By adapting the
content, teachers can make sure all students needs are met. For example, teachers can
vary their question types for each level of learner. First, a teacher could start with basic
questions for their below-level students. Next, the teacher could build upon those
students responses by asking more thoughtful questions to the on-level students.
Furthermore, students can build upon the questions being asked, and the teacher can ask
analytical and evaluative questions to the above-level learners. The below-level students
will benefit from answering questions and from listening to classmates responses to the
higher-level questions. By varying question types, all students will be stimulated and
their needs will be met.

2. A factual question a teacher might ask based on social studies text: Who was the first
president of the United States? Given the topic of the presidency, why are several
additional questions you could ask that promote higher-order thinking? List three. Why is
it important to use variety of questioning strategies with English learners?
1. Why was George Washington the first president?
2. How did George Washington become president?
3. Do you think that it was a good choice to fight Great Britain in the
Revolutionary War? Why or Why not?

By asking a variety of question types, a teacher is promoting higher-level thinking
in his/her students. It is important to ask higher-level questions to English learners
because the goal is to get all students to think and analyze at higher levels. Also, higher-
level questions give ELL students a chance to use the language they are learning instead
of answering with one-word responses to simple questions. Benjamin Blooms 1956
Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (Blooms Taxonomy) was founded on the idea that
learning takes place from concrete knowledge to abstract values. Bloom says
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remembering a basic fact is the lowest level of thinking while evaluating content requires
a much higher level of thinking.

S. !"#$%&' %)* +"),&%-, the following two teacheis' appioaches to teaching a
lesson on nutiition.
a. 0ne teachei's appioach involves a lectuie, a uiagiam of the 0SBA's Foou Plate,
anu a list of appiopiiate foous foi each gioup. Stuuents aie then testeu about theii
knowleuge of the peicentage of each foou type they shoulu eat at a meal.
b. The othei teachei's appioach begins with stuuents' maintaining a foou uiaiy foi a
week. Copies of the Foou Plate aie uistiibuteu anu explaineu, anu all stuuents must
analyze theii foou consumption accoiuing to the national iecommenuations. With a
paitnei, stuuents must uesign nutiitionally sounu weekly menu foi each uay of the
following week, anu they must be piepaieu to uefenu theii foou choices to peei
gioup membeis.

Which appioach to teaching this content concept is most appiopiiate foi English
leaineis. Bow uo you know. Be specific as you can.

According to the SIOP Model, scenario B is most appropriate for English
learners. Instead of lecturing, this teacher used supplementary materials and meaningful
activities for students to make connections and to personalize the nutrition content they
are studying. Scenario B also allows for students to interact and analyze their
understanding. The teacher provides hands-on activities and manipulatives, like the food
plate, that allow for students to take abstract ideas and make them concrete. In addition,
the activities provide ways for students to make connections with past experiences and
learning in order to better remember what is being taught.

4. Bow uoes a teachei ueteimine whethei a majoiity of stuuents, incluuing English
leaineis, aie engageu thioughout the peiiou. What techniques coulu be useu to
sustain engagement thioughout the peiiou. What shoulu the teachei uo if he oi she
senses that stuuents aie off task. Why is sustaineu engagement so ciitical to English
leaineis' acauemic piogiess.

If students are paying attention, on task, and following the lesson, they are
engaged. A teacher can tell if students are engaged because students will be responding to
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teacher direction, performing the activities as directed, and participating in discussions.
By offering choices to students and differentiating to meet individual student needs, a
teacher can enhance student engagement and sustain engagement throughout the lesson.
Also, by activating background knowledge, providing meaningful activities, and by
providing comprehensible input, students are likely to stay engaged for the entire period,
or lesson. If students are off task, the teacher needs to step back and figure out why the
students are not engaged. Are students off task because they do not understand the
content? Are students off task because they do not understand what is expected of them?
Or, are students off task because the lesson is not engaging? Whatever the reason, the
teacher needs to make adjustments to get students engaged. The teacher can re-teaching
the content using a different approach for students who are not understanding or by either
explicitly stating what the students are suppose to do in the activity. Sustained
engagement is critical to English learners because they cannot afford to have valuable
learning time misused and wasted.

S. Think of a content concept that you might be teaching. Besciibe thiee uiffeient
giouping configuiations that coulu be useu foi teaching anu leaining this concept.
Bow woulu you oiganize the membeis of each gioup. Bow woulu you monitoi
stuuent leaining. What woulu you want stuuents to uo while woiking in theii
gioups. Bow woulu giouping configuiations facilitate leaining foi ELs.

While teaching a unit on the water cycle, I used many different grouping
configurations. When I taught the class new information, I used a whole group
configuration. For example, when the students learn about the four main stages of the
water cycle, I gave explicit instruction, definitions, and examples of the new information.
Next, the students were put into mixed ability groups to create a model of the water cycle,
which I modeled before hand. I purposefully placed one low-level, two on-level, and one
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above-level student in each group. I monitored student learning by walking around to
each group to ask questions about their water cycle model to help guide their
investigation. While walking around to each group, I made sure the low-level students
were engaged and participating in the activity. While working in their group, I wanted
students to have rich discussions, hear multiple perspectives, and collaborate successfully
with their peers. Grouping students in mixed ability configurations helps facilitate
learning for ELs because it provides practice opportunities, scaffolding, and peer support.
For another activity, I found leveled text on the water cycle in our leveled library
for the students to read. When I grouped the students to read this text, I grouped them
according to their reading levels. I wanted the content to be accessible to all students, and
I knew my low-level learners would get frustrated and shut down if I gave them a text
that was too difficult. For this activity, I found it was important for students to be with
other students at their same reading levels.
Students were also grouped together to make posters of the water cycle. For this
assignment, I paired level 1 students with level 3 students, and I paired level 2 students
with level 4 students. I wanted my level 1 and 2 students to have extra support with their
partner, but I didnt want their partner to be too advanced for them. While students were
working, I checked in with each pair to make sure students understood the content and
were able to work together to create their poster. Pairing my ELs with students at a
slightly higher level provides extra scaffolding and assistance. I worried about the higher-
leveled learner taking over the project and doing all the work, so I gave jobs to each
partner, and I made rubrics for each student to fill out on their partner for accountability.