Independent: Mindmap Chapter 10
Pierrelyne Pierre
Content-Area Instruction

Principled Approach to Teaching Content to English Language Learners

Language and Content Area Objectives

The Understanding Language initiative has outlined six keys principles for ELL instruction.

The principles calling for ELLs through deliberate and appropriate scaffolds may be addressed through sheltered content-area instruction

Differentiated Instruction for English Language Learners in Content-Area Classes:
Teachers need to tailor instruction to the unique language and academic needs of each student, that is, they need to provide differentiated instruction

Sheltered Instruction lessons include language objectives and content objectives, reflecting the fact that the content area instruction is also language instruction for ELLs.

content-area objectives are the same for all students in the class.
Language objectives direct attention to the language of the content area, that is, the key vocabulary, genres, and registers that all students need to learn. The language objectives, however, will need to be differentiated according to students' English Language proficiency and Literacy levels.

Using English Language Proficiency Standards to Guide Content-Area Instruction

The English language proficiency (ELP) standards of the WIDA and ELPA21 consortia, along with those of individual states, are used to guide both English language Development instruction and academic content-area instruction

Strategies for Modifying Textbooks and Instructional Materials

Strategies for modifying text in textbooks include:
a. outlining
b. using graphic organizers
c. rewriting for the text in simplified English
d. reading it aloud with students, pausing to paraphrase, explain, or provide examples to help ELLs understand the meaning.

Thematic Teaching and Lesson Planning

To ensure coverage of all content areas, teachers can use thematic teaching, selecting a theme that can be explored through all content areas.

Use of Literature across the Content Areas

Sheltered Instruction in the Content Areas

Mathematics
The Common Core standards for mathematics are designed to bring about *three major shifts in math education

  • They significantly narrow the scope of match concepts taught, especially in the elementary grades.
  • They emphasize coherence across and within grades.
  • They emphasize rigor within the major topics so that students develop conceptual understanding, procedural skills, and the ability to apply skills in problem-solving situations.

Language of Mathematics:

  • Educators and researchers have analyzed the language of math and found that it has a unique vocabulary and unique properties and text features.
  • The syntax of math can be very confusing for ELLs.
  • Word problems can be particularly because they contain complex syntax and difficult - and usually irrelevant - vocabulary.
  • Another challenge for newcomer ELLs that they may have learned math symbols and algorithms for problem-solving in their home country that differ from those taught in the U.S.

Science

Making Mathematics Instruction Comprehensive for English Language Learners:

  • To help students learn the vocabulary and language structures of math, teachers can make illustrated math word charts to go along with math units, such as geometric shapes or measurement words.
  • They can make these word charts with the students during shared or modeled writing.
  • Hands-on practices
    -Teachers can also make both comprehensible for ELLs using bilingual strategies and technology designed to enhance or support math instruction.

Modifying Mathematics Instructional Materials

  • Teachers can use role-playing to help ELLLs understand new vocabulary and unfamiliar concepts in word problems.

Using Literature to Support Mathematics Instruction

  • fiction and nonfiction w/ mathematical themes.

Integrating Students' Cultures Into Mathematics Instruction:

  • Help students connect math to their own lives in their families, their communities, and the world.
  • Discussions of the multicultural history of math and in particular the contributions of Indian and Arabic mathematicians.

Language of Science:
-The language of science can be confusing for ELLs because, like the language of math, it uses many words from everyday life that have different meanings.

  • ELLs must learn to talk the talk of science.

Math Science Instruction Comprehensible for English Language Learners:
-Inquiry-based (or discovery) science is an effective means for helping ELLs successfully learn science concepts and develop English language skills.

  • Teachers need to ensure that their science classroom is a community of practice conducive to science and language learning.
    -There's a need for clearly articulated language objectives, meaningful hands-on activities that were specially designed to ensure participation of ELLs at all levels of English proficiency, and a system for monitoring assessing student's progress in meeting the objectives.
  • To be more effective, the teacher could bring items (realia) for students to see, feel, and smell that illustrate the meanings of the words.

Modifying Science Instructional Materials:

  • Mainstream science textbooks pose considerable challenges for ELLs.
  • One of the best ways to give ELLs access to the concepts of the pages of the textbook. The student will learn a concept if they experience and discover it rather than read about it.
  • Provide w/ instruction in the structure and supports in the textbook.
  • Outlines and graphic organizers can help identify the main ideas and information structure of the text.
  • Rewrite parts of the text in simplified English and use supplemental science textbooks, designed for ELLs.

Using Literature to Support Science Instruction:

  • Nonfiction books that address scientific themes

Integrating Students' Cultures into Science Instruction:

  • The National Science Teachers Association (2000) emphasizes the importance of valuing the contributions and uniqueness of culturally and linguistically diverse students.
  • To tap into the strengths students bring into the classroom, the association calls for the provision of multicultural science instruction.
  • Helping students understand the contributions of many cultures to our science knowledge can be easily addressed through reading books about the origins of science in other cultures.

Assessing Content Areas

Connections & Questions

  • It's not only math, science, social studies, etc that I believe teachers should integrate culture. I do believe it's all subject especially if it's the culture of the students that the teacher integrated into his or her lesson plan. I feel that it shows that you valued and respected your students. As a teacher, we need to take the time to learn about your students' background, interests, and learning style. Every student brings a unique cultural background to school.
  • I wonder if it is always possible to bring realia to help students learn the meaning of new words. Where do you find items that you can use in the classroom? or Can another option be to use images/pictures?
  • I do believe that textbooks are great tools but teachers should not rely too heavily on them. I feel that some wordings that are used can be simplified by teachers not only for ELLs but also non-ELLs.
  • I also believe that all teachers should integrate visuals in their lessons. As a second language teacher, I use visuals a lot, especially when teaching new words to use.
  • Why do I feel like all the strategies introduce in this chapter can be useful for all other subjects and to facilitate comprehension for ELLs and non-ELLs.

Art, Music, and Physical Education

Social Studies

Mathematics

Language of Social Studies:

  • The Language of social studies poses unique challenges to ELLs.
    • Social studies deal largely w/ abstraction. They cannot be illustrated w/ simple drawings, and they frequently defy simple explanations.
    • Another linguistic challenge in social studies involves how times are marked and how the sequence is distinguished from setting in time.
    • Teaching key vocabulary to ELLs in social studies is more involved than it is in other areas.
    • Students can actively engage in important social studies discussions and academic tasks w/ "less-than-perfect English".

Marking Social Studies Instruction Comprehensible for English Language Learners:

  • Find out what students already know about the particular topic or concept to be taught.
  • A three-column K-W-L chart
  • Variety of visuals such as portraits of historical people, photographs of historical places, and drawings, photographs, or video clips of historical and contemporary events.
  • Visuals: charts, graphs, maps, globes, and historical political cartoons.
  • Authentic historical items or replicas such as uniforms, period clothing, coins, stamps, documents, flags, and artifacts from different cultures can also create a great deal of interest among students and help make instruction more comprehensible.
  • Including current events in the social studies curriculum.

Modifying Social Studies Instructional Materials

  • To make the text more accessible, teachers can simply read it aloud, using before-during-and after strategies and stopping to look at and discuss the illustrations, tables, charts, graphs, captions, boxes, and so on.
  • Reading buddy.
  • To make an audio recording of the text for ELLs.
  • Use of graphic organizers.
  • Ten important sentences strategy: focus on the main ideas and basic essence of a social studies text.

Using Literature to Support Social Studies Instruction:

  • books
  • external literature
  • fiction books

Integrating Students' Culture into Social Studies Instruction:

  • Make them the focus of study.
  • Integrate the ethnic and cultural groups represented by the students in your class, school, and community in your units. Through such activities, students would gained a broader, more accurate, and much more positive view of their fellow community members.

Art, music, and physical ed have been receiving short shrift in schools where instruction focuses rarely on preparing ELLs and other students for state high-stakes tests.

Teachers can make instructions in these content areas more comprehensible for ELLs with the support of literature and the use of other strategies similar to those suggested for math, science, and social studies.

  • When assessing students' work in content areas, teachers must ensure that the assessment is a valid measurement of the students' knowledge of the content and not a measure of their language proficiency.


  • Performance assessments and other forms of alternative assessment should mirror the activities students do when learning in each content area.


  • The language objectives associated with each content should also be assessed using formal and informal assessments.


  • Teachers should used on-going alternative and authentic assessments along with formal assessments to ensure that they have multiple measures of their students' knowledge and skills.