English Through Content Scaffolding & Strategies For ELL Students

What is Scaffolding? Reduce Language Demands Adopt assessments for your readers Find out what they know Build student self-confidence with a-priori teaching Scaffolding meets readers language demands

Assessment Without Scaffolding Is not valid Teachers cannot use assessments to help students learn Does not show what students know and can do

How to Scaffold Simplify Language Use short phrases Reduce sentence length Use present tense if possible Reduce page clutter Space-out text

How to Scaffold (continued) Provide students with choices – example: options in tasks, word banks Use visuals and graphics – allow pictorial responses Use manipulatives, real artifacts, art projects, poster projects, games Use cooperative language – think-alouds, paired reading, modeling by teacher, categorizing

What are the Benefits of Scaffolding? Adds validity to assessment Allows students to show their strengths Allows teacher to gain information for further instruction/re-teaching and assessment

Success with Assessment and Instruction For success in assessment and instruction of ELL students, teachers need an awareness of language dimensions and degree of cognitive demand To evaluate comprehension, teachers must use multiple types of assessment for ELL students

Content Language We cannot assume students understand the language of a specific content Modifications of content language is essential for ELL students academic success

What is “Language” of Content? Imagine you are in first grade and have been given the following problem . . . What words would you use to solve this problem?

Which of the following do you think would be confusing for Limited English Speakers? How many all together? How many in all? How much is 3 and 2? What is the sum of . . . ? What is 2 plus 3? Add the two numbers. Three squares and two more are . . . Three plus two equals . . .

Content Language Assumes student has vocabulary necessary for understanding May be abstract rather than concrete Assumes common prior knowledge