1 Helping Immigrant Students in the United States Learn English in Mainstream Classrooms: The SIOP Approach Melvin R. Andrade, Ed.D. Sophia Junior College Linguapax Asia 2005 Second International Symposium Embassy of Canada,Tokyo 11 June 2005

2 Aims of this Presentation To introduce the SIOP Model of sheltered instruction as an effective way to develop content knowledge and language skills together in foreign language, second language, and heritage language education To introduce Web-based resources about SIOP and related programs

3 What does “ SIOP ” stand for? It stands for “Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol,” which refers to a set of guidelines for planning and measuring the implementation of a teaching approach know as “Sheltered Instruction.”

4 Sheltered Instruction is … ?... an approach for teaching content to English (and other) learners in ways that make the subject matter concepts comprehensible while promoting the students ’ language development. An important component of sheltered instruction is...

5... “ Scaffolding, ” defined as... “ Teacher support for learning and student performance of tasks through instruction, modeling, questioning, feedback, graphic organizers, and more, across successive engagements ” These supports are gradually withdrawn as the learner develops more and more autonomy.

6 Why is sheltered instruction needed? 90% of recent immigrants to the U.S. come from non-English speaking countries Students with limited English proficient (LEP) comprise nearly 10% of the U.S. school population (K-12) In some school districts, LEP students are the majority of students in class.

7 And... LEP students lag significantly behind other students in academic achievement (lower grades and test scores) LEP students have higher drop out rates Many LEP students have hand little formal schooling and cannot read or write. Many LEP students speak another language at home--not English

8 Who Uses the SIOP Model? ESL teachers Bilingual teachers Elementary classroom teachers Secondary subject-area teachers Coaches and mentor teachers Staff developers School and district administrators Teacher and education faculty Pre-service teacher candidates

9 Why Use the SIOP Model? “ As the number of English language learners (ELLs) in their classes increase, teachers are looking for effective instructional practices. ” “ Teachers and researchers worked collaboratively to create the SIOP Model to meet the challenges of this new reality. ”

10 And... “ The SIOP Model has been shown to be a reliable and valid measure of effective instruction. ” “ Research has shown that ELLs improved their academic skills when their teachers implement the SIOP Model. ”

11 Now some background... “ The SIOP Model offers a research-based approach to sheltered lesson planning and implementation that has proven effective with English language learners throughout the United States. The model was developed in a 7-year national research project ( ) sponsored by the Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence (CREDE). ”

12 And... Through literature review and with the collaboration of practicing teachers, researchers identified features of instruction present in high-quality sheltered lessons to generate the SIOP Model. The model was refined over multiple years of field testing and consists of eight components and 30 features that are explained in the book...

13 Center for Applied Linguistics J. Echevarria, M. E. Vogt,, & D. J. Short. (2004) Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP Model Boston: Pearson

14 The eight components are... Lesson preparation Building background Comprehensible input Strategies Interaction Practice & application Lesson delivery Review & assessment

15 Teachers trained in this model learn to plan and deliver lessons that incorporate these techniques consistently. and, thus help English learners to develop their academic English skills while learning grade-level content.

16 Research & Development Projects Related to the SIOP Model. Online at www. cal. org / siop / index. html The Effects of Sheltered Instruction on the Achievement of Limited English Proficient Students The SIOP Model for Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: Professional Development Videos and Facilitator's Manual

17 Online research cont ’ d... SIOP Model Research and Professional Development for Secondary English Language Learners Optimizing Educational Outcomes for English Language Learners

18 Now before going into more detail, watch a short video, which … will briefly review the background of SIOP and its eight components. (Video: Helping English Learners Succeed: An overview of the SIOP Model. Center for Applied Linguistics. www. cal. org / crede / pubs

19 The Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) Total points possible: 120 (subtract 4 points for each NA ( “ not applicable ” ) given Directions: Circle the number that best reflects what you observe in a sheltered lesson. You may give a score from 0-4 (or NA on selected items). Cite under “ Comments ” specific examples of the behaviors observed.

20 Scoring 4 Highly evident 3 2 Somewhat evident 1 0 Not evident NA

21 I. Preparation 1. Clearly defined content objectives for students 2. Clear defined language objectives for students 3. Content concepts appropriate for age and educational background 4. Supplementary materials used to a high degree making the lesson clear and meaningful (e.g. graphs, models, visuals).

22 5. Adaptation of content to all levels of student proficiency 6. Meaningful activities that integrate lesson concepts (e.g. surveys, letter writing I. Preparation

23 II. Instruction Building background 7. Concepts explicitly linked to students’ background experiences 8. Links explicitly made between past learning and new concepts 9. Key vocabulary emphasized (e.g. written, repeated, highlighted)

24 Comprehensible input 10. Speech appropriate for students ’ proficiency level (e.g. slower rate and enunciation, and simple sentences for beginners) 11. Explanation of academic tasks clear II. Instruction

Uses a variety of techniques to make content concepts clear (e.g. modeling, visuals, hands-on activities, demonstrations, gestures, body language) II. Instruction

26 Strategies 13. Provides ample opportunities for students to use strategies (cognitive, metacognitive, social / affective). II. Instruction

Consistent use of scaffolding techniques throughout lessons, assisting and supporting student understanding such as think-alouds. II. Instruction

Teacher uses a variety of questions types, including those that promote higher-order thinking skills throughout the lesson (e.g. literal, analytical, interpretive questions). II. Instruction

29 Interaction 16. Frequent opportunities to interaction and discussion between teacher / student and among students, which encourage elaborated responses about lesson concepts II. Instruction

Grouping configurations support language and content objectives of the lesson 18. Consistently provides sufficient wait time for student response 19. Ample opportunities for students to clarify key concepts in their first language. II. Instruction

31 Practice / Application 20. Provides hands-on materials and / or manipulatives for students to practice using new content knowledge 21. Provides hands-on activities for students to apply content and language knowledge in the classroom II. Instruction

Uses activities that integrate all language skills (i.e. reading, writing, listening, speaking) Lesson delivery 23. Content objectives clearly supported by lesson delivery II. Instruction

Language objectives clearly supported by lesson delivery 25. Students engaged approximately 90% to 100% of the period 26. Pacing of the lesson appropriate to the students ’ ability level II. Instruction

34 III. Review / Assessment 27. Comprehensive review of key vocabulary 28. Comprehensive review of key content concepts 29. Regularly provides feedback to students on their output (e.g. language, content, work)

35 III. Review / Assessment 30. Conducts assessments of student comprehension and learning of all lesson objectives (e.g. spot checking, group response) throughout the lesson

36 Now, watch one more short video segment. Which elements of SIOP do you observe? From Teaching Reading K-2: “ Thalia Learns the Details” (Student case study No. 4)

37 Summary of video segment 2 In the beginning of the school year, Thalia Valdez is just beginning to get excited about letters. She attends kindergarten at the bilingual AMIGOS school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. With the support and guidance of her teacher, Jim St. Clair, Thalia steadily learns the details of the basics of reading and writing such as one-to-one word correspondence, letter sounds, and left-to-right text. She uses her fine motor skills in adding text to her inventive drawings.

38 Online resources Welcome to SIOP Central! (CAL) CREDE: Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence Annenberg / CBS education series

39 Resources cont ’ d... Center for Applied Linguistics “ ESL Infusion ” (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education-OISE) SIOP Institute

40 More resources... Teaching Reading K-2: A Library of Classroom Practices (Annenberg/CPS) 2.html 2.html The Learning Classroom: Theory into Practice (Annenberg/CPS) 2.html 2.html

41 The end Contact information: Prof. Melvin R. Andrade