teaching mathematics to ell students

Teaching Mathematics

to ELL StudentsWest Cook Mathematics

InitiativeESL SeriesSession #3

WELCOME TO SESSION #3

Please pick up your name tent, name tag, agenda, and a

binder.

SESSION PURPOSESTo continue facilitating participants’ capacities to write

language objectives, which support math content objectives.

To provide opportunities for participants to practice identifying features of three of the SIOP components—Lesson Preparation, Building Background and Comprehensible Input.

To continue facilitating participants’ capacities to differentiate for different levels of English language proficiency, with a review of the characteristics of Level 1 ELL’s and an introduction to the characteristics of Level 2 ELL’s.

BUILDING BACKGROUND CONTENT OBJECTIVES

Participants will be able to:Recognize the value of tapping into students’

background knowledge and building upon it.Identify strategies to make links for their students

between past learning and new concepts.Identify strategies to introduce and emphasize

key vocabulary.Incorporate the above components into a lesson

plan.

BUILDING BACKGROUND LANGUAGE OBJECTIVES

Participants will be able to:Discuss the features of building

background after reading and discussing the SIOP vignettes in small groups.

Discuss the features of building background after viewing and taking notes on a video clip that illustrates that feature.

COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT CONTENT OBJECTIVES

Participants will be able to:Explore strategies and techniques for

presenting content information in ways that students understand.

Review various ways to model and provide directions for academic tasks.

.

COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT LANGUAGE OBJECTIVES

Participants will be able to:Discuss modifications to teacher

speech that can increase student comprehension.

Write the steps needed for students to perform an academic task and have a partner perform each step.

LESSON PREPARATIONEffective SIOP lessons require careful

planning with specific content and language objectives for each lesson so that students know precisely what they will do and learn. These objectives are derived from a variety of sources, including state and district standards, TESOL standards for English learners, the SIOP lesson planning checklist, and colleagues’ ideas.

LESSON PREPARATIONFEATURES #1 & #2

CONTENT OBJECTIVES clearly defined, displayed, and reviewed with students

LANGUAGE OBJECTIVES clearly defined, displayed, and reviewed with students.

LESSON PREPARATIONFEATURES #3 & #4

CONTENT CONCEPTS appropriate for age and educational background levels of students.

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS used to a high degree, making the lesson clear and meaningful (e.g. computer programs, graphs, models, visuals)

LESSON PREPARATIONFEATURES #5 & #6

ADAPTATION OF CONTENT (e.g. text assignments) to all levels of student English language proficiency

MEANINGFUL ACTIVITIES that integrate lesson concepts (e.g. interviews, letter writing, simulations, models) with language practice opportunities for reading, writing, listening, and/or speaking

GOING BEYOND “JUST GOOD

INSTRUCTION” LANGUAGE

OBJECTIVES clearly defined, displayed, and reviewed with students.

ADAPTATION OF CONTENT (e.g. text assignments) to all levels of student English language proficiency

COMMUNICATING OBJECTIVES

Try your hand at writing language objectives.

See how your students respond to explicit identification of lesson content and language objectives.

LOOKING FOR LESSON PREPARATION FEATURES

Ms. Chen

Mrs. Hargroves

Mr. Hensen

LEVEL 1 ELL’sReview of Level 1

characteristics .Review of strategies for

accommodating learning needs of Level 1’s

Level 1 Student Descriptors

LISTENING May be hearing new sounds not

articulated or heard in primary language

Heavy reliance on contextual clues in the environment to make meaning

Why would this stage be particularly critical for language learner?

Level 1 Student Descriptors

SPEAKING“silent period” which

may last from days to months (Krashen, 1982)

Nonverbal communication responses

Brief or memorized oral communication responses

Level 1 Student Descriptors

SPEAKINGFocus on “survival English”Benefits from specific

instruction related to successful daily interactions and tasks

Learns a lot from informal interactions with peers

Sustained peer interactions should be part of instructional plans

Level 1 Student Descriptors

READING Students who can read in

their first language: May being to transfer skills to English

Students who are pre-literate in any language: Will rely on visual context clues

Both will need strong foundation and familiarity with range of English sounds

Level 1 Student Descriptors

WRITING At lower end, work may take

form of pictures or copying words, phrases, and sentences.

With increased speaking proficiency, Level 1 ELL’s may dictate words and phrases

Important to distinguish between pre-literate and those who have transferrable language skills

Differentiating Assignments for ELL’s

Language Proficiency Level: 1 2 3 4 5Language-based Expectations:

Standards-based Content or Topic (from the curriculum):

Scaffolding and Support:

BUILDING BACKGROUND

A learner’s schema, or knowledge of the world, provides a basis for understanding, learning, and remembering facts and ideas found in texts.

THE INFLUENCE OF BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

PARTNER 1Read the passage on

Reproducible 4.4 aloud to your fall or winter partner.

Read your partner’s description, then describe your “vision” of the main character.

PARTNER 2Write a description of

the main character in the passage.

Compare your “visions” of the main character.

Links to LearningMEANINGFUL ACTIVITIES

that integrate lesson concepts (e.g. interviews, letter writing, simulations, models) with language practice opportunities for reading, writing, listening, and/or speaking

Links to ExperienceWhy is it important to

connect learning to students’ personal experiences?

What kinds of activities effectively do this?

Key VocabularyFind your table’s assigned word or phrase on the

pages indicated on the index card.Determine what the word or phrase means from

the context of the pages.Convey your group’s understanding of the word

or phrase, using the 4-Corners worksheet.Post your newsprint sheets.Look at the other newsprint sheets.

The Insert MethodWith a partner, read about SIOP Feature 8 on p. 58.Insert the following codes directly into the text, as you read the paragraph:A check (✔) mark to indicate a concept or fact that you

already know.A question (?) mark to indicate a concept or fact that is

confusing or not understood.An exclamation (!) to indicate something that is new,

unusual, or interesting.A plus (+) sign to indicate an idea or concept that is new.Share your markings with another pair of partners.

BUILDING BACKGROUNDStudents from

culturally diverse backgrounds may struggle to comprehend texts and concepts due to a mismatch in schemata.

BUILDING BACKGROUNDMost reading

material, such as content area texts, relies on an assumption of common prior knowledge and experience.

BUILDING BACKGROUND FEATURES

#7 & #8CONCEPTS EXPLICITLY LINKED to students’ background experiences.

LINKS EXPLICITLY MADE between past learning and new concepts

BUILDING BACKGROUNDVocabulary

knowledge correlates strongly with academic achievement and reading comprehension.

BUILDING BACKGROUNDLimited

vocabularies prevent students from comprehending content texts, such as science passages, math instructions, and directions for completing assignments.

BUILDING BACKGROUND FEATURE

#9KEY VOCABULARY emphasized (e.g. introduced, written, repeated, and highlighted for students to see)

Importance of Building the

Language of MathematicsAccording to Braselton and Decker

(1994), “Mathematics is the most difficult content area material to read because there are more concepts per word, per sentence, and per paragraph than in any other subject; the mixture of words, numerals, letters, symbols, and graphics requires the reader to shift from one type of vocabulary to another.”

Teaching ScenariosRead the lesson overview on pp. 68 and 69, then read and rate one of the following lessons found in Chapter 3 of Making Content Comprehensible:Miss Paige (pp. 69 & 70)Mrs. Jarmin (pp. 70 – 73)Mr. Ramirez (pp. 73 & 74)Compare your group’s rating to those on pp. 74 & 75.

Video ClipWhat I’ve done lately…

What the video teacher did…

Rate Your Practice1 = a regular part of my

teaching practice2 = sometimes I use this

technique3 = is not a part of my teaching

practice

Comprehensible InputComprises some of the features that make SIOP

instruction different from “just good instruction.”Takes into account the unique characteristics of

ELL’s.Makes use of many clues.Uses appropriate speech.Goes beyond simply showing pictures as visual

clues during a lesson.

COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT

FEATURE #10 SPEECH APPROPRIATE FOR

STUDENTS’ PROFICIENCY LEVELS with attention to:

1. Rate and enunciation (how the teacher speaks)

2. Complexity of speech (what the teacher says)

COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT

FEATURES #11 & #12CLEAR

EXPLANATION OF ACADEMIC TASKS presented in a step-by-step manner, preferably with modeling

A VARIETY OF TECHNIQUES USED TO MAKE CONTENT CONCEPTS CLEAR including gestures, body language, pictures, and objects to accompany speech

COMPREHENSIBLE INPUTMAIN POINTS

Language is most easily acquired when:Lessons are interesting and relevant.Instruction follows natural language

patternsInput is provided in sufficient quantity.There is appropriate monitoring of efforts,

since overcorrection increases student anxiety.

The message is clear so that the learner can understand.

COMPREHENSIBLE INPUTMAIN POINTS

It is important for teachers to know the English language acquisition level of their students and plan to make content comprehensible, based on the language needs of each student.

Students at lower levels of English proficiency are not necessarily functioning at lower levels of cognitive ability.

It is critical that students know what is expected and that step-by-step instructions are written for students to see and use.

Level 1 Student Descriptors

LISTENING May be hearing new sounds not

articulated or heard in primary language

Heavy reliance on contextual clues in the environment to make meaning

Why would this stage be particularly critical for language learner?

Level 2 Student Descriptors

LISTENINGComprehension of simple,

contextualized sentences related to social and academic content

Still becoming familiar with new sounds in English

Reliance on commonly heard words, chunks, and expressions to construct meaning

Level 1 Student Descriptors

SPEAKING“silent period” which

may last from days to months (Krashen, 1982)

Nonverbal communication responses

Brief or memorized oral communication responses

Level 1 Student Descriptors

SPEAKINGFocus on “survival English”Benefits from specific

instruction related to successful daily interactions and tasks

Learns a lot from informal interactions with peers

Sustained peer interactions should be part of instructional plans

Level 2 Student Descriptors

SPEAKINGCan use simple

sentencesReliance on telegraphic

speech to talk in social and academic settings

Mistakes may prevent understanding.

Pronunciation may not be accurate.

Level 1 Student Descriptors

READINGStudents who can read in

their first language: May being to transfer skills to English

Students who are pre-literate in any language: Will rely on visual context clues

Both will need strong foundation and familiarity with range of English sounds

Level 2 Student Descriptors

READING Students who can read in

their first language start to recognize written language more readily than those students not literate in their first language.

ALERT: May appear to be reading full passages, relying on first language phonetic learning to read aloud but may be reading without comprehension.

Level 1 Student Descriptors

WRITINGAt lower end, work may take

form of pictures or copying words, phrases, and sentences.

With increased speaking proficiency, Level 1 ELL’s may dictate words and phrases

Important to distinguish between pre-literate and those who have transferrable language skills

Level 2 Student Descriptors

WRITING Range from those who can

write in phrases using common, everyday and academic language to those who can create simple sentences.

Errors are common and likely to impede meaning

L1-literate students can transfer writing skills from their L1 to English with relative ease in comparison to pre-literate classmates.

WRAP-UPI learned…I felt…I began to

wonder…I thought…I practiced…I understood…

Maintaining the Momentum

Read Chapter 4 of Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners.

Choose three ways to develop academic vocabulary, as described on pp. 49 – 55 of Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners in your work setting during the next month. Report back on your experiences on our Edublog site.

Try incorporating one or two features of the Building Background and Comprehensible Input components into your instructional experiences with students. Share your experiences on our Edublog site.