Science for ALL: Adapting lessons for English Language Learners

Susan Gomez ZwiepScience Education

CSU Long Beach/K12 Alliance -WestED

Let’s try a little activity . . .

o Pretend you have no experience with the object at your table (assume you have just landed on this planet. . . )

o Write down what you can observe with your senses.

o Only write down what you can observe.  Also note, we are not using taste today, for safety reasons

Next version. . .

o I am going to give you another version of the same object.

o Revise your list by crossing out the properties that no longer apply to the new version of the phenomena.

Next version. . .

o I am going to give you another version of the same object.

o Revise your list by crossing out the properties that no longer apply to the new version of the phenomena.

Final version. . .

o I am going to give you one last version of the same object.

o Revise your list by crossing out the properties that no longer apply to the new version of the phenomena.

LEMON

What is left?

o If we rely primarily on text (reading, writing) then we remove all the context from the thinking.

o Students have a great deal of personal experiences with math and science, outside of formal schooling.

o For students who are limited in their ability to communicate in English, providing context is particularly important.

You will be given a piece of chart paper

One one half

• Create a graphic/drawing that represents an English language learner in your class?

On the other half

• Brainstorm all the strategies that you have used or heard about that could support an English learner.

Looking deeper: a classroom example

The 8th grade classroom you are about to see in the video is composed primarily of non-native English speakers (85%) who have been enrolled in US schools since Kindergarten when they entered the school system with beginning levels of English proficiency.

Looking deeper: a classroom example

• Now in an eighth grade classroom, 40% of the students are still at an intermediate level of fluency which means they are able to converse easily with social language but still struggle with complex language structures and academic or technical language.

• Thirty percent of the students have an early advanced level of proficiency and are able to engage in complex and cognitively demanding tasks yet still require light linguistic supports.

• And 30% of the classroom is made up of students formerly classified as English learners re-designated as proficient in the last three years (15%) and native English speakers (15%).

The teacher’s Learning Objectives

• Become familiar with the organization of the periodic table by manipulating images of simple figures(analyze/interpret data)

• Understand that the periodic table is both a tool and an organized arrangement of the elements that reveals the underlying electron structure of each element (patterns).

• Use speaking and listening standards (SL8.1, SL8.4) from the CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy as a precursor to the writing standard WHST8.1.

• Exchange information and ideas through conversations and collaboration (CA ELD Standards 8th Gr, Part I, A. Col 1 /3).

• https://www.mydigitalchalkboard.org/portal/default/Content/Viewer/Content?action=2&scId=506599&sciId=16585

Analyzing the lesson

• During the lesson, students were engaged in conversations with each other about the activity and the science content. What strategies support the learning goals of students interacting in meaningful way and exchanging information and ideas in conversation?

• How did these strategies guide students to increase their level of academic language during the lesson?

Academic language

Speaking and listening are precursors to writing. Providing English learners with opportunities to teach each other allows students to rehearse their ideas and to refine and revise these ideas through conversations before writing.

•What evidence from the video shows students involved in collaborative conversations?

•The word “hierarchy” is important to the context of this lesson. When and how was it introduced?

•The words “periods” and “families/groups” were related to the science learning goal for the lesson. When and how were these words introduced?

Purposeful use

• Strategies need to be purposeful and used strategically

• Go back to your poster. Can you link descriptors of EL students to strategies ? What is your purpose?

ELD Standards augmentation for NGSS

• The 2012 ELD standards are currently being revised (augmented) to better align with the vision of NGSS.

• Scan section B. Supporting English Learners in Mathematical Practices and Science and Engineering practices.

• Discuss with a partner at your table.

A sample of an augmented ELD standard

A sample of an augmented ELD standard

A sample of an augmented ELD standard

This only works if the content is correct.

• Plan the science content first and then consider where your students will need language supports.

• Don’t be tempted to water down the content but rather look for ways to reveal student thinking that are not as language dependent.

• Scientific inquiry is vital to this process.

Revising a lesson

•What words might need to be reviewed prior to the lesson so students can interact with the materials and each other?

•What terms can be developed through the context of the lesson itself?

•What other ELD scaffolds can be introduced (Peer talk, sentence frames, graphic organizers)?