Day 3- Components and Techniques

I have loved the training, but I'm ready to be with my kids tomorrow! Apparently, they are ready to have me back as well, just ask my sub!

Today's focus was to finish the SIOP Components, learn some new techniques, and plan some lessons using Content and Language Objectives.

Let's get started!

Component 7- Lesson Delivery

This component revolves around the acronym P.E.E.P. It has nothing to do with the Easter candy.

Plan

Enact

Engage

Pace

Put those 4 things together and you'll have the features of this component. 

Start by:
Checking and rechecking focus during the lesson, create a good structure for learning, keep going in the learning direction (no side lessons!), and have a simple assessment at the end.

• Objectives stated orally and written on the board with pictures if possible for clarity
• Provide enough information
• Ask questions
• Pause and wait for responses, let students think and talk it out
• Create activities that match and compliment the lesson

3 Aspects to Student Engagement:

1. Allocated time- the amount of teacher time given to teach a lesson and do a given task
2. Engaged time- time students are actively engaged and participating in the time allotted. 
3. Academic learning time- students' time-on-task, when the task is related to the materials introduced by the teacher, to be tested on later. 

Pacing of the lesson:
Pacing is the rate at which material is presented during a lesson. When teaching a group of EL students, make sure you are chunking the information and pausing for think and share time.
Using a thematic unit, where vocabulary will be seen and used in context over many subjects, and content will be built upon, is the best way to teach. EL students need to be introduced to vocabulary, sentence structure, and language terms and functions; thematic units provide these things.

 **Do not waste teaching time!!*
"If a teacher wastes 5 min of class period daily, perhaps by starting a lesson late or finishing early, over the course of 180 days, 15 hours of instructional time will be lost!" (The SIOP Model text)

Component 8- Review & Assessment

Ever wonder about the difference between Assessment and Evaluation? I'm here to help you out!

Assessment- informative. An assessment will inform you about how well your lesson went. An assessment is like going to the doctor for a physical. If there's anything wrong, you have time to go back and fix it.

Evaluation- summative. Evaluations sum up the instruction to see if it was delivered well. If the assessment was the physical, then the evaluation is the autopsy. By the time the evaluation rolls around, it's too late to go back and fix anything.

You should always review key vocabulary, language structure, and functional language. What should you be looking for?

• multiple meaning words
• base words
• synonyms/ antonyms
• words used in context
• using gestures properly
• repetition, repetition, repetition!

Students need regular feedback on their progress!

• oral
• written
• facial expression/ body language

Ask student for feedback on how well you're doing too! Let them tell you which part of the lesson was the most meaningful to them, and which parts lagged. 

Wrap-up: Differentiation Support

1. Range- adapt the number of problems El students are required to complete
2. Time- adapt the amount of time given to EL students to complete a task or break tasks into manageable chunck
3. Level of support- adapt amount of scaffolding provided to EL students. Allow for peer support, parent support, and other educational supports for reading aloud assignments and explaining tasks.
4. Difficulty- adapt the skill level, type of problem or task for the EL student. Don't reduce your expectation of completion, but allow it to be easier to show understanding.
5. Product- adapt the type of response EL students are allowed to provide. (drawings, hands-on demonstrations, verbal- possibly translated)
6. Participation- adapt the degree of active involvement of an EL student in assessment. Allow students to be active in creating self-assessments, rubrics and group assessments.

 Whenever possible, EL students should be graded on their personal progress to determine if real learning has taken place.

Our last set of Instructional Techniques!

Stand up/ Sit down

The teacher makes a statement. If the statement is true, students stand up. If it is false, students sit down. Since you'll have students who will just look to others to see what they are doing, all students must be ready to defend their answer.

Quick Write

Used as an exit ticket, a quick vocabulary review, or to check for understanding of a new term. Have students divide a piece of paper or a post-it into 4 parts. One box describes what the word looks like. The other boxes describe sounds like, feels like, and the last box is for an example or idea. 

Simultaneous Round table

Must like Kng Author and his knights, this activity is for everyone in the small group. This is a timed activity for the group. The objective is to come up with as many answers to a question, as a group, in a limited amount of time.
This activity would be great for synonyms and antonyms, multiple meaning words, replacing 'dead words' in a writing activity.

Active Response

Any action where the student shows completion of an activity or thought. Raising hands, thumbs up/ down, stand up/ sit down, tapping head or nose... you get the idea. An action that signifies that the student is ready to answer and move on.

Think and Thin Questions

You'll notice this one is not just a technique, it's a link! Follow the link to a page that answers what thick and think questions are and how to create them for your classroom.

Basically, one would determine if a question was 'thick' or 'thin' based on the wording in Bloom's Taxonomy. Click on the link for a Thick Question PDF.

Here is a video on using thick and think questions when doing research.

Concrete Examples

Bring in objects from home, or wherever, to make a point and provide a visual. For example, in the picture you see a sponge.
I might make the comment that- A sponge is a summary!
To continue with my example, I would soak the sponge in water; the water being the story. The sponge can't work as well while it is holding the entire 'story'. So, I need to let some details go so I have a good working summary of the story.

It was a wonderful professional development! Thank you, Public Ed Foundation for allowing us this opportunity!

Check out previous days!

Day 1

Day 2 Objectives and Techniques

Day 2 Components and Features