Today we'd like to discuss a really great resource for teachers of English learners, the book "Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP Model". This book is now in it's third edition, and the third edition is the edition to buy!The SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) model is an instructional model of sheltered instruction and English language development for English learners. Sheltered instruction is a way to make grade-level academic content understandable and comprehensible to English learners while at the same time promoting English language development. There are a variety of instructional techniques that many people label as "SDAIE strategies" in the education community, but what the SIOP book does is package all of the research-based strategies into one instructional model. This book is indispensable for any teacher who is a teacher of English learners and/or English Language Development (ELD)!!
The authors have organized the instructional model into eight distinct components of sheltered instruction. The components are:
- Lesson Preparation
- Building Background
- Comprehensible Input
- Strategies
- Interaction
- Practice/Application
- Lesson Delivery
- Review and Assessment
For this article, we will outline the first three components. In a subsequent post the additional SIOP components and the SIOP protocol (i.e., the peer teaching/coaching self-reflective protocol sheet) will also be discussed.
Lesson Preparation
The lesson preparation component is one of the most important components of effective sheltered instruction and ELD, but it sometimes tends to be the most neglected. Within the SIOP book, teachers will learn about the features that define the lesson preparation component. Such features include: 1) writing, displaying, defining and reviewing content and language objectives; 2) ensuring that lesson concepts are appropriate for the age and the educational background of students; 3) effective use of supplemental materials; 4) adapting content for students at all proficiency levels of language development; and, 5) providing meaningful opportunities for students to practice the language and content.
In a few upcoming posts, we will specifically answer the following questions:
- What exactly are content and language objectives? What are some concrete examples?
- Why should teachers integrate content and language objectives?
- What are some examples of language objectives? How do I know which language objectives to choose when teaching a content lesson?
In a nutshell, teachers need language objectives in order to develop students' language skills during content instruction. In other words, language objectives can help a teacher teach ELD and English literacy through such content areas as Science, Social Studies, etc. Stay tuned for future posts about content and language objectives!
Building Background
Activating prior knowledge and building background are extremely important components of the teaching and learning process. The SIOP book discusses the following features of building background: ) explicitly linking concepts to students background experiences and previous learning; and, 2) developing high levels of academic vocabulary.
Teachers will learn about a variety of instructional strategies designed to build background knowledge and enhance academic language development. In one of our future posts, we are planning on discussing some of the following questions:
- What exactly is "academic language"?
- How is the SIOP building background component similar to Project GLAD's focus and motivation component? How can these two complementary models be used together to increase the academic achievement of English learners?
Comprehensible Input
We often hear the phrase "comprehensible input", but what exactly does it mean? All English learners need comprehensible input through the use of specific strategies that are designed to make cognitively complex concepts accessible and understandable to students. Teachers sometimes provide comprehensible input through pictures, realia, sketches, total physical response, pictorial input charts (i.e., a Project GLAD strategy), etc. The SIOP book also discusses the following components of comprehensible input: 1) using speech that is appropriate to students at various English proficiency levels; 2) clearly explaining and modeling classrooms tasks; and, 3) using a variety of techniques to make content comprehensible to students at all English proficiency levels.
Stay tuned in the future for some posts featuring effective comprehensible input strategies. We also plan on outlining the similarities between the SIOP comprehensible input component with Project GLAD's input component.
If you plan on purchasing the SIOP book, please purchase it through our ELD Strategies Amazon store. All proceeds will be used to purchase additional books for future book reviews!! We appreciate your support!
