Teaching English Learners with the SIOP Model

In the past I have written about the SIOP model (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol), an instructional model of sheltered instruction, English language development (ELD) and literacy for English learners. SIOP is a research-based instructional model that integrates all of the critical components of sheltered instruction as well as effective SDAIE strategies.

The SIOP model is clearly outlined in the book "Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP Model". As I mentioned before, the book is very powerful because it compiles all of the research-based components that are essential for the education of second language learners.

Now I have just found out the creators of the SIOP model also have published additional books about the SIOP model! Reading these books will further develop your understanding of the SIOP model and will assist you in it's implementation.

Here are some examples of additional SIOP books:

• 99 Ideas and Activities for Teaching English Learners with the SIOP Model: This book is pretty explanatory! It includes 99 ideas and activities for each of the eight SIOP components. It's a further expansion of the smaller section in the original SIOP book about sample SIOP strategies.
• Making Content Comprehensible for Elementary English Learners-The SIOP Model: This book includes new classroom vignettes that were not in the original book. It also includes additional SIOP strategies, resources for English learners who are struggling readers, a review of writing content and language objectives, and a section on response to intervention within the SIOP model. A cd also comes with the book with video vignettes in an elementary classroom
• Making Content Comprehensible for Secondary English Learners-The SIOP Model: This book includes everything that I just talked about in the elementary book, except it has a focus on the SIOP model at the secondary level. This is a great resource for middle school and high school teachers who are teaching an English language development (ELD) class, a sheltered instruction class, or who have a class with English learners!!

But wait-it even gets better! When I have conducted a SIOP training, it is inevitable that math teachers sometimes feel that the initial SIOP book doesn't have enough examples, SDAIE strategies, and classroom vignettes with an emphasis on teaching math to English learners. Now SIOP has created a SIOP book with a specific emphasis on mathematics! The book is called "The SIOP Model for Teaching Math to English Learners". I recommend that math teachers first read the original SIOP book, but then the book with an emphasis on math is a second must-read!

You can read more about these books and some future books that will be published about the SIOP model in the ELD Strategies store!
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Effective Vocabulary Instruction for English Learners

There's a lot of talk lately about teaching vocabulary and the necessity of teaching vocabulary for reading comprehension and academic development. While we are not refuting that all students need explicit vocabulary development, we have seen that vocabulary development has become such an isolated teaching skill in some cases that students won't have a deep understanding of the vocabulary words taught. 

Vocabulary instruction for English learners needs to be highly contextualized, meaning that it must be taught in the context of meaningful instruction. It defeats the purpose to have a "word of the day" that may be isolated from anything that students are learning. There is a really great book that we recommend by Robert Marzano, Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement: Research on What Works in Schools. In the book, Marzano outlines eight principles of academic vocabulary development:

1. Effective vocabulary instruction does not just consist of giving students a definition of the word, or having students look up the definition of a word in the dictionary. Students should be exposed to the word many times in the context of meaningful instruction and teachers should provide a study friendly definition of the word.
2. Students should be able to express their knowledge of the words through both "linguistic and nonlinguistic representations". This may include drawing, pictures, graphic organizers, acting the word out, etc.
3. Effective vocabulary instruction includes multiple exposures to certain words across a variety of contexts. In order for students to retain a word in long term memory and have an in-depth understanding of words, students must be exposed to words in books, writing, etc. It is not enough to discuss a word once or twice and assume that students will have completely understood the word.
4. Students need to be taught the morphology of the word, which includes prefixes, suffixes, and root words. An excellent resource for prefixes, suffixes and other words parts is the ESL Teacher's Book of Lists.
5. Different types of words need a different method of instruction. Some words require more direct instruction than others.
6. Students need to be given opportunities for students to discuss the words that they are learning. Project GLAD defines this as opportunities to have "comprehensible output"; many of Project GLAD's guided oral practice strategies offer multiple opportunities to use vocabulary in meaningful ways.
7. Students should play with words through games and other fun activities.
8. Students should be taught words that have a high chance of raising academic achievement. Marzano has put together essential lists of key vocabulary words per school subject that students need to learn. Another valuable resource for teachers is the ESL Teacher's Book of Lists and the Vocabulary Teacher's Book of Lists. 

What Does This Look Like in the Classroom?

Let's take a second grade example regarding important people in the community. We looked at the state standards, and looked through the Social Studies textbook that students were using for key academic vocabulary that we wanted to teach students. We wanted to make sure that students were exposed to the vocabulary in multiple ways, so we employed many strategies designed to provide multiple exposures to certain words. One strategy that we used was a cognitive content dictionary (a Project GLAD strategy). 

Next we read the textbook and other books with students in order to expose the vocabulary words to students. If our chosen vocabulary words were not in the given books, then we strategically used them with students in our discussions of the texts.

The next strategy that we employed was the use of songs, poems and chants to facilitate vocabulary development. We created a few poems with many of the same vocabulary words in each poem. After presenting the poems once to students, we then asked the students which words they thought were high-level words and we highlighted the words that they identified.

Here's another poem:

We also used a couple of other poems that can be found here. In addition to these strategies, there are many other strategies such as shared/modeled writing, pictorial input charts, that could have been employed as well.

In our next post, we will highlight a few more strategies that can be used with this heroes/important people unit in order that students retain the academic vocabulary in their long term memory.

We've got to go beyond the traditional pictures/drawings/realia that we often hear of when discussing the education of English learners. What are some other strategies that you use to teach vocabulary in context?

March Updates

I just wanted to keep everyone updated about some things that I've been busy working on. On March 31, 2009 we will have the raffle for the Project GLAD book, and I will post the winner here. I also have some great prizes planned for the upcoming months.

I haven't posted much because I have been working on a piece about vocabulary development that I will be posting soon. I wanted to discuss how we can teach vocabulary in context as opposed to isolated vocabulary drills, multiple exposure to vocabulary, etc. I've been taking a bit of time to complete the post because I was working on creating some poems, songs and chants with the vocabulary and taking pictures of the strategies. 

Thanks to those of you who have purchased some of the materials out of our store!! The proceeds will go back into getting some books that I would like to review here for readers. Have you ever bought a book for teaching and then either realized that it was too simple or you didn't like it? Well, I most definitely have and I want to assist teachers in purchasing books that are going to be useful to them.

ELD Strategies Web Resources: Project Connect

One great web resource for ELD is the Project Connect website developed by the Orange County Office of Education. The site has a matrix of the ELD standards, with corresponding strategies and activities that are appropriate for the different English proficiency levels and language development strands. In addition to the matrix, there is an additional page of various strategies that pertain to English language development and sheltered instruction. The list of strategies includes a mini-introduction with links for additional information. A few of the strategies have links to quicktime mini-video clips that demonstrate some of the strategies. We just wanted to share this web resource with you and hope that you find it useful in some way!!

Thanks for joining us!!