Chesney 1

Amber Chesney EDSE 460 Sheryl Muir 31 October 2013

Module #2

1.

There are two types of language proficiency; basic interpersonal communicative skills (BICS), and cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP). In both stages, a student will have better receptive language than expressive language abilities. BICS language proficiency is the ability for the student to understand basic conversational English. It takes two years to acquire proficiency in this area and this stage is acquired through interactions with peers, family members, and playmates. CALP language proficiency is the students ability to understand and use academic language effectively. This stage takes five to seven years to acquire and is gained while the student is participating in classroom academics. Teachers need to know that even though they may have a student who is very adept at conversational English, it does not mean that they will be able to be as proficient in the area of academic language.

2.

Think about a lesson that you might teach. Briefly describe it and at least four types of sheltered instructional supports you might provide for your ELL students. I would teach a vocabulary lesson about Ancient Egypt. The students will look up their vocabulary words in books and make flash cards that include the word and its definition in English and the native language of the ELLs. 1. For this lesson, I would check books out of the library about Ancient Egypt that have been written in English and the native language of the ELLs. If possible, I would like to get the exact same books in both languages so students can see what they both look like.

Chesney 2 2. I would include at least one object for each vocabulary word that students could explore that would give them a better understanding of each vocabulary word. 3. I would include some interactive computer activities for the students that would explore the vocabulary words further and give them additional meaning and background knowledge. 4. All vocabulary words will be represented in English and the ELLs native language in the making of the flashcards and all of the objects will be labeled with both languages as well.

3a&b. (a) Contextual Supports Cognitively Context Justification

Flash cards

Demanding

Embedded

Real objects

Undemanding

Embedded

Review of senses

Undemanding

Embedded

This is embedded because it relates directly to the lesson, and it is undemanding because it is something the students are already familiar with and have background knowledge of. This is embedded because it is context driven and undemanding because students are

Having class repeat what she says

Undemanding

Embedded

Chesney 3 repeating what they hear. (b) Contextual Supports Cognitively Context Justification

Science experiment Demanding Explaining solid, liquid, gas Embedded

This is highly embedded because it pertains directly to the lesson and it is demanding because the students will be doing hands on tasks that they will have to be fully engaged in. This will be embedded because the video will be content related but it will be undemanding because the students will be engaged in the video at different levels and at different levels of interest and retention.

videos

Embedded Undemanding

Smart Board

Demanding

Embedded

PowerPoint presentation

Demanding

Embedded

Chesney 4

4. Identify three instructional supports used by the researchers in the video and explain why they are helpful to ELLs.

Access background knowledge this is a good idea with ELLs. Having them relate what they are learning about to their own experiences will help them better understand what they are learning and the connections they make will help them retain the knowledge better. 2. Pre load vocabulary This helps with the understanding of the content of what the students are going to be reading, listening to, or learning about. By explaining the vocabulary first, the students will recognize the words when they come up and will know what they mean, allowing them to understand the context of what they are learning. 3. Retell of the story Reading passages a second time and asking students questions to help the retell the story in their own words. Having students retell the story in their own words allows the teacher to be able to check for understanding and will also help the ELL students retain the information better. 1.

5. List at least three things teachers can do when assessing ELL students to allow them to more fully demonstrate their knowledge. During assessment of ELL students, teachers can do different things to allow students to be able to more fully demonstrate their knowledge. The first thing a teacher can do is to go over the test with the student prior to administering the test. This way, a teacher can make sure the students understand what they need to do in order to complete the test, and to review any vocabulary on the test and in the instructions that the student may not understand. Teachers may also want to allow their ELL students to use a bilingual dictionary or take the test with a bilingual teacher or para educator. By allowing these accommodations, the students may gain assistance in areas where they are unclear on vocabulary or what directions on the test are asking them to do. Second language learners take more time to process their academics and so one of the most important things a teacher can do when assessing an ELL student is to allow him or her to have more time to complete the assessment.

Chesney 5