Skip to main content

SIOP




The Second Grade Classroom Science video shows how two teachers carefully implement the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) model of teaching.  This strategy is a specific method used to instruct English learners.  I talked about it a bit in an earlier post (Having a Plan:  SDAIE), but I very much enjoyed watching two veteran teachers actually putting it into action.
 What stood out most for me was just how much careful planning must be used when using this teaching protocol.  Eight specific areas must be addressed:  lesson preparation, building background, comprehensible input, strategies, interaction, practice and application, lesson delivery and review and assessment. It is a time-consuming process and teachers are, if anything, always short on time.
Still, I am someone who likes to have a plan, and I will definitely be mindful of all of these steps that should be used when instructing English learners.  Lesson planning takes enormous effort, and since teachers must try to create an effective learning environment for all students, it is certainly worth setting up lessons that benefit English learners.  As I watched the video, I kept thinking that if I started the video midway so that I had missed the preparation the teachers made, I would have just assumed it was a typical classroom full of English as primary language students.  Once again, this proved my theory that good teaching is good teaching no matter the students.  So, when I am a teacher with my own English learners, I will use this protocol for planning my lessons, but I will use the strategies for the entire class. 
             
SIOP:  Second Grade Science video

Comments

  1. Dr. DMay 12, 2017 at 7:39 AM

    I glad you see its practical implications for ALL students

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Learning about the Language Learner and Learning about the Language Learner Labels

Take a second to re-read the title of this post and then try to say it three times very, very fast.  I'm guessing that it didn't exactly trip lightly from your tongue.  Now, imagine a sweet six-year-old child who is being raised in a family  environment that speaks only Spanish.  Can you guess how that kid feels that first day he or she enters an English-speaking public classroom?  That student is probably about as comfortable as you felt trying to say that title three times fast.  As our first chapter reading pointed out, teaching English learners is a complex, oft-misunderstood undertaking.  Every learner has a unique set of background, social-emotional, and cognitive factors that play into how that child acquires a second language.  Good teachers routinely use differentiation to tailor instruction to individual student's needs.  Similarly, good teachers must recognize and implement practices that support English language development by recognizing each English learner
1 comment
Read more

Button Duty

Way back in the late 1990s, I worked in the Beverly Hills area of Los Angeles, California for a business that provided in-flight entertainment to Pakistan International Airlines.   The business was small, and I was responsible for, well, running everything.   My boss, Mr. H, was from Pakistan but had many years of residency in the United States.   He had worked for several movie studios and was very comfortable with Western business culture. A high-level representative for Pakistan International Airlines (who I shall call Mr. D) came to visit our office.   My boss introduced me to Mr. D, and I offered my hand for a handshake.   Mr. D hesitated very briefly and then shook my hand.   As he did so, he noticed that a button was loose on the cuff of his shirt.   Mr. D asked me to sew it on his shirt for him. My boss very quickly intervened and seemed worried that I would take offense.   I did not, though I do admit to feeling very bemused by the whole situation.   The fact was that
1 comment
Read more

Mapping Planet Earth

In the Mapping Planet Earth video we learn about Ms. Appel, a “traveling” French teacher to elementary grade classrooms here in the United States. What especially stood out to me is that she uses a lot of the same strategies an English speaking classroom teacher would use….only she does it in French. I have commented before that good teaching is good teaching no matter the student or situation, so I found this to be particularly interesting.   Ms. Appel spoke only in French, but she used lots of visuals.   She gave her students many opportunities to engage and participate actively.   She allowed students to work with peers and to take on the role of teacher themselves. One strategy that she used that was new to me (and I will surely use this when I become a teacher) was when she had the students demonstrate word meaning by using gestures.   Young students love to get up and move, and this technique of having them basically act out word meaning is brilliant!   I can envision usin
Post a Comment
Read more