tesol 2010: reimagining differentiated instruction for language objectives

Imagining Differentiated Instruction with Language Objectives in Mind

Kristen M. LindahlUniversity of UtahTESOL 2010

04/08/23 Free template from www.brainybetty.com 2

Session Overview

• Differentiation for Adolescent ELLs– Cubing

• Science

– Tiered Activity • Social Studies

– RAFT • Math


Differentiating for ELLs

• Differentiated instruction goals:– To address learner variance in classrooms; – To provide challenge, success, and fit

for today’s diverse learners (Tomlinson, 2001).

• Adolescent ELLs will vary by:– L1 Literacy; – Academic content-area knowledge,– Socioeconomic status, – Whether the student is foreign-born, and– Family situation and personal experiences.

(Short & Fitzsimmons, 2007).


Differentiating for ELLs

• To provide ELLs with maximum access to core curricula, educators can differentiate: – the content of lessons, – the process by which the teacher presents the

new information, – the products created by students, and – the learning environment.

• Curriculum standards dictate what must be taught; differentiated instruction can be the way in which to teach it (Tomlinson, 2001).


Differentiation & the Adolescent Brain

• Differentiation responds to adolescents’ developmental needs by providing:– Personal connection;– Appropriate intellectual challenge;– Emotional engagement;– Purposeful social interaction;– Metacognitive development; and a– Supportive learning environment.

– (Crawford, 2008).


Differentiation & Language

Development• An essential piece for ELLs that needs to be addressed: – Attaining content AND language objectives.

• Areas of academic language:– Reading comprehension,– Writing Process,– Vocabulary,– Functional/Formulaic Language,– Word Study,– Grammar & Conventions.

– (Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2008; Lindahl & Watkins, 2007)


Cubing• Students use & share their thinking in relation

to a topic, subject, or unit of study.• Teachers (or students!) make a list of six

directions. • Each direction is relevant to the information

gained from the text or other materials.• Students (independently or in teams) roll a die. • They follow the direction that corresponds with

the number rolled.


Cubing Example

• Earth Science Objectives:– Content Objectives: Students will

be able to distinguish between physical and chemical properties (and changes) of various substances.

– Language Objective: Students will be able to describe physical and chemical properties by speaking and writing during “cube” activities.


Cubing Example• HOTS Cube:

– 1. Illustrate one of the physical changes you saw during our labs.

– 2. Define “chemical change.”– 3. Use lab equipment to demonstrate a chemical

change.– 4. Create and plan your own experiment that would

allow us to see a physical or chemical change.– 5. Compare 3 substances based on their physical and

chemical properties.– 6. Argue for or against the following statement. Use

3 facts to support your argument.• “Chemical changes do not affect the physical properties of

substances.”


Implementing Cubing•Assign a certain number of tasks to be completed.•Consider multiple intelligences cubes:

•Visual/Spatial: Draw it…•Logical/Mathematical: Solve it..•Kinesthetic: Demonstrate or role play it…•Naturalist: Find examples of it in the real world•Musical: Write a song or rap about it…•Verbal/Linguistic: Tell a story with it as the main character…•Interpersonal/Intrapersonal: Tell a partner about it…or…write a personal journal entry about it.

•Construct a class set of cubes, color code them by readiness, interest, or learner profile.


Tiered Activities• Students work with the same essential

idea and use the same key skills.• Focus at different levels of:

– complexity, – abstractness, and – open-endedness.

• Routes of access at varying degrees of difficulty make it more likely that:– Each student comes away with skills &

understanding; and – Each student is appropriately challenged

– (Tomlinson, 2001)


Tiered Activities

• Select the concepts and skills that will be the focus of the activity for ALL students.

• Think about your students’: – range of skills, – language proficiency, – formal assessment scores, – reading ability, – background information, – interests, and– learning profile. Tomlinson, 2001


Tiered Activities

• Create an activity that is:– interesting,– higher-order cognitively, and– meets content and language objectives.

• Place your activity on a “ladder.” – Top rung =highest level of skill & complexity– Low rung =lowest level of skill & complexity

• “Clone” your activity on different levels. Consider: – Materials from basic to advanced;

• Leveled texts and books; materials in the L1

– Form of expression from familiar to unfamiliar; and– Experience from personal experience to removed

from personal experience (Tomlinson, 2001).


Tiered Activity Example

• Social Studies Objectives:– Content: Students will be able to identify key

events in the Tiananmen Square Incident by conducting research in pairs.

– Language: Students will be able to defend their perspective on the TS incident by forming questions and/or writing their own accounts.

• Activity (adapted from Crawford, 2008):– With your research partner, read the

different accounts of the TS Incident on the following websites…

• (Teacher provides the websites)



• Level One (Beginning-Intermediate ELLs)– Choose one of the accounts and record the series of

events on a time line diagram.– Discuss why you think the account represents this

person’s point of view.– Write this person a letter containing 3 questions you

want to ask him or her.• Level Two (Advanced ELLs and grade-level students)

– Use a Venn Diagram to compare 2 different accounts of the incident.

– Discuss why you think the accounts represent each person’s point of view.

– Pretend you are a reporter covering the event for your local newspaper and write an article.



• Level Three (Advanced learners)– Use a Venn Diagram to compare

2 different accounts of the incident.

– Discuss why you think the accounts represent each person’s point of view.

– Pretend you are a Chinese, French, or American reporter covering the event for a national newspaper. Write an article that explains your cultural and/or political perspective. Use facts to justify your point of view (Adapted from Crawford, 2008; p. 19).


RAFTR: Role (Who is the writer; what is the role of the

writer?)

A: Audience (To whom are you writing?)

F: Format (In what format should the writing be?)

T: Topic (What are you writing about?)


RAFT• Provides students opportunities to:

– focus on perspective writing;– share what they know in an unusual way

about the content they have learned;– think creatively.


Role Definition MatrixPersonality: Who am I? What are some aspects of my character?

Attitude: What are my feelings, beliefs, ideas & concerns?

Information: What do I know that I need to share in my writing?

Buehl, D. (2001). Classroom strategies for interactive learning. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.


RAFT Examples

ROLE AUDIENCE FORMAT TOPICComma Middle school

studentsJob Description Use in

Sentences

Huck Finn Tom Sawyer Telephone Conversation

What I learned during the trip

Lungs Cigarettes Complaint Effects of smoking

Chemist Chemical Company

Instructional Manual

Combinations to avoid

Abraham Lincoln

Dear Abby Advice Column Problems with his generals

Lawyer U.S. Supreme Court

Appeal Speech Dred Scott Decision

English

Science

Social

Studies



RAFT Example

• Algebra I Objectives:– Content: Students will be able to

classify numbers as rational or irrational.

– Language: Students will be able to explain the relationship between a number and the set (rational or irrational) to which it belongs in writing.


RAFT Example

Role Audience

Format Topic

Repeating Decimal

Set of Rational Numbers

Petition Prove you belong to the set

Pi Therapist Conversation “I’m feeling irrational”

Square Root

Whole Number

Love letter Defining the

relationship


To the governor and legislature of Rational Number Land:Hello. My name is (point one-two-six repeating) and I recently

purchased a home in RNL (Rational Number Land). I have run into a few problems though. It appears that my citizenship in RNL is not well defined. I was not born in RNL as were many of my fraction friends, but have since applied for citizenship under the name (fourteen one hundred and elevenths). This name change I assure you is perfectly legal as that it does not change my overall value. But this I fear is the problem. Many are not willing to accept that 1.26 r and 14/111 are the same number. Many of the less educated fractions think that I am irrational because my name is infinite when written out completely. My numerologist assures me that through a simple procedure, I can be turned permanently into a fraction, thus being more presentable to fellow Rationals. I think the public needs to enact laws that extend the definition of rational numbers to include repeating decimals like myself.

I enclose a copy of the recommended procedure by Dr. 0.2 (Zero Point Two). You probably know him as Dr. One Fifth. The bad thing is that my insurance will not cover the procedure because they deem it to be unnecessary. You know what, they are right; it is not necessary. Please consider my petition for equality and frame a law that will allow me to prove, with ease, my citizenship in RNL. Besides, I don’t think that I should suffer because of the lack of intelligence of some Rationals.

Thank You, Point OneTwoSix Repeating

RAFT Example



References• Buehl, D. (2001). Classroom strategies for interactive learning. Newark, DE:

International Reading Association.• Crawford, G.B. (2008). Differentiation for the adolescent learner:

Accommodating brain development, language, literacy and special needs. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

• Echevarria, J., Vogt, M., & Short, D. J. (2008). Making content comprehensible for English learners: The SIOP model. Boston: Pearson.

• Lindahl, K. & Watkins, N. (2007). The Language Objective Menu. In E. Swan & M. Christison. (2008). Concept-oriented reading instruction for English language learners: Creating engaged readers through integrated curriculum and coherent instruction. Training Materials, unpublished manuscript.

• Short, D. & Fitzsimmons, S. (2007). Double the work: Challenges and solutions to acquiring language and academic literacy for adolescent English Language Learners—A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, D.C.: Alliance for Excellent Education.

• Tomlinson, C.A. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms (2ndedition). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).

• Tomlinson, C.A. (2003). Fulfilling the promise of the differentiated classroom: Strategies and tools for responsive teaching. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).

tesol 2010: reimagining differentiated instruction for language objectives

Education

international

rational number

curriculum

venn diagram

interactive

language objectives

chemical properties

personal experience