ESOL STRATEGEIS FOR SCIENCE!!! Tips For Teaching The Scientific Method

Tips For Teaching The Scientific Method

Next Generation Sunshine State Standards

SC.3.N.1.2

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Compare the observations made by different groups using the same tools and seek reasons to explain the differences across groups. 

Common core Standards

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.3.4 
Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

ESOL Standards

11. Apply essential strategies for developing and integrating the four language skills of listening composition, oral communication, reading, and writing.

Teaching the scientific method is an helps students identify a problem, observe, take notes, synthesize, and come up with logical conclusions.

Steps:

1. Identify the Problem
2. Come up with a hypothesis
3. Gather materials
4. Detail procedures
5. Observe results
6. Form a Conclusion

Scientific Method Worksheet: http://k6educators.about.com/od/sciencelessonplans/qt/scimethodws.htm

Problem – What are you trying to figure out? Write this in the form of a question.
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Hypothesis – What do you think you are going to find out?
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Materials – List the materials you will use in the experiment.
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Procedures – Make a detailed list of the steps in your experiment.
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Results – What did you observe when you performed the experiment?
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Conclusion – From what you observed, how would you answer your original question?
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Website Retrieved: http://k6educators.about.com/od/sciencelessonplans/a/sci_method.htm

ESOL STRATEGIES FOR LITERATURE!!! Story Board Teaching Strategy

Story Board Teaching Strategy

Next Generation Sunshine State Standards

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LA.3.1.7.4 The student will identify cause-and-effect relationships in text; 

Common Core Standards

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.2 Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.

ESOL Standards
8) Select and develop appropriate ESOL content according to student levels of proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, taking into account: (1) basic interpersonal communicative skills (BICS), and (2) cognitive academic language proficiency skills (CALPS) as they apply to the ESOL curriculum.

The purpose of this strategy is to help students keep track of main ideas and supporting details in a narrative. They do this by illustrating important scenes in a story. The student can use this for summarizing or retaining important details in the story. By checking the accuracy of the students storyboards the teacher can evaluate the students comprehension effectively, before moving on to more analytic tasks.

Steps: 

Step 1: Provide a storyboard template for students. The template should have several blocks that are large enough for students to draw pictures with room for captions below.  You can find many storyboard templates online. There is also an example posted below.

Step 2: Ask students to draw the main ideas of a story. Students could do this after hearing a story aloud or while reading a story to themselves.  Each drawing should have a short caption explaining what is happening in the picture. You could also have students use relevant quotations from the story as captions.

Step 3: You can ask students to compare storyboards with a partner or a small group. How are their storyboards similar? How are they different? This discussion can help students clarify basic ideas in the text and can also help them analyze which ideas are most important.

Example: 

Website Retrieved: http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/strategies/storyboard-teaching-strategy

ESOL STRATEGIES FOR LITERATURE!!! Introducing A New Book

Introducing a New Book

Next Generation Sunshine State Standards

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LA.K.1.1.5 The student will identify parts of a book (e.g., front cover, back cover, title page); 

Common Core Standards

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

ESOL Standards
12)Apply content-based ESOL approaches to instruction.

The purpose of this strategy is to spark the interest of the students. Introducing a book can also give students a better understanding of what possibly to expect before actually reading it. This also teaches the students all of the different elements involved in creating a book, and the proper way to use it.

Step one: Study the cover

1. Study the cover
2. Ask students to examine the cover of their book. In their journal, they can record associations that come to mind either from the words in the title or the cover illustration. Based on the information on the cover, students can discuss in pairs or small groups what they think the book might be about. They can also list questions that the cover raises for them. Prompts for this step include:  What do you see on the book’s cover? What does this tell you about the book? Based on what you see so far, what questions do you have about the book?
3. Open the book
   Allow students five-ten minutes to flip through the interior of the book, recording notes about what they find.  You might want to highlight specific features, such as the table of contents or index, or you might wait to see what students first discover on their own. Prompts for this step include: What do you find inside the book? How is it organized? What words or ideas stand out to you? What does your investigation tell you about the book? Based on what you see so far, what questions do you have about the book?
4. Discuss predictions and list questions

   Provide students with the opportunity to share their predictions with a small group or as a whole class. You can generate a list of questions about the book and post this on the wall. As students read the text, they can try to answer these questions.  This discussion time provides an opportunity for you to bring up aspects of the book that students may not have noticed. For example, you might call attention to a glossary or to information about the author.  Or, you might spend more time exploring the titles of chapters to get a feeling of what will be covered in the book.

Website Retrieved: http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/strategies/introducing-new-book

ESOL STRATEGIES FOR LITERATURE!!! Chunking

Chunking 

Next Generation Sunshine State Standards

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LA.2.1.6.8 The student will determine the correct meaning of words with multiple meanings (e.g., mine) in context; and 

Common Core Standards

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.2.3f Recognize and read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.

ESOL Standards

11) Apply essential strategies for developing and integrating the four language skills of listening composition, oral communication, reading, and writing.

Chunking is an important strategy to teach students because it makes processing information easier and it helps students break down text into more meaningful pieces. Students are able to absorb information and store it into their long term memory, rather than doing a brief overview. 

Steps:

1. Preparation
   Chunking can be used with challenging texts of any length. A paragraph can be chunked into phrases and sentences while a reading of several pages can be chunked into paragraphs or sections.  It is often helpful to have students record information about each “chunk” in a graphic organizer, which you may want to prepare in advance. 
2. Review reading strategies
   Before having students work on paraphrasing the text, it is helpful to go over specific decoding strategies. You may want to post the following “reading reminders” on the board:
• Circle words that are unfamiliar.
• Use context clues to help define.
• Look up the meaning of unknown words.
• Write synonyms for these new words in the text.
• Underline important places and people and identify.
• Read aloud.
• Read multiple times.
3. Chunk the text
   “Chunking the text” simply means breaking the text down into smaller parts. Sometimes teachers chunk the text in advance for students, especially if this is the first time students have used this strategy. Other times, teachers ask students to chunk the text.  Students can work on chunking texts with partners or on their own.  Depending on students’ reading level, the lengths of chunks can vary.  A struggling reader may work with phrases, rather than sentences. A stronger reader can often work with longer chunks.
4. Paraphrase meaning
   Students should rewrite “chunks” in their own words.  By the end of this activity, students should have a paraphrased version of the original text.
5. Assessment and sharing
   The paraphrased text can be used to evaluate students’ understanding and reading ability.  You can also have students compare their versions of the text. This step often leads to interesting discussion about interpretation – how people can often find different meaning in the same words.

Website Retrieved: http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/strategies/chunking

ESOL STRATEGIES FOR LITERATURE!!! Character Charts

Character Charts

Next Generation Sunshine State Standards

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LA.2.2.1.2 The student will identify and describe the elements of story structure, including setting, plot, character, problem, and resolution in a variety of fiction; 

Common Core Standards

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.8 Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.

ESOL Standards
10) Analyze student language and determine appropriate instructional strategies, using knowledge of phonology, morphology, syntax semantics, and discourse.

Graphic organizers help students organize character information about the main and minor characters in a book. This can be a useful tool for writing essays or studying for a test.

Steps: 

1.  Decide why you are having students keep these charts
   There are many reasons to have students use identity charts. Here are some:
   • To help students more deeply understand characters in the text
   • To help students develop the skill of looking for textual evidence
   • To ensure accountability that students are reading
   • To help students prepare for an essay or final project
   • As an assessment tool to measure students’ understanding of the text
   Why are you having students keep a character chart? Your answer to this question will inform how you approach steps two and three.
2.  Designing the character chart template
   Which characters you would like students to focus on? What information you would like them to track? Do you want students to track multiple characters or to follow one character? Build a chart based on your answers to these questions. Here are two examples:
    A character chart for following multiple characters:

   Character’s Name	Biographical information	Major actions taken by this character (with page numbers)	Important quotations said by this character (with page numbers)

    

   A character chart for following one character:

   Character Name:
   Description about the Character	Dialogue Spoken by the Character
   Dialogue Spoken about the Character by Other People in the Text	Actions Taken by the Character

3. Decide how students will work on completing their charts
   Students can work on character charts individually or in small groups. Often teachers have students share information on character charts through using the jigsaw teaching strategy. Sometimes students complete charts as a whole class activity.  You could also organize this activity as a gallery walk – where a sheet for each character is posted on the wall and students walk around the room filling information in the charts.

Website Retrieved: http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/strategies/character-charts