Classroom Adaptations for English Language Learners

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Classroom Adaptations for English Language
Learners

• Facilitators
• Erica Hilliker
• Casey Gordon

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Content and Language Objectives

• Content Objectives
• Participants will be able to
• Identify and apply classroom adaptations for
  English Language Learners.
• Language Objectives
• Participants will be able to
• Discuss methods for adapting classroom
  assessments for English Language Learners.
• Write test questions that are accessible to
  English Language Learners.

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Building Background

• What are some techniques you have used in your
  classroom that you have found helpful for
  teaching ELL students?
• Think-Write-Pair-Share

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Simplifying Text

• Reduce the grammatical complexity, while keeping
  all essential information.
• Shorten the sentences.
• Change the verb tenses to simple present, present
  progressive, or past tenses.
• Change the passive voice to the active voice.
• Delete unessential information-but retain key
  vocabulary!

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Simplified Text Example

• Before
• Meanwhile, pioneer families were arriving in
  search of home sites and farmland. John had
  located his orchards on the routes he thought
  theyd be traveling. As he hoped, the settlers
  were eager to buy his young trees.
• Johnny Appleseed A Tall Tale Retold and
  Illustrated by Steven Kellogg (1988) Morrow
  Junior Books / New York

• After
• Pioneers, people moving to a new land, came to
  find new places for their homes and farms. John
  had planted his apple trees by the place where
  the pioneers would be going. The settlers,
  another name for the pioneers, were happy to buy
  Johns baby trees.

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Modifying Written Directions
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Leveled Study Guides

• Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
• The main character is The main character is
  _____. ___________________
• _________ (who). The story takes place
  _____ is the main character in
• He lives ______(where). during ____. During the
  story ________________by
• The story happens at he ___________________
  _. ______________. The
• ________ (when). He has a problem with
  _____ story occurs at ______
• He ________ in the story _________. At the end,
  he during _____________.
• (what).
  _______solves the problem _______ has a
  conflict
• He has a problem with by __________________.
  with _______________.
• ________ (why). However, the
  conflict is
• At the end he ________
  resolved when _______
• (how).
  
  ___________________.

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Graphic Organizers
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Graphic Organizers
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Graphic Organizers / Color Coding
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Graphic Organizers
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Graphic Organizers
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Graphic Organizers
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Note Taking Study Guides

• Note-taking
• Study Guides
• Teacher-prepared
• Designed with students needs in mind
• Provide short summaries and clues to the meaning
  of the material.
• Portions may be assigned to all students while
  others may be completed by designated groups of
  students.

• Example

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• Outline Notes for Social Studies
• Chapter 1 A Geographers World
• Section 1 Studying Geography
• I. What is Geography?
• ?The study of the
  , its , and
  the they create.
• ?Geography can be a
• ?
  geographers gather and observe data

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Highlighted Text

• Teachers preview the material to be read and
  highlight
• Key Terms
• Concepts
• Summaries
• Other Important Information

• Example

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Highlighted Text Continued
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Clozes

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Sentence Stems/Frames
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Sentence Stems/Frames
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Student-Generated Dictionaries
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Mnemonic Devices
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Cognates
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Cognates
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Assessment Adaptations that work

• Provide a word bank or specialized glossary
  containing relevant vocabulary.
• Let students use the word wall for assistance.
• Adapt the number of items to be completed.
• Adapt the amount of time for completing a task.
• Break the task into manageable chunks.
• Read directions and test questions aloud.
  Consider rephrasing for ELLs when appropriate.

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Assessment Adaptations that work

• Provide sample problems for each task type.
• Include pictures and graphic organizers used in
  lessons.
• Provide sentence stems or writing frames.
• Let students show mastery via verbal response,
  hands on activities, models/visual displays,
  sorting, etc.
• Actively involve students in assessment (i.e.
  self-assessment, co-creation of rubrics)
• Differentiated scoring- one score content
  knowledge and another based on language skills.

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Other Helpful Considerations

• Format of Test
• Spacing
• Use Printed Versions vs. Computer Testing if
  available
• Refine Unfamiliar Context
• Reduce Linguistic Complexity
• Eliminate extraneous information
• Avoid the following phrasing on tests
• - all of the following except
• - all of the above
• - none of the above
• - both A and B
• - do not, etc.

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Strategies for Accommodating Existing Tests

• Multiple choice eliminate one or more of the
  choices
• Discussion and essay have ELLs label terms, draw
  and label diagrams and pictures
• Matching reduce the number of matches required,
  give an equal number of possibilities in each
  column, and eliminate trick language matches
• Short-answer accept one-word answers and phrases
  in place of complete sentences
• True/False eliminate or clarify tricky
  language, reduce the number of questions
• Fill in the blank provide two or three options
  (make the answer multiple choice)

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What is difficult about this?

• On the 12 days of Christmas, how many gifts did
• the True Love receive? (Partridge in a Pear
  Tree, 2
• Turtle Doves, 3 French Hens, 4 Calling Birds, 5
• Golden Rings etc.) How can you show your work?

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Unfamiliar Context

• Frieda works at a concession stand selling hot
  dogs during a high school baseball game. If she
  sells 72 hot dogs during the game, how many hot
  dogs does she sell per inning?

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Refine Unfamiliar Context

• To prepare for a regional competition, Keith
  practiced on his skateboard 12 hours each week
  for 18 weeks. How many hours did Keith practice
  in all?
• Keith worked 12 hours each week for 18 weeks. How
  many hours did Keith work in all?

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Reduce Complexity Verb Tense and If

• If bananas cost 35 per pound, how much will 4
  pounds cost?
• Bananas cost 35 per pound. How much do 4 pounds
  of bananas cost?

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Visuals and Extraneous Information
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Cultural Contexts Make a Difference!

• Monica has four quarters, two dimes, and one
  nickel. How much money does she have?
• Li has 3 yuan, 8 jiao, and 4 mao.
• How many RMB does she have?

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Lets Practice!

• Form groups of four.
• In your group, read over the following assessment
  designed for a 7th grade Language Arts classroom.
  
• Select one question to rewrite using some of the
  adaptations you have learned about today, and
  copy your new question onto a large piece of
  paper.
• Select a member from your group to report the
  changes you have made to the rest of your
  colleagues.

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Now its your turn!

• Select a partner who teaches the same content
  area or grade level as you.
• One at a time, share one of the assessments you
  will be using this year.
• Discuss adaptations you could use that might make
  the assessment more accessible to ELL students in
  your classroom.
• Be prepared to share the changes you have made
  with the rest of the group.

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Reflection

• What are some changes you made to your
  assessments?
• What are some observations you made while going
  through this process?

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Did we meet our objectives?
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Content and Language Objectives

• Content Objectives
• Participants will be able to
• Identify and apply classroom adaptations for
  English Language Learners.
• Language Objectives
• Participants will be able to
• Discuss methods for adapting classroom
  assessments for English Language Learners.
• Write test questions that are accessible to
  English Language Learners.

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3-2-1 Workshop Evaluation

• List 3 things you learned today.
• List 2 things you want to try out.
• List 1 thing you still have a question about or
  need more help with.