Summer Workshop Plans

Summer Workshop Agenda

LASERS Phase 3 Summer Institute
Language Acquisition Strand
1998

1. build awareness of LASERS
2. understand their roles and responsibilities
3. begin to understand how science & language can work together
4. experience examples of effective science & ELD instruction
5. develop science content understanding
6. plan instruction of a science unit for their classroom
7. meet with their administrators, who also are been oriented to LASERS

This Language Acquisition Strand will be woven through the one week Institute in order to help meet, to varying degrees, goals 3 and 4. Additional break-out sessions and activities are planned to more specifically address these goals. Because we view language acquisition and science inquiry as inseparable in our project, language activities serving to illustrate integration strategies will be embedded in the science investigations. A separate bloc of time will be devoted each day to debriefing those strategies as well as examining some of the longer term issues related to language acquisition. As thoroughly as possible, all science investigations will be cross-referenced in this document (and all language activities will be referred to in the Content & Inquiry Strand). Additionally, the Institute Calendar will also provide a means to see how the two issues are woven together.

DAY 1 Science Based Language Development

1. Mudshakes 45 Minutes
   1. Teachers as Second-Language Learners
      1. "Mudshakes", a lesson in the Soils Unit of the Third Grade Life Lab, How Things Work, is presented to participants in two ways.
         1. In French, as a straight lecture, with no effort to check for understanding.
         2. In French, using sheltered strategies.

      2. French is chosen because the two primary languages most commonly available to teachers are English and Spanish. We wish to force the issue the second-language learner experience. Some other language could have been used (Russian, German or Chinese, for example), but we have a fluent French speaker in our group.

2. Debriefing the Mudshakes Experience 75 Minutes
   Overview: Teachers use their experience as second language learners in the Mudshakes lesson, to begin the chart paper list of language modification strategies that will be added to throughout the week and recorded in teacher's journals.
   1. Levels of Language Acquisition (Four Corners)
      Signs mark the four corners as "Pre-production", "Early Production", "Speech Emergence" and "Intermediate Fluency". Teachers refer to the handout The Stages of Sequential Language Acquisition, and then respond, physically, to the question: "What language acquisition level are you at in French?" by going to the corner most closely resembling their skill level. Most, if not all, will be at pre-production. Ask them to discuss their choice of level with each other. Point out the ways in which this teacher group differs from student groups: most classes have students of varying proficiency levels to serve as models for others, and as educators we bring an extraordinary background to the task of learning both science and language. Have the teachers number off so that there are five people in each group for the jigsaw activity.

   2. Reflecting on Strategies (Think-Pair/Trio-Share)
      
      • Teachers keep notes of modifications made (add to charts later) Discuss the following questions in your group:
      • How were your feelings different during the two lessons?
      • What effect did your feelings have on your learning experience?
      • What modifications did the instructor make? How were you effected by these changes?

   3. Charting Strategies (Carousel)
      Distribute ELD Strategies in preparation for taking a closer look at language acquisition friendly teaching strategies. Explain that ELD and SDAIE share similar strategies but different outcomes -- Discuss in terms of the Mudshakes lesson. Teachers use handout of ELD Strategies Framework to categorize the Mudshakes strategies on 7 charts posted around the room. Point out the 7 charts, then explain that each group should rotate through the stations, adding examples of strategies experienced to exemplify that criterion on the chart. Only add new ideas
      • Connecting to prior experience/knowledge
      • Student-student interaction
      • Adjustments for pre-production students in student-student interaction
      • Contextualized language
      • Low anxiety learning environment
      • Modified speech
      • Student participation appropriate to language level.

      Note: We will add new strategies each day (as we experience them); teachers should keep a copy of the strategies in their journal each day.

   4. The Big Questions
      
      • How do we modify instruction so that the science content is accessible to all students? When do we use L1, SDAIE, ELD? (Show OHT of a model program)
      • How do we use science as a vehicle for language development, especially for English language development?

      Explain that during most of the science activities, SDAIE strategies will be modeled so that science content is more accessible -- second language learner friendly strategies abound in the science activities, pair share in the garden, tea party, question-sorting activity, scaffold for the science report, small group and pairs, low anxiety, comprehensible input . . . . ELD activities will be modeled in the language applications phase of each day.

   5. Language Development Through Science -- Focus on Language Skills
      Show the Hampton-Brown Into English! graphic. Talk about how doing science gives many opportunities for purposeful communicative activities, and cognitive academic skills. We need to build in the language skills portion. During summer school, teachers get the language skills from Into English! Talk about language as a tool for communication. Point out differences between Bics and Calp. Do the telephone conversation example on a chart with functions, patterns and structures. Hand out stuff from Pajaro Valley Unified School District as a resource. Do another whole class example with an academic language function.

Days 1-4, Language Applications (Debrief) 25 Minutes per day

Debriefing Questions:
Each day, we'll debrief the science lesson(s) modeled during the inquiry strand as a subset of the larger debrief. We will answer (or attempt to answer) two questions each day: (1) In what ways was the science content made comprehensible and accessible for all students (or was it)? and (2) What strategies were used to accomplish this goal? Volunteers record responses on appropriate charts and teachers record strategies in their journals.

The Academic Language Chart
Teachers use their journal to record examples of language they hear as they work on science investigations in the garden. Perhaps a person from each group can be asked to serve as an observer/recorder during each activity to keep such a log. They will use this "data" to fill in a chart on inquiry process skills, language functions, patterns and structures. A double-entry journal would be an excellent note-taking tool: one column can be devoted to recording dialogue and the other for notes or observations on language use associated with the activity or conversation.

Specific ELD activities
Each day, as part of the Language Debrief, we shall conduct a specific activity designed to meet the needs of differing levels of language learners. These can be found in the actual script for each day.