7 Steps to a Language-Rich, Interactive Classroom

7 Steps to a Language-Rich, Interactive Classroom
Thank for opportunity to serve, note that many are qualified/capable for presenting and I appreciate their attention and understanding. Today is about sharing an understanding of the challenges our students face and the strengths they bring to each and every classroom they enter. The goal of Seidlitz education is to equip teachers to meet the unique needs of English Language Learners by providing engaging sessions that focus on activities and procedures that can be implemented quickly and yield immediate benefits to teachers and students alike. Tina Beene Seidlitz Education 1

“One challenge English learners face is…”
Put your thumb up when you can finish the phrase: “One challenge English learners face is…” Count off from one to six at your tables. Each person shares his/her idea, starting with the number one person. After everyone shares, consolidate ideas into one group response to share out. Goal: Have participants reflect on the needs of ELLs. Process: Explain slide, telling the participants they will be sharing their response to the sentence starter with their table. Model the discussion for participants Choose one participant. Say “My name is ” and “I work at ” and “I think one challenge English Language Learners face is ” Ask participants to number off from one to four (or five) at their tables. Ask the “ones” to share their sentence with their table followed by twos, threes, fours, etc. Explain that once all members have shared, they need to create one consolidated group response to the stem. 6. As tables finish up, ask the #1’s to stand to share the group’s response. 7. When all #1s are standing, have each #1 share. *If you start to hear repeated responses, explain that just like in our classroom, we want everyone to practice the academic language, so instead of saying, “She said when I was going to say,” ask participants to use the stem, “I agree that…” Debrief: Acknowledge the many challenges facing teachers of ELLs. Explain that during today’s training we will address many of them and provide some practical solutions. Debrief the structure by asking, how would this structure (stem, response signal, sharing in small group, consolidating response to one idea, randomize who shares out with the larger group) benefit ELLs? Explain that we will use the Numbered Head Together (name of the strategy for numbering each person at the table and then calling on all of one specific number to stand up) throughout the training as a way to randomize who shares during discussions.

Content Objective: Language Objective:
We will identify seven steps to building a language-rich interactive classroom by participating in academic conversations and interactive learning tasks. Language Objective: We will orally share ideas for improving instruction by participating in structured conversations. Goal: Identify the training objectives Process: Explain that we have content and language objectives for this training just like we expect teachers to have for each of their lessons. Discuss that objectives are important to communicate at the beginning of the lesson/training and also at the end in order to evaluate whether we met them or not. 3. Ask participants to turn to p. 2 and read the objectives. 4. Ask participants to circle the one content objective and the one language objective that is most important to them. Say, “Which one are you the most excited/interested/wanting to know more about? Circle that one.” 5. Ask participants to share what they circled with a shoulder partner, using the stem, “I circled _______ because…” 6. When partners finish sharing, conduct an audio vote. Ask participants to clap wildly when you read the objective they chose. Read through each of objective. This is a good way to determine which areas of the training to spend the most time on. 7. Explain that during this training we will accomplish each of these objectives. **At the end of this slide is a good time to discuss the details of the day such as lunch, breaks, how to handle questions, etc. 3

Principles for Creating a Language-Rich, Interactive Classroom pp
otal Participation Goal: Explain Principle #1: Total Participation Process: Direct participants to p Ask them to complete the “T” section of the list, saying, “the T stands for total participation” Explain that what we mean by total participation is that every student has the opportunity to learn from others and also practice what they are learning. 100% participation only occurs when students affective filter is low, meaning that they feel safe, respected, and cared about. If students feel unwelcomed, threatened, or embarrassed they will not participate. Explain that after establishing a positive classroom environment, student must receive comprehensible input, which means that we are providing information to them in a way that they can understand it. Comprehensible Input 4

Comprehensible Input Please get a blank paper and follow these directions: Put your pangalan at the top right corner. Write the name of your asawa (if you have one) below your pangalan. In the center of the page, write your inang bansa. At the bottom of the page, write the number of people in your angkan. Goal: Have Participant participate in a simulation about comprehensible input. Process: Read slide with much emotion, slightly quickly. Apologize for not being explicit. Saying, “I see you guys are confused. I’m sorry, let’s try this again.” Re read slide more slowly and with intonation, constantly encouraging the group, “Come on, let’s get going.” “Not sure what the problem is but we need to get through this guys.” 5

Were you able to complete the instructions?
Were there any difficulties? How do you feel right now? Goal: Reflect on simulation Process: Ask tables to discuss the questions on the slide. Walk around listening to groups and briefly review their comments, saying, “As I walked around I heard you talking about….” Say the main issue is that I did not provide you with comprehensible input. Now we are going to repeat the simulation except I am going to provide you some input that is comprehensible to you. 6

Tina Beene 1. Put your pangalan in the top right corner. 7
Goal: Have participants participate in simulation Process: 1. Read the slide and ask participants to follow the directions. 1. Put your pangalan in the top right corner. 7

asawa Goal: Have participants participate in simulation Process: 1. Read the slide and ask participants to follow the directions. 2. Write the name of your asawa (if you have one) below your pangalan. 8

inang bansa 3. In the center of the page, write your inang bansa. 9
Goal: Have participants participate in simulation Process: 1. Read the slide and ask participants to follow the directions. 3. In the center of the page, write your inang bansa. 9

angkan 5 Goal: Have participants participate in simulation Process: 1. Read the slide and ask participants to follow the directions. 4. At the bottom of the page, write the number of people in your angkan. 10

United States of America
Tina Beene Pixie United States of America 3 Goal: Have participants participate in simulation Process: Ask participants if their sheet looks similar to this slide. Debrief the simulation by talking about how powerful providing visuals is for comprehensible input. 11

Total Participation I P S
Principles for Creating a Language-Rich, Interactive Classroom Total Participation Comprehensible Input Comprehensible Output I P S ncorporate Academic Vocabulary Goal: Explain comprehensible output Explain principle #2: incorporate academic vocabulary Process: Explain that comprehensible input is not enough. Say, “We can provide excellent descriptions, use visuals and high quality instructional strategies to teach our content, but if we never give students the opportunity to share what they know and understand, they we do not have full participation.” Explain the comprehensible output is providing students with language practice opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of the content. We want them to be able to speak about and write about what they are learning in a comprehensible way. Review the “T” section by asking participants, “What does the T in TIPS stand for?” If they do not reply loudly and 100%, repeat by saying this time I’d like TOTAL participation, what does the “T” in TIPS stand for?” Say, “That’s right, and total participation requires both comprehensible input and comprehensible output.” Explain that the “I” in “TIPS” stands for incorporate academic vocabulary. Explain that most teachers explicitly teach vocabulary to their students but today we are going to look at academic vocabulary in a slightly different way in hopes of making our vocabulary instruction most effective. Say, “Academic vocabulary can be broken into two different categories, called Brick terms and mortar terms. Just like bricks are what house are made up of, our content vocabulary is what our understanding of the information is made of. Brick terms are the key concepts and ideas that are critical to students’ understanding of any given topic. In textbooks, these are usually the bold faced words. If you just have a pile of bricks, the house will fall over. In order for the house to be well built, the brick must be stuck together with mortar. Our students’ understanding of concepts needs mortar as well. The mortar terms are those words and phrases that connect, transition and explain the brick terms. Phrases like “based upon,” “in spite of,” “moreover,” “as a result” are all mortar words. They are just as academic and just as important as the bold faced “brick” words but are often overlooked. Brick terms Mortar Terms 12

Incorporate Academic Vocabulary
Type of Academic Term Where do you find it? How do you teach it? Glossary Directly Non-glossary Use them Goal: Explain how to teach brick and mortar terms Process: Explain the chart: Teaching brick words “directly” means doing all of those great vocabulary building activities, for example, Marzano’s six step process (which we will talk about in greater detail later), making graphic organizers, keeping personal dictionaries, posting on a word wall, etc. Mortar words are often more abstract so the best way to teach them is to use them regularly, elevating the way we speak during class. Providing sentence stems that include brick and mortar words is a great way to scaffold this process. Another suggestion is to use the question formats and mortar words found in released assessments during instruction. Provide more examples of difference between brick and mortar terms by asking participants to knock vigorously on their tables if they think the following words would be found in the glossary of a math textbook: divisor, slope, comprehend, isosceles, confirm, demonstrate, quotient. Review the chart by asking participants to responds with 100% participation to the following questions: Say, “So let ‘s review, where do we find brick terms? How to we teach brick terms? Where do we find mortar terms? How do we teach them?” Explain that we will be revisiting academic vocabulary later in the training Brick Mortar 13

History Which of these factors most distinguishes dictators from monarchs? A. how they acquire and retain power B. how they make economic decisions C. how they choose their close advisors D. how they regard the rights of citizens Identify brick and mortar terms in assessments

Math If triangle LMN is reflected across the y-axis, which of the following best represents a vertex of the resulting triangle? A (2, −6) B (−9, −7) C (−7, 2) D (−2, 6) Identify brick and mortar terms in assessments

Science Earth’s land areas, oceans, and atmosphere maintain fairly constant average temperatures. What is the best explanation for these constant average temperatures? A. Earth’s Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere have opposite seasons. B. Earth is tilted and rotates daily on its axis. C. The continuous motion of air and water distributes the sun’s energy. D. Global weather systems generally move from west to east. Identify brick and mortar terms in assessments

Reading The author uses the first paragraph mostly to:
A identify the source of his claims B provide definitions of complex terms C present the position of his argument D reveal the solution to a problem Identify brick and mortar terms in assessments

Incorporate Academic Vocabulary Promote Language and Literacy S
Principles for Creating a Language-Rich, Interactive Classroom Total Participation Comprehensible Input Comprehensible Output Incorporate Academic Vocabulary Brick Terms Mortar Terms Promote Language and Literacy S Goal: Explain Principle #3: Promote Language and literacy Process: Review TIPS chart so far by asking, what does the “T” stand for? What does the “I” stand for? How do we teach brick terms? How do we teach mortar terms? Define that in this context, “literacy” means a person’s knowledge and understanding of a given topic. For example, “golf literacy” would be knowledge of the game of golf. Other examples could be cultural literacy, math literacy, etc. Explain that our job is to always be promoting that content literacy while also promoting the language needed to communicate that content literacy. 18

What does “promote literacy” look like?
What does “promote language development” look like? Leads to Content Objective Goal: Differentiate between making content comprehensible and developing academic language Process: Solicit a simple content concept from participants by asking, “What is something that you teach that is fairly straightforward?” Possible answer: explain the parts of cell, distinguish the three branches of government, how to find the perimeter of an object, identifying a compare/contrast sentence structure, etc. **If you would rather have your own simple content example ready, then just use that instead of soliciting audience. Using pre-prepared chart paper, ask them to call out ways they might facilitate students understanding of how to _______ (fill in the content task that you selected). Record their suggestion on the chart Ask participants to give you the important words and phrases associated with that content. Select 2-3 words/phrases to focus on and ask them to call out ways they might have students understand and use those words/phrases? Record their suggestions on the chart Review the chart with them discussing the differences and similarities between making content comprehensible (left column) and developing academic language (the right column). Optional: Participants complete a “Promoting content and language” Handout on their own for one of their lessons. Leads to Language Objective 19

I will ___(TEKS)___ by __(academic task)__. (Bloom’s)
Templates Content Objective I will ___(TEKS)___ by __(academic task)__. (Bloom’s) How What Who Language Objective I will ___(ELPS)___ using (specific words, phrases, or stems). Who What How

I can correctly my card to a friend using:
Sample Objectives Content Objective: I can identify the parts of a cell by correctly labeling them on my diagram. Language Objective: I can correctly my card to a friend using: “This is a ______. He…”

I will determine the value of a collection of coins by.
Content Objective I will determine the value of a collection of coins by. I will determine the value of a collection of coins by. I will determine the value of a collection of coins by .

Language Objective I will using: I will explain using: I will using:

Incorporate Academic Vocabulary Promote Language and Literacy
Principles for Creating a Language-Rich, Interactive Classroom Total Participation Comprehensible Input Comprehensible Output Incorporate Academic Vocabulary Brick Terms Mortar Terms Promote Language and Literacy Support for struggling learners Goal: Explain principle #4: Scaffolding for all language levels Process: 1. Ask participants to fill in the “S” section on p. 12 24

Support that leads to INDEPENDENCE
Scaffolding = Support that leads to INDEPENDENCE Goal: Define scaffolding Process: 1. Review slide. Explain that whenever we are providing support for students we should ask ourselves, “What support does he need so that he can be one step closer to doing it on his own?” 2. Explain that scaffolding for language can be divided into three categories, which they can fill in on their chart on p. 12: Oral, procedural, and instructional 3. Explain that oral scaffolding is providing oral support and modeling such as recasting what a student said using correct English, rephrasing instructions, paraphrasing, and providing wait time. 4. Explain that procedural scaffolding is increasing the students levels of independence by moving from whole class, to small group. Partner, to individual. “I do, we do, then you do.” 5. Explain instructional scaffolding is explicitly teaching language structures by providing sentence stems, paragraph frames, think alouds, and genre analysis 25

Supports students moving toward independent …
It looks like … Oral Scaffolding use of oral language with modeling and oral support. Recasting Rephrasing Paraphrasing Providing appropriate wait time Sentence Frames Procedural use and access to language by gradually increasing the level of independence. Moving from whole class, to partner to individual language use. I do…, we do…, you do… Instructional use and access to language by explicitly teaching language structures and strategies. Paragraph frames Graphic organizers Think alouds Genre analysis

Students become independent when… Scaffolding looks like….
*Scaffolding is… Students become independent when… Scaffolding looks like…. One way to support students’ learning is… I promote student independence by… In order to become independent, students need… Scaffolding is not... *A scaffolding technique I use is… Goal: Participate in a “scaffolded” activity Process: Ask tables to select two of the sentence stems from the slide to complete. After they discuss how to complete the 2 stems, they should record their responses on sentence strips. Ask them to put the strips on the edge of their tables, stand up, pushing in chairs and moving materials out of the pathways. Ask all participants to go on a gallery walk to read all of the tables sentences about scaffolding. Be sure to explicitly show the direction and path that everyone should take so that there is no bottleneck or confusion. When participants return to their seats, ask them to write a 5-7 sentence paragraph that communicates what they know/understand about scaffolding. It should start with scaffolding is… and then they can use their notes, the stems on the slide and the information gleaned from the gallery walk to help them. Ask partners to read their paragraph aloud to a partner Get 1-2 volunteers to share their paragraph with the group Debrief by saying, “Imagine how the quality and quantity of our paragraphs would have been different if I just asked you to write one at the beginning without any scaffolding.” Ask tables to discuss what specific examples of scaffolding they saw during the activity. Randomly select participants (person with more/least year of teaching experience, tallest, etc). to share what their tables discussed with the whole group. Review all four TIPS principles with group. 27

How EXACTLY do we create a language-rich, interactive environment?
The Seven Steps! Goal: Introduce 7 steps Process: Read slide. Explain that steps 1-4 are all geared towards having systems in place in your classroom so that all kids feel comfortable participating. These steps all require very little advanced preparation. Explain that steps 5-7 deal with the type of instructional activities you provide students once the first four steps are in place. 28

In my opinion, the most significant concept from the Principles was…
partner with anyone from a different table. One raises hand. Peanut butter. Other, jelly. Then slide to new partner. One thing I’ve learned so far has been...

Why An Interactive Classroom?
If Students don’t verbalize, students don’t internalize! Goal: Explain why interactive classrooms are important Process: Read first, showing the gestures that accompany it. “If students don’t verbalize (Use both index fingers to point to your mouth) student don’t internalize (put hands over your heart.) Have participants practice gestures while saying it out loud. Explain that this is the whole premise of an interactive classroom. Remind them that the language is absolutely critical because it is the pathway to literacy.

Step One: Teach students what to say instead of “I don’t know. ” p
Step One: Teach students what to say instead of “I don’t know.” p. 10 Students either respond or ask for help and then respond. Goal: Explain Step One: Teach students what to say instead of I don’t know Process: Say, “Step One is teach students what to say instead of “I don’t know.” This step seems simplistic but when you use it consistently it has a very powerful effect on students.” Explain that this strategy is about holding students accountable for responding to teacher questions. 3. Direct them to p.14 that lists the alternatives to saying “I don’t know.” 4. Teach the step, saying, “Create a chart or poster that lists the questions on p. 14 and explicitly teach them to your students. Explain that if they are called on, they should either answer the question or use one of the questions from the poster to get a little help and then answer.” 5. Model non-examples with a participant. Reflect after each one, saying, ”Why is this a non-example? Am I teaching the student to become independent?” Possible non-examples: Ask a question and then just move on when they say I don’t know. Ask a question; let participant ask a friend; and let the friend respond. Ask a question. When students say, “I don’t know,” direct them to the poster and give a response for them. 6. Model several examples for using the questions on the poster to be sure the student is held accountable for responding to questions appropriately. 7. Say, “You are the teacher not the poster, and you have ultimate control over how students respond. A good gauge is to ask yourself, “In my professional judgment, what support is necessary to move this student toward independence?” For newcomers, I may need to give them 100% support by giving them all of the language needed in order to respond.” 8. Debrief why this step is important by saying, “Teaching this step to ELLs is critical because it teaches them to: use a meta-cognitive strategy which will have an impact on student learning (Duffy, 2002; Mc Laughlin, 2003, Snow, Griffin Burns, 2005). purposefully monitor their own thinking. determine whether or not they understand. choose how to access help. explore different learning strategies, experiment with them and evaluate them (Chamot, 2004). 31

Instead of “I don’t know”
May I please have some more information? May I have some time to think? Would you please repeat the question? Where could I find more information about that? May I ask a friend for help? Teaches ELLs to … use a metacognitive strategy which will have an impact on student learning (Duffy, 2002; Mc Laughlin, 2003, Snow, Griffin Burns, 2005). purposefully monitor their own thinking. determine whether or not they understand. choose how to access help. explore different learning strategies, experiment with them and evaluate them (Chamot, 2004).

34 Goal: explain Step #4: Use Total Response Signals Process:
Explain that a total response signal is a way for the teachers to engage every student in the class. The key to a total response signal is waiting for EVERY student to respond. A common pitfall is using a signal and only waiting for a majority of student to respond. If we do not wait for TOTAL response, the few students that haven’t responded are usually the very one we are trying to get to participate (ELLs, lower level students, etc.) Say, “Total response signals lead to language production.” When we give students time to process and think about what they’d like to say, and then give them a signal to use to indicate they are prepared, then everyone is ready to talk. We can hold them accountable for participating because they have indicated that they are ready. Direct participants to p.15 to see examples of how to use total response signals. Explain that is important to vary the signals you use and it is also a good idea to get input from students about how they prefer to signal (especially secondary students) 34

Teaching students what to say instead of “I don’t know” is significant because…
Goal: Explain Step One: Teach students what to say instead of I don’t know Process: Say, “Step One is teach students what to say instead of “I don’t know.” This step seems simplistic but when you use it consistently it has a very powerful effect on students.” Explain that this strategy is about holding students accountable for responding to teacher questions. 3. Direct them to p.14 that lists the alternatives to saying “I don’t know.” 4. Teach the step, saying, “Create a chart or poster that lists the questions on p. 14 and explicitly teach them to your students. Explain that if they are called on, they should either answer the question or use one of the questions from the poster to get a little help and then answer.” 5. Model non-examples with a participant. Reflect after each one, saying, ”Why is this a non-example? Am I teaching the student to become independent?” Possible non-examples: Ask a question and then just move on when they say I don’t know. Ask a question; let participant ask a friend; and let the friend respond. Ask a question. When students say, “I don’t know,” direct them to the poster and give a response for them. 6. Model several examples for using the questions on the poster to be sure the student is held accountable for responding to questions appropriately. 7. Say, “You are the teacher not the poster, and you have ultimate control over how students respond. A good gauge is to ask yourself, “In my professional judgment, what support is necessary to move this student toward independence?” For newcomers, I may need to give them 100% support by giving them all of the language needed in order to respond.” 8. Debrief why this step is important by saying, “Teaching this step to ELLs is critical because it teaches them to: use a meta-cognitive strategy which will have an impact on student learning (Duffy, 2002; Mc Laughlin, 2003, Snow, Griffin Burns, 2005). purposefully monitor their own thinking. determine whether or not they understand. choose how to access help. explore different learning strategies, experiment with them and evaluate them (Chamot, 2004). 35

Step Two: Have students speak in complete sentences. p.16
Goal: Explain Step Two: Have students speak in complete sentences Process: 1. Explain the following steps for how to get students to speak in complete sentences: -Provide them with sentence stems and starters. -Explicitly teach them how to use formal language structures. -Give them the opportunity to share in structured interactions. 2. Explain why it is important to have students use complete sentences. Cite the following reasons: - Academic success requires oral language proficiency (Goldenberg & Coleman 2010). ELLs need to understand form and meaning in written and oral context (NCTE, 2008; Schmidt, 2001). It provides the teacher and learner an opportunity to measure learning. Students cannot write in ways they cannot speak. 3. Address the issue of requiring students to use complete sentence all the time by saying, “That is not realistic. If we always require it conversation becomes awkward and tedious which can have the opposite effect of creating an interactive classroom. It is best to set expectations for when you will require it, like when you provide a sentence stem, when you begin a conversation, and/or when you are reviewing multiple choice questions/answers.” 36

How do I ensure that students use complete sentences?
Provide opportunities for students to talk. 2. Provide sentence stems. 3. Coach for it!

Students should practice speaking in complete sentences because...
Roving Paragraph Students should practice speaking in complete sentences because... In addition… Finally... Goal: Participate in a structured activity that helps promote speaking using complete sentences Process: Explain how the roving paragraph works: -Each participant completes the first sentence stem “Student should practice speaking in complete sentences because…” on a large index card or piece of paper and stands up to indicate they are finished. -Next participants find a partner (who is not at their table). Partners read their sentences to each other. Partner one uses the ideas he heard from partner 2 to complete the next sentence frame, “In addition…” Partner 2 uses partner 1’s ideas to complete “In addition…” -Participants find another partner and read their two completed sentences to each other. Each partner completes the third stem, “Also…” using the ideas they just heard from their partner. -Participants find their final partner, read their three completed sentences to each other, Each partner completes the final stem, “Finally…” using the ideas they just heard from their last partner. -When participants have completed their paragraph using all four stems they can return to their seat. 2. Explain to participants that the goal of this exercise is to practice speaking and writing in complete sentences so when they are with their partner, they should not summarize or list their ideas, but rather actually read the entire sentence(s) they recorded. As they get new ideas from partners, they should record those ideas in complete sentences, not as a bulleted list or just phrases. 3. Give participants 1-2 minutes to complete the first stem and then proceed with the activity. 4. When everyone returns to their seat, ask #1s to read their paragraph to their table, followed by #2, etc until all have read. Tables then elect one person who has a particularly good paragraph to read it aloud to the entire group. 5. Debrief the activity, drawing attention to how much academic language practice everyone received in this activity. Imagine if instead of “complete sentences,” our topic was a concept from a particular class, say multiplication, Franch/Indian War, photosynthesis, etc. 38

Step Three: Randomize and Rotate Responses Remember to respect students’ need for support.
Goal: Explain step 3: randomize and Rotate Responses Process: Explain that the only way to ensure 100% participation is to randomly selected students to respond. Without a system in place for randomizing, it does not happen. Here is some research that supports randomizing and rotating student responses: -Student engagement is highly related to success with ELLS (Echevarria, Vogt & Short, 2008). -ELLs need to find their own voices and their interpretation of course content (Morgenstern, 1992;- Hauser, 1990). -Some studies suggest that random oral questioning increases student preparedness, attentiveness, and achievement (Mc-Dougal & Cordeiro, 1992). 3. Discuss respecting students need for support. If we randomize without providing them supports like the “I don’t know” poster and sentence stems to help them respond appropriately, then randomizing creates a negative, stressful classroom environment. We want students to know that even if they are randomly selected, they will be encouraged and supported in their responses, not put on the spot. 39

One way I can randomize is...
Fold your hands when you can complete this stem: One way I can randomize is... (You cannot use index cards or popsicle sticks) Goal: Brainstorm unique ways to randomize and rotate responses Process: Explain the in order for randomizing and rotating to stay fresh and exciting for students, we must randomize the way we randomize. If we always use popsicle sticks or always use index cards to randomly select students, they (and you) will become disinterested. Explain that we are going to generate a large list of options for how to randomize. Read and follow the directions on the slide Allow 3-5 minutes for groups to generate their lists. Have #4 participants share their group’s list using the Whip Around strategy: -Each #4 read one way to randomize from their list. -The next #4 reads one of their ways to randomize. -Continue going around the room until all the ideas are shared. -Those participating cannot repeat ideas or else they must sit down -Those participating cannot share/add ideas that are not already on their original list -Once all the ideas on your list have been shared, sit down. -Last man standing wins the Whip Around. 6. Debrief the Whip Around strategy, explaining that students LOVE it and if is an excellent way to build in listening practice. It can be done with every student in the class or in the way we practiced with one ember of a group speaking for the whole group. Goal: Compile the longest list in the room of unique ways to randomize. 40

Step Four: Use Total Response Signals, p
Step Four: Use Total Response Signals, p.28 Written Response Ready Response Making Choices Ranking Goal: explain Step #4: Use Total Response Signals Process: Explain that a total response signal is a way for the teachers to engage every student in the class. The key to a total response signal is waiting for EVERY student to respond. A common pitfall is using a signal and only waiting for a majority of student to respond. If we do not wait for TOTAL response, the few students that haven’t responded are usually the very one we are trying to get to participate (ELLs, lower level students, etc.) Say, “Total response signals lead to language production.” When we give students time to process and think about what they’d like to say, and then give them a signal to use to indicate they are prepared, then everyone is ready to talk. We can hold them accountable for participating because they have indicated that they are ready. Direct participants to p.15 to see examples of how to use total response signals. Explain that is important to vary the signals you use and it is also a good idea to get input from students about how they prefer to signal (especially secondary students) 43

Country living is much better than city living.
Goal: Practice using total response signals. Process: Show the first statement “Country living is much better than city living.” Ask participants to think silently whether they agree or disagree with that statement. When they have decided they can signal their decision by either moving to left side of the room if they agree or the right side of the room if they disagree. When everyone has made their decision, allow the two groups to talk for a minute about why they selected what they did. Optional: line up the two sides and have them alternate giving a reason why they selected their side. Person one says, “I agree that country living is better than city living because…” then person one on the right side says, “I disagree that country living is better because….: then person 2 on the right gives their reason, person 2 on the right gives their reason, etc. Optional: after the discussion see if anyone wants to change their side based on the conversation Optional: repeat the process using the second sentence, “TAKS/STAAR type tests are beneficial to the education of students.” 8. Debrief by explaining that any of these statements can be centered about content area material. This explain what a total response for making a choice, but you can also you total responses signals for indicating readiness or ranking information. 44

#1-4 vs #5-7 45 Goal: Practice using total response signals. Process:
Show the first statement “Country living is much better than city living.” Ask participants to think silently whether they agree or disagree with that statement. When they have decided they can signal their decision by either moving to left side of the room if they agree or the right side of the room if they disagree. When everyone has made their decision, allow the two groups to talk for a minute about why they selected what they did. Optional: line up the two sides and have them alternate giving a reason why they selected their side. Person one says, “I agree that country living is better than city living because…” then person one on the right side says, “I disagree that country living is better because….: then person 2 on the right gives their reason, person 2 on the right gives their reason, etc. Optional: after the discussion see if anyone wants to change their side based on the conversation Optional: repeat the process using the second sentence, “TAKS/STAAR type tests are beneficial to the education of students.” 8. Debrief by explaining that any of these statements can be centered about content area material. This explain what a total response for making a choice, but you can also you total responses signals for indicating readiness or ranking information. 45

Use Visuals and Vocabulary strategies that support your objectives
Step Five: Use Visuals and Vocabulary strategies that support your objectives VIDEO FROM 3:37 – 11:30 Goal: Explain Step Five: Use Visuals and Vocabulary strategies that support your objectives Process: Explain that providing visuals and focusing on vocabulary strategies are two specific ways to consistently meet the needs of your ELL students. Explain that the visuals and vocabulary that you focus on are derived from your content and language objectives. They should be specific and targeted toward the essential understanding for that lesson. Because our visuals and vocab stems from our objectives, we are going to focus on writing appropriate meaningful objectives first. 46

I will ___(TEKS)___ by __(academic task)__.
Templates Content Objective I will ___(TEKS)___ by __(academic task)__. How What Who Language Objective I will ___(ELPS)___ using (specific words, phrases, or stems). Who What How

Example of correlated objective that expands language development
ELAR TEKS 5. 11(A): Summarize the main ideas and supporting details in a text in ways that maintain meaning and logical order ELPS 3(C): Speak using a variety of grammatical structures, sentence lengths, sentence types, and connecting words Goal: Show example of objectives Demonstrate the language objectives are related to and support content objectives. Process: Read slide Point out that the language objective wasn’t written in isolation, it is directly correlated to the content objective. LANGUAGE OBJECTIVE: I will talk to a partner using the phrases: I believe the main idea is ________ because…. One detail that supports the main idea is…. CONTENT OBJECTIVE: I will summarize the main idea and supporting details in “A Big Oil Disaster” by recording the 5W’s and 1 H in my journal.

Sample Objectives Content Objective
I will determine the value of coins by randomly pulling 3 from a bag and adding them. Goal: Provide additional example of objectives Process: Read slide. Language Objective I will explain my answer using “The sum of my three coins is...”

I can describe lab safety procedures to my group using the terms:
Sample Objectives Content Objective: I can demonstrate safe lab procedures by completing my checklist before beginning my experiment. Language Objective: I can describe lab safety procedures to my group using the terms: procedure goggles emergency

Is this a measurable content objective?
Who: Student What: TEKS How: Academic Task No – missing the how (academic task) At tables ask participants to correct them by adding the “how” I will compare the characteristics of mammals and reptiles such as lizards.

Is this a measurable content objective?
Who: Student What: TEKS How: Academic Task This is not a good objective because the TEKS and the task do not align Listing is not analyzing I will analyze how the author uses figurative language by listing two similes and two metaphors in my journal.

Are these measurable language objectives?
I will demonstrate reading comprehension of the functions of a cell. Who: Student What: ELPS How: Words, stems, language tasks No – missing the how (academic task) I will explain to my partner whether or not a piece of persuasive text includes facts or opinions.

Use visuals that align with your objectives.
Step Five Use visuals that align with your objectives. Goal: Explain and model “point and talk” Process: Explain that we are going to do a simulation to illustrate the importance of visuals. You will so one simulation only saying the words blah, without any visuals and very few gestures. You goal is to communicate the concept of the “equator.” Use a specific cadence/series of “blahs” to mean equator, for example, saying 3 blahs in a row very quickly means equator. Do the same for southern and northern hemispheres, for example one long blah followed by one short blah could mean southern hemisphere while two long blahs followed by one short blah could mean northern hemisphere. Repeat the brief simulation a second time, except this time ask you speak draw the earth on chart paper and point to the parts (northern hemisphere, southern hemisphere, equator) as you talk about them. Have participants repeat the key terms back to you by saying the words (3 fast blahs for equator) and then gesturing for them to repeat. After you are finished ask participants what each of your “blah” terms are in English (What is “blahblahblah” (3 fast blahs)? They will be able to reply with equator, repeat with the hemispheres.) Have participants talk about what the differences between the first and second simulations. Debrief by explaining that we can’t just have visuals alone. We must interact with them by pointing and using them during instruction so that our ELLs can make the connection from the visual to the content we are discussing. 54

Step Five: Let’s Practice!
Content: Who, What, How? Language: What domain? How will students share their learning? Remember to include stems and key vocabulary! Goal: Explain and model “point and talk” Process: Explain that we are going to do a simulation to illustrate the importance of visuals. You will so one simulation only saying the words blah, without any visuals and very few gestures. You goal is to communicate the concept of the “equator.” Use a specific cadence/series of “blahs” to mean equator, for example, saying 3 blahs in a row very quickly means equator. Do the same for southern and northern hemispheres, for example one long blah followed by one short blah could mean southern hemisphere while two long blahs followed by one short blah could mean northern hemisphere. Repeat the brief simulation a second time, except this time ask you speak draw the earth on chart paper and point to the parts (northern hemisphere, southern hemisphere, equator) as you talk about them. Have participants repeat the key terms back to you by saying the words (3 fast blahs for equator) and then gesturing for them to repeat. After you are finished ask participants what each of your “blah” terms are in English (What is “blahblahblah” (3 fast blahs)? They will be able to reply with equator, repeat with the hemispheres.) Have participants talk about what the differences between the first and second simulations. Debrief by explaining that we can’t just have visuals alone. We must interact with them by pointing and using them during instruction so that our ELLs can make the connection from the visual to the content we are discussing. 54

Use vocabulary strategies that align with your objectives.
Step Five (cont.) Use vocabulary strategies that align with your objectives. Goal: Provide examples of vocab strategies that support your objectives Process: 1. Read slide, explaining the we are going to model both of these activities now. 55

Step Six: Have students participate in structured conversation, p
Step Six: Have students participate in structured conversation, p. 42 If students don’t verbalize, students don’t internalize. Goal: To explain Step Six: Have students participate in structured conversation Process: Explain purpose behind step six by reading the slide. Teach participants the gestures for the phrase: Point to your mouth while saying, “If students don’t verbalize.” Put your hands over your heart while saying, “Students don’t internalize.” Repeat the phrase with the gestures as a whole groups Have participants repeat phrase with gestures to a partner. 4. Explain that the way we get students to verbalize is through structured conversation. 5. A structured conversation is when students talk with each other using specific language and format. 56

Sample Structured Conversations
Q Triple S A Question Signal Stem Share Assess Goal: Provide two examples of structured conversations Process: Explain Q triple S A by saying, “In this strategy, the teacher asks a question and the students are to give a response signal when they are ready to answer. Using a sentence stem, students are asked to share their responses with one or more peers. Lastly, the teacher assesses the quality of the discussion by selecting a few students to share their answers with the whole class. Students could also share by writing and then by reading their responses.” Direct participants to p. 17 to review some specific example of Q triple S A Explain WIT questioning strategy as a great way to get your students to elaborate during discussion. These question stems are non threatening. Explain that initially the teacher uses the WIT prompts but as students become more skilled they should take responsibility for using those same prompts in their peer discussions. It is a good idea to post the WIT prompts somewhere in the classroom for students to use as a resource. 57

Structured Conversations
Question: How will creating an interactive classroom benefit my students? Signal: Put your hand down when you can complete the following stem: Stem: Creating an interactive classroom will benefit my students because… Goal: Practice structured conversation Process: Facilitate a Q triple S A by following the directions on the slide After partners have shared ask the 2s to stand up to share either their response or something their partners said Remind them to respond in complete sentence using the stem After the first #2 responds, use one of the WIT questioning prompts to get them to elaborate: Why do you think… Is there another…Tell me more about… Call on 2-3 more standing participants, continue to use the WIT question prompts for elaboration Debrief the activity by highlighting your use of WIT questioning to get higher quality responses. Share: Shoulder Partner Assess: Numbered heads together 58

Your Turn Q, Triple, S, A Question: Ask a question based upon a key concept Signal: Provide a way to indicate readiness Stem: Provide a sentence starter for answering the question Share: Explain how students will respond to the question using the stem Assess: Randomly select students or have all students write Goal: explain Q triple S A, identify benefits to ELLs Process: Read through slide explaining each step, highlight accommodations for ELLs Question: ties directly to content objective and lesson goals, focuses learning for ELLs Signal: build in wait time for ELL to process Stem: gives them targeted practice at using the exact academic language found on assessments Share: gives oral rehearsal, chance to compare their response with others, 100% of class practices language Assess: 100% accountability, provided enough support for ELLs that ALL students are prepared to respond.

Step Seven: Have students participate in structured reading and writing activities p.48
Goal: Explain Step 7: Have students participate in structured reading and writing activities Process: 1. Explain that we define a structured reading/writing activity as one that has a clear and explicit purpose, plan and process 2. The goal of any assigned reading and writing must be clear, and we need to think through what supports we may need to provide while students are engaged in the activity. 3. Explain that we will be modeling examples of structured reading and writing a little later 60

What makes a reading or writing activity “structured”?
Purpose: Why am I having students read/write this? Plan: What will my students need from me in order to be able to successfully read/write this? Process: What process or strategy will students use as they read/write? How will they demonstrate comprehension/communicate effectively?

Let’s practice with FAQs
Purpose: (Why should you read this?) *Identify possible challenges/solutions *Gain deeper understanding of each step Plan: (Are you ready to read this?) *Built background during training Process: (What will help you make sense of text?) * Meta-cognitive: Make connections to your own classroom Cognitive: As a group, be prepared to share out the most important FAQ and the response for your section. Move into table groups by number. Each table assigned the step of their number. Share out most important one.

Brick and Mortar Vocabulary
Choose three colors. Color #1: Brick Terms Color #2: Mortar Terms Color #3: Remaining Words Decide on five content area vocabulary terms (brick words) your students will encounter during your lesson.

Brick and Mortar Vocabulary, cont.
Write the following Tier II words (mortar terms) on scratch paper in the color you chose earlier: Finally, because, in order to, complex, demonstrate Work together to write a paragraph that incoporates all ten terms. Don’t forget to use your other color to write all non-brick or non-mortar terms.

The ABCs of Seven Steps Use your letter to create a sentence that reflects some portion of your learning today. Get with your letter partner(s) and share. Choose a sentence to share with the whole group. Big Circle

Content Objective: Language Objective
We will identify seven steps to building a language-rich interactive classroom by participating in academic conversations and interactive learning tasks. Language Objective We will orally share ideas for improving instruction by participating in structured conversations. Goal: Identify the training objectives Process: Explain that we have content and language objectives for this training just like we expect teachers to have for each of their lessons. Discuss that objectives are important to communicate at the beginning of the lesson/training and also at the end in order to evaluate whether we met them or not. 3. Ask participants to turn to p. 2 and read the objectives. 4. Ask participants to circle the one content objective and the one language objective that is most important to them. Say, “Which one are you the most excited/interested/wanting to know more about? Circle that one.” 5. Ask participants to share what they circled with a shoulder partner, using the stem, “I circled _______ because…” 6. When partners finish sharing, conduct an audio vote. Ask participants to clap wildly when you read the objective they chose. Read through each of objective. This is a good way to determine which areas of the training to spend the most time on. 7. Explain that during this training we will accomplish each of these objectives. **At the end of this slide is a good time to discuss the details of the day such as lunch, breaks, how to handle questions, etc. 66

“Like” us on facebook at
@SeidlitzEd Tina Beene Goal: Reflect on today’s training Process: Read slide Ask participants to leave post its on the table as they leave. Thank them for their time and attention. 67

7 Steps to a Language-Rich, Interactive Classroom

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