Building Bridges for Emergent Bilinguals, Part I: Scaffolding oral language

development

Rebecca Curinga, PD CoordinatorAika Swai, Program Coordinator

PD Session #2November 2, 2013

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Agenda• 10:00 Introductions, Agenda, and Today’s Goals• 10:15: The Bridges Students: Who are they and how can we

meet their needs?• 11:00: The Bridges Classroom: How can it support oral

language development? • 11:45: The Bridges Curriculum: How does the Unit Structure

support oral language development?• 12:15 Lunch• 12:45: The Bridges Instructional Methods, Part I: Scaffolding

with the Essential Question• 1:00: Scaffolding with See, Think , Wonder • 1:30: Workshop: Taking See, Think , Wonder into your

classroom• 2:15: Conclusions, Homework, Questions & Answers• 2:30: Administrative Matters & Evaluation

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Today’s Goals

1. To be able to discuss and gain initial understanding of:

• The unique characteristics of Bridges students, as distinguished from SIFE and other emergent bilinguals.

• How the Bridges program, curriculum and instruction address the unique needs of Bridges students.

• The critical importance of comprehensible input in the development of second language.

• The broad curriculum unit structure and interdisciplinary connections.

2. To learn and be able to use scaffolding in your classroom to support oral language development through:

• Translation of the Essential Question

• See Think Wonder

The Bridges Student

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Activity 1: In 20 Words…What are twenty words that come to mind as you think about SIFE?

What we know…

Both Emergent Bilinguals and SIFEKnowledge of home language (HL) and culture

Knowledge of their worldLearning English

Emergent BilingualsAge-appropriate HL literacy

No educational gapsAge-appropriate content and

academic knowledge Enter schools at all ages

SIFELimited HL literacy

2+ years of educational gaps2+ years below grade level in

Reading and MathMajority are adolescents 6

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Attributes of Bridges Students

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Needs

• Academic Vocabulary and Syntax

• Foundational literacy skills text-level skills

• Foundational content knowledge

Characteristics

• Limited academic HL

• Limited HL literacy (below 4th grade)

• Limited content knowledge

How can teachers meet the needs of these unique students?

THE BRIDGES PROGRAM!

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How does Bridges address the unique needs of its students?

The Bridges Program• Pre-ninth grade intervention• Interdisciplinary team of teachers• Sheltered classes• Central Role of Home Language and

Culture

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How does Bridges address the unique needs of its students? (cont)

The Bridges Curriculum •Bridges curriculum framework: • Four units each in: English, Social Studies, Science and

Math• Integrates language, literacy and subject area-content

in ALL classes•Thematic interdisciplinary connections • Reinforces conceptual knowledge and academic

language, vocabulary and syntax•Project – based units • Developed around essential questions that engage

and provoke inquiry

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The Curriculum (cont)

Each Unit in Every Discipline:• Builds and engages home language as a resource • Emphasizes classroom routines and strategies that

promote strong academic habits• Builds towards a final project with specific

outcomes and objectives in all four language domains• Aligns to common core and language development

standards.

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Bridges Curriculum Goals1. Develop oral academic language as the foundation for literacy

and content knowledge.

2. Develop foundational reading skills (learning to read) so that students are able to read to learn.

3. Build foundational world and conceptual knowledge to support student access to 9th grade high school content.

4. Integrate content knowledge, language and academic skills, so that students gain competence in each domain.

5. Build academic habits such as persistence, organization and preparedness as well as an ability to reflect on one’s own learning.

The Bridges Classroom

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Activity 2: Think-pair-shareHow can we support the development of oral academic language for Bridges students?

•Learning a second language is different from learning the first because ________.

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Learning a second language is different from the first…• Learners are older

• Learners bring their prior knowledge and skills to the task of language learning

• Everyone is successful at learning to speak their first language; not everyone is successful at learning to speak their second language

• In first language, children learn from hearing the language in context with no explicit correction

• In second language, learners benefit from appropriate correction

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Learning a first and second language is similar for Bridges students…

• Develop an understanding of the rules of the language:

You can say: We like chocolate cake.You can’t say: Cake like chocolate we.

• Developmental Process:•Oral language before literacy!•Receptive before productive•words phrases sentences

Language Abilities

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Oral

Literacy

Receptive Productive

Listening Speaking

Reading Writing

• In order to develop oral language students need ________.

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Input!

• A second language cannot be learned without enough input!

• Input needs to be understood/comprehended so that language (and content knowledge) develops: COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT

Different Types of Input• Social• Academic

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The Importance of Making Input Comprehensible: SCAFFOLDINGNeed to turn the input into meaning and understanding!How? • Using this example sentence, describe how you would use

SCAFFOLDING to make the input comprehensible.

How did people long ago get what they wanted and needed?

• Visuals• Gestures and dramatization• Pre-teaching vocabulary before hearing the sentence• Home language

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Activity 3: Group WorkHow do we use the Bridges Curriculum to scaffold oral language development and content knowledge?

The Bridges Curriculum

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Curriculum Materials

• Interdisciplinary Overview • Unit Plan(s)•Weekly Lesson Outline(s)• Sample lessons• Sample student materials• Teacher’s Guide to the Curriculum• Bridges Website [http://bridges.ws.gc.cuny.edu/]

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Introduction to Curriculum StructureYear at a Glance

• 4 units• Unit 1 takes approximately 6 weeks; Units 2, 3

and 4 take 7 weeks• Each Unit has a theme and poses an

interdisciplinary question• With the exception of Math, these themes and

questions are aligned with each other • Each Unit culminates in a project

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Unit Structure Overview

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Translate the Essential Question

Da dove veniamo?

Come sono simili e diversi questi luoghi?

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Today’s Focus: Scaffolding Oral Language Development

• Classroom Environment as a Resource for Learning

• Home Language as a Resource for Learning

Activity 4: Group WorkHow do we use the Bridges instructional method of See Think Wonder to scaffold language development and content knowledge?

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See Think Wonder - Model

Social Studies Unit 1: Connections Week 1: Engage, Introduce Essential Question, Build

Background Lesson 2: See Think WonderSocial Studies Week 1 Materials

Why is this a ‘power method’ in the Bridges Curriculum?• Builds oral language in English relevant to the topic being studied• Builds schema and background information central to an

understanding of the topic• Engages pre-reading strategies through interpretation and

inference• Creates climate of inquiry

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See Think Wonder - Practice

• Break into groups• Look at the See-Think-Wonder Activity from

Week 1 in your group’s assigned content area• Take Note:• What resources will you need for your population?• How will you SCAFFOLD the input in your see-think-

wonder activity, considering:• Classroom Environment• Home Language as a Resource• Building Background• Other Scaffolds?

• Be prepared to present to the rest of the group!