April Talbot 282 E 600 S Saint George, Utah, 84738 Phone (453) 229-8971 Dear Ms.

Clark, I really enjoyed the opportunity I had to meet with you and observe as you implemented the SIOP model into your teaching. Your classroom was very inviting and I could feel the classroom community you have created with your students. Your expectations for your students are set high and I could feel the concern you have for them. I could tell the students knew the classroom routine, and behaved with respect towards you and each other. The visuals you presented to your students that went along with your lesson was very creative. As a SIOP coach I would like to help you develop your lessons by giving you some suggestions on ways to improve implementing the SIOP model in your classroom. First, I thought you did an excellent job implementing component Comprehensible Input of the SIOP model. Your speech was appropriate for your students proficiency level. You used a variety of techniques, brainstorming during the semantic mapping activity, demonstrating a model of a volcano, and reading about the topic after explaining it orally and using visuals. Also, I thought you did a great job with the vocabulary terms, by explaining and reviewing the terms throughout your lesson. I was also impressed how your students used them throughout the lesson as well. Excellent, nicely done! This is what I like to see in lesson deliver when implementing the SIOP Model. Some suggestions I would make when applying the SIOP model is your language objectives. I would list your language objective on the whiteboard/smart-board, someplace where your students can see it throughout the duration of the lesson, just like you did with your content objective. Language objectives should be planned to meet the learning goals and prepare students for the academic language they need to understand the content. Also, I felt that feature 8 Links Explicitly Made, could be a little stronger, this will help between past learning and new concepts. You could explain how the collection of rocks you have been studying related to the volcanoes to enhance your students learning. Another suggestion I would make is to maybe change your grouping arrangements. I noticed that some of the students had to turn around in their chairs to watch when you were doing the demonstration. I would arrange the desks according to where you will be directing your lesson, for best delivery. And finally, feature 28 Comprehensive Review of Key Content Concepts I felt could have been stronger as well. Maybe you could post some sentence starters on the white board to encourage students to respond or have them summarize with a partner. Both of these strategies will help you with this feature of the SIOP model. Over all, I thought you did a wonderful job implementing the SIOP model. The students were engaged asking questions and discussing different ideas during the lesson. The visuals and demonstration were very helpful for your students learning, especially your ELLs. I have enjoyed working with you and hope the information I have given you is beneficial when implementing SIOP into your lessons. I would like to commend you on your commitment and hard work in making your classroom the best possible learning environment for your students. You are a caring and accomplished teacher. Incorporating the SIOP model in your classroom will improve the learning outcome for all of your students. If you have any questions or concerns at all, please give me a call and I will be glad to help. I wish you the best of luck. Sincerely, April Talbot SIOP Coach

1. a. I do not agree with this statement. By using the SIOP model all students can benefit from visual supports and hands-on learning in the classroom and consequently will not be bored. The SIOP Model is based on current knowledge and research-based practices for promoting learning with all students, especially English Learners (ELs). I came across this article by Beth Houck, Through the Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE), a seven-year research project was conducted from 1996 to 2003 involving four middle schools located in large metropolitan school districtstwo on the East coast and two on the West coast. Data from a writing assessment based on the Illinois Measure of Annual Growth in English Test was collected from these middle school children in grades 6-8. This test measured writing skills in the following five areas: language production, focus, support and elaboration, organization, and mechanics. The test also provided an overall, composite score. A pre-test was administered in the fall and a post-test given in the spring of the 1998-1999 school year to students whose teachers were trained in the SIOP model (the treatment group) and to students whose teachers had no knowledge of the SIOP model (the control group). The students in the treatment group not only improved their overall scores from the fall to the spring, but also outperformed the students in the control classes in their post-test assessment. Even ELLs with special needs improved their scores in both narrative and expository writing (Echevarria, Vogt, and Short, 2004, pp. 214-216). This research provided an incentive for educators to take a closer look at the SIOP model for teaching ELLs. http://www.ncsu.edu/eslglobe/Volume4_No1/houck.htm

b. Teachers with only a few English learners in their classrooms can organize instruction so that all students needs are met by differentiating their instruction by teaching learning strategies, cognitive, metacognitive, and language learning strategies. Also using three types of scaffolding techniques: (1) verbal scaffolding, (2) procedural scaffolding, and (3) instructional scaffolding. And by using leveled questions to engage all learners, especially a variety of questions that promote high-order thinking skills.

2. Three questions to support higher-order thinking. 1. How is the first President of the United States, George Washington, similar or different to our current president Barack Obama? 2. Why do you think George Washington was elected president? 3. Can you explain why it is necessary or beneficial, for the United States to have a president? It is important to use a variety of question strategies with English learners because they need many opportunities to use their language skills. Questions produce new knowledge, new responses, and thoughtful efforts from the students. They need questions which require answers that go beyond a single word or predictable patterns to increase their use of the English language as well as the content you are teaching.

3. Teacher As style of teaching is through lectures (auditory), where teacher B teaches through a hands-on approach (hands-on). I think the B teacher is most appropriate for English Learners because students are analyzing their own food consumption and comparing it to the national recommendations. The students of the teacher B are using a hands-on approach instead of listening to a lecture, like the students are doing in teacher As scenario. Students are also working with a partner in designing a weekly menu and must defend their position on their food choices to their peer group members. Students in teacher Bs class are actively engage by doing research, analyzing, and defending their choices. And research has shown that teacher Bs way of teaching leads to greater learning.

4. a. A teacher determines whether a majority of students, including English Learners are engage throughout the lesson by observing the students and allocating the amount of time spent studying the topic wisely, making sure the students are actively participating during instruction, and focusing on the time students spend relating to the content and language objectives.

b. Some techniques a teacher can use to sustain engagement are Think-Pair Share: is where the teacher asks everyone to think of and answer, then telling it to a partner, before calling on a few to share. Chunk and Chew: is a technique that a teacher uses every 10 minutes of chunking new information (lecture) and allowing the students time to talk with a small group or a partner what was said (Chew) Roam and Review: is at the end of a lesson the teacher poses a reflection question and has the students think silently, and then the students will roam the room and discuss their ideas with their classmates. I believe the main practice for student engagement is to get them actively involved, and actively participating with their learning. Dividing the students into small group, partner and mixed ability grouping for collaborating and working together will also help with student engagement. c. If the students are off task the teacher should capture students' attention before giving directions, employ proximity control, and give the students opportunities to choose. By allowing students to exercise some degree of choice in their instructional activities can increase students academic engagement. Also, by making the learning activity stimulating the students require less conscious effort to remain on-task when they are engaged in high-interest activities. d. Sustained engagement is critical to English learners academic progress because English learners are learning the English language as well as the content being taught in class. English learners are the students who can least afford to have the valuable time squandered through boredom, and inattention during a lesson.

5. a. Three different grouping configurations that could be used for teaching and learning a literacy concept. (1) Whole group for teaching and learning the concept. (2) Small group for reviewing the

concept to struggling learners. (3) Partner grouping to discuss and clarify the information taught. b. I would organize the members of each group by mixed ability for partner sharing of information and same level ability for small group to review information that might be challenging, or the students may not understand. Whole group for introducing any new material. c. I would monitor students learning by formative and summative assessment. For formative assessment I would listen to students answer the questions asked during whole group instruction. I would also observe students during small group, as well as partner sharing of students discussing and clarifying the concepts taught. For summative assessment I would analyze the data from unit testing and from the end of level testing. I would see what needs to be retaught to maximize student learning. I would also restructure my class for tier 2 instruction for any struggling students. d. While students are working in their groups I would wander around the classroom and observe students understanding, and discuss and clarify the material that students might be having trouble with. If it is a small group review I would guide the students to a better understanding of the material. And for partner grouping, I would listen and observe students to see if they understood the material. For large class group I would listen and observe the students engagement and answers to the questions I may ask. e. Grouping configurations will help facilitate learning for Els by promoting the development of multiple perspectives and encourages collaboration within flexible groups. Partner groups will encourage success because it provides practice opportunities, scaffolding, and help from other classmates. Whole groups are suitable for introducing new materials and concepts, and modeling the process.