UNIT 7: DESIGNING A CLIL UNIT

OUTCOMES
1. Analyze all the elements of a CLIL teaching unit, paying special attention to the tools, frameworks and
models that can help us to plan and design the tasks and the materials for our own teaching unit.
2. Create a CLIL unit applying the knowledge acquired in this course, with the help of the models and
templates studied in this unit.
3. Assess our own CLIL Unit and those of our colleagues.
4. Share the created units and materials with our colleagues.

PLANNING THE UNIT

INTRODUCTION
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is a term relating to any educational situation where subject
content is delivered to some degree via the medium of a foreign,second, or third language.
According to Do Coyle, Philip Hood and David Marsh, "Successful CLIL practice is likely to require teachers to
engage in alternative ways of planning for effective learning (...) Connecting theoretical ideas to changing
practice requires time, patience and professional support (...)there is neither one preferred CLIL model, nor
one CLIL methodology. The CLIL approach is flexible in order to take account of a wide range of contexts
(...)However, for CLIL to be effective, certain fundamental principles must be recognized as essential- it is not
the case that any kind of teaching or learning in another language is CLIL.
As in every other field of teaching, planning for CLIL classes is a pre-condition to successful
teaching.
There are some different approaches to planning CLIL units and materials, such as the SIOP model outlined
by Echevarria, Enright and McCloskeys model called "Integrating English"; Do Coyle's "4Cs Framework"*
model, etc.
The way we plan CLIL depends on the educational level, the context and the legal framework among others. In
the same way, we can find a big variety of models and templates that we can use to plan CLIL units.
The approach that we are going to use to plan our CLIL unit is mainly based on the "4Cs framework" but has
also taken into account some ideas of the "Integrating English" and "the SIOP" model.
The templates that we are going to use for planning a CLIL unit and a CLIL lesson are the ones published on
the website of Conselleria d'Educacio, Servei d'ensenyament en Llenges. Anyway you will also find some
other templates and unit examples at the resources section.

* You can find a link to Do Coyle's "4Cs Framework" in the resource section.

Curricular Key Elements

The first step in
planning our CLIL
unit is to decide:
A) The subject area
that we are going to
teach in the target
language (English):
Art&craft; PE; Maths;
Science; Geography,
etc.
B)Grade level: 1st
Primary, 3rd ESO;
Pre-school 4 years
old; etc.
Later on we will
correctly identify our
CLIL unit by giving it
a
name
and
indicating the number of lessons or sessions that it will require.

It is very important to pay attention to some key elements in our unit plan:

-Teaching Objectives
-Final Task
-Key competences
-Assessment Criteria
-Materials and resources

As we pointed out in the introduction, the process of planning a CLIL unit, can be done from different
perspectives, but most of them start the process by identifying the contents and skills integrated in a final task.
This FINAL TASK has to be relevant, embedded in social practice, interesting and motivating.
Although the elements mentioned above appear first in our template, they can be written after deciding on the
activities and exercises that will lead students to the final task.

OBJECTIVES: Specific of the subject ,cultural,cognitive and linguistic.(Usually linked to the curricula
outcomes)

ASSESSMENT: The assessment (initial, formative and final) should include the subject contents, linguistic
competence, cognitive skills and cultural content. ( We can review the section referred to assessment before
completing this part)
KEY COMPETENCES: We have to indicate the key competences worked thorough the unit.

MATERIALS AND RESOURCES: They should accomodate different learning styles and and activate different
language skills so they have to be diverse. (We can review the section reffered to materials to include some
ideas)

The four Cs Framework

Before completing
this template we
can
brainstorm
activities that lead
to the final activity
and select those
that best fit the
learning
objectives.
According to Do
Coyle, the steps
will be
1) Consider the
CONTENT
Include
contents from
different
subjects that
form part of an existing syllabus. Organize learning through cross-curricular tasks.
Select the contents which best fit our CLIL setting (meaningful and real)
Give priority to the content which best develop our global goal.
Think about scaffolding for the content: Vocabulary presentation through multisensory media,video, songs,
flashcards, kinaesthetic activities, non-verbal resources etc.
2) Connect contents with COGNITION
Given an outline of the content, the next step is to analyse and select the thinking skills, problem solving and
creativity which connect with the content. This process ensures that the cognitive level of the CLIL unit relates
to the learners' own levels of development.
Encourage the use of HOTs (High thinking Order skills) as well as LOTs (Low thinking Order skills).You
can use a Bloom /Gadner template or a Bloom Taxonomy's list of verbs. (see example of this template in
the resource section)
Plan activities for developing thinking skills such as those in "Thinker's keys" by Tony Ryan (see this
document in the resource section)
Present students with challenging activities and opportunities to verbalize strategies.
Use Graphic Organizers and teach students how to use them too.
3) Think about COMMUNICATION
Identifying the language needed to learn in a CLIL classroom demands systematic analysis at the planning
stage. We have to plan not only the content- obligatory language such as key words and phrases that
the students will need to participate in the learning of the content, but also in the content-compatible
language, which allows learners to operate more fully in the content subject, such as writing a summary,
explaining an experiment,etc.
Identify the language needed to learn the subject content (key vocabulary, specific language) and the
language needed for interaction and classroom management. Content-obligatory, content-compatible

language and language through learning.

Think about scaffolding for the language and interaction: Classroom displays with key expressions and
language for each unit; labelled diagrams showing procedures; speaking substitution tables for
verbalizations and expositions; adapted texts (text with images, diagrams, drawings, highlighted words,
etc).
Once you have planned the activities, think how to make them MORE communicative.

4)Integrating CULTURE & COMMUNITY

Integrating cultural oportunities in the CLIL classroom is not an option, it is a necessity. Intercultural
experiences can be developed through different perspectives: within the ethos of the classroom, through
conections with the wider world, with other classes, the local community,etc.
Plan activities in pairs and groups to develop intercultural understanding and global citizenship.
Foster collaborative work and parents involvement.
Community: Make connections with the local community and/or other schools (regional, national or global)
if possible.
Make reference to culture when and where possible: Their own culture and other cultures including the
target language culture

The Lesson structure

There are numerous lesson plan formats for CLIL, variations among them can often be reduced to different
terminology and presentation styles. Regardless of format, every effective lesson plan should be built towards
the achievement of the learning objectives and connect to the final task.
We usually start creating a lesson plan with the "end" in mind, we determine what outcomes our students will
produce and how we are going to assess those outcomes.
Conselleria template for a CLIL lesson has the following structure:
- Learning Objectives (following the 4Cs approach).
We have to identify the learning objectives regarding
content, communication, cognition and culture.
-Activities:
a)Opening activity (introduction /revision)Setting up
outcomes. What are we going to learn? Why is it
important? How are we going to learn?
b) Warm up activities to introduce the topic, to
motivate students, to engage students and catch their
interest.
c)Main activities: considering different learning
styles/ input and then output/ pair work, group work and individual work. Use multiple opportunities for
practice.
-Reinforcement and extension: scaffolding for language, content and thinking skills from easy to hard.
Check for understanding. Provide opportunity for extension, using the knowledge/skills in creative ways.
- Assessment/ reflection: Self and peer assessment. Formative assessment of student understanding .
- Materials and resources for the lesson: worksheets, websites, real objects, language displays...
Remember about the importance of selecting quality materials.

Example of CLIL Unit: Supermarket

A) Supermarket unit and lesson using Conselleria's templates.

Unit_Template_Supermarket
Lesson_Template_Supermarket
B) Other templates used in this unit.
Unit supermarket using a Task based learning template (Key competences approach)
Math Task_ Supermarket role play
Math task-curricular concretion
Bloom_ Gardner template for cognition
Bloom_Gardner_for_unit_supermarket
Unit programme according to the Order 45/2011 8th June:
Unit_programme_supermarket

Resources
These are the resources for this unit:
A) How to plan a CLIL Unit. "CLIL" by Do Coyle, Philip Hood and David Marsh (2010)
You have a link to the whole chapter 4 of this book at:
http://www.cambridge.org/servlet/file/9780521112987c04_p48-73.pdf?ITEM_ENT_ID=5633692&
COLLSPEC_ENT_ID=7
B) Templates and tools for your unit.
Conselleria templates:
http://www.cece.gva.es/ocd/sedev/val/tilc.htm
Cognition:
Thinkers_Keys_ Tony_Ryan.pdf
Bloom_Gardner_template.odt
Tasks and activities:
Task based template.odt
Curricular concretion.odt
C) Other examples of CLIL Units:
Conselleria_Template_example_1.pdf
Conselleria_template_example_2.pdf