Lesson modification for emergent bilinguals

Create a 1-2-day lesson plan to support your Curriculum Map from BLE 407. Consider the modifications you
would need to make in order for your identified EB (from the emergent bilingual observation) to engage in the
learning process at his/her proficiency level goal. Note your changes below. Submit the lesson plan you
create along with this completed form to the assignment space.

 EB’s pseudo name: “Jane”

 Grade level: 9
 Proficiency level goal for identified skill (one step above current proficiency): Intermediate
What ELPS will you use? (https://www.azed.gov/oelas/elps/) Be sure to align your choice(s) to the language
skill(s) you will evaluate. Include the number of the standard and its wording.
 Intermediate:
o Speaking and Writing:
 Standard 4: …an English learner can construct grade appropriate oral and written claims
and support them with reasoning and evidence.

Cut & Paste the full range of descriptors that align with your ELPS here. Highlight the proficiency level that
matches your EB’s proficiency goal:

Pre-emergent/ Emergent Basic Intermediate

PE/E-2: introduce the topic and B-2: introduce the claim and I-2: introduce the claim and provide
provide a few reasons or facts to provide logically ordered reasons logically ordered and relevant
support the claim. or facts that effectively support reasons and evidence to support the
the claim. claim and to refute the counterclaim.

What is your content language objective? This should align to the content objective in your original lesson
plan. Be sure to use the formula for success: (Language Function + Content Stem + 3 Strategies for Practice)
 Speaking and Writing:
o Students will be able to shrewdly use persuasive language to uphold a primary conflict in O.
Henry’s “A Retrieved Reformation” by justifying their contentions with textual evidence and
reasoning, employing transition techniques to convey a coherent progression of their
argument, and engaging with their peers on a discussion of the story.

List your sentence stems that support the language function from your content language objective:
From the Academic Language Functions Toolkit:

Provide screen shots of any graphic organizers or other hands-on tools that you plan to use as “supports.”
In a modified reading accompaniment assignment, the timeline component will be modified to include the
graphic organizer shown below, which includes literary terms and definitions to assist emergent bilinguals
(compared to three blank boxes):

The students are not specifically instructed what plot points they should include in each section, allowing for
flexibility and for students to individualize their timelines based on what they consider to be salient moments
from the story.

In a modified reading accompaniment, a “C-E-R” chart will be included to provide emergent bilinguals with a
straightforward depiction of how to organize and document their annotations while reading the story:

What points What can you How does the

Claims

Evidence

Reasoning

are the writer explicitly draw textual

trying to from the text evidence
make? that reflects corrorborate
the writer's the claims?
assertions?

Vocabulary log for all students (but particularly helpful for emergent bilinguals) to complete throughout the
lesson. Rather than assigning which words are deemed “vocabulary words,” the blank boxes allow the
students to complete the boxes using words they consider unfamiliar, thus allowing students to cater the
lesson to their varying pre-existing knowledge.
Templates to aid emergent bilinguals when participating in class discussions; equips students with the
confidence to engage with their native-speaking peers:

List of transition words to assist emergent bilinguals with composing their writeup, helping ELL students to
seamlessly “connect the parts” and express their ideas and perceptions more coherently:

When and how will you teach the vocabulary in the lesson? What strategy will you use?
Upon defining each word, I will give examples of how the word is used in the context of the story, provide
examples of words with similar meanings, and encourage students to use academic vocabulary in
conversations and discussions. To ensure that students do not feel compelled to correctly incorporate
academic vocabulary during each use, I will encourage students to experiment with the newfound vocabulary
and also explain it is nothing to be ashamed of if students misuse the word while they are practicing with new
vocabulary. I may also require students to compose a brief illustration of each word to serve as a visual aid in
helping them remember its definition, judging by my observations gathered from implicit and explicit student
feedback while I am teaching the new vocabulary words and throughout the lesson. After students read the
story, I will have students review the definitions of each vocabulary word to help them recognize the
connections between the words’ definitions and the students’ knowledge of the story.

How will you build background for the students?

Before beginning the lesson, I will develop the students’ background knowledge of the story with a brief
vocabulary lesson by presenting the definition of the word “assiduous,” a vocabulary term that describes a
prominent trait of the story’s protagonist. I will ask students to share whether they know any “assiduous”
individuals in their life and what attributes are expected to be portrayed by an “assiduous” individual.

I will also develop the students’ background knowledge for the story by asking students to respond to and
share their answers to a bellwork activity (pictured below) with their peers. This bellwork activity may help
students begin thinking about the story’s overarching theme of forgiveness, which will eventually be discussed
among their peers and with the class. Perhaps, students may choose to refer to their response to the bellwork
activity in a subsequent discussion.

What strategies will you use to make the teaching input comprehensible? Break this down by each step of
the learning process, depending on which lesson plan format you are using. (i.e. Direct Instruction Lesson Plan
= Opening, Instructor’s Input, Guided Practice, Individual Practice, Closing) (i.e. Inquiry = The 5 E’s – Engage,
Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate)

Before class begins, I will play 38 Special’s “Second Chance” and Cher’s “If I Could Back Time” to help students
enter the mindset of seeking second chances while completing their bellwork activity. In the lesson’s opening,
I will display an image of the protagonist at the end of the story (pictured below) and ask students to relate
their responses from the bellwork activity to the photo, further bolstering the students’ knowledge before
reading the story while simultaneously serving as a means of comprehensible input.
When explaining my expectations for the vocabulary log assignment, I will suggest students briefly illustrate
the definition of the vocabulary next to the word itself to help students form connections between their
illustration and the academic vocabulary to help students remember the definition of the term.

When explaining the difference between a story and an anecdote, I will ask students to share a random
conversation they overheard in the hall, a memory most students will likely be unable to recall. Next, I will ask
students to recall a memorable conversation they have had or overheard and instruct students to consider the
circumstances and sequence of events surrounding their memorable conversation. This technique should help
students better grasp the concept that an anecdote is an isolated incident that occurs without much context
or relevance, while a story is more memorable because of its calculated construction and occurrence.

As I guide students through the reading, I will project my annotations as the class progresses through the text
to highlight the key plot points in the story. These visual aids highlight the lines and passages students should
focus on, while also allowing students to easily identify and refer to the passage when citing it in a class
discussion or a writing activity.

When students are independently reading some portions of the story, students may choose to read a digital
version of the text if they wish to be read to and reap the benefits of a digital text, such as the convenience of
defining unfamiliar words and phrases.

During discussions, I will provide sufficient pauses of five to seven seconds to give students a chance to
formulate their responses when called upon. Additionally, I will project templates of conversational
techniques to remind all students how to effectively respond to their peers, while also providing ELL students
with additional handouts to help them successfully agree or disagree with their classmates’ perceptions.
Furthermore, by adapting my speech using words that can be understood by all students instead of complex
academic vocabulary, this will also help enhance everyone’s understanding of the lesson.

When students are completing the lesson assessment, I will explain the requirements of students’ responses
(claim, textual evidence and reasoning) and present a sample framework for students to refresh their pre-
existing knowledge for how to structure a “C-E-R” response. For emergent bilinguals, they will receive a
prewritten template for them to structure their response.

Lastly, by using gestures and vocalizing my thought processes in real-time, this may benefit students who learn
differently by developing their metacognitive capacities and help students understand words and concepts
that may be difficult to verbally describe or be more effectively taught in another manner.
What strategies will you use to increase interaction between students?
Rather than having the teacher speak for the duration of the lesson, asking for the students’ thoughts and
perspectives on the lesson ensures there is two-way communication between the students and the teacher. or
between the student and their peers allows the teacher to assess the students’ language objectives. Student-
to-student discussions among their peers also provide the teacher with opportunities to eavesdrop and
evaluate students on their listening and oral communication skills. Throughout the lesson, I will encourage
students to voice their opinions and concerns on concepts which may be confusing for them to understand;
the sooner the confusion is clarified, the lesser the chance is that the student’s confusion will become
ingrained.

This lesson also involves students sharing their previous and/or personal experiences regarding forgiveness
and second chances with their peers and the class through the bellwork activity. In addition to providing
comprehensible input, I will also ask students to discuss and share any observations in addition to the
teacher’s, providing students with an opportunity to communicate with their peers and add their annotations
to the teacher’s annotations being projected.

Lastly, besides having students share their responses to the lesson’s objective, I may consider conducting an
informal debate by separating students based on which character they selected to endorse, providing students
with an ideal setting for peer-to-peer interaction while also allowing me to evaluate the students’
understanding of the story.

What modifications will you make to the final evaluation to ensure your identified emergent bilingual is
demonstrating the content language objective at his/her proficiency goal?
I do not see the merit in modifying my assessment for emergent bilinguals because my pedagogical philosophy
maintains every student deserves to be challenged by the same assignments throughout their scholarly
journey. Given the disparity between ELL students and their native-speaking peers, I decided to maintain the
same assignment for all the students, but provide emergent bilinguals with a template to frame their response
because of their subpar language proficiency. This approach allows all students to practice and communicate
their skills for writing and supporting arguments with evidence and reasoning, while also addressing the needs
of ELLs regarding how to synthesize and convey their knowledge in a coherent and intelligible manner.

Provide a modified version of your rubric for assessment OR an exemplar of what you expect your emergent
bilingual to produce.
Original lesson assessment for all students:

The contentions students make will be assessed as arguments; claims about the characters that can be
measured alongside the evidence students provide. Claims will also be evaluated on its specificity and
insightfulness, the sophisticated and convincing utilization of available evidence, the clarity and consistency of
reasoning, and whether each paragraph coherently contributes to a confident and compelling movement of
the argument.

Pre-formatted templates for emergent bilingual students to introduce an ongoing debate:

Sample template and questions to help students introduce textual evidence and supply reasoning for their
contentions:

The emergent bilingual students’ assessments will be graded on whether their response adopts a position on
the topic, regardless of whether it goes beyond the obvious. The responses will also be assessed to determine
whether the ELL students’ ideas are somewhat developed and refer to examples and textual evidence to
support their claims, regardless of the strength of reasoning and their responsiveness to alternative lines of
thought. Lastly, the response will be evaluated to determine whether the emergent bilingual can display unity
in their composition to support the primary contention of their response.