Presentation: Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students

1. Presentation: Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students By John ‘JR’ Reafleng Rita Chavira Christopher Garcia

2. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students Agenda ‘Do Now’ 2. Preview presentation objectives 3. Discuss Objectives 4. Closure activity 5. Handout.

3. Do Now: Turn to your neighbor and ask and respond to the following question: What does thematic instruction mean to you as an educator?

4. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students AIM: It is likely that your responses addressed one more of the following aims of today’s presentations. Today we will:  Identify three major characteristics of thematic instruction. 2. Discuss ideas from two or three recent articles provided that will help use thematic instruction with bilingual learners. 3. Present other ideas from our professional experiences concerning thematic instruction that have proven beneficial that have not been mentioned in this training.

5. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students Ideas from our professional experiences concerning thematic instruction that have proven beneficial (review of the underlying concepts)

6. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students BICS and CALP  What are they?  Why are these concepts important?

7. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students BICS and CALP  Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills (BICS)  Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP)

8. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students Integration of Language and Content:

9. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students Integration of Language and Content: Language used to be taught in isolation. This meant that teachers used to teach grammatical rules, vocabularies, etc. as separate lessons.

10. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students Integration of Language and Content: Learners used to be asked to memorize rules and vocabulary lists which were meaningless and had no relevance to the students’ lives.

11. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students Integration of Language and Content: Now teachers are asked to teach English through meaningful materials and lessons important to the learners’ academic development.

12. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students Interactive Classrooms:  Interactive Classrooms are the most effective classrooms for learning a second language.

13. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students Interactive Classrooms: Students learn a great deal when they interact with their peers and their teachers.

14. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students Interactive Classrooms: Cooperative learning helps them develop social skills as well as linguistic and academic skills.

15. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students What are three major characteristics of thematic instruction?

16. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students 1st Major Characteristic of thematic instruction Academic contents are intertwined with language concepts that are organized around a central real life theme.

17. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students 1st Major Characteristic of thematic instruction The lesson structure of Thematic Approach is characterized by authentic activities within a collaborative environment.

18. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students 1st Major Characteristic of thematic instruction This collaborative environment identifies and develops students’ prior knowledge, pre-taught content vocabulary, provide visuals

19. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students 2nd Major Characteristic of thematic instruction Students achieve CALP within a communicative environment that facilitates comprehensible input.

20. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students 2nd Major Characteristic of thematic instruction Cultural and social factors, learning styles, and levels of language proficiencies of students are criteria for establishing a strong thematic approach to teaching.

21. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students 2nd Major Characteristic of thematic instruction These criteria provide for consistency of instruction, thus providing a structured environment.

22. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students 3rd Major Characteristic of thematic instruction Instruction is focused on engaging the three groups of learners: auditory, kinesthetic, and visual.

23. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students 3rd Major Characteristic of thematic instruction As a result students are providing with the opportunity to learn in the way that is most natural to them.

24. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students Discuss ideas from two recent articles provided that will help use thematic instruction with bilingual learners.

25. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students The organization Focus on Effectiveness in their 2005 online article Thematic Instruction discuss several ideas for implementation of this methodology. Focus on Effectiveness . (2005). Thematic Instruction . Retrieved from http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/them.php

26. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students Key Concepts from Article:“Themes are a way of understanding new concepts. They provide mental organizing schemes for students to approach new ideas.”“Research on brain-based teaching explains that the brain learns, and recalls learning, through nonlinear patterns that emphasize coherence rather than fragmentation. The more teachers make connecting patterns explicit and accessible for students, the easier the brain will integrate new information.”

27. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students Key Thematic Methods Discussed in Article :“Choose authentic themes that matter. Choosing themes that are authentic content connectors strengthens students' ability to build fluency between school subjects and apply them in real-world contexts. Select concepts or ideas that will blend disciplines and create bridges to new knowledge.”“Connect to the local surroundings. Extend the classroom into the neighborhood, town, and environment by integrating them into the curriculum in meaningful ways.”

28. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students The article notes: “Effective thematic instruction involves using a theme as ‘conceptual glue’ for learners, strengthening bonds to knowledge. This approach relies on teachers who have a strong sense of curriculum as a learning process and can see ways to connect learning with key concepts. The goal is to choose themes that relate to students' lives to ensure interest and engagement in the content.”

29. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students In the article Launching a Thematic Unit for Bilingual Learners from the blog “Bilingual Learners”, specific strategies are given to facilitate ELL students via Thematic Instruction. Bilingual Learners. (2013). Launching a Thematic Unit for Bilingual Learners. Retrieved from http://josdpf.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/launching-a-thematic-unit-for-bilingual-learners/

30. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students “ELL students should have plenty (of) opportunities to feel successful and (be) encouraged to try harder and give their best.”ELL students will make many mistakes by virtue of nature of second-langauge learning and multiple opportunities will allow for greater chance for success.“Use their input and get ideas from students before making your final decision (regarding the Thematic Unit).”This is an opportune moment to solicit output, written or oral, at the students current level out output. http://josdpf.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/launching-a-thematic-unit-for-bilingual-learners/

31. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students “Write your content objectives and your language objective side by side for each content area. Make sure to include the National Standards or Common Core state Standards as well as the WIDA or TESOL standards that you will be addressing in each content area.”Language goals are not an afterthought - the are integral to the lesson. http://josdpf.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/launching-a-thematic-unit-for-bilingual-learners/

32. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students “Decide what types of authentic assessment will better fit and demonstrate students’ learning (e.g., portfolio, research project, a musical, a play, a science inquiry experiment). Plan plenty opportunities for informal, formal, peer assessment and self assessment.” http://josdpf.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/launching-a-thematic-unit-for-bilingual-learners/

33. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students Finally the author advises teachers to look for clues about how to engaged ELL students during thematic instruction. Though they may be in a so-called ‘silent period’, they are still communicating.

34. Thematic Approach to Develop BICS and CALP Proficiency in ELL Students Closure: (Debrief) Describe three major characteristics of thematic instruction to your partner. 2. Discuss at least 2 ideas from two or three recent articles provided that will help use thematic instruction with bilingual learners. 3. Present at least one other ideas from your professional experiences concerning thematic instruction that have proven beneficial that were or were not mentioned in this training.

35. Handout (‘Strategies and Methods’)