Blog #8 SIOP lesson

I observed an SIOP or Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol lesson and saw that the teacher did include many components from the SIOP checklist. 

• The students were very involved in the lesson and there were opportunities for the students to work in groups, students shared with the class, and students worked with the teacher.  I did notice there was not as much wait time as I would have expected in a class with so many second language learners.  Although the wait time was short, the students did respond well to the teacher and each other. 
• Another component I noticed was use of realia and visuals to help students understand the content of the lesson.  An example of this was when the teacher was talking about adjectives and how to describe a spoon and she had a white plastic spoon to display and then talked with the students about how to describe it.
• I did see her use background knowledge to build on the content she was teaching.  An example of this was when she spoke with her Russian student about using plants where he came from and the type of area he lived in.  During this part of the lesson she also used realia again by having a plant there for them to look at.
• The students were reading, writing, speaking, and listening throughout the different parts of the lesson.  She also incorporated movement a couple of time throughout, like when they reviewed the raising hand rule and talking about grammar.
• During math the teacher incorporated group time and hands on activities by having different games set up to practice math skills.  They had to read their directions, speak with each other, and work together.
• I also observed the teacher taking advantage of teaching and clarifying opportunities, like when they stood up and reviewed prepositions.

Overall, I thought the lesson was very good and did show the use of the SIOP techniques.  There were language and content goals that were clear for the students to understand.  Important vocabulary was explained and connected to something meaningful to the students.  She reviewed rules orally and had visual reminders as well.  There was interaction going on between the students and with the teacher.  The students had opportunities to speak, listen, read, and write throughout the lesson.  Although the pacing was fast, the students were engaged and held to a very high academic standard.  There were hands on activities, visuals, and realia incorporated into the teaching as well.  Each of these components helps instruct the different learning styles that might be in each room, specifically our ELL learners that might need the scaffolding this type of environment provides.