Liverpool Public School, ESL Pedagogy Project 2011. How do refugee and ESL students access the academic language required to achieve stage 3 outcomes?

1. ESL PEDAGOGY PROJECT 2011
MRS A. SHORT & MRS R. RICHARDSON
LIVERPOOL PUBLIC SCHOOL
ACTION INQUIRY
2011

2. School Context
• There are an increasing number of refugee students – 87 students in 2011.
• The Primary Intensive English program provides targeted intensive support
for Refugee students enabling them to develop language and Literacy skills
and participate effectively in the mainstream classroom.
Class: 5R
1st Phase students 5 refugee students

3. Rationale
• We perceived that students were confident
users of “every day” language but to achieve
stage 3 curriculum outcomes students needed
to develop their “academic” language in Key
Learning Areas.
• We needed to design high challenge teaching
and learning activities that would scaffold ESL
learners and provide high support.

4. Rationale
• Many of the students in our class were “quietly”
disengaged and disconnected from their learning.
They had limited understanding of the “essential”
knowledge of units of work in the classroom.
• Although tasks were modelled, there was no
transferral of knowledge in writing or talk.
• We wanted to create a quality learning environment
which was focussed on developing intellectual
quality.

5. Rationale: Links to Quality Teaching
Framework
Quality learning environment
Intellectual Quality

6. Action Inquiry Focus
• How do refugee and ESL students
access the academic language required
to achieve stage 3 outcomes?

7. Key Pedagogical Focus
Designed in scaffolding
Learning experiences were designed and sequenced to build on students‟
knowledge of the language and concepts of Electricity and Antarctica, so
that students could transform and demonstrate their learning.
Varied participant structure
Working with different and varied participant structure
Independent work, group work, jigsaw groups, small groups, whole class
Message Abundancy
DVDS, word walls, photos, excursions, blogging, You tube, Internet access,
Travel agent brochures, Matrix, News report
ESL based teaching sequence
Controlled, guided and independent activities

8. Initial Assessment
A number of assessments were carried out throughout the
programs, including:
ESL band levels for Oral and Writing.
ESL Scales indicators in a form of a checklist was used to
update their band levels.
Pre and post writing assessments
Teacher observations of whole class, pairs and group work

9. Assessment throughout project
Video clips of student presentations and class participation.
Work samples
Electricity experiments
Learning goals are explicitly shared with students and students were
taught how to recognise the standards they are aiming for. (Matrix
criteria)
Peer and self-assessment
Teacher and student reflection
Student feedback
Student blogs

10. Cycle 1 – COGS unit on Electricity
Rich task
• Students demonstrate their knowledge and
understanding of energy by designing, creating and
explaining a product that uses transformation of energy.

11. Designing Rich Task
•Design and make a product using electrical circuit either
powered by battery or solar power.
•Product will need to serve a purpose and meet personal
need.
• Students needed to explain how the product worked and
they also needed to persuade the audience to buy the
product.

12. Targeted Language
Electricity conductors circuits insulators motors
Energy produce closed transport store wind
Wires cells open filament generated solar
Bulb complete parallel simple hydro nuclear

13. Electricity Program
Teaching and Learning Experience Scaffolding / Strategies
Introduction to the COGS unit „Electricity‟ • Small groups
by filling in a KWHL chart. (What do we • Progressive brainstorming activity and
know and understand about electricity? reporting back.
what do we want to find out? How might
we get this information?) • Collect charts
Appoint a reporter, then have groups report • Sharing information with each other.
back to compare information. (Rotate
these charts and students add infor.)
Front Loading
Teacher explains that each of the images either • Use video of brainstorming session and
use, produce, transport or store electricity. ( 12 reporting back.
pictures)
Students observe a variety of pictures on a • Collect work samples.
power point based on different forms of energy.
Names of images are displayed. ( 12 pictures)
In small groups, they classify these pictures into • Matrix
the correct headings and justify their choice in a • Take photos of their work.
full sentence. E.g. A cable is used to transport
electricity.(Use, produce, transport and store).

14. Electricity Program
Teaching and Learning Experience Scaffolding/ Assessment
Excursion to the „Powerhouse Museum. • Building the field
Students will be asked to report back to the WC • Developing metalanguage
on what they learnt about electricity. • Photos of different forms of electricity
Each leader has a digital camera where they • Blogging
take photos of their learning and fill in recording
sheet.
Teacher modelling of collage. • Internet visual support.
Students make a collage using digital images • partner work
from their excursion. • work sample
Students report what they had learnt about • videoing
electricity. • blogs
Students blog their learning from the
Powerhouse.
Supply small student groups with a battery, two • hands on activity – taking apart and
pieces of wire and a torch globe. Ask students to rebuilding a torch
explore ways of making the torch globe glow. • teacher supplying technical language to label
Ask students to draw and label a diagram of their a torch diagram
observations. • videoing some children orally explaining the
Introduce the language to explanations. Provide process of how a torch and circuit works.
sentence starters to demonstrate cause and • models of explanation, joint construction,
effect. language features, grammar, technical
Ask students to write an explanation (using text language,
and drawings) of how a torch works. • cause, effect.
• work samples of Explanations on torches.

15. Electricity Program
Teaching and Learning Experience Scaffolding / Strategies
Exploring Electrical Energy
As a whole class brainstormed ideas about • Showed inventions on the internet on You
creating a product that served a purpose in their tube Ellen Show.
life.
Students thought of „everyday‟ problems such • Advertisements of products.
as, their brother keeps going into their room.
Students had to come up with a product that • Student observations
would help solve this problem, BUT it had to
include an electrical circuit. Eg Alarm on their • Video taping
door.
Introducing design task
Model problem and design. Procedure structure • Student Criteria Checklist
(Head torch on a head band.)
Students mark teachers design using criteria. • Student observations
Brainstorm problems that arise in the classroom
and how they can be resolved using electrical • Photographs of their final products
energy as part of design solution.
Students sketch initial ideas for their product
and annotate their sketch to explain how the
product works.
Have students consider the circuit required to
operate the product.
Criteria to be used to judge the success of their
solution

16. Electricity Program
Teaching and Learning Experience Scaffolding / Strategies
Presentation Day – Students display their • Video - taping presentations during
sketches and models to the class and talk Assembly. (Science Show)
about them.

17. KWL chart

18. Front-loading
• Students are shown a series of photographs of objects that
store, produce , use and transport electricity and predicted
whether they store, produced or transported electricity.

19. Powerhouse Museum

20. Blogging - Now that your product is made, how do you feel about the design? What are
some positive points? What would you change?
Miss Giggles (Ivona) says: The product that I made was a house with a fan and light. I liked
making the house and I learnt a lot about electricity like you can only put a black wire on the
negative side and a blue, white and red on the positive. The positive side of the house was
making it with my uncle and I wouldn’t change anything.
pretty princess(Andjela) says:
I am proud of what I made and I am so excited about presenting it to the class. The first time
I tried it, it didn’t work. Second time it worked. I need to change a little more staff and I need
to make it more entertaining.
Aishwarya says:
I really enjoyed making my latest invention and I am very impressed with it.
My invention is a lamp and I won't make any differences in it because I love it all.
Some of the positive points about my lamp are, when I first tried to make the straws stay still
sticking to the clay ,they didn't and I was really disappointed, the next time I tried it they did
and I was very happy that they did.
made a product that's called THE SECRET NIGHT LIGHT STAND it's similiar to a lamp but the difference is that the torch is
balanced by two thick straws that are balanced by some sticky clay, another difference is that the torch is in a case that
is made out of tissue paper roll. I made this because my parents expect me to finish my studies before bedtime but
sometimes I don't finish all of it, so at night (maybe at 3'o clock)I wake up to do my studies and notice that I can't turn
the lights on because my parents will know that I am not sleeping, I also noticed that there's not enough light for me to
read books, so I made this product so I can get some light to do studies and to read books.
Noora says: I made a rainbow colours that when you spin it the colours will change into
one colour which is blue and I put lights around it .

21. Building Vocabulary
Exploring, investigating
and experimenting with
different components
used in Electricity.
Increasing children‟s field
knowledge and
metalanguage.

22. Labelling a torch / Explanation

23. Experimenting with Circuits
Investigating and
exploring how an
electrical circuit
works.
Trial and error
• For students to become motivated
and engaged in electricity, lots of
oral interaction, scaffolding and
hands on activities were
incorporated.

24. Exploring and Investigating

25. Brainstorming ideas for their models

27. Products
Lightinator Solar battery
Product: Fun House Car Product: Rainbow fan
Product: Light Fan Product: Light Alarm
Designing, creating and explaining their models to Year 6

28. Rich Task: Electricity

29. Cycle 2 - Antarctica
Direction: 5R
Change of ESL teacher: Mrs P. Vella
Continued focus on Phase 2, Stage 3 ESL
students.

30. Cycle 2 – COGS unit Antarctica
Rich Task
 Stage 3 COGS unit was based on Antarctica.
 Students demonstrate their knowledge and
understanding by creating and filming a news
documentary on Antarctica.

31. Target language
Ozone pollution biology geology Glaciology
meterology oceanography global warming human impacts
Sea ice Aurora Katabatic winds blizzard ice shelves
Glacier iceberg whiteout icesheet
Adelie penguins Emperor penguins Southern elephant seal
Leopard seal Weddell seal humpback whale blue whale
Orca krill algae albatross

32. Antarctica Program
Teaching and Learning Experience Scaffolding / Strategies
Excursion to Maritime Museum where children • Building the field
saw Scott‟s Last Expedition (to Antarctica) • Developing metalanguage
display and watched a documentary about • Visual support
Antarctica on IMAX.
Introduction to the COGS unit „Antarctica‟ by • Small groups
filling in a KWL chart. (What do we know and • Progressive brainstorming activity and
understand about Antarctica? what do we want to reporting back.
find out? How might we get this information?) • Sharing information with each other.
Appoint a reporter, then have groups report back
to compare information. (Rotate these charts and
students add infor.)
Location of Antarctica on world map, show travel • Small groups
agent brochures of Antarctica and view it on • Developing metalanguage
Utube. Guided Reading on Captain Scott, front • Building on their comprehension skills and
loading activity and synonym cloze. reading strategies.
• Skimming and scanning
• Visual support
• Authentic texts
Physical features of Antarctica: Weather and • Visual support
Landscape reading, Matching vocabulary to • partner work
pictures and vocabulary to meanings. • work samples
• Peer sharing

33. Antarctica Program
Teaching and Learning Experience Scaffolding / Strategies
Jigsaw Comprehension Readings on : • Small group work
Tourism, Scientific Research and Human • Skimming and scanning
Impact. Students will be required to write the • Reading strategies
positive effects, the problems caused and how • Sharing information
the problems were overcome with their base
group.
Guided reading: Books on Antarctic Animals • Group work
Animals in Antarctica • Sharing information with peers
Information gap activities • Communicative activities
Matrix –Comprehension
Description of the animal that they have to
guess what it is by looking at an Antarctic
Animal flowchart
Presentation: News report • Small groups
• Developing power point based on their
knowledge of Antarctica
• News report criteria

34. Building the field: Excursion to
Powerhouse Museum and Imax

35. Matching Vocabulary

36. Matching Vocabulary

37. Jigsaw Comprehension

38. Antarctica Animal Matrix

39. Information Report

40. Information Report Criteria

41. Criteria for Marking

42. News Reporting – Final Presentation

43. Findings: Cycle 1 & 2
 Learning was enhanced by use of hands on activities, experiments,
excursions, authentic texts, Youtube, videos and photos (message
abundancy)
 Sequencing of tasks which embedded talk, enabled all students to
experience success. Students had everything they needed to achieve –
criteria, language, concepts and skills – All carefully scaffolded.
 Rich tasks engaged all students.
 Students confidently used technical and metalanguage, developing
academic language.
 All students were engaged in substantive communication with
opportunities to work in pairs and small groups. More opportunities for
contingent scaffolding and for students to articulate their ideas.

44. ESL Bands – Terms 1 - 4
Terms O.I R/R W Terms O.I R/R W
1 3 3 2 1 3 2 2
4 4 3 3 4 4 3 3
W.B.
Terms O.I R/R W Terms O.I R/R W
1 3 3 3 1 3 3 2
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3

45. Impact of program for refugee / ESL
students
• All students participation in mainstream classroom
• Development of academic language
• Confident to have a go and take risks
• Confident in the classroom, not just in a withdrawal
group
• Scaffolded up for success!

46. Reflection
• Importance of backward mapping from rich
task
• Identifying essential knowledge, skills
• Quality rather than quantity
• Planned opportunities for talk
• Use of academic language

47. Personal reflections
• Team teaching with a focus on moving students from
playground language to academic language has been
inspiring for both teachers.
• Both have developed a deeper understanding of ESL
pedagogy and its impact in the classroom.
• The importance of ESL support in the mainstream
classroom.
• We know more about our ESL students – their strengths,
therefore allowing us to determine where to proceed next
with their learning.

48. Implications: So where to now?
• More co-operative planning of programs with ESL teachers.
• More opportunities to team teach with ESL staff and use their expertise.
• A greater emphasis on developing oral language including academic
language.
• More explicit teaching of rich tasks in the classroom.
• Mentoring other grade teachers in Rich Tasks and ESL based activities to
build oral language.