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Running head: FINAL GROUP PROJECT 1

Adapted Lesson Plan and Assessments for ELLs

Gottlieb’s 4-phase Process for Classroom Assessment

Rachel Grant

Heidi Reyes-Cairo

Jessica Scott

Izzy Healey (Diane Elizabeth)

Prema Chruthoti

University of Utah

FINAL GROUP PROJECT 2

Introduction

Classroom-based assessment strategies help teachers make instructional decisions on a

daily basis. They help to diagnose students’ strengths and weaknesses related to classroom

instruction, and provide specific feedback to support students’ language and content learning. “In

order to ensure that diverse learners enjoy equal access to the curriculum and, therefore, an equal

opportunity to realize their maximum potential, every teacher must embrace the notion that she

or he is responsible for the learning of each of her or his students” (Fairbairn and Jones-Vo,

2010, p. 3). A notable way to demonstrate this responsibility in providing equal access to all

learners is through using assessments to determine their needs and abilities.

To assess our students we will be using both formative and summative assessments. The

formative assessments will help guide our teaching while indicating to us the different levels of

supports needed by the individual students. The summative assessments will allow us to get a

snapshot of what the student has learned and accomplished by the end of the lesson. The

formative and summative assessments will focus on measuring the student’s progress and

abilities within the domains of listening, speaking, reading and writing using WIDA's standards

as a guide (Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, 2009). The students will be

formatively assessed through teacher observations as they are participating in an image

sorting/categorizing activity. They will be summatively assessed through the seasonal

characteristics which they identify and write about in their sentences at the very end. We chose

these means of assessment because they incorporate in varying amounts all of the forms of the

English language acquisition domains of listening, speaking, reading and writing. This will allow

us as the teachers to see the students demonstrate their ablities in these areas, whether during the

formative or summative assessments.


The content area which we are focusing on is seasonal weather changes. Our specific

objectives are taken from the Utah core standards. We will be using the First Grade Science

Standard 2: Earth and Space Science. Students will gain an understanding of Earth and Space

Science through the study of earth materials, celestial movement, and weather. Within this

standard we will focus on Objective 3 (compare and contrast seasonal weather changes)

Indicator a: Identify characteristics of the seasons of the year (National Governors Association

Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). Our lesson will focus

on assessing students at a first grade level based on a variety of English language proficiency

levels. We chose to create and adapt a lesson at the first grade level because we are all interested

in teaching in the lower grade levels (K-3). The topic of seasons was one that could be

differentiated in a variety of ways and be adapted to meet the varying language proficiency

levels present in our class.

As Fairbairn and Jones-Vo indicate, “The differentiation process requires knowing and

understanding key cultural and linguistic factors that profoundly and predictably impact each

student’s learning and language acquisition” (2010, p. 2). Thus, it is necessary to be familiar with

the levels of your ELLs as well as their specific background so that you can differentiate

accordingly. Knowing the importance of this, we summarized not only the proficiency levels of

each student but also our knowledge of their educational backgrounds and the exposure to

English they have in their day-to-day life. The assessments will be adapted to two levels of the

WIDA proficiency standards, Level 1 Entering and Level 3 Developing, to meet the needs of our

two ELL students Jesus and Soo. Jesus, who is a Level 1 Entering, has recently arrived from

Panama and is having his first experiences with the English language. What he is currently

experiencing can be assumed from Fairbairn and Jones-Vo’s description that “Level 1 students


come to English-speaking classrooms with little to no English proficiency. Often, such students

are in a state of shock, having come from situations vastly different from U.S. classrooms”

(2010, p. 79). Soo, on the other hand, is a Level 3 Developing student and is considered a long-

term ELL. Soo was born in the United States but lives with her grandparents who only speak

Korean, and as a result her exposure to English is limited to classroom and outside of home

experiences. As we did with Jesus, we can use Fairbairn and Jones-Vo’s descriptions to gain an

understanding of where Soo is at developmentally according to her Level 3 designation. “Level 3

students generally possess a strong foundation of social language and continue to broaden and

deepen their academic language when supported with appropriate instruction” (Fairbairn &

Jones-Vo, 2010, p. 166).

As can be seen in the descriptions of our two students for whom we are differentiating,

“The ELL population is heterogeneous regarding academic and language learning needs and the

corresponding support each learner requires” (Ragan & Lesaux, 2006, p. 3). There are many

factors which must be considered when differentiating instruction and many things that will

influence the levels of support needed by each ELL. In the next section we will cover our

curriculum based assessment process as well as how we incorporated Gottlieb’s Four Phased

process in creating assessment procedures which would adequately meet the needs of this diverse

classroom (Gottlieb, 2006, p. 90).


SEASONS LESSON PLAN- 1ST GRADE

1. Standards and Objectives:First Grade Science Standard 2, Objective 3, Indicator A: Identify characteristics of the seasons of the year.

Content Objective:SWBAT identify characteristics of the seasons of the year through categorizing pictures of the seasons in small groups and then writing sentences which describe each season.Language Objectives:Speaking/WritingSWBAT individually use descriptive words to make statements in writing (or in an oral interview- Level 1 ELLs) about seasons from pictures or photographs.

ReadingSWBAT label each season by matching the written word with the picture of the season in small groups.

2. Instructional Focus:The teacher will focus on introducing the four seasons of the year and helping the students to identify the similarities and differences between each season. They will do this by reading an informational text about seasons, viewing images depicting the seasons and then completing a season activity by labeling, writing sentences and identifying pictures to show their understanding of the concept and content.

3. Texts for Instruction:A Tree for All Seasons by Robin Bernard

4. Instructional Procedures:The teacher will first activate background knowledge by prompting the students with questions such as “What do you expect to see when you go outside in the winter?” “What do you like to do in the winter?” about each of the seasons. After having this class discussion the teacher will then begin to build the students’ understanding of seasons by reading the book A Tree for All Seasons by Robin Bernard. The teacher will pause periodically throughout the book to discuss characteristics of the different seasons using the images from the book as a support. This will help illustrate to the students the transition which happens between each of the different seasons and the similarities and differences between the seasons.

After reading the book, students will work in small heterogeneous groups to organize images of different places at different times of the year according to their season. For example, there will be 3-4 images of each season and the students will have to organize all of the images of spring time under the label of Spring, all of the images of winter under the label of Winter, etc. During this activity, the teacher will walk around and observe different groups as well as provide feedback where needed.

Once the students have organized the images correctly according to their seasons, the students will then write four sentences, one describing each of the seasons and listing a few of its


characteristics. For example: Winter is cold and snowy. Fall has colored leaves and is windy. In spring plants grow and everything is green. In summer it is hot and sunny.

5. Student Activity/Differentiation. To meet the objectives, students will be listening as the teacher reads the book and points out the characteristics of each season. They will then be required to use their oral language abilities as they discuss the organization of each of the images during the group work as well as use reading skills to identify the labels of the seasons by working in groups. At the end they will need to use their writing abilities as they list in sentence form characteristics of the various seasons.

In order to differentiate the instruction and make it appropriate for the various ELL levels, the lesson incorporates various supports systems. We will be accessing the student’s background knowledge, using images throughout the lesson, and having the students work in groups to provide peer support.

To specifically meet the needs of the different ELL proficiency levels we’ve adapted our sorting activity to give more support. The students at lower proficiency levels will use the title cards that are embedded on pictures to give them hints if they are unable to read the words. We have also adapted the portion of the activity where students create sentences. More advanced learners will be expected to write out their own complete sentences where students that are in need of more support will be provided with sentence frames and asked to fill in the blanks.

6. Assessments: Gottlieb’s Four-Phase Process for Classroom Assessment was used in all phases of the lesson plan creation and adaptation. Phase 1 (Planning) can be seen in sections 1-4 of this lesson plan where our standards and objectives, instructional procedures and teaching purpose are listed. Phase 2 (Delivery) is shown through sections 4-6 which show how the teacher will provide support to the students, how the students will be grouped and the different assessments and activities will meet the defined standards and objectives. Phase 3 (Interpretation) is explained within section 6 of the lesson plan as the expectations for student’s work and how it will be assessed are delineated. Phase 4 (Use of results for feedback) is addressed in sections 4 and 6 where students will be formatively assessed by the teacher making observations and providing feedback during the categorization activity and summatively assessed as the teacher examines the written work as well as the students responses during the oral interview.

We will know that the students have met the purpose of the lesson through both formative and summative assessment. The students will be formatively assessed through teacher observations as they are participating in the image sorting/categorizing activity. They will be summatively assessed through the characteristics which they identify and write about in their sentences at the very end which they will do in their interactive notebooks.

To differentiate the assessment for students who are ELLs, the teacher will do the following according to the different levels of ELP which are present in the class:


Level 1 Beginning: The student will have an oral interview with the teacher showing pictures of the different seasons and the student will be asked “What season is this?” and “Why is it summer/how do you know it is summer?” They will use words or phrases related to the seasons from pictures or photographs (e.g., “clouds in sky”) This will allow opportunity for the teacher to determine if the student is understanding the differences between the seasons and appropriately labeling them with terms such as “hot,” “cold,” “sunny,” “rainy,” “windy,” and “snowy.”

Level 3 Developing: The student will describe seasonal conditions from pictures or photographs by filling in a writing prompt using those descriptions they identified. For example, “Winter is _______ and _______.” The teacher will examine the students written examples or their responses to the oral interview to determine their level of understanding as well as their progress in development of the English language. These results will then be used to determine what portions of instruction were unclear for the students that may need to be readdressed as well as what domains of English Language development should be focused on in upcoming lessons to help the ELL students progress.

Curriculum Based Assessment Process Discussion

The purpose of our assessments is to determine the level of understanding students have

reached regarding the seasons and their respective characteristics. The assessments will help the

teacher determine the students’ achievement and progress in relation to content as well as

language objectives. The reason to assess the students’ understanding of the content of this topic

is to ensure that each student, regardless of their language abilities, is grasping and processing

the information learned. The motive for assessing a student’s language abilities is so that

students are able to advance and progress their abilities within the domains of Reading, Writing,

Listening, and Speaking with the end goal being their eventual designation as proficient in each

of these areas and advancement to Level 6 where they have transitioned and are considered to be

“reaching.”

To meet the needs of our diverse learners we have adapted our lesson to offer language

and cultural support. Though our students span over a range of proficiency levels, our concern

for them as a whole is the same: that they progress and learn wherever they are. To help our


students feel familiar with the context, we’ve included time in the lesson where we will activate

background knowledge. This should give students a sense of competency and serve as a starting

point to launch into what may be new material depending on their individual backgrounds. We

have also been sure to include visual aids that will give support to students as they work to

understand and remember new vocabulary terms. In addition to activating background

knowledge and providing visuals, we will give students the opportunity to work in groups and

receive the peer support that is available in this type of setting.

The adaptations that we made to our lesson plan assessments were based off of the

WIDA Can Do Descriptors. Since Jesus is a Level 1 ELL, we felt that writing sentences about

the weather would be too linguistically complex for him. We instead adapted our assessment to

fit the first grade speaking Can Do Descriptor that states that students will be able to “respond to

visually supported questions of academic content with one word or phrase” (Board of Regents of

the University of Wisconsin System, 2009, p. 6). By orally interviewing Jesus instead of

requiring him to write, we have reduced the linguistic complexity and aligned our assessment to

meet this WIDA standard. Similarly, we also adapted our assessment to meet Soo’s Level 3 Can

Do Descriptor. With Soo’s linguistic abilities, she would be able to write simple sentences when

provided with appropriate support. A first grade Level 3 ELL should be able to “give content-

based information using visuals or graphics” and “form simple sentences using word/phrase

banks” (Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, 2009, p. 7). By adapting our

assessment for Soo, we have provided her with sentence stems and visuals, therefore aligning

with both of these Can Do Descriptors.

From various course readings we can see how essential it is to differentiate assessment to

meet the needs of various students’ proficiency levels. Gottlieb states “When instruction is


organized into multiple, simultaneous, diversified activities around a central topic that allow

students to work toward a variety of goals, it is differentiated (Estrada, 2004). English language

learners are a heterogeneous mix of students with differing levels of language proficiency who

can benefit from this instructional strategy” (2006, pg. 73). The ELLs of focus in this lesson (Soo

and Jesus) come from different backgrounds and are at different levels of English Language

Proficiency, therefore making it essential to diversify our forms of assessments so as to

appropriately meet their needs.

O’Malley (1996) describes authentic assessment as “…multiple forms of assessment that

reflect student learning, achievement, motivation, and attitudes on instructionally-relevant

classroom activities” (p.4). The type of authentic assessment that we chose to focus on and

implement into our lesson plan is performance based assessment which “consists of any form of

assessment in which a student constructs a response orally or in writing” (Feuer and Fulton,

1993; Herman, Aschbacher, & Winters, 1992). In this setting the performance based assessment

is an appropriate selection as it is non-threatening and gives a nice measure of the students’

understanding without intimidating them.

The basis of our assessment is formative. This is because formative assessments help give

teachers an idea of where there students are at so they can then know how to best modify their

instruction. Formative assessments can be formal or informal; a decision made by the teacher

based on the lesson and the learners (Wright, 2010, p.113). By performing these observations as

the students are working in their partnerships to categorize the seasons, we will be able to use

this to modify our instruction and identify which students may require additional instruction and

scaffolding to support their learning. This will ensure that we are not taken by surprise during the

evaluation of the summative assessment, whether that is in the form of a student’s written


sentences or oral interview. If we have effectively assessed the students formatively, then the

summative assessment will be an accurate representation of what they have learned.

In our adapted lesson plan, the students will be formatively assessed through teacher

observations as they are participating in the image sorting/categorizing activity as well as

summatively assessed through the characteristics which they identify and write about in

sentences at the very end (which they will do in their interactive notebooks, or in the case of

Jesus, through his oral interview). The advantage of teacher observation as an assessment is that

it allows the teacher to be a part of the class and activity. The teacher is constantly moving from

group to group and providing positive feedback to see if students fully understand what they are

learning and sorting. However, a slight disadvantage could be that since the teacher is not

working with students one-on-one, a student may get lost within the group and only moving

items around because a group member says to; an individual student may not fully understand

the categorizing activity themselves. The advantage of sentence writing (and the adaptation of

oral interviews for the ELL students) is that it allows the teacher to see and hear if a student can

actually differentiate the characteristics of the different seasons and answer questions on their

appropriate level. This gives the teacher a clear understanding of the student’s progress as well as

the student’s level of proficiency. This type of assessment may not be as valid and reliable

though since some students may have different background knowledge regarding the different

seasons. For example, Jesus, who came from Panama, has not experienced winter like we do in

the states and therefore may have a different opinion about season characteristics. This could

cause him to draw from his background knowledge and talk or write about the seasons as they

are in Panama, even though he has just learned about the seasons during the class activity.


Conclusion

In the past, ELLs have not been included in high-stakes standardized tests which has led

to low academic standards for ELLs. We have learned that lesson plans and assessments should

always be developed keeping ELLs in mind. Creating this lesson has given us a sense of the

importance of using authentic assessments designed to meet the individual needs of our students.

“If diverse learners do not receive instruction that closes gaps in their knowledge, skills and

abilities, they will not meet standards for which teachers are held accountable. Further, such

underserved students will fall short of reaching their full potential” (Fairbairn & Jones-Vo, 2010,

p. 253). So as to ensure that ELLs are provided with ample opportunities to advance in their

learning and be successful, they must be taught in a way that is reflective of their language

proficiency level as well as their own personal background. In order to be successful as teachers,

we need to make sure our students are being taught and assessed with appropriate adaptations for

their diverse learning styles.


References

Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. (2009). The WIDA English Language

Learner CAN DO Booklet, Grades 1-2. Retrieved 3/24/2015 from

http://www.wida.us.standards/CAN_DOs/.

Fairbairn & Jones-Vo (2010). Differentiating instruction & assessment for English Language

Learners: A guide for K-12 teachers. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Publishing.

Gottlieb, M. (2006) Assessing English Language Learners: Bridges From Language Proficiency

to Academic Achievement. Corwin Press: A Sage Publications Company.

National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School

Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards. Washington, DC: Authors.

Pierce Valdez, L. & O’Malley, J. (1996) Authentic Assessment for English Language Learners:

Practical Approaches for Teachers. MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.

Ragan & Lesaux (2006). Federal, state, and district level English language learner program entry

and exit requirements: Effects on the education of language minority learners.

Educational Policy Analysis Archives, 14(20), 320-338.

Wright, W.E. (2010). Assessment. In Foundations for teaching English Language Learners:

Research, theory, policy and practice.


Materials

Name: __________________________ Date: ______________

What do I know about the seasons?

Directions: Write a sentence describing each of the seasons and list 2 of its characteristics.

Summer: ____________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Fall: ____________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Winter: ____________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Spring: ____________________________________________

____________________________________________________


*Differentiated worksheet for ELLs

Name:_________ Date:____________

SeasonsWhat do I know?

Directions: Write a sentence describing each of the seasons and list 2 of its characteristics.

1. Spring is/has ______________and

_________________.

2. Summer is/has ___________and ________________.


3. Fall is/has ______________and _________________.

4. Winter is/has ______________and

_________________.

Word Bank

Hot ColdWindy RainySnowy ChillyFlowers Colored leavesSunny BrightDark CoolIcy Blooming


Spring Summer Fall Winter

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