Differentiated Instructional Activity Paper
Alexa Armentano
The first lesson below is the lesson plan I am using for my Differentiated Instructional Activity. The lesson below is the original lesson plan without any of the upgrades I would add in to help English Language Learners. Looking at this lesson, there is definitely room for improvement in order to support English Language Learners further. There are a few changes I would make to this lesson plan that would include differentiation for ELLs. I believe that personal narratives are a great way for ELLs to learn important writing skills. “Narratives, which can be fiction or nonfiction, offer several benefits to ELLs (English Language Learners). First of all, narratives are useful for teaching structure, plot, and character development.” (Hamel, 2023). Hamel also described “Secondly, narratives give students an opportunity to develop prewriting skills. When ELLs prewrite, they can make use of vital writing tools such as brainstorming and outlining. Finally, narratives enable students to communicate with the teacher and each other on a more personal level that other academic forms of writing simply do not allow.” (Hamel, 2023). Using personal narratives teach students correct sentence form, grammar, etc., while also creating a more personal connection between the teacher and the student, and the student to their classmates. After analyzing my original personal narrative lesson plan, I thought of a couple instructional strategies that will be more beneficial for English Language Learners.
A strategy I would add to this lesson to improve practice is having the students watch a short video on personal narratives. “Video is an effective tool for learning, particularly for English language learners. Videos increase student motivation and make a lesson more memorable while providing context to the language and bringing the subject to life. Additionally, English language learners respond well to the combination of visual and audio stimuli.” (Discovery Education, 2023). Using visuals for students is very beneficial in the learning process. In the video, it discusses what a personal narrative is, and the important parts of a personal narrative like the beginning, middle, end, the setting, and important details. The video also shows examples of a personal narrative. I think this will be very beneficial in the learning process for this lesson.
An instructional strategy I would add to this lesson to imperative the process of the lesson is roving paragraphs. This would be very helpful for English Language Learners to ensure their sentences for their paragraphs are written correctly. “Students complete sentences using sentence stems you have provided them. They then "rove" around the classroom to find a partner. Once they partner up, they read their sentences to each other. You then give them the next sentence stem and repeat the process until each student has completed a paragraph on the target concept.” (Carlson, 2023). Roving paragraphs is extremely beneficial for students, but it can also be a fun activity which is also very important. For roving paragraphs, students will be provided with sentence frames, sentence starters, and word lists with pictures for support with their sentences. English language learners will have these resources for all the sentences in their paragraphs and for the entire personal narrative they are writing. Students will be paired up while they write their first sentence, and once the sentences are complete, they share with their partner. This strategy is also known as think-pair-share. Once they finished sharing their sentences, and helped each other find any mistakes, the students will then rove around the classroom and find another partner. Once they find another partner, they will sit down and begin writing their second sentence. After that sentence is complete, they share both sentences they have written so far. The students will have the opportunity to help each other make corrections if needed. They will once again rove to find another partner and complete the same steps. Having multiple students hear the students’ sentences will provide more opportunity to ensure the sentences are being written correctly. This will be completed as many times as needed to complete the paragraph. For this activity and lesson, the paragraphs will have four sentences so there will be four rounds of roving. After the roving is complete, students will return to their seats to have the opportunity to share their paragraphs with the class.
Taking the time to analyze my original lesson plan and figuring out how to improve differentiation for English Language Learners taught me a lot. It showed me that just because you have done a lesson before, and it worked, doesn’t always mean there is no room for improvement. As educators, it is imperative that we are always working to improve our lessons and changing our lessons to stay up to date with the ever-changing world of education. Aside from that, it was also a lesson for me to ensure there is always enough differentiation for ELLs. If there aren’t learning strategies for ELLs, the lesson may not be effective, and they won’t have the opportunity to learn to their fullest potential. This activity taught me to always look at lessons, activities, assignments, etc., and ensure that there are options for all students to ensure their learning needs are being met. Please see the original and the updated lesson plan below.
References:
Carlson, J. (2022, December 9). Engaging ESL Writing Activity - Roving Paragraphs. KidInspired Classroom. https://kid-inspired.com/esl-writing-activity-roving-paragraphs/
Using Videos with English Language Learners. (2023). Discovery Education. https:// help.discoveryeducation.com/hc/en-us/articles/360057867973-Using-Videos-with-EnglishLanguage-Learners
Hamel, M. (2023). Teaching ELL Students Narrative Writing. Study.com. https://study.com/ academy/lesson/teaching-ell-students-narrative-writing.html
C. (2023, January 25). Building Strong Writers: Activities & Writing Strategies for ELL Students. Continental Educational Publisher. https://www.continentalpress.com/blog/writing-strategies-ellstudents/
Echevarría Jana, Vogt, M. E., & Short, D. (2017). Making content comprehensible for English learners: The Siop model. Pearson.
Foti, K. (n.d.). Roving Paragraph Frames. http://crazyladyteacher.blogspot.com/2017/09/rovingparagraph-frames.html
Original Lesson Plan:
Subject, Content Area or Topic
• Personal Narrative- a time they overcame a challenge Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.3
Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.
Content Objective
• Students will identify the problem in the story
• Students will identify a problem they had in their life
• Students will write a personal narrative about a time they had a problem and how they overcame it
Language Objective
• Conversation- students will work in pairs to talk about a problem they once had
• Grammar- students will write personal narratives using appropriate grammar
• Writing- students will write about their challenge and how they overcame it
Student Population
• Grade 2
• English Language Learners
Learning Community
• Suburban
• Elementary School
• Co-teaching
• Students are at individual desks grouped together
Materials/Resources
• Graphic organizers- beginning, middle and end charts
• Sentence starters list
Preparation:
• Language objectives: challenge, overcome, personal narrative, discussion, graphic organizer
• Students will understand the challenges the boy in the story faced and how he overcame them
• Students will be able to relate to the story and think about a time they faced a challenge and how they overcame it
• Students will complete a graphic organizer with a beginning, middle and end of the time they faced the challenge
• Students will write a personal narrative about their experience with a challenge
• Materials: “What Do You Do With An Idea?”, graphic organizer chart, personal narrative paper
• ELLs will have sentence starters list and a word list to support their ideas and writing
• Students will listen to story, speak about story, speak with classmates about their own experience, fill in graphic organizer, write personal narrative
Building Background:
• Students will use past experiences to relate to the story
• Students will write about a time they overcame a challenge
• Students will use word lists to incorporate language like challenges, overcame, relate.
Comprehensive Input:
• Teachers will clearly enunciate, and explain key vocabulary words
• Teachers will avoid longer sentences, and vocabulary students may not know
• Teachers will use a checklist with pictures for tasks students need to accomplish during the lesson
• Students will refer to checklist to ensure they are staying on task
• Students will receive checklist with pictures to make tasks clearer if students need differentiation
• Students who need differentiation will receive sentence starter lists, and word lists and work with a teacher in a small group
Strategies:
• Students will work in pairs to verbally discuss their experiences with a problem and how they overcame it
• Students will receive a graphic organizer to organize their experience in a beginning, middle and the end of the story
• If needed, students will work in a small group with a teacher to help encourage their thoughts and writing skills
• After read aloud- teacher and students will have an in-depth discussion about the story and will focus on the main ideas for their writing task
• Questions: Think about a time you had a problem- how did it make you feel? What was the boy’s problem? How did he make it go away? How can problems help us? How would you face a problem?
Interactions:
• Teacher and students will have a discussion about story
• Students will work in pairs to talk about a time they had a problem, and what they did to fix the problem
• Small group of students will work with a teacher throughout the duration of the lesson to discuss the tasks and the expectations of the lesson
• If students are having a difficult time thinking of a time they had a problem, give them time to think about it
• If students are having a difficult time, pair them up with another student to hear their problem to hopefully have students relate to one another
• Students can discuss their experience in L1 with another student or teacher, and then take the time to write their experience in L2
• Students will use word lists and sentence starters that translate from L1 to L2
Practice/Application:
• After verbal discussions, students will use graphic organizers to begin writing their experience down
• Graphic organizer will be broken up into three parts- beginning, middle and end
• Once student complete graphic organizer, they will begin their personal narrative using sentence starters and word lists
• Students will listen to the story, students will listen to classmates experience when they had a problem and how they overcame it
• Students will speak about the story, students will speak with a classmate about a time they had a problem and how they overcame it
• Students will write a personal narrative about their experience when they faced a challenge and how they overcame it
Lesson Delivery:
• Lesson will be conducted whole group, pairs and small groups if needed.
• Interactive discussions will encourage students to stay engaged
• Speaking in pairs will encourage students to stay engaged
• Teachers will help students through the process of relating to the story and thinking of a time they faced a challenge
• Students will have a set time with their pairs, a set time to complete their graphic organizer, and a set time to complete their personal narrative
Review/Assessment:
• At the end of the lesson, the class will come back together to review key vocabulary words and discuss their meanings
• Students will have the opportunity to meet with the teacher to read their personal narrative, and discuss their experience with facing a challenge and overcoming it
• Students will have the opportunity to share their personal narratives with the class, students will be able to respond to students presentation
Extension/Homework:
• Students will write another personal narrative after this lesson, but on a different topic
• Students will learn personal narratives can have many different topics
Updated Lesson Plan:
Subject, Content Area or Topic
• Personal Narrative- a time they overcame a challenge Standard: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.3
Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.
Content Objective
• Students will identify the problem in the story
• Students will identify a problem they had in their life
• Students will write a personal narrative about a time they had a problem and how they overcame it
Language Objective
• Conversation- students will work in pairs to talk about a problem they once had
• Grammar- students will write personal narratives using appropriate grammar
• Writing- students will write about their challenge and how they overcame it
Student Population
• Grade 2
• English Language Learners
Learning Community
• Suburban
• Elementary School
• Co-teaching
• Students are at individual desks grouped together
Materials/Resources
• Graphic organizers- beginning, middle and end charts
• Sentence frames for all sentences • Sentence starters list
• Book- What Do You Do With A Problem?
• YouTube video - “Personal Narative- Introduction”
• YouTube video link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK4hir5lVXg
• Word lists with photos
• Vocabulary list in English and L1
Preparation:
• Language objectives: challenge, overcome, personal narrative, discussion, graphic organizer
• Students will understand the challenges the boy in the story faced and how he overcame them
• Students will be able to relate to the story and think about a time they faced a challenge and how they overcame it
• Students will watch a YouTube video about personal narratives
• Students will complete a graphic organizer with a beginning, middle and end of the time they faced the challenge
• Students will write a personal narrative about their experience with a challenge
• Materials: “What Do You Do With An Idea?”, graphic organizer chart, personal narrative paper
• ELLs will have sentence starters list and a word list to support their ideas and writing
• Students will listen to story, speak about story, speak with classmates about their own experience, fill in graphic organizer, write personal narrative
Building Background:
• Students will use past experiences to relate to the story
• Students will write about a time they overcame a challenge
• Students will use word lists to incorporate language like challenges, overcame, relate.
Comprehensive Input:
• Teachers will clearly enunciate, and explain key vocabulary words and take time to practice pronunciation
• Teachers will avoid longer sentences, and vocabulary students may not know
• Teachers will use a checklist with pictures for tasks students need to accomplish during the lesson
• Students will refer to checklist to ensure they are staying on task
• Students will receive checklist with pictures to make tasks clearer if students need differentiation
• Students who need differentiation will receive sentence starter, sentence frames and word lists with photos and work with a teacher in a small group
Strategies:
• Students will work in pairs to verbally discuss their experiences with a problem and how they overcame it
• Students will watch a video about personal narratives
• Students will receive a graphic organizer to organize their experience in a beginning, middle and the end of the story
• Students will participate in the roving paragraphs activity
• If needed, students will work in a small group with a teacher to help encourage their thoughts and writing skills
• After read aloud- teacher and students will have an in-depth discussion about the story and will focus on the main ideas for their writing task
• Questions: Think about a time you had a problem- how did it make you feel? What was the boy’s problem? How did he make it go away? How can problems help us? How would you face a problem?
Interactions:
• Teacher and students will have a discussion about story
• Students will work in pairs to talk about a time they had a problem, and what they did to fix the problem
• Students will work together during roving paragraph activity
• Students and teacher will review vocabulary list and how to pronounce specific terms
• Small group of students will work with a teacher throughout the duration of the lesson to discuss the tasks and the expectations of the lesson
• If students are having a difficult time thinking of a time they had a problem, give them time to think about it
• If students are having a difficult time, pair them up with another student to hear their problem to hopefully have students relate to one another
• Students can discuss their experience in L1 with another student or teacher, and then take the time to write their experience in L2
• Students will use word lists and sentence starters that translate from L1 to L2
Practice/Application:
• Students will listen to the story; students will listen to classmates’ experience when they had a problem and how they overcame it
• Students will watch a YouTube video about personal narratives
• Students will speak about the story; students will speak with a classmate about a time they had a problem and how they overcame it
• Students will write a personal narrative about their experience when they faced a challenge and how they overcame it
• After verbal discussions, students will use graphic organizers to begin writing their experience down
• Graphic organizer will be broken up into three parts- beginning, middle and end
• Students will start with the “middle,” and will be provided with four sentence frames to complete each sentence
• Once student complete graphic organizer, they will begin their rove paragraph activity
• Students will pair up with their first partner to write their first sentence
• After the sentence is completed, they will share their sentence with their partner, and make corrections if needed
• This will be repeated for all four sentences in the paragraph
Lesson Delivery:
• Lesson will be conducted whole group, pairs and small groups if needed.
• Interactive discussions will encourage students to stay engaged
• Interactive discussions will conduct to ensure all students are grasping and comprehending the information
• Speaking in pairs will encourage students to stay engaged
• Working in pairs will encourage students to stay on task, and to write their sentences correctly
• Teachers will help students through the process of relating to the story and thinking of a time they faced a challenge
• Students will have a set time with their pairs, a set time to complete their graphic organizer, and a set time to complete their personal narrative
Review/Assessment:
• At the end of the lesson, the class will come back together to review key vocabulary words and discuss their meanings
• Students will have the opportunity to meet with the teacher to read their personal narrative, and discuss their experience with facing a challenge and overcoming it
• Students will have the opportunity to share their personal narratives with the class, students will be able to respond to students’ presentation
Extension/Homework:
• Students will write another personal narrative after this lesson, but on a different topic
• Students will learn personal narratives can have many different topics