Creating a SIOP lesson may seem like a difficult task at first. Something that helped me very much in understanding the breakdown of an effective SIOP lesson was an assignment I completed for one of my ESL courses wherein we had to view a video of SIOP lessons and then try to figure out what the lesson would have ranked on a scale of 0 to 4 based on the guidelines for a SIOP lesson. The book Making Content Comprehensible for English Learner - The SIOP Model has a ton of information. Specifically there is an Appendix within this book (APPENDIX A) which breaks a SIOP lesson into 8 different components for planning, delivering, and assessing an effective SIOP lesson. I will include an outline of what a level 4 (highest quality) would be for each component. This could be really helpful for you when considering your lesson.
1.Lesson Prep:
a.Content objectives clearly defined, displayed and reviewed with students
b.Language objectives clearly defined, displayed and reviewed with students
c.Content concepts appropriate for age and educational background level of students
d.Supplementary materials used to a high degree, making the lesson clear and meaningful (e.g., computer programs, graphs, models, visuals)
e.Adaptation of content (e.g., text, assignment) to all levels of student proficiency
f.Meaningful activities that integrate lesson concepts (e.g., interviews, letter writing, simulations, models) with language practice opportunities for reading, writing, listening, and/or speaking
2.Building Background:
a. Concepts explicitly linked to students’ background experiences
b. Links explicitly made between past learning and new concepts
c. Key vocabulary emphasized (e.g., introduced, written, repeated, and highlighted for students to see)
3. Comprehensive Input:
a.Speech appropriate for students’ proficiency levels (e.g., slower rate, enunciation, and simple sentence structure for beginners)
b. Clear explanation of academic tasks
c. A variety of techniques used to make content concepts clear (e.g., modeling, visuals, hands-on activities, demonstrations, gestures, body language)
4. Strategies:
a. Ample opportunities provided for students to use learning strategies
b. Scaffolding techniques consistently used, assisting and supporting student under- standing (e.g., think-alouds)
c. A variety of questions
or tasks that promote higher-order thinking skills (e.g., literal, analytical, and interpretive questions)
5. Interaction:
a. Frequent opportunities for interaction and discussion between teacher/student and among students, which encourage elaborated responses about lesson concepts
b. Grouping configurations support language and content objectives of the lesson
c. Sufficient wait time for student responses consistently provided
d. Ample opportunities for students to clarify key concepts in L1 as needed with aide, peer, or L1 text
6. Practice and Application:
a. Hands-on materials and/or manipulatives provided for students to practice using new content knowledge
b. Activities provided for students to apply content and language knowledge in the classroom
c. Activities integrate all language skills (i.e., reading, writing, listening, and speaking)
7. Lesson Delivery:
a. Content objectives clearly supported by lesson delivery / Language objectives clearly supported by lesson delivery
b. Students engaged approximately 90% to 100% of the period
c. Pacing of the lesson appropriate to students’ ability levels
8. Review and Assessment:
a. Comprehensive review of key vocabulary / key concepts
b. Regular feedback provided to students on their output (e.g., language, content, work)
c. Assessment of student comprehension and learning of all lesson objectives (e.g., spot checking, group response) throughout the lesson
These two links below may also serve use in getting a deeper understanding of SIOP if the book mentioned above is not available to you.
http://www.cal.org/siop/about/
http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices ... 21.php.php