3. La representación artística del tiempo y el espacio en la novelística de Rodrigo Parra
3.2 Un cronotopo del trópico: de lo foráneo a lo provincial
As our population of English Language Learners continue to grow, there will be a need for disciplinary curricula that have modifications to support ELLs. The purpose of this
curriculum development project was to identify a science curriculum that included grade
level-appropriate content, along with tlanguage modifications and support materials for both the students and educator. The research question that supported the development of this curriculum was, How do we meet emergent ELL students at their level in the middle school science
classroom?
Through the literature review, there were two main lesson structures that effectively emphasized a focus on both the language and science content. The two frameworks were SIOP which supported the language development, with the 5E model, which supported the science content. The literature supports the use of inquiry-based learning, where students are
investigating and using hands-on lessons to create their understanding of new concepts. Using these frameworks helped with the construction of the lessons plans, created for the present curriculum.
The curriculum development was informed by the research that was done to focus on the specific needs of this population of students. A few of the specific needs that this curriculum focuses on is the prior knowledge, frontloading information, vocabulary, higher-level thinking, and connecting language and content standards. Through the development of this curriculum I
CURRICULUM DESIGN FOR EMERGENT ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE
was able to create an emergent-level, middle school science curriculum that supports ELLs to be successful within the classroom.
I look forward to using this curriculum in my emergent ELL science classroom. As I was completing my research I started to make changes to the lessons I implemented this year and I can already see my students making stronger connections. I have been able to use the language connection with their science labs and activities to support their understanding and use of new content vocabulary. I will also be sharing this curriculum with colleagues within my building, since we are the only middle school that houses the emergent ELL program in our district.
The strengths of this curriculum are that it is specifically made for this emergent ELL population, focusing on needs and frameworks that are research-based and have shown student success. This curriculum provides information for the educator as well as materials that support ELLs in the middle school science classroom. Some weaknesses that I could see would be new students that come into the classroom midyear, might be overwhelmed with the activities. For these new students, attending school and interacting with peers who have different native
languages may be something they have never experienced before. This can also be problematic if they do not have the foundational expectations of how a classroom runs throughout the day. This curriculum also does not include the safety rules that should be discussed before each lab. Safety rules should be explicitly taught before any lab to ensure the safety of all students in the
classroom.
I would suggest to peers who would like to advance on this work, that they focus on incorporating ideas to bridge the cultural gap within a classroom. This curriculum was science
CURRICULUM DESIGN FOR EMERGENT ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE
focused but I know that many of my students struggle with working together and understanding the importance for science safety rules and in general school rules. These foundational
expectations are critical to a classroom culture of collaboration.
CURRICULUM DESIGN FOR EMERGENT ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE
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