Analysis of a Lesson

Analysis of a lesson
Strategy, activity, or scaffolding used	How the teacher used the strategy, activity or scaffold to encourage listening or speaking skills	Why was it used? What were the potential benefits to the ELL?	Was it appropriate for all stages of language acquisition or more suited for a particular level, stage, or step?
Teacher started the lesson with a quick “Activate Prior Knowledge” activity (in pairs). Students were put into groups of 4 and each group was in charge of answering one question from the board. Teacher circulated among the groups, prompting students to explain their thinking and to think deeper. Consolidation at the end with a whole-group discussion. Taking turns class answered all the questions (each group shared their response).	Students were asked to write down (create a web) everything they know about a certain character from the book they were reading. The teacher asked them to work on this activity in pairs, however most students worked on it independently. During the main activity, each group had a focused task, a question that they had to answer. Students were prompting each other, “anything else?”. Watching the video, everyone seemed engaged. The lesson activates listening or speaking skills because students in small groups need to listen to each other, and they need to share their ideas.	“In the past, a 'good classroom' was a quiet one, where students spoke only in response to the teacher; in contrast, today's good classroom is one where there is a constant buzz of purposeful, task-focused talk among students, and where the teacher provides focused instruction on the sociolinguistic skills that will facilitate the group task” (Coelho, 2012). Students that normally do not share answers in class have enough thinking time through activities such as this that they now feel confident to share their response. This continues to build their self-esteem and confidence.	With proper modelling, and modifications I believe all of the strategies and activities presented in the can be used for all stages.

References:

Chapter 8, Oral Language in Every Classroom, in Coelho’s (2012) Language and Learning in Multilingual Classrooms.

Chapter 8, How to Activate Prior Knowledge for English Learners, in Hollingsworth & Ybarra’s (2013) Explicit Direct Instruction for English Learners.