Lesson Adaptations and Accommodations: Working With Native Speakers and English Language Learners in the Same Science Classroom

Childhood Education, Spring 2004 by Rice, Diana C, Pappamihiel, N Eleni, Lake, Vickie E

It is important that the teacher realize and explicitly discuss the multiple meanings of many of the words the students have listed. For example, the word "force" would be used appropriately in the following sentences.

You can't force someone to be nice to you.

The force of gravity makes objects fall to the ground.

You can't force all your books into your desk.

"May the 'force' be with you."

Magnetic forces.

In fact, the term "force" can be used as both a noun and a verb and can have such divergent meanings as: power (n), compel (v), push (v), influence (v), strength (n), energy (n), might (n), and vigor (n). It is no wonder that ELLs often are confused by the myriad social and academic meanings that a term can carry. Yet, teachers often take it for granted that students understand the correct meaning of the term after only a brief demonstration.

This confusion can easily take place in the simple demonstration of how a lever operates. It would not be unusual to envision a teacher in a classroom pushing down on one side of a lever while saying the word "force," or drawing a picture of a lever with an arrow pointing down on one end and writing and saying the word "force." Yet, where is the "force" in this demonstration? Is it the actual lever itself that the teacher is touching or to which the teacher is pointing? Is it the fulcrum that is being used? Is it the action that the teacher is doing? The confusion can be avoided by carefully staging the demonstration and asking students to re-create the demonstration and use the words in different situations. For example, asking students to create their own demonstration of force by using the new vocabulary words would give the teacher the opportunity to see if the ELL students in the class really comprehend the social and academic meanings of all new vocabulary.

Adapted objectives for ELLs should include the use of visuals and demonstrations to allow the ELL students to demonstrate mastery of the objectives. As can be seen from Table 1, there are few social equivalents for the academic terms presented in this science lesson. Hence, even though the lesson plan is very visual, ELL students may have difficulty expressing mastery of the concepts, because the critical concepts are abstract in nature. An ELL student may be able to replicate the experiment, but not be able to explain the whys or hows involved. So, teachers must engage in extensive scaffolding and vocabulary development to ensure that ELLs are successful. This is also a good time to review comparison vocabulary such as "easy," "easier," "hard," and "harder."

Examination of the directions in the application stage of the lesson (see Figure 2) also demonstrates a number of strategies that aid ELL students in achieving the lesson objectives. First, note that many terms are repeated. Among these are a number of action verbs, including several process skills (highlighted with italics). Others are "science terms" from the lesson objectives, such as "lever," "resistance force," or "effort distance." These terms have been paired in these directions with other actions or objects that are their equivalent or demonstrate their definitions. As one proceeds down through the steps in the directions, the pairing of terms is reduced, with the more academic terms predominating by the end of the directions. Furthermore, nonessential wording is kept to a minimum. This section of the lesson plan demonstrates the importance of consistence, repetition, and simplicity in the scaffolding process.