Remington Landis
Oral Language Artifact
Grade level: First grade
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Content Area: Science
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Colorado Academic Standard: Identify and represent similarities and differences such as the texture, size, color, and shape of various materials on Earth (DOK 1-2)
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WIDA Can Do Descriptors:
ELP Level 1 Entering
Speaking:
Discuss by
• Sharing pictures, created work, or visuals to contribute to conversations
ELP Level 5 Bridging
Speaking:
Recount by
• Presenting information on content-related topics
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Overview of Activity:
In this activity students will collect, compare and contrast various materials on earth. To begin, students will be taken outside on a “fall walk.” Students will then be led outside to go on a walk around the perimeter of the school, stopping on the playgrounds and in the field. On this walk students will be given bags to collect any materials that they find. They will be encouraged to collect three to five items that are all different from each other. After students have collected items the class will compare and contrast the items they found back in the classroom. The students will paired up and dispersed in various places around the classroom. Each group will be given two string circles, made out of pieces of string tied together, to make Venn diagrams. They will look at their bags of collected materials and decide how they want to compare and contrast their objects. Students will then sort their items in to the three categories and the teacher will walk around and supervise. The teacher will then have each group explain how they organized their diagrams, having each group member speak. The will then complete a gallery walk around the classroom and spend time viewing each diagram. The images below are examples that iI made of what the Venn diagrams of the collected materials may look like.
This is an example of a Venn diagram that the students would be able to create. In this diagram they are comparing and contrasting the texture of various items found outside.
This is an example of a Venn diagram that the students would be able to create. In this diagram they are comparing and contrasting the shape of various items found outside.
This is an example of a Venn diagram that the students would be able to create. In this diagram they are comparing and contrasting the color of various items found outside.
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Justification for the Activity:
In the book, Foundations for Teaching English Language Learners: Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice, Wayne E. Wright discusses ways to promote ora language development within the classroom. Wright states that, "effective teachers use a principled approach to select strategies based on an understanding of second language learning" (Wright, 2015, p.165). In the above lesson, I used a similar method to select the strategies used in order to positively learning second languages. Wright also discusses the importance of oral presentations in the development of oral language. This is the reason my activity is shaped in a traditional, show-and-tell type fashion. Wright states, "this activity promotes meaning interaction because the student showing and telling is highly motivated to speak, and the other students are highly motivated to listen (Wright, 2015, p.169). I also intend for my lesson to have the same amount of meaningful interaction for the students. One of the reasons I chose to have the students collect the items at school is because I want every student to be able to participate in it equally.
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References:
Wright, W. E. (2015). Foundations for teaching English language learners: research, theory, policy, and practice (Second ed.). Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.