EDCI 51900

Instructional Materials Activity #1

Objective:
When planning instruction, Fillmore has pointed out that, In the most effective instances of
language instruction, the subject matter determines what language will be taught rather than the
other way around. Students need to be exposed to complex language as teachers conduct
instructional conversations that draw students attention to the ways in which meaning relates to
meaningful phrases and syntactic patterns in the texts they are working on.
For this assignment, you will be deconstructing the language that is in a text at the grade level of
the classroom you propose to use for your field experiences in this course. (If this is still in
process, you may select a grade level at which you are interested in working.)
Procedure:
1. Locate a textbook or trade book that is used or could be used for content learning with ELs at
the grade level of the classroom where you propose to conduct your field experiences for the
course. The materials may be designed specifically for use with ELs or they may be mainstream
materials to be used with both EOs and ELs. Materials may be either commercially published or
teacher-made. Keep in mind that some texts are primarily, or solely, visual but these still need
to be linked with English language structures (or sentence patterns) through teacher-student
interaction.
2. Please include a citation for the book you used, following APA style (6th edition).
3. From this text, select two different sentence frames, or syntactic structures, that communicate
central content points from the text. Try to find structures that repeat, or recur, across the
text so that students will encounter them repeatedly; for example:
Sentence Frame 1 (verb phrase): emerging as a creature of delicacy and grace
filling our sky with color
Sentence Frame 2 (conditionals): If a butterflys wings are too cold, its muscles
wont work and it cant fly.
If a newborn baby gained weight that fast, it would weigh 8 tons in 14 days.
DO NOT USE THESE SYNTACTIC STRUCTURES BUT FIND STRUCTURES IN
YOUR OWN TEXT THAT COMMUNICATE MEANINGS THAT ARE
CENTRAL TO THE TEXT. BE SURE YOU HAVE READ THE ARTICLE BY
CARRIER BEFORE DOING THIS.
4. Next, write a 2-3 page discussion that details how you would help ELs to deconstruct sentences
containing each of your two structures. You must include an example of the kind of dialogue
you would use; what would you say to the students? You must also discuss how other modes
such as movement, gesture or visual representations would support this verbal interaction to
help the student gain experience with each structure.
5. This deconstruction must involve the kind of instructional conversation exemplified in the video
titled Instructional Conversations. Your task is to characterize the kind of interaction that a
teacher could carry on with ELs in order to help them deconstruct each type of sentence and so
gain access to the central content of the text.

6. Then answer the following discussion questions with reference to the readings and videos from
Module 1 of this course. When you reference a source, please explain why that reading or
video backs up or refers to your point.

a) How does your selection of syntactic structures accommodate differing levels of

language proficiency among students? Explain how it makes use of leveled
questioning/response tailoring?
b) Give an example that illustrates how SDAIE strategies are useful in the deconstruction
of this text. Explain how your example makes use of visual, kinesthetic and/or auditory
modes (means of expression) to help children engage with the meaning concept so they
can comprehend and/or use this language. In your answer please refer to at least one
reading or video from this module.
c) Give an example from your deconstruction and explain why this is CALP with reference
to at least one reading from this module. Please situate this language with the Cummins
matrix as discussed in Li (2015) and explain why the example belongs in the quadrant
you have selected.
7. Please organize your paper into the following sections: Book Citation, Syntactic
Structures, Deconstruction, Dialogue Example, Discussion Questions.

Upload:
Please upload your response to Blackboard by March 25, 2016. This assignment is worth 40 points.
An electronic rubric will be attached to your paper in BBL. These things will be valued:
Points Possible

Points Earned

Inclusion of 2 different
syntactic structures from the text

10

____________________

Deconstruction is thoroughly discussed

with dialogue example

10

____________________

Detail and understanding of course

content is clearly evidenced in responses
to discussion questions

10

____________________

Reference to readings and videos

from Module 1in this course are
included

10

____________________

TOTAL

40

______________________