Making Content Comprehensible for Elementary English Learners: The SIOP Model

For elementary school teachers, Echevarria (education, California State U., Long Beach, and Center for Research on the Educational Achievement and Teaching of English Language Learners) et al., who developed the model, provide lesson plans, strategies, and activities for teaching English language learners in grades K-6 using the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) Model, which uses sheltered instruction to provide English learners with access to grade-level content standards. Each chapter covers one of the eight components of the model and how to implement it in the classroom, also showing three teachers' lessons in each for this edition. They also describe how to write content and language objectives, the special needs of English learners who have reading problems or learning disabilities, and scoring and interpreting the SIOP protocol. Lesson plans are provided in four different formats for this edition. A CD-ROM with video vignettes of instruction is included, as well as brief video clips of the authors discussing the model. The book is based on Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP Model, which addresses all grade levels. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Deborah J. Short is a professional development consultant and a senior research associate at the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, DC. She co-developed the SIOPR Model for sheltered instruction and has directed national research studies on English language learn-ers funded by the Carnegie Corporation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the U.S. Dept. of Education. She recently chaired an expert panel on adolescent ELL literacy. As the director of Academic Language Research & Training, Dr. Short provides professional development on sheltered instruction and academic literacy around the U.S. and abroad. She has numerous publications, including the SIOPR book series and five ESL textbook series for National Geographic/Hampton-Brown. She has taught English as a second/foreign language in New York, California, Virginia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Jana Echevarria is a Professor Emerita at California State University, Long Beach. She has taught in elementary, middle, and high schools in general education, special education, ESL, and bilingual programs. She has lived in Taiwan, Spain and Mexico. An internationally known expert on second language learners, Dr. Echevarria is a Fulbright Specialist. Her research and publications focus on effective instruction for English learners, including those with learning disabilities. Currently, she is Co-Principal Investigator with the Center for Research on the Educational Achievement and Teaching of English Language Learners (CREATE) funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences (IES). In 2005, Dr. Echevarria was selected as Outstanding Professor at CSULB.

MaryEllen Vogt, Ed.D., is Professor Emerita of Education at California State University, Long Beach. MaryEllen has been a classroom teacher, reading specialist, special education specialist, curriculum coordinator, and university teacher educator. She received her doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, and is a co-author of fifteen books, including Reading Specialists and Literacy Coaches in the Real World (3rd ed., 2011) and the SIOPR book series. Her research interests include improving comprehension in the content areas, teacher change and development, and content literacy and language acquisition for English learners. She was inducted into the California Reading Hall of Fame, received her university’s Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award, and served as President of the International Reading Association in 2004–2005.