Transcript: Grade Seven Science Designated ELD

Grade Seven Science Designated English Language Development: Describing and Questioning

Introductory Slides (00:00–02:43)

Narrator: Welcome to the California Department of Education Integrated and Designated English Language Development Transitional Kindergarten through Grade Twelve Video Series.

Narrator: Designated English Language Development – Building Into and From Science in Grade Seven. In this lesson, the students practice how to describe their observations of rocks and generate their own questions about rocks with language supports. They intentionally listen and speak in order to build language and linguistic structures. The students use these language resources to accurately demonstrate their understanding of the science content in discussions now, and when they return to their science class.

Narrator: The focal California English Language Development Standards driving this lesson. The English Language Development Standards at the Bridging Level are Grade 7, Part 1, Standard 1: Exchanging Information and Ideas, where students contribute to class group and partner discussions by following turn-taking rules, asking relevant questions, affirming others, adding relevant information and evidence, paraphrasing key ideas, building on responses, and providing useful feedback. And Grade 7, Part 1, Standard 12a: Selecting Language Resources, where students use an expanded set of general academic words, domain-specific words, synonyms, antonyms, and figurative language, to create precision and shades of meaning while speaking and writing. Watch how students move from early levels of proficiency toward the bridging levels of these English language development standards throughout the lesson.

Narrator: The Supporting California Next Generation Science Standards Used in Tandem with the Focal English Language Development Standards. The Science Performance Expectation is Middle School, Earth and Space Science 2, Sub-item 1: Earth's Systems, where students who demonstrate understanding can develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth's materials and the flow of energy that drives this process. Watch for how this California science standard is addressed throughout the lesson.

Narrator: Watch how the teacher leads the students to interact meaningfully with the science content with their peers, using their learned language. Watch the students describe what they observe while examining samples of real rocks and then create questions they have about the rocks and how they were formed. The students prepare to discuss the characteristics of rocks, and rock formation, back in their science class.

Teacher Introduces the Lesson (02:44–03:19)

Teacher: So, here's my question, what do you observe? Look at your rock. You can pick it up. You guys can pick it up. What do you observe? What do you see? What do you see? Now go ahead and talk, but I want you guys to look at this because I want you to be experts at this one and so I'm going to give you some frames to use. So that when you're talking with your groups, you know, you talk just like scientists. So, the rock has—. It is—. It looks like—. I observed—. Okay? So, use the frames and then go ahead and talk about what you see. What do you observe in that rock?

Students Discuss in Pairs (03:20–03:49)

Student 1: Um, it looks like, um, the, it looks like the rock has lines by the pressure that, um, form it.

Student 2: I think that the rock has the lines to see how the ages like from the rocks that were building up on it.

Student 3: There are a couple layers that you can't see.

Student 4: Yeah.

Student 3: The, um, it also looks like it’s a desert. It looks like a…

Students 3 and 4: … desert rock.

Teacher: A desert rock?

Student 3: And, it has a lot of scratches on it.

Teacher Prompts Students to Generate Questions (03:49–04:16)

Teacher:  I want you and your partner to come up with a question. Because remember in See, Think, Wonder, you have to, you're gonna wonder too, right? So, you want to come up with a question. And we'll, and instead of saying, "I wonder" which you could, you could say "I wonder" that's fine, but see if you can use one of these words. [Teacher points to chart with question words: who, what, why, where, how, when] Okay? About the rock. About your rock. Just one question about your rock. You and your partner, okay? Go ahead, talk.

Students Discuss in Pairs (04:17–05:43)

Student 5: How many years could a rock, like, take, like a rock like this take to form. Like a specific proper… year, sorry.

Teacher: So how many years did it take for this rock to form?

Student 5: [Student nods]

Teacher: That's a great question.

Student 5: [In Spanish to Student 6] ¿Una pregunta?

Student 6: [In Spanish] ¿Por qué se le, um, tiene muchas piedritas? ¿Por qué tiene muchas, estas, piedritas?

Teacher: Like, how come there's so many things in it?

Student 5: So many small rocks.

Teacher: Okay. So, let's, let's teach her how to say that. Why.

Student 5: Why.

Student 6: Why.

Teacher: Are.

Student 6: Are.

Teacher: There.

Student 6: There.

Teacher: So many, little rocks.

Student 6: So many lir...

Teacher: Little.

Student 6: Little rocks.

Teacher: Yeah. Why are there so many little rocks?

Student 6: Why are this so...

Teacher: Many.

Student 6: Many little rocks.

Teacher: Excellent. Hold on to that. It's very good.

Student 2: I wonder how long, how much, how long did it take for the rocks to build up on each other. How long did it take to form a rock? How much years?

Student 1: Um, and my question would be, um, how um, how did it, did the rocks like, um...

Student 2: Build up on each other?

Student 1: Yeah. Build up on each other.

Beyond the Lesson (05:44–06:11)

Narrator: Beyond the Designated English Language Development Lesson: Building Into and From Content Instruction. By engaging in designated English language development lessons such as this one, the students are better prepared, and more confident, to express their growing science content knowledge in speaking and writing during collaborative activities with peers, in small groups, in pairs, and individually, with increasing independence.

Students in Small Group in Science Class (06:12–06:25)

Student 6: [In Spanish] Yo observo que tiene varios tipos de colores.

Student 7: I observe a lot of small crystals in this rock and how it changes color and how all of the really small crystals are a part of this rock.

Closing Slides (06:26–7:37)

Narrator: Reflection and Discussion. Reflect on the following questions: First, how did you observe the following focal English language development standards and supporting content standards being implemented in this Grade seven designated English language development lesson? English language development, Part 1, Standard 1: Exchanging Information and Ideas; Part 1, Standard 12a: Selecting Language Resources; and Earth and Space Science 2, Sub-item 1: Earth's Systems? Second, what features of designated English language development did you observe in the lesson? Now pause the video and engage in a discussion with colleagues.

Narrator: The California Department of Education would like to thank the administrators, teachers, and students who participated in the making of this video. This video was made possible by the California Department of Education in collaboration with WestEd and Timbre films.