History of SIOP Scramble

SIOP can be used to help plan more effective lessons, to teach more learner & learning centered lessons, and to reflect on lessons taught.  Few teachers would claim these strategies are not effective.  Most teachers find that how they teach already reflects many SIOP components.  All teachers will find something in SIOP that not only resonates with them but also inspires them to stretch and grow, much like the students they teach.

Within each category are a series of guiding objectives.  For example, under lesson preparation one would find a reference for clear content objectives and clear language objectives; under the category of Lesson Delivery, it asks that the students be engaged 90-100% of the time.  Each component is designed to encourage the teacher to consciously plan how the students will interact with the language, the content, and their peers.

The SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol) was originally designed as a teacher observation tool. Over the duration of the project, teachers realized that SIOP could be useful for lesson planning and reflection. The model was then used to train teachers to implement effective sheltered strategies in their classes.  Now it is used in all K-12 settings as a means of supporting the language and academic development of English language learners.

There are many benefits to using SIOP when designing and delivering lessons.  First, research shows that ELLs improve dramatically in their academic performance.  Secondly, all students, not just the ELLs, benefit from the use of the strategies found in the SIOP model.  They are, after all, just best practices.  Thirdly, using SIOP can help a teacher develop the skills necessary to support all students in the classroom. ​

Sheltered instruction is a series of methods and techniques that help ELLs more easily understand and acquire language and content.  The protocol consists of 8 categories of focus:  Lesson preparation, Building background, Comprehensibility, Strategies, Interaction, Practice/Application, Lesson delivery, and Review/Evaluation.  Together, the 8 categories provide the teacher with a clear guide of how to support non-native English speakers.