SIOP Component #3:  Comprehensible Input

This component of SIOP encourages teachers to consciously make the content and the language accessible to the students.  The first of the three features (see below) under this component deal with making sure students understand your speech, the second wants teachers to insure students understand the task, and the final feature pertains to student understanding of the concept being taught.  There it is again:  that content and language connection that SIOP brings.  This K-12 teaching framework encourages teachers to make sure that students can understand the lesson's content and language.

A teacher's natural reaction to the importance of making sure students are grasping the main ideas of a discussion most probably will be an emphatic, "No, duh."  However, cultivating comprehension in the classroom takes more skill than merely speaking the same language as the students.  The lesson's focus plays a role: its level of difficulty varies; The students' background influences the comprehensibility; Finally, the way the teacher connects the students to the content and language also has an impact.  

Features of Comprehensible Input

10.  Use speech appropriate for students’ proficiency level
11.  Explain academic tasks clearly
12.  Use a variety of techniques to make content concepts clear
Notice the layers:  Pay attention to oral language;  make sure you're making all tasks clear; get your students to interact with content in a variety of meaningful ways.  Each of these influence the comprehensibility of a lesson.  Let's examine these 3 features of Comprehensible Input as outlined in the SIOP Framework.  As you will see, there is more to this teaching component than just 1-2-3.  In fact,  I'll bet you will discover the reason why so many teachers find this to be such a challenge.
SIOP Comprehensible Input TESOL Trainers K12 PD
TESOL Trainers helps educators make their teaching more comprehensible.

SIOP helps teachers make language & content more comprehensible to students

Paying attention to the language that we use is important.  Often, the message that we intend to send is not the one that is received.  This is true both outside and inside the classroom. Comprehensible input helps teachers pay attention to the message they are sending and how that message is being interpreted.  There are three parts to this:  our speech, the language of the task, and the concept itself.  The SIOP Component Comprehensible Input deals with these three.

Explaining academic tasks clearly means giving clear instructions

Giving clear instructions is something that even the most experienced of teachers can struggle with.  Explaining anything to someone is challenging.  If students don't speak English very well or lack any kind of academic foundation, their understanding of the task and how they are supposed to approach it may suffer greatly.  Here are 4 things that you can do to make your instructions clearer:
  1. Don't just blurt them out:  model them as well.
  2. Use an economy of words.  Clear instructions do not mean wordy instructions.
  3. Get students to model the task for their peers.
  4. Use the board!  Write the key steps of the task on the board.
For more information on how to explain academic tasks clearly, check out SIOP feature #11.  You can also read about giving clear instructions on our blog.  This is one way that teachers can help make content comprehensible to all learners.

TESOL Trainers provides world class professional development on SIOP

SIOP Comprehensible Input TESOL Trainers K12 PD
TESOL Trainers shows educators how to connect students to every lesson.
There are plenty of reasons to invite TESOL Trainers to provide professional development on SIOP to your teaching staff.  Here are four of the most powerful:
  1. Our SIOP professional development for K-12 educators is highly engaging.  Because of its experiential nature, participants are kept 100% involved in the workshop.
  2. Our K-12 SIOP PD highlights practical, easy-to-implement strategies.  Because of the low to no prep. needed, educators are more likely to integrate our strategies into their classroom.
  3. TESOL Trainers empowers its K-12 participants with SIOP professional development that uses model lessons to highlight key strategies and techniques.
  4. TESOL Trainers offers iCOACH, its peer coaching program with its SIOP PD to insure that 90-100% of the teachers are taking the strategies from the training back to their classrooms.

For more information on SIOP PD, contact John Kongsvik

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