Module 6: Content Teaching

(created by Alyssa Hafen and Intissar Yahia)

Content-based instruction that integrates language objectives meets students' needs and interests in both content and language. Technology-using teachers must adapt their materials and tools in order to achieve student engagement and collaboration. They must find ways to enhance their students' interests and create an excitement to learn about the content and language.

These materials and tools need to be authentic, meaningful, accessible, appropriate to the learners, and should not take away from the content. For example, authentic videos can be a great source for teachers. Technology-using teachers need to make sure that they are using the videos as effective learning tools rather than showing the video just because they can.

Pictures for Learning:

Pictures can help young students from different levels develop speaking skills in many different ways. Being able to associate an image with a specific word is very helpful for English language learners, because it gives them a visual for the content they are learning. Teachers and students can create vocabulary sheets that have words and pictures on them to help their students understand the terms they are learning, and to write, discuss, and storytell. This website gives teachers copy-right free pictures that can be used when creating these worksheets.

Maps That Explain English:

Maps can be used to teach different tense vocabulary in geography. This website explores the origin of the English language, and how it has evolved. Adult students can practice their past, present, and future tenses by explaining where English came from, how it has changed, what it is like now, and what they think might happen in the future. Teachers can use this site to help them explain to students why English is such a crazy language!

This is an example of one map on this web site. It explains how the English language got started through the Anglo-Saxon migration.

Drawing Dictation:

Another idea is to have students practice using their preposition skills through drawing pictures. This website provides a great idea of having high school students create drawing dictations that include correctly placed prepositions to describe their pictures. Here is the lesson plan PDF

Videos

Visiting Petra, Jordan Travel Video (البتراء - Πέτρα) in the archaeological city of Ma'an

This is an example of an authentic video that can be used in a classroom when learners are studying directions, descriptions, geography, or a number of other topics. It is less than five minutes long, and it does not include a lot of talking. This particular video could be used for learners to help them use the content as a foundation to identify at least five adjectives. They could then use their adjectives to create a descriptive paragraph and have a time for peer review. The peer review would allow the students to collaborate and work together. There are many other tasks that students can do with this wonderful, short video!

Mama Natural's Farmer's Market:

This is another example of an authentic video that can be used in an elementary classroom. It is a little over two minutes, and does not include too much talking. This video could be used to help young students identify fruits and vegetables that can be found in farmer's markets, or they could study places. Throughout the video the students could write down and draw a picture of at least four fruits and vegetables they see and discuss which they like the best.

Content Games

Sheppard Software:

This website is a good resource for elementary teachers who are looking for quality content games for their students. There are multiple games that can help teach students content and academic language in all of the subject areas.

PBS Kids:

This is another website that can be used for teaching different language and content skills to elementary students. A few of these skills are learning the alphabet, developing vocabulary, and creating short stories. PBS Kids has many, many more activities, and teachers should review the whole site to find things that many work for their students.

Spelling City:

This web site can be used in a high school classroom to teach content area vocabulary and spelling. There are various spelling and vocabulary games that students can complete. One specific game requires the students to enter in the correct academic vocabulary words in various sentences about algebra.