Module 7: CALLA

Module 7: CALLA

1. CALLA Model OVERVIEW

   • Content-Area Topics
     • Actual topics and standards covered in gen-ed classroom
     • higher-order thinking
     • posing questions, thoughtful answers
   • Literacy & academic language development
     • 4 language skills: S, L, R, W.
     • Not just vocabulary & grammar, also academic language skills
     • Scaffolds and contextual support
   • Explicit instruction of learning strategies
     • Mentally active; analyze and reflect.
     • learn to apply strategies to new tasks.

2. Conceptual Framework

   • Learning is mentally-active, individualized, and affected by social interaction
   • Cognitive: How do people process, store, & remember new information/skills.
     • Separate memory storage systems for declarative information and for procedural knowledge of skills/processes.
       • These knowledges interact, and both are present during academic tasks.
   • Sociocultural: we learn through social interaction and cultural context.
   • Both cognitive and sociocultural factors are important to learn language and content.
   • We all learn differently!

3. Related Instructional Concepts

   • Literacy Across the Curriculum
   • Language Experience Approach
   • Balanced Reading Approach
   • Process Writing
   • Cooperative Learning
   • Inquiry Approaches
   • Standards-Based Instruction

4. Content-Based Instruction

   • Provide a foundation for grade-level learning.
     • Prioritize topics and skills
     • Focus on national/state standards and TESOL
       • How do these skills sequence with previous and following grades' standards?
       • Identify objectives.
     • Take inventory of textbooks and other necessary materials.
       • Teach students how to use these resources!
   • Motivating
     • Give students options.
     • Students should make connections between content and their backgrounds.
     • Should be "hands-on" and "minds-on."
   • Authentic context for learning & learning strategies
     • Should be "hands-on" and "mind-on."
     • Accommodate for multiple learning styles.
     • Teaching learning strategies and model metacognition and problem-solving.
     • Explicit instruction

5. Academic Language

   • Challenges
     • Less contextualized than BICS
     • Used in cognitively demanding tasks
     • Specific to tasks and texts in content area
     • Requires low-level and high-level thinking skills
       • Understanding, explain, describe, inform, compare, classify, analyze, infer, justify, persuade, solve problems, synthesize, evaluate.
   • Importance
     • Key to success in content-areas
     • Not usually learned outside of school.
     • We cannot assume that students already have experience with this side of language.
     • Promotes high-level thinking
     • Provides practice in using English as a medium of thought
   • Selection
     • Identify language used often in content classroom
     • Analyze language used in textbooks
     • Authentic language tasks: how will students use language in a variety of skill areas?
       • Consider 4 language areas: S, L, R, W.
     • Student input allows us to diagnose needs, informs instruction.
   • Instruction
     • Teacher should model its use.
       • Encourage awareness -- when you encounter a word, draw student attention to the word and model.
     • Create speaking opportunities.
     • Provide practice.
     • Encourage reading and writing.
     • Explicit Instruction
       • Text organization & structures.
       • Learning strategies

Images and files in the map