CTEL CTEL ELD and SDAIE Methods 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A teacher incorporates 'think-alouds' during a reading lesson for ELLs. This SDAIE strategy is MOST effective for:
- Demonstrating fluent decoding speed to model reading rate
- Making expert cognitive and metacognitive processes visible to learners (Correct answer)
- Assessing individual students' reading comprehension levels
- Encouraging students to read silently without teacher support
Correct answer: Making expert cognitive and metacognitive processes visible to learners
Think-alouds make the invisible cognitive processes of skilled readers explicit and visible, helping ELLs understand how to construct meaning from text.
Question 2: Which of the following BEST describes the role of the home language in SDAIE instruction?
- The home language should be strictly avoided to maximize English exposure
- The home language can be used strategically as a scaffold to support English academic development (Correct answer)
- The home language should replace English during difficult content lessons
- The home language is only relevant during Designated ELD, not content instruction
Correct answer: The home language can be used strategically as a scaffold to support English academic development
Research supports strategic use of the home language as a scaffold in SDAIE, leveraging students' existing linguistic resources to support English academic language development.
Question 3: In ELD instruction, 'collaborative dialogue' is BEST described as:
- Students correcting each other's grammar errors during conversation
- Purposeful academic talk where students co-construct meaning and language together (Correct answer)
- Teacher-led recitation where students answer comprehension questions
- Silent pair reading of grade-level informational texts
Correct answer: Purposeful academic talk where students co-construct meaning and language together
Collaborative dialogue in ELD refers to purposeful interaction where students jointly construct meaning and language, which research shows is a powerful mode of language acquisition.
Question 4: A teacher at the Expanding ELD level asks students to 'compare and contrast two characters' perspectives using evidence.' This task BEST targets which academic language function?
- Describing
- Narrating
- Arguing and analyzing (Correct answer)
- Listing
Correct answer: Arguing and analyzing
Comparing and contrasting with text evidence requires argumentation and analysis, which are higher-order language functions appropriate for Expanding-level ELLs.
Question 5: Which SDAIE modification is MOST appropriate when adapting grade-level text for Bridging-level ELLs?
- Replacing the text with simplified below-grade passages
- Providing the original text with added graphic support, margin notes, and discussion scaffolds (Correct answer)
- Reading the entire text aloud while students follow along silently
- Translating the text into the students' home language
Correct answer: Providing the original text with added graphic support, margin notes, and discussion scaffolds
Bridging-level ELLs need access to grade-level text with strategic scaffolds like graphic support and margin notes, not simplified or translated replacements.
Question 6: The SDAIE technique of 'chunking' instruction primarily benefits ELLs by:
- Grouping students by home language for peer support
- Breaking complex content into smaller, manageable segments to reduce cognitive load (Correct answer)
- Assigning shorter homework tasks to reduce student stress
- Using only short words and simple sentences throughout a lesson
Correct answer: Breaking complex content into smaller, manageable segments to reduce cognitive load
Chunking breaks complex content into smaller, digestible pieces, reducing the cognitive load on ELLs who are simultaneously processing content and language.
Question 7: When designing ELD lessons using the CA ELD Standards, a teacher should FIRST:
- Select grammar rules to teach based on common student errors
- Identify the content standards and determine the language demands they require (Correct answer)
- Choose engaging activities and then align language objectives afterward
- Administer a vocabulary pretest to determine lesson focus
Correct answer: Identify the content standards and determine the language demands they require
Effective ELD lesson design begins by identifying content standards and unpacking the language demands—vocabulary, syntax, discourse—those standards require ELLs to master.
CTEL CTEL ELD and SDAIE Methods 3
A teacher incorporates 'think-alouds' during a reading lesson for ELLs.
This SDAIE strategy is MOST effective for: