Sharon Bennell

EFL 502 Evaluation & Assessment

The Weather

The English Language Proficiency Standards (WIDA)

English Language Proficiency Standard 4: The language of Science

English language learners communicate information, ideas and

concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of

Science.

• Reading- process, understand, interpret, and evaluate written language, symbols and text with understanding and fluency

Project Proposal

Proficiency level Beginner Intermediate Advanced

Age Group High School 14 – 18 years

High School 14 – 18 years

High School 14 – 18 years

Module The Language of Science: Weather

The Language of Science: Weather

The Language of Science: Weather

Language Skill Reading Reading Reading

Task

Vocabulary & UnderstandingReading words and selecting appropriate pictures of weather and clothing.

HurricanesReading instructions to create interactive weather patterns and hurricane simulations.

El NiñoStudents will be given a set piece to read and must answer questions based upon content knowledge and reading for comprehension.

Beginner Intermediate Advanced

Entering (1) (3 / 4) Reaching (6)

Explicit meaning Implicit meaning

Familiar situations Unfamiliar situations

Informal registers Formal registers

General vocabulary Technical vocabulary

Single words and phrases Extended discourse

Non-conventional forms Conventional forms

WIDA’s levels of English language proficiency :Entering (1) to Reaching (6)

“The second language acquisition process involves the gradual scaffolding from concrete ideas and

concepts to abstract ideas and concepts”

Scheme of WorkBEGINNERS

Everyday ActivitiesINTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

Simple Present TensePresent Continuous Tense

Present ContinuousComparatives

Simple PassivePast Continuous Passive

WH-Questions Weather idioms Conditionals

•Describing the weather•Interpreting a weather map•Reading weather information in a newspaper•Identifying cities and weather conditions•Using newspaper weather maps and reports

•Wind•Clouds•Precipitation•Precipitation experiments•Storms (including hurricanes)•Owlie Skywarms weather book. (Public Safety Video)

•Reading for detail•Reading for understanding•Obtaining information from Newspapers.•Using internet sites as sources of information.•Presentations and public speaking.

BEGINNERS

• WIDA “CAN DO” Descriptors

Level 1 – Entering

Match icons and symbols to phrases

or environmental print.

• Describing the weather (S of W)

BEGINNERS

BEGINNERS cont. . .

• WIDA “CAN DO” Descriptors

Level 1 – Entering

• Identify concepts about print and print features. (Letters, letter order, words)

Level 2 – Beginning

• Locate and classify information

• Identifying cities and weather conditions (S of W)

WIDA “CAN DO” Descriptors

Level 3 – Developing

• Use context clues to determine meaning

Level 4 – Expanding

• Interpret information or data

• Interpreting a weather map

• Reading weather information in

• a newspaper

• Identifying cities and weather conditions

• Using newspaper weather maps and reports

BEGINNERS cont. . .

BEGINNER ASSESSMENT RUBRIC

INTERMEDIATE

Materials:

• Reading A-Z Clouds, Winds and Storms

http://www.weatherwizkids.com/hurricane1.htm

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/kids/movncane.htm

WIDA “CAN DO” Descriptors

Level 4 – Expanding.

• Interpret information or data

INTERMEDIATE

INTERMEDIATE

ADVANCED

Advanced Assessment• These two exercises are designed as a pre-topic

test to assess students ability to elicit information from a written source of information.

• Exercise 4: Read the article below about the effects of the El Nino storms on sea lions, and then complete the note-taking exercise on the next page. (Sea lions are large seals that live in the Pacific Ocean, but can move on land.)

• Exercise 5: Imagine that you have made your presentation to the class in Exercise 4. Now your teacher wants you to follow this up with a summary for homework. Look at your notes on page 10. Using the ideas in your notes, write a summary about the effects of the El Nino storms. Your summary should be one paragraph of no more than 70 words. You should use your own words as much as you can.

Please refer to handout . . .

http://www.edexcel-international.org/quals/igcse/esl/

Reading for Content / DetailExercise 4: Effects of El NinoTick and number the content points below to a maximum of 6 marks (up to 2 marks perheading). (Remember that this exercise is marked for content (reading), not language.Effects of El Nino on the sea lions

1. food hard to find2. (more) beached / battered by storms3. cold / skinny

Effects of El Nino on the weather and ocean4. waves worse5. currents stronger6. water warmer7. fish left the area (for colder water)

Effects of El Nino on the Sea Lion Marine Mammal Centre8. more pups to care for9. filled to capacity10. closed its gift shop11. office converted into special care unit Max total for exercise: 6 marks

Reading for understanding / language.Exercise 5:

This exercise is marked for language, not content, but if content is entirely irrelevant to the task, a mark of zero should be awarded. Count words and do not mark anything exceeding 70 words, as specified in the question. (Candidates will not be assessed on anything they have written after this limit, but will not be penalized per se for exceeding it.)

Max. total for exercise: 4 marks

0 meaning obscure because of density of language problems and serious problems with expression / nothing of relevance1 expression weak / reliance on lifting from the passage2 expression limited / reliance on copying out the notes, but some sense of order3 expression good, with attempts to group and sequence ideas in own words4 expression very good: clear, orderly grouping and sequencing, largely own words

Advanced ContentWIDA “CAN DO” Level Descriptors.

Level 4 – Sequence pictures, events, processes. (Social Studies)

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/weather/article3965107.ece

Level 5 – Interpret Information or data.

http://www.emc.ncep.noaa.gov/research/cmb/sst_analysis/images/monsstv2.png

http://www.emc.ncep.noaa.gov/research/cmb/sst_analysis/images/monanomv2.png

Level 6 – Conduct research to glean information from multiple sources.

http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/archive/nino/intro.html

The Weather