Writing language objectives can be hard!
Teachers are generally comfortable writing content objectives because those are based on content standards that teachers are familiar with and are sometimes stated right in curricular materials, e.g., In this unit students will…..
Language objectives, not so much.
Including a language objective in every lesson was popularized by the SIOP Model beginning in 2000 and is now a widely accepted practice. After nearly twenty years, it is the feature about which we continue to receive the most questions, bar none.
In short, content objectives (CO) are related to the key concept of the lesson. Although language objectives (LO) connect to the lesson’s topic or activities, their purpose is to promote student academic language growth in reading, writing, speaking and listening. Writing a LO isn’t always as straightforward as a CO because it is based on an aspect of language that students need to learn. It typically takes more thought and preparation. Fortunately, there are ELL/ELD standards to help guide you in writing language objectives.
In our book, Developing Academic Language, Deborah Short and I provide guidelines for identifying objectives and incorporating them into lessons. These guidelines include determining what we want students to learn (CO) and then considering the language needed to accomplish those objectives (LO). It is important that active, measurable verbs are used in objectives so that learning can be assessed. Students are more likely to take responsibility for their own learning when measurable objectives allow them to gauge their progress. Avoid verbs such as learn, understand, become aware of since these cannot be measured.
In a lesson from a unit on the Lewis and Clark expedition, the unit’s guiding standard is, Explain events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text. A content objective for the lesson might be: Students will identify and describe the main events on the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Language objectives might be: Students will describe the main events using past tense verbs, and Students will categorize vocabulary terms using a List-Group-Label activity.
We promote the practice of posting and discussing objectives with students. An agenda, commonly written by teachers on the board, is a list of activities and is not the same as objectives. Objectives focus on an outcome, not an activity. They are the content-based learning targets students need to be able to accomplish the activities. Remember, objectives are what you want students to know or be able to do by the end of the lesson, so instruction needs to address what you’ve set out to do.
When writing language objectives we suggest that teachers:
- Have a consistent introduction that students recognize. Pick whichever one will resonate with your students: SWBAT (students will be able to), SW (students will), We will, Today I will and so forth.
- State the outcome using active, measurable verbs. SIOPer @carlota_holder created this graphic to illustrate some active verbs that may be used across the four domains.. The lists aren’t exhaustive but are a handy reminder of verbs to use. Some, of course, fit in multiple categories. Compare works in writing and speaking as does persuade.
In the listening domain above, the objective would need to include an observable, measurable action such as, Students will listen for details and raise a hand when a key detail is mentioned, or Students will pay attention to the presentation and take notes on the outline provided.
- Focus on the aspect of language students will learn or practice in the lesson. The language feature may need to be explicitly taught or refined and practiced.
So, here’s how a language objective is constructed:
Students will describe the main events using past tense verbs.
Introduction – Active, measurable verb – Language to be learned or practiced
Additional information may be part of the objective, if desired for clarity:
Students will categorize vocabulary terms using a List-Group-Label activity.
Introduction – Active verb – Language learned – Activity
To see objectives in action in a social studies classroom, click here.
One thing is certain, the more you practice writing language objectives, the easier it becomes. Keep in mind a quote from SIOP expert Andrea Rients (@RientsAndrea), “Nobody dies from writing a bad language objective” to which another veteran SIOPer Ana Segulin (@asegulin) replied, “A bad language objective is better than NO language objective.”
Touché!
Post based on : Short, D. & Echevarria, J. (2016). Developing Academic Language Using the SIOP Model. Boston: Pearson.
Echevarria, J., Vogt, M.E. & Short, D. (2017). Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP® Model, Fifth Edition. Boston: Pearson.