Are you a teacher? Are you looking for ways to meet English Learners' needs? Do you want to increase engagement? These SDAIE strategies can help.

SDAIE is NOT a program that arrives in a box and is shelved in the bookroom. It doesn't come with a detailed protocol, steps or checklists like SIOP .

SDAIE IS a collection of Specific Techniques and strategies that are proven to help ELs acquire language while learning content.

When you thoughtfully and intentionally choose and use strategies to scaffold content instruction for your ELs, then you are delivering SDAIE. These strategies can work with any tier of instruction.

"As an umbrella shelters pedestrians in a rain-storm, so SDAIE/sheltered classes offer LEP students some protection from the storm of concepts, contexts, and language, thus giving them the opportunity to progress academically as they acquire English language proficiency."

-Santa Barbara County, SDAIE Strategy Handbook

Many of the strategies and techniques you already use to engage ALL your students could be SDAIE.

-Think-Pair-Share
-Turn and Talk
-Graphic Organizers
-4 Square Writing or Vocabulary
-3D Modeling
-Realia

But for instruction to truly be SDAIE, you must intentionally plan to use these strategies and techniques to make your grade-level content more understandable for ELs.

Cut a large circle into slices. Give each slice to a small group of students. Groups decorate their slices with information bits, vocabulary, and/or illustrations. One by one groups share their information as they reassemble the pizza.

Ex. After a whole group read aloud or close reading, assign groups to complete a slice about a chapter or section of the text. It’s also a great follow-up/extention for jigssaw reading.

Create Agree/Disagree or True/False statements based on the text or content concepts to be studied. Before reading students individually mark “anticipation” responses, setting a purpose for reading. After reading, students individually answer the “reaction” column.

Wrap a big book in poster paper. Model tearing off small pieces of paper. Let students slowly unwrap the book. As the paper is torn away and the cover is visible, ask students to make predictions about the book’s topic/theme. By the end of the activity, students will know the topic of their next lesson or unit.

Post photos representing the content vocabulary around the room while students not in the room. Pair students to match index cards with terms to the visual. After partners are correctly matched, let them do the partner talk activity on the back of the visual card.

This is a great way to build background before discussing or writing definitions and reading the terms in context.

Pose an open-ended HOT (higher order thinking) question during or after reading. Give the share bear to one student to share his/her response. Sentence frames, starters, and stems help structure responses. The student then passes the share bear to the next student who answers the same question.

The bear could be replaced with a microphone for older students.

Read a question from the Smartboard, text, or a practice test. Students point to and hold up, or hide, their answer on their response cards. Hurray for immediate feedback!

Students work in groups or teams. Pose a question for students to answer individually with paper and pencil. On cue, students share responses with the group. After reaching a consensus, students take turns writing the group’s response on a small whiteboard. (Alternatively, assign a daily/weekly writer role.) Groups must be prepared to support their answer. Cue groups to hold up answers, discuss answers, and award team points, if competing.

After reading a text (any content area), students complete a One Pager.(Google "One Pager Directions"). One pagers can be completed individually on letter paper, or with partners or groups on chart paper.

Print vocabulary definitions or comprehension questions on individual sheets of paper. Ball papers around each other face-down in layers to make a peal-able onion. Toss the onion to a student who quickly unwraps the first layer of the onion (it’s hot!), reads it aloud, answers, and tosses it to another student.

Pose an idea or question. Students write their ideas on
paper (think). Each student turns to another student nearby and reads or tells his or her own responses
(pair, share). This is an oral exchange, not a reading of each other's papers.

Listening and Speaking standards? Check!