Writing language objectives

Summary

The video emphasizes the importance of aligning teacher instruction with content and language objectives, particularly within a standards-based framework. Teachers can use state and national standards without reinventing them, but need to break them down into manageable goals for units, weeks, or days. The key focus is on how language—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—serves as the medium for learning, and how setting clear language and content objectives ensures students can effectively engage with and understand the material.

Takeaways

• 📚 Focusing on content and language objectives is a powerful way to improve teacher instruction.
• 🌐 Teachers can utilize state and national standards to guide instruction without starting from scratch.
• 🔍 Breaking down standards into specific objectives for units, weeks, or days helps clarify goals.
• 🗣️ All teaching and learning rely on language skills, including listening, responding, reading, and writing.
• 🎯 Teachers need to ensure language skills are aligned with content goals for effective learning.
• ✏️ Writing content and language objectives keeps teachers and students focused on the learning path.
• 📝 Language objectives clarify the language functions needed for students to access the content.
• 🛠️ Teachers should tailor instruction to support language development alongside content mastery.
• 👩‍🏫 Using structured objectives helps teachers address the diverse language needs of students.
• 🚀 Clear content and language objectives create a more accessible learning environment for all students.

Q & A

What is the primary way to influence teacher instruction according to the transcript?

The primary way to influence teacher instruction is by focusing on content and language objectives.

Why are standards important in the context of teaching?

Standards are important because they provide a framework for teachers, ensuring that they do not need to create their own goals from scratch but can rely on state and national standards.

What must teachers do with standards in their day-to-day teaching?

Teachers need to break down the standards into specific objectives that can be achieved over the course of a unit, week, or day.

Why is language considered crucial in teaching content?

Language is crucial because all teaching involves communication—students need to read, write, listen, and speak to engage with the content.

What are the four language skills mentioned in the transcript?

The four language skills mentioned are listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

How can teachers ensure that language skills are effectively used in teaching content?

Teachers can ensure this by writing clear language objectives alongside content objectives, creating a pathway for students to access the material through language.

What role do content objectives play in teaching?

Content objectives define what students need to learn in terms of the subject matter, guiding the instruction process.

What role do language objectives play in the learning process?

Language objectives help define the specific language skills students need to use or develop to successfully engage with and understand the content.

Why is it necessary to align language and content objectives?

Aligning language and content objectives is necessary to ensure that students not only understand the material but can also express and process their learning effectively through language.

What is the ultimate goal of combining content and language objectives in teaching?

The ultimate goal is to create an open and clear pathway for students to access content through the development of essential language skills.