Learning Exercise

Title: ELL Literacy with NASA: Dust Devils on Mars

Grade Level: Kindergarten

Objective: 1. Students will communicate observations orally and with drawings.
2. Students will describe common events and objects in written and/or spoken
words. 3. Students will ask and answer simple questions with simple methods.

CDE Language Arts: Vocabulary and Concept Development?1.18 Describe common
objects and events in both general and specific language.

CDE Science: Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and
conducting careful investigations. Students will: 4e: Communicate observations
orally and through drawings.

CDE-ELL Literacy Component: Listening and Speaking (Beginner) Answer simple
questions with one to two word responses. Respond to simple directions and
questions using physical actions and other means of non-verbal communication
(e.g., matching objects, pointing to an answer, drawing pictures). Begin to
speak with a few words or sentences, using a few standard English grammatical
forms and sounds (e.g., single
words or phrases). Ask and answer questions using phrases or simple sentences.
Retell stories by using appropriate gestures, expressions and illustrative
objects.

BTSA Component: Use for Standard 19 compliance.

Anticipatory Website: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/highlights/ (dust devil
link)

Critical Tasks: (in any order) 1. Teacher needs to play the audio component of
website. 2. Allow for one-on-one instruction. 3. Model good English and habits.
4. Teacher guides through website. 5. Possible pre-teaching of tornado concept.
6. Students can draw tornadoes. 7. Teacher must model fluent reading of the
text. 8. Use props or drawings to act out or illustrate. 9. Pre-teach any
vocabulary building possibility. 10. Practice own and student ORAL delivery of
content.

Assessment: Informally through observation and formally through the rubric
building website located at http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php