this scaffold is magic!!!

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theory behind the scaffold…

How do we reach our conclusions about the importance we put on different skills sets and what we focus on to develop in our lessons? In general, whether we are aware of it or not (and we need to become aware of it!) is that the importance placed on different skills is tied to social values.

In the same respect, the values highlighted in different cultures dictate the amount of focus those intelligences have in the sphere of education: the importance placed on those intelligences provide the motivation to become skilled in those areas.

In this global environment, we need to help our students to develop as many skills as possible so that they are qualified for a myriad of situations. To do this, we create opportunities for them to learn through as many different learning styles as possible*.  Some students in your class might be able to function in the classroom language linguistically without the need for other means of adaption. On the other hand, many of your students need visuals, audio, verbal, kinesthetics or physical interaction with the material – or any combination of these – to assimilate new knowledge.

This scaffold gives students the opportunity to interact with material through linguistics and visuals. As in the best-planned activities, we also include specific language outcomes. Too often we focus only on content, but being specific about the language structure, grammar and clarity of meaning ahead of time, students feel more supported and are therefore more able to confidently participate. The subject used here as an example comes from the transcript of a podcast in cyber bullying. You’ll see how easy it is to adapt it to your lesson.

*Garcia, Ofelia (2009). Bilingual Education in the 21st Century: A Global perspective. Singapore. Wiley-Blackwell.

step by step: 

1. Choose 8-10 sentences from the lesson, unit, project, story, video, podcast you’re about to work on with your students.

2. Place these sentences in text boxes (template), leaving space above for illustrations. (See example to the left.)

3. In groups of three (3), students work together to:

• re-write the sentences in a grammatical structure of your choice. (In science, this may be the passive voice, in math, this may be zero conditional, in history this may be the past simple, etc.)
• draw an illustration that represents some concept of the sentence.

4. When the groups are finished, one member of each group reproduces one of the illustrations on the board.
5. The other students guess which sentence the illustration represents.
6. They say the sentences aloud as they are written and then in the targeted grammatical structure.
7. Repeat this dynamic until all sentences have been presented and identified.

Example of the activity developed with material from an ICT text:

video explanation of scaffold…

Find more scaffolds here:

Scaffoldingmagic.com is your entryway into DYNAMIC bilingual learning methodologies, such as Phenomenon-Based Learning, CLIL, EMI, and ESL. You’ll find ways to implement critical thinking tools (DOK) to promote higher level thinking, the growth mindset, instill an ethic of excellence, deep reflection on learning, and all through multi-cultural, interdisciplinary activities. We have the keys to turning competences into action and to creating collective efficacy in your school so you move ahead as a unified, enthusiastic team.