Topic 5 Pre-Service CALLA Handbook Ch 5

This chapter begins by providing how to plan for CALLA instruction. Assessing prior knowledge is stressed. Here it is necessary to have some information about the cultural backgrounds of the students. I have learned not to assume that all of my students are from Mexico. I have had some students who come from Central America and those cultural differences can be significant. This is where I think the home visits come into play because through those home visits that we do at Rocketship we can get to know the families and what their experiences have been in addition to finding out what country or region even if from Mexico can vary tremendously. Some of my students are from big cities like Mexico City which is a metropolis and others come from really rural areas. Some have parents who have been in the US for a long time and the children were born here and have never been to their parents' native country. Second, selecting concerpts and skills to be learned and including higher-order thining skills is imperative in CALLA instruction. In additon the identification of academic language skills and functions required to perform a specific content area task is listed in this chapter. A teacher would also need to get materials needed to provide context and hands-on activities nmetnined in a preveios chapter. Finally, the organization of ativities into a five-phase instructional sequence which includes preparation, presentation, practice, evaluation, and expansion.