SIOP and Sheltered Instruction

What the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) is, how it shapes instruction for ELL students, and how paras can reinforce its core practices throughout the day.

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| Audience | Paras working in classrooms that use SIOP or sheltered instruction; ELL specialists who train paras on instructional support strategies. |

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| Why This Matters |

| Sheltered instruction is an approach to teaching content to English learners that makes grade-level academic content accessible while simultaneously developing language. SIOP — the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol — is the most widely used framework for this approach. When paras understand SIOP principles, they can reinforce them during instructional support rather than undermining them. |

What Sheltered Instruction Is

Sheltered instruction holds two goals simultaneously: students learn the academic content (the history, science, math, or literature) AND they develop English language skills in the process. It is not a watered-down curriculum — it is the same grade-level content made accessible through specific instructional moves.

The SIOP model organizes sheltered instruction into eight components: lesson preparation, building background, comprehensible input, strategies, interaction, practice/application, lesson delivery, and review/assessment. Teachers who use SIOP plan deliberately for both content and language objectives, use visuals and scaffolds, build on prior knowledge, and create structured opportunities for student talk.

The Eight SIOP Components — What Paras Should Recognize

1\. Lesson Preparation

Content objectives (what students will know) and language objectives (what students will be able to say, read, write, or do with language) are both stated. If you hear the teacher post two types of objectives, this is SIOP.

2\. Building Background

The teacher connects new content to students' prior experiences and to vocabulary they already know. Paras can support this by helping activate background knowledge through questions or visuals before instruction begins.

3\. Comprehensible Input

The teacher modifies speech, uses visuals, models tasks, and scaffolds to make content understandable. Paras should mirror this: use clear, direct language; gesture; point to visuals; repeat and rephrase when students do not understand.

4\. Strategies

Students are taught to use learning strategies (graphic organizers, questioning, summarizing). Paras reinforce these by prompting their use rather than providing answers.

5\. Interaction

Students talk to each other about content. Structured discussions (think-pair-share, partner work) are planned. Paras support by facilitating partner conversations, not by talking for the student.

6\. Practice/Application

Students practice language and content skills in hands-on, meaningful activities. Paras provide scaffolded support — enough to keep the student working, not enough to do the task for them.

7\. Lesson Delivery

Pacing, engagement, and student support are calibrated to the lesson plan. When the pace is too fast for an ELL student, the para can provide a brief re-explanation or point to a visual support.

8\. Review/Assessment

The teacher checks understanding of both content and language objectives at the end of the lesson. Paras can informally check comprehension throughout: 'Can you tell me in your own words what we just read?'

How Paras Reinforce SIOP Throughout the Day

The SIOP framework was designed for teachers, but paras are present during instruction and can either reinforce or undermine its principles:

Reinforce visual supports: Point to anchor charts, word walls, and graphic organizers rather than providing verbal explanations alone.

Use academic language intentionally: Use the content vocabulary and sentence frames the teacher has introduced. If the teacher modeled 'I can compare X and Y by saying...', use that frame yourself when prompting the student.

Build on background knowledge: When a student seems confused, ask what they already know about the topic rather than immediately re-explaining.

Support interaction: Prompt the student to talk to their partner rather than to you. Student-to-student talk is a core SIOP feature — paras should facilitate it, not replace it.

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| ✅ Try this | ⚠️ Watch out for |

| Reinforce the language and content objectives the teacher has set. Use visuals, sentence frames, and structured vocabulary consistently. Prompt students to use the strategies and talk to partners rather than talking for them. | Provide direct answers or do not use the vocabulary and sentence frames the teacher has introduced. Paras who work outside the SIOP framework — even with good intentions — create inconsistency that makes it harder for ELL students to develop academic language. |

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| Bottom line | SIOP is a teacher framework, but its principles — comprehensible input, language objectives, structured interaction, building background — apply to every adult working with ELL students. Paras who understand SIOP can amplify the teacher's instruction rather than working at cross-purposes to it. |

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