TESOL Trainers Inc.

Sheltered
Instruction
Observation Protocol (SIOP)

SIOP provides teachers with a simple, yet powerful framework for planning and teaching lessons.

Dr. John Kongsvik
Photo of a piece of paper with symbols
What Is SIOP?

Setting Students Up For Success With SIOP

SIOP, or Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol, is a research based, instructional framework that teachers can use when planning, teaching, and reflecting upon their lessons.

SIOP encourages teachers to design and deliver student-centered lessons that maximize student opportunities to interact with the language, the content, and their peers in meaningful ways.

The Building Blocks of Effective Instruction: Exploring SIOP Core Components

SIOP is broken down into 8 categories for teachers to consider when planning and teaching a lesson. Each one of these components captures a critical component of teaching.

 

Each of these 8 SIOP components is broken down into features (30 in all) that serve to further define its purpose.

For example, within the SIOP component Lesson Preparation, you will find features like creating content and language objectives. Engaging students 90-100% of the time is a feature that is found under the Lesson Delivery component.

 

From Lesson Preparation through Lesson Delivery to Review and Evaluation, SIOP provides teachers with a simple, yet powerful framework for planning and teaching lessons.

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SIOP Components & Features​
The SIOP framework, comprising 8 components and 30 features, comprehensively addresses lesson design, delivery, and reflection, ensuring effective teaching.
SIOP Strategies
Strategies, the fourth SIOP component, finds itself in the middle of the 8 component framework.  This component concerns itself with learning strategies, higher order thinking strategies, and the str...
SIOP Review and Evaluation
The features found under this aspect of SIOP encourage the teacher to give a thorough review and a thoughtful evaluation of student mastery of both the content and the language.
SIOP Interaction
Interaction is the fifth component of SIOP.  It is a helpful reminder to the teacher that students interacting with students should be a cornerstone of how teaching and learning operate.
SIOP Lesson Preparation
Lesson preparation is essential to meeting the diverse needs that a classroom of individual students have. The best way to make sure you get to where you want to go is to decide where that is and map...
SIOP Comprehensible Input
Comprehensible Input is the measurement of how easily someone can understand something.  In this component, the SIOP framework asks teachers to consider how comprehensible key aspects of their teachi...
SIOP Building Background
Read about building background in SIOP, focusing on connecting students to lesson content and language using their existing knowledge.
SIOP Feature #13: Provide ample opportunities for students to use strategies.
This feature of SIOP, using strategies, encourages teachers to actively teach students how to use specific learning strategies such as:  Problem solving, predicting, organizing, summarizing, categori...
SIOP Feature #14: Use scaffolding consistently throughout the lesson.
One of the most powerful strategies a teacher can use is breaking things down into digestible chunks for the students. This is called scaffolding.  
Teacher in classroom with students
SIOP Benefits

What are the benefits of using SIOP to guide our planning and teaching?

Whether you teach in a remote learning environment, a hybrid format, or in a traditional setting, TESOL Trainers will transform how teaching & learning occur in your school. We provide experiential professional development that engages and empowers every participant. TESOL Trainers K-12 Professional Development is informative and inspiring. Watch John Kongsvik talk about it here.

Whether you teach in a remote learning environment, a hybrid format, or in a traditional setting, TESOL Trainers will transform how teaching & learning occur in your school. We provide experiential professional development that engages and empowers every participant. TESOL Trainers K-12 Professional Development is informative and inspiring. Watch John Kongsvik talk about it here.

  • Encourage teachers to design and deliver student-centered lessons that connect them to the language, content, and one another.
  • Helps teachers remember that at every moment in the lesson their students must be doing something with the content and the language.
  • Challenges teachers to engage their students 90-100% of the time in a variety of ways.
  • Asks that teachers plan activities that incorporate all four language domains: speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
  • Pushes teachers expect more from their students and to scaffold more to support them.
  • Encourages teachers to be more aware when planning and when teaching to make content comprehensible.
  • Maximize opportunities to interact with the language, the content, and their peers in meaningful ways.
  • Helps all students succeed, regardless of their native language. SIOP gives teachers tools to design and deliver effective lessons.
  • Reminds teachers to put an equal emphasis on language as they do on content in both planning and teaching.

Master SIOP in your classroom

Enroll in our SIOP Professional Development course

Dr. John Kongsvik in a classroom
SIOP Professional Development

How can TESOL Trainers,
Inc. help?

TESOL Trainers is the #1 provider of experiential K-12 professional development on SIOP. Our remote workshops are unique: They are very interactive; they are quick-paced; they are packed with innovative ideas, solid strategies, and tempting techniques that teachers will want to do. Here are some of the things your educators will get from our remote training sessions:

  • A PD that shows (rather than tells) teachers what SIOP is all about.
  • A PD that builds teacher confidence that they too can implement the strategies and techniques the workshop highlights.
  • A PD that cultivates competence by creating opportunities for teachers to try out the techniques, discuss how they'll look in their contexts, and share ideas.
  • A PD that leaves teachers wanting to learn more, teach better, and try harder.

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