What are SDAIE Strategies?

What are SDAIE Strategies?

As classrooms become more culturally diverse, it is crucial for teachers to be familiar with strategies that can help students struggling with the English language (English Language Learners). Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE) is a teaching approach that uses various strategies to teach academic content to ELL students.

SDAIE strategies focus on curriculum and teaching content to students, as compared to ESL curriculum, which focuses more on developing students’ English language skills.

Using SDAIE strategies helps teachers differentiate instruction to suit the learning needs of ELL students. Teachers can apply these strategies to instruction, and use them as assessment tools.

Teachers following SDAIE practices help ELL students by:

1. Analyzing material from point of view of students with limited English proficiency.
2. Activating students background knowledge.
3. Presenting material and lessons orally as well as increasing the use of visuals, graphic organizers, manipulative and hands-on-learning experiences.
4. Using simple language for communicating as well as limiting the use of idioms, jargon and complex sentence structures.
5. Reinforcing learning of language along with content and curriculum.
6. Regularly assessing and monitoring student progress.

These goals are achieved in the following ways:

Bridging or Activating Knowledge: Teachers help students establish connections between current topics and previous knowledge through use of images, brainstorming, and strategies like quick-writes, think-pair-share, and previewing text.

Contextualization: Students are taught to familiarize themselves with unknown concepts by experiencing them directly through demonstrations, media, realia and hands-on learning opportunities.

Metacognitive Development: Teachers equip students with the skills and vocabulary essential for learning.

Modelling: Teachers can set examples for students in the language they want students to use. This includes speaking slowly and clearly, using correct vocabulary. Teachers may also use peer interactions and student discussions to instill language and communicative skills in ELL students. Student discussions are useful as they provide ELL students with an opportunity to:

• Practice both their listening and speaking skills.
• To share their opinions and thoughts on topics in a safe environment.
• Actively participate in a group without fearing judgement or ridicule.

Schema-Building: Students learn to explore, identify, and compare relationships between concepts through strategies such as jigsaw learning, peer teaching, and project-based learning.

Representations: Students are instructed to represent their understanding of a material through drawings and presentations.

SDAIE strategies streamline teachers’ efforts at presenting academic content to ELL students in ways that enable them to attain academic excellence.

Like this article for teachers?

Browse the Professional Learning Board COURSE CATALOG to find related online courses for teachers in your state. Professional Learning Board is a leading provider of online professional development classes that teachers use to renew a teaching license or renew a teaching certificate.