Conversation in Sheltered Geometry Class Geometry English language development I. Submit your transcription 1.

Brief context: The shelterd class is doing an investigation of congruent triangles. They are in pairs and are using manipulatives together. The students are using rulers, protractors, and fixed length manipulatives.Students are testing hypothesis in conparing triangles. 2. Learning objective(s): CCSS.Math.Content.HSG-CO.B.8 Explain how the criteria for triangle congruence (ASA, SAS, and SSS) follow from the definition of congruence in terms of rigid motions. Mathematical practice- Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. 3. Conversation prompt: "If you tell you that all of the sides of one triangle are congruent to corresponding sides of another triangle, what do we know about the angles of the triangles? Make your conjectures and test your hypothesis." 4. TRANSCRIPTION: A : Maybe I should draw a base first? It should be long.....maybe 6? B: Yes.....Ha, ha ( both students drawing and measuring) A: Did you get it on the first try? B: It is not right....but if you are not right either....? A: They should match(students check each other's drawing for congruence) B; Human Error.....ha ha A: Here, let's check. See, there is a differance between exactly four inches and just a little shy ....( measuring) B: Yours is not wrong then.....

II. Provide background information 10th grade ELD/ Math Student A - Female, native language Spanish, English language level 3. Student B- Male, native language Spanish, English language level 2. III. Context 1. Specifics of the lesson: This was the 2nd day for exploring congruent triangles. They were continuing to discover what congruent really meant in terms of triangles and how it related to similarity as well. The teacher asked students to dimonstrate on the smart board and recap what had been discovered the previous day. Students had already explored if two triangles had only one side congruent, whether the triangles were congruent. And they had already explored with 2 sides of one triangle congruent to 2 sides of another. They developed conjectures with the help of sentence frames and the teacher. One student asked about what if you knew 3 sides,

did that force the triangles to be congruent. The students were using patty paper, very thin paper to draw on. The teacher indicated that to be a very good question.....and gave the prompt: If I tell you all 3 sides of one trinagel are congruent to 3 sides of another triangle, does it force the angles that correspond to be congruent? 2. What were your expectations: I expected very little conversation but I was surprised. There were several discussions, some in English, some in Spanish, some Marshallese.I expected to hear the different languages, but I wanted them to be using English as their Academic Language. As in any math classroom, I expected to hear clarifying language about ideas and answers. 3. General background - The school is whole school Title 1. The predominant minority is Hispanic as 52%, followed by Marshallese 9%. THe classroom I observed is a sheltered classroom . Students in the sheltered classroom for Geometry are still aquiring English and have been in the U.S> less than 3 years. IV. Rationale The dialog does not do justice to the thinking behind the mathematics and what was going on with the diagrams, measuring and trial/ error practice. I would like students be empowered to discuss mathematics plainly and with appropriate vocabulary. My struggle is how do I help them vocalize mathematics so they learn content knowledge deeply? V. Conversation Analysis Tool ELD Geometry 1 Dimension 1: Turns build on one another 3 Reasons for score The students understood the mathematics but I am afraid they are not vocalizing it coherently and it restricts their thinking. . Dimension 2: Conversation fosters learning 3 Reasons for score The conversation shows where the students are going with their thinking , but they did not arrive during the recording time. I would like to hear a higher level of questioning from one student to the next. VI. Reflections I would like the students to suggest they try another example and discuss it , and then another example. I would like to hear one student say" I wonder what would happen if we used an obtuse angle , or what would happen if we changed the length. " That would indicate the students were growing in their knowledge. I would like to see students apply what they have learned to other areas and be able to transfer concepts. A : I will draw the longest side first. a base of 6.

B: We know the other 2 sides must be lareger than 6 when we add them together. to make sure we get a triangle A: Did you get it on the first try? B: It is important to be accurate. A: If congruence is true for only 3 sides, then my triangle and your triangle will be the same size and shape. B; Human Error.....ha ha A: Here, let's check. See, there is a differance between exactly four inches and just a little shy ....( measuring) B: If it is not true then they will not match up on the patty paper.... I would like to provide students with sentence frames for responding to each other. There seems to be a major disconnect between academic language and appropriate discussion. Geometry is highly visual. there was some great drawing and thinking going on. However, students need to be able to express their thinking orally as well as in writing to give meaning to their learning. Teachers cannot tell by the "light in their eyes" if a student sknows something. We must give them tools to express their thinking in appropriate ways.