This five year study will evaluate the effectiveness of the SIOP model on academic language and content comprehension with English learners (EL) in middle school science classrooms. Eight teachers were trained in the SIOP model and provided with science curriculum units to implement with pre-developed SIOP lesson plans. Four additional teachers served as a comparison group who implemented the same curriculum, but without the SIOP model or lesson plans. Students of all teachers completed assessments that measured students’ development of academic language and the acquisition of science concepts.

In 2009 the study will expand to include three groups of teachers. Group one will receive SIOP training and SIOP science units, group two will only receive SIOP training, and group three will serve as a control group that receives no SIOP training or science units. Students from all three groups of teachers’ classrooms will complete assessments that will measure students’ development of academic language and the acquisition of science concepts.

Findings from this study should be available in 2011.