Adapting Gradual Release of Responsibility for English Language Learners

Educators frequently use the gradual release of responsibility model (“I Do, We Do, You Do”) to teach new skills. In our work with multilingual learners (MLs), we’ve found that the model needs to be slightly rethought for students who don’t get enough from the I Do phase. MLs need active engagement and opportunities for guided practice throughout each step of the model. We developed a modified We Do engagement model to provide the support MLs need to learn a new skill.

Rethinking the gradual release of responsibility model

To provide this guided practice and support, we suggest a modified approach to the gradual release of responsibility model, an approach from our forthcoming book. This approach consists of an amplification of the We Do and You Do phases of gradual release through specific engagement models:

1. We Do: Teacher prompting for student input based on their background knowledge or text evidence, with a mini I Do phase built in.
2. Small Groups: Students work in small groups to respond to prompts about the topic using a specific sentence structure.
3. Pairs: Students work in pairs to respond to prompts about the topic using a specific sentence structure.
4. You Do: Students individually respond to prompts about the topic using a specific sentence structure.

While this model of gradually cultivating independence can be used to support listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, it is particularly effective for teaching writing at the sentence level.

We Do. When introducing new concepts and new sentence structures, we encourage teachers to intentionally integrate a mini–I Do phase into the We Do phase to leverage students’ active participation. In the We Do phase, teachers and students read a short text segment or watch a very short segment of a video. Then, teachers share a preplanned prompt that asks students to process the information. This prompt also asks students to use a specific sentence structure to share their ideas. For example, if teachers want students to share a conclusion about the information, they might ask students to use the phrase resulting in or As a result in their responses.

When students provide answers and ideas, the teacher recasts them into the desired sentence structure, using correct grammar. Recasting means rewording students’ oral contributions into a grammatically correct form. When students answer two different prompts about the topic, the teacher can also show them how to combine the two sentences into a single combined sentence. This combined sentence reformats students’ ideas into a specific structure in one single sentence.

The most important aspect of the We Do phase is prompting that is specific and directed to what students have already learned. In this example about They Called Us Enemy, by George Takei et al., the teacher specifically asked for two simple sentences, making sure to ask for a contrasting detail in the second simple sentence, so that but can be used to join the two simple sentences.

Small Groups. After students are familiar with the new sentence structure, they can practice in small groups of three or four students using the next segment of text. We recommend that students be intentionally assigned to specific small groups based on their proficiency. Before students work in their small groups, they should receive specific written instructions to follow as they collaborate. These written instructions are intended to match the teacher’s prompting in the We Do engagement. The only difference is that students are using the written instructions to prompt each other.

Prompt: Describe the barracks used to house the Japanese American internees. Write a compound sentence that joins two simple sentences using but.

Written instructions:

1. Provide one detail that answers the prompt using a simple sentence structure.
2. Provide another detail using a simple sentence structure that shows a contrast with the first idea you provided.
3. Combine these two simple sentences with but.

The written instructions cultivate greater independence from the teacher and foster internalization of the sentence structure. Most important, the written instructions guide students on what to work on collaboratively. Although most teachers regularly assign group work, multilingual learners often produce grammatically inaccurate attempts and use ineffective details from the text, even when they are working collaboratively. These instructions direct students to focus their collaboration on the accuracy of their sentences—both the content and the language—rather than mere engagement.

During small group time, teachers can work with select groups they know will benefit from extra guided support. After the small groups have created their sentence(s), the teacher can provide feedback to celebrate their understanding and attempts.

Pairs. After engaging with the content using the same sentence structure in both the We Do and small group phases, MLs have become increasingly familiar with it. Teachers can now further cultivate independence by having students construct another response to a similar prompt in the next segment of text, this time in pairs for even more engagement. Then, using the same written instructions, students create another unique response in their pairs. As they collaborate, the teacher can work with pairs that would benefit most from extra support. Once the pairs have constructed their desired sentence(s), the teacher can provide immediate feedback.

You Do. The final engagement model is the individual construction of the sentence structure for the next segment of text. At this point, students have at least three opportunities to internalize the desired sentence structure and content. Using the written instructions, MLs now independently construct a response to the next segment of text that prompts the desired sentence structure.

The ultimate goal of instructing MLs is to develop their independence in expressing their thinking about content using academic language. While modeling instructions is one step toward skill acquisition, the four engagement models described here structure classroom instruction to systematically and intentionally develop independence. An essential element of this approach is teacher prompting during the We Do phase of engagement, which invites students into the process of constructing the desired sentence structure. Additionally, students’ use of clearly written instructions in small groups and pairs intentionally develops their internalization of sentence structure. Through the process, they learn to depend less on the teacher and more on their growing linguistic skills and comprehension of the topic.