The CLIL pattern

The unit in one line

The content, and the question driving it.

The Language Triptych

Name the language students need at three levels. Vocabulary alone is not CLIL. This three-way distinction is Coyle's.

Choose few words and teach them deeply, by their roots and word parts. Depth of word knowledge, and using roots to unlock whole word families, is Alex Quigley's argument in Closing the Vocabulary Gap.

The one load-bearing move

Name one analytical move. Say what the student writes. Set a diagnostic rule.

• The move: two sentences with a specific named example.
• The rule: no named example, no top band.
• Model the move and keep it small. Writing asks too much at once, so reduce the load. After the Simple View of Writing (Berninger and colleagues), discussed by Quigley.
• Later it grows into significance, then a paragraph, then synthesis.

The standing furniture

The practices visible in every lesson.

• A word wall: term, definition, example.
• Sentence-frame cards on every desk.
• A word bank printed on the paper.
• A retrieval starter opens every lesson: five questions, written in a dedicated retrieval book. It is the routine that never moves.

Reading the hard text

Name the toughest source. Say how you open it up: read-aloud, glossary, annotation, paired reading.

Decoding a text is not the same as understanding it, so plan for comprehension, not just access. When reading aloud, stress the small joining words (this, for, it) that carry the meaning. After Scarborough's reading rope and Quigley's Closing the Reading Gap.

The assessment stance

Build the scaffold into the paper for everyone. Name the move beside the rubric. Build in a moment to stop and revise, since revising means reshaping, not tidying spelling. After Quigley's Closing the Writing Gap.

Identify early, support early

Find an early, low-stakes signal. Have a reteach move ready.

The context anchor

Optional, but powerful. Find a local case that makes the content land and can be reused.