English Learners, the Common Core
and ELD Standards
A parent guide to help support your child in learning
English and achieving academic success in school
Shobha Tejwani
ELD Coordinator
What parents should know about CCSS?
● New standards being rolled out in 46 states
● New standards describe what your child is
expected to learn and be able to do
● New standards for English reading, writing,
speaking, and math
● New standards expect more from all students
so they will be ready for college and career
What schools are expected to do?
● Provide help to English learners who are
learning English and the CCSS
● Educational materials when possible should be
available in home language
● Special training to teachers to help students
learn the new CCSS and English with the new
English Language Development Standards
English Language Development Standards
Ca ELD Standards
How do the ELD standards help ELs?
Since language is central to all academic
areas, English learners need explicit,
systematic language instruction in order to
be ready to meet our goal of College and
Career Readiness for all Students.
What teaching practices are being used to
support English Learners?
Speaking and listening
● Collaborative learning
● Opportunities for one on one, small group,
large group discussions
● Students get more time to speak in order to
improve their English and present their ideas
in all subject areas
What teaching practices are being used to
support English Learners?
Reading
● More informational texts (non-fiction)
● More variety of reading materials
(newspapers, internet, magazines)
● More time spent on reading in all subject
areas to improve language and literacy skills
What teaching practices are being used to
support English Learners?
Writing
● Writing Focus
○
○
all grade levels
all content areas
● Writer’s workshop at elementary grade
levels
What this means for your child?
More opportunities to develop and improve:
● vocabulary
● reading comprehension
● writing
● speaking
● listening
● Improve language and literacy skills
What skills are required for
college and career readiness?
The 4 C’s
● Communication
● Collaboration
● Critical thinking
● Creativity
Communication and Collaboration
Communication
Collaboration
● Develop and present
presentations
● Persuade others through
their writing
● Discuss projects and
assignments
● Group projects
● Participate in pairs, small
and large groups
● One-on-one
conversations with
teacher
Critical Thinking and Creativity
Critical Thinking
Creativity
● Use their reading to support
writing
● Participate in classroom
debates
● Investigate problems and
find possible solutions
● Students question and
evaluate their own thoughts
and ideas
● Students use computers and
videos to complete and
present classroom
assignments
● Explore issues in the
community and create video
showing possible solutions
Dual Obligation of School Districts
● Provide meaningful access to grade-level
curriculum
● Develop students’ ability to understand, speak,
read, and write in English
What has DUSD done so far?
● More ELD specialists to work with students and
teachers
● More Sheltered Instruction Classes at the high
school
● Ongoing training in ELD standards and CCSS
● Literacy and Math coaches to provide support
to teachers
English Learners/Reclassified
School
English Learner
Reclassified
Top 3 languages
Dublin Elementary
76
28
Spanish, Mandarin, Punjabi
Frederiksen
121
13
Spanish, Mandarin, Vietnamese/Philippino
Kolb
171
64
Mandarin, Telegu, Hindi
Dougherty
118
52
Telegu, Mandarin, Hindi
Green
89
51
Mandarin, Hindi, Telegu
Murray
37
11
Spanish, Vietnamese, Cantonese/Farsi
Wells Middle
57
82
Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean
Fallon
28
202
Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese
Valley
4
5
Spanish
Dublin HS
65
265
Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese
Total
766
773
Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese
What action can parents take?
● Learn and discuss with your child’s teacher how
language and literacy development is taught in
all subject areas
● Find out what kind of supports are being
provided for your child
● Ask for translations for important documents
and for translators during conferences if needed
What action can parents take?
● Keep speaking your first language- a strong
foundation in L1 will help with L2
● Talk, talk, talk- children who hear more
language have a larger vocabulary
● Read, read, read- read in your own language
● Visit the library often- children will develop most
of their vocabulary through independent reading
What action can parents take?
● Model good reading habits- have lots of reading
materials around the house, talk about what you
are reading
● Encourage your child to interact with English
speaking peers
● Enroll your child in sports or clubs- gives
opportunities to improve English and learn team
work
What action can parents take?
● Supervise homework- create a structured
place and time to do homework
● Keep a list of questions to ask during parent
teacher conferences
● Get involved in your child’s school and
volunteer in the classroom if possible
● Improve your own English skills through
adult ESL classes offered in the district
Questions and Concerns
Websites for learning English:
www.duolingo.com
http://www.newsinlevels.com/
www.wordlens.com
Resources
The Common Core Challenge for ELLs
by Rhoda Coleman and Claude Goldberg
English Learner Success in the Common Core
State Standards (CCSS)
Californians Together
California ELD Standards