Meeting the Needs of
English Language Learners
in the Common Core
Classroom
Rebekah McConnell, M.A.
Lancaster School District
Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
Objectives
 Understand how ELs and their proficiency levels
are identified.
 Explore the new requirements for English Language
Development, as outlined in the SBE-Adopted
ELA/ELD Framework (2014).
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/rl/cfelaeldfrmwrksbeadopted.asp
 Explore how to use the CCSS-aligned English
Language Development Standards (2012) to design
integrated and designated ELD lessons.
Initial Identification of English
Learners
Home Language Survey
 Filled out by the parent/guardian when
they enroll a student
 If any language other than English is
indicated, we consider the student to be a
possible English Language Learner (ELL)
CELDT
 English learners take the California English
Language Development Test (CELDT)
 Initial test based on Home Language Survey (First time they
are tested)
 Annual test given every fall to monitor progress
 The CELDT covers 4 domains:
1. Listening
2. Speaking
3. Reading
4. Writing
CELDT Proficiency Levels
 Students’ English language proficiency levels are
determined by their CELDT scores.
 Students have a proficiency level in each of the 4
domains, as well as an overall proficiency level.
 There are 5 proficiency levels:





1: Beginning
2: Early Intermediate
3: Intermediate
4: Early Advanced
5: Advanced
CELDT 1: Beginning
 Silent Phase
 Listen Attentively
 Repeat words and phrases
 Respond to visuals, gestures, and other
forms of TPR (Total Physical Response)
 Focus on listening comprehension and
building receptive vocabulary
http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/language_stages.php
CELDT: 1 Beginning Cont.
 Yes/no and either/or questions
 one or two word responses
 Use pictures and realia to support learning
 Provide listening activities
 Focus on key vocabulary and concepts
 Support learning with TPR, graphic
organizers, charts, graphs., and sentence
frames
CELDT 2: Early Intermediate
 Sound out stories phonetically
 Read short, modified texts in content area subjects
 Complete graphic organizers with word banks
 Understand and answer questions about charts and graphs
 Match vocabulary words to definitions
 Participate in duet, pair, and choral reading activities
 Understand simple teacher explanations and two-step directions
 Compose brief stories based on personal experience
 Write in dialogue journals
 Support learning with TPR, graphic organizers, charts, graphs.,
and sentence frames
CELDT 3: Intermediate
 Use more complex sentences when speaking and writing
 Express opinions and ideas
 Ask clarifying questions
 Increasing comprehension in content areas
 Students sound like “they speak English just fine.”
 Limited academic English
 Support learning with TPR, graphic organizers, charts,
graphs., and sentence frames
CELDT 4 & 5: Early Advanced &
Advanced
 Proficient on the CELDT
 Near native fluency
 Considered for Reclassification
Placement of ELLs
SEI vs. ELM Classrooms
 Sheltered English Immersion (SEI)
 Teacher with classroom that contains a cluster of CELDT 13 students.
 Integrated ELD
 Designated ELD
 English Language Mainstream (ELM)
 Teacher with a classroom that contains a cluster of CELDT
4-5 students.
 Integrated ELD
 Designated ELD
Discussion Point
Why is it important for teachers to be
familiar with the CELDT levels of their
students? How can teachers use CELDT
levels to help inform instruction and
assessment of English learners?
Communication: Listening and
Speaking the Language of Academics
“Ordinarily, language learning happens when
learners come into close and frequent
contact with speakers of the target
language, and efforts are made both by the
learners and target language speakers to
communicate by use of that language.”
Fillmore & Fillmore, 2012, p. 2
Paper presented at the Understanding Language Conference, Stanford, CA. Available at
http://ell.stanford.edu/papers/practice
Scaffolding for the Needs of
English Learners in the Common
Core Classroom
California English Language Development Standards (2012)
http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/el/er/eldstandards.asp
Appendix A
Foundational Literacy Skills for
English Learners
Outline of the Document
 Pages 1-4: Research, Overview, & References
 Pages 5 – 18: Grade Level Specific Pages
How to read the Grade Level Specific Pages:
 Column 1: Student Profile
 Column 2: Considerations
 Column 3: Applicable CCSS ELA Foundational Literacy
Standards
Structure of CA ELD Standards
LET’S LOOK AT ELD STANDARDS
17
17
CA ELD to CCSS ELA Correlation
 2.ELD.I.A.1: Contribute to conversations and express ideas by
asking and answering yes-no and wh- questions and
responding using gestures, words, and learned phrases.
 SL.2.1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse
partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults
in small and larger groups.
 SL.2.6: Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task
and situation in order to provide requested detail or
clarification.
 L.2.6: Use words and phrases acquired through conversations,
reading, and being read to, and responding to tests, including
using adjective and adverbs to describe.
 SL.2.1, SL.2.3
Collaborative Mode
CELDT
1&2
19
CELDT
3
CELDT
4&5
19
Activity
Take a moment to read through and
examine the ELD Standards for your
Grade Level and think About…
 How would you correlate your current instruction
to the ELD standards?
 How would you determine which ELD standards to
focus on?
 How would you use the ELD standards in your
classroom?
BREAK
English Language
Development and
the Common Core
Activity
 Quick Write: What experience have you had
with ELD?





Who gets ELD?
Why do we provide ELD?
Who teaches ELD?
When is ELD taught?
What is used to teach ELD?
English Language Development
“…ELs face the unique challenge of learning English
as an additional language as they are also learning
grade-level content through English. This challenge
creates a dual responsibility for all teachers who
teach ELs. The first is to ensure that ELs have full
access to grade-level curriculum in all content areas,
and the second is to ensure that ELs simultaneously
develop advanced levels of English necessary for
success with academic tasks and texts in those
content areas.”
-California Department of Education (2014), Chapter 2, page 75
ELD Instruction
“All teachers should attend to the language learning needs of
their ELs in strategic ways that promote the simultaneous
development of content knowledge and advanced levels of
English. In this section, ELD instruction will be described first
generally and then in terms of using the CA ELD standards in two
ways:
1.
Integrated ELD; and
2.
Designated ELD.”
California Department of Education (2014)
adapted from English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework
for California Public Schools: Transitional Kindergarten through Grade Twelve
Both/And
“ELs at all English proficiency levels and at
all ages require both integrated ELD and
specialized attention to their particular
language learning needs, or designated
ELD.”
California Department of Education (2014)
English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework
for California Public Schools: Transitional Kindergarten through Grade Twelve
Integrated + Designated
Key Features of Integrated ELD
Figure 2.21
Effective instructional experiences for ELs throughout the
day and across the disciplines:
 Are interactive and engaging, meaningful and relevant,
and intellectually rich and challenging
 Are appropriately scaffolded in order to provide
strategic support that moves learners toward
independence
 Build both content knowledge and academic English
 Value and build on primary language and culture
and other forms of prior knowledge
California Department of Education (2014)
English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework
for California Public Schools: Transitional Kindergarten through Grade Twelve
Designated ELD
“Teachers use the CA ELD Standards as the focal standards in
ways that build into and from content instruction in order to
develop critical English language skills, knowledge, and abilities
needed for content learning in English.”
“During this protected time, ELs should be actively engaged in
collaborative discussions where they build
up their awareness about language and develop
their skills and abilities to use language.”
California Department of Education (2014)
English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework
for California Public Schools: Transitional Kindergarten through Grade Twelve
Key Features of Designated ELD
Figure 2.23
Intellectual Quality, Academic English
Focus, Extended Language Interaction,
Focus on Meaning, Focus on Forms,
Planned and Sequenced Events,
Scaffolding, Clear Lesson Objectives,
Corrective Feedback
Integrated ELD in Action
Integrated ELD Science:
Focus on Academic Language (Grade 4)
Designated ELD in Action
Integrated ELD Science:
Focus on Science (Grade 4)
Additional Resources for
Integrated and Designated ELD
 Asking and Answering Questions About Soil (Grade 2)
- Integrated and
Designatedhttps://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/ask-answerquestions-nea
 Analyzing Texts: Putting Thoughts on Paper (Grade 5 ) –
Designated
ELDhttps://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/analyzing-textwriting
 Preparing Learners: Ethos, Pathos, & Logos (Grades 6-8) –
Integrated ELD
https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/ethos-pathos-logos
Integrated & Designated ELD in
Action (Vignettes)
 What is the role of content, and how does
this lesson build into and from the content
students are learning the rest of the day?
 What kind of Language are students using,
and how are they developing it?
 How does the teacher determine when
students need additional support, and how
is the support provided?
Designated ELD in Action
What role does language play in
Designated ELD?
Review and Reflect
 What is your responsibility to English learners in your
classroom?
 What services are English learners entitled to, and who
is responsible for providing those services?
 Who are the English learners in your classroom and what
are their levels?
 How will you use the ELD standards to help meet the
needs of English learners in your classroom?
 How will you provide integrated AND designated ELD for
your students?