3-6 Materials Analysis - E.L. Achieve: Systematic ELD and ...€¦ · multiple sources, such as...

3-6 Materials Analysis

Grades 3-6 English Language Development Materials Analysis © 2014 E.L. Achieve

State English Language Development Standards highlight and amplify the language demands of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) that English learners need in order to gain advanced knowledge of English and academic achievement.

They call out the necessity of providing robust English language instruction throughout the instructional day – through both a dedicated, targeted ELD block and integration into other content delivery.

The Blueprint for Serving English Learners (graphic at right) outlines both purposes for language instruction. The Systematic ELD Instructional Units were developed from E.L. Achieve’s comprehensive framework, and are specifically designed to teach English language as its own subject of study (highlighted in red box).

Critical research-based features of Systematic ELD instruction 1. Language learning and exploration are

squarely in the foreground.

2. Students are grouped by assessed proficiency level for this part of the instructional day. This is determined bymultiple sources, such as state language assessments, analysis of writing samples for vocabulary and grammaticalknowledge (using the E.L. Achieve ELD Matrix of Linguistic Knowledge or language-focused writing rubric), the ExpressPlacement Assessment, and recorded observations of oral production.

3. Instruction uses a functional language approach organized around essential purposes for communication. Languagetasks are highly applicable to real-world and academic interactions that students must adroitlynavigate. Instruction draws students’ attention to a variety of aspects of English (e.g., rhythm and cadence,pronunciation, colloquial expressions, formal and informal registers).

4. An organized method of language instruction is provided to prevent gaps and fill existing gaps in language knowledge that can hinder students’ achievement of full English proficiency. Instruction follows a developmental scope and sequence of language skills identified in ELD/ELP standards and the Systematic ELD Handbook.

5. Language is explicitly taught, and instruction emphasizes oral languagedevelopment through structured, purposeful interaction, withsubstantive written practice to ensure students develop in-depthunderstanding of how English works, and acquire fluency and anaccurate command of all modes of communication.

Systematic ELD Units employ a sound and well-articulated vision of instruction that clearly 1) builds background knowledge, 2) teaches high leverage language that is applicable to real life and grade-level work, 3) maps strategically with language objectives that build toward weekly and unit goals, 4) gradually releases responsibility to students (see graphic at right), and 5)consistently moves from abundant oral practice to authentic writing tasks.

Impact on students – information from teachers and coaches

“My students love the interactive practice activities and they are always excited for ELD time because they get to think and talk together. Their oral language production skills have improved.”

“Working on the Ecology unit, there is a lot of vocabulary to frontload at the beginning. Once the students have used the vocabulary, the sentence structures of pros and cons were a lot of fun. Students were very good at both the oral language and writing their thoughts using ‘One positive feature of the bike trails is that...’ or ‘Another advantage of the bike trails is that...’ The videos were so very helpful, so students could see them in action!”

English Language Arts, Mathematics, History/Social Studies, Science, Art, and Technical Subjects

Constructing Meaning is a process for teaching content that provides:� Explicit instruction to support English learners in

understanding and using the language necessary for grade-level work� Accelerated instruction that emphasizes critical literacy skills

and sophisticated academic language� Tools for analyzing the linguistic demands of complex text

and tasks� Ample opportunities for structured and purposeful interaction

and collaboration

Language Instruction for Content Learning

Systematic ELD Instruction

Systematic ELD is dedicated time and targeted instruction that provides:� A solid English language

foundation to fully engage in a range of academic and real life situations� Instruction organized by (QJOLVK�SUR¿FLHQF\�OHYHO� that follows a continuum of linguistic skills� An emphasis on oral and

written language in rigorous and relevant tasks� Ample opportunities for

structured and purposeful interaction and collaboration

3-6 Materials Analysis


“When I met Max he was a 6th grader in an intermediate group, struggling to participate in an activity generating sentences orally using present and future tense verbs. His sentences were stilted and vocabulary very limited. Several months later, the group was working on a culminating assessment task. Using graphic organizers, sentence frames, and charts from previous lessons as resources, students had to make decisions about how to formulate and respond to questions. Max wrote using various language patterns flexibly. He confidently conducted his interview for the class, navigating changing verb tenses, and using sophisticated vocabulary and various sentence structures as if he had known them all his life! He stood tall and proud, with a huge grin on his face.

When I asked him how he had learned so much, he explained that the graphic organizers, picture cards, and posters helped him think about what to say, and the sentence frames, verb cards, and language charts helped him think of how to say it. The teacher had given students lots of time to practice talking and writing together using games and fun activities. She showed them how to use the language during other subjects and encouraged them to try it out.

His teacher commented that Max came to life in ELD – participating and asking questions. As he had learned to use language more flexibly, he became interested in expanding his vocabulary to express himself more clearly. He knows how to use the language he’s learned in ELD to actively participate during other content instruction. He helps others and feels good about himself. This is a kid who hasn’t had many opportunities, at home or at school, to feel proud of himself – and now he does!”

Research-based approach to professional development E.L. Achieve distinguishes itself from other professional development and publishing organizations by taking a system-wide approach. We developed our instructional materials to ensure school systems have a high quality, well-designed ELD curriculum to successfully implement the framework we teach. Available research suggests that the quality of learning is bolstered when district and site administrators set a clear direction by prioritizing ELD and supporting implementation.

In order to purchase Systematic ELD Instructional Units, teachers participate in multiple days of institutes to gain a solid vision of instruction and ELD concepts. Site and district administrators are provided with specialized training and tools to deepen their understanding of quality ELD instruction and learn how to support effective implementation.

Impact on instruction – information from administrators and teachers

“It wasn’t until teachers implemented the E.L. Achieve units that we consistently saw ELD lessons that looked like the kind of effective instruction we wanted to see happening in the classrooms. The demonstration of the units really increased understanding of the components of a good ELD lesson. Teachers were grateful to have the lessons designed for them and gained a much clearer understanding of lesson components such as structured practice as they implemented the units.”

“I've been teaching for four years. And I always thought I was a great teacher. But after using Systematic ELD Unit lessons, it hit me that I could have been doing so much better. I finally understand what good teaching looks like. I love how you explain things for me and help me understand. Now, I feel like a great teacher.”

“The units have definitely been well received in our District. Teachers have been able to successfully synthesize the theoretical concepts presented in training sessions with the practical implementation of the Units in the classroom. Our teachers appreciate learning the methodology/approach of Systematic ELD instruction and then having the materials to match what they have been trained to implement. This is year one of District-wide implementation and as the school year is coming to an end, I am so impressed with the progress we have made!”

Data from three California districts implementing Systematic ELD Units for over two years

AMAO 1 AMAO 2 <5 years AMAO 2 >5 years Cohort size

Target Attaining Met? Target Attaining Met? Target Attaining Met?

District 1 1,565 57.5% 62.9% YES 21.4% 28.8% YES 47% 53.5% YES



The Systematic ELD Instructional Units for 3–6 are built on CCSS and content standards to ensure that topics and language taught are grade-level appropriate, high leverage, and portable. Unit assessments are cumulative and engage students in tasks that require them to use the words/phrases and grammatical structures taught throughout the weeks in meaningful ways.

There are three units that are built on informational text and topics (The Art of Getting Along, Ecology, and Healthy Living) and three units that are built on literary text and topics (Virtual Field Trip, How’s the Weather?, and Visual and Performing Arts). Various forms of media are used throughout the units (e.g., video and audio clips, print/books, and picture cards). Resources support teachers in discovering and connecting to students’ funds of knowledge and were created to appeal to the age group and diversity of grades 3–6 students.

The units for 3–6 scaffold the construction of meaning, from identifying key words and phrases to identifying central ideas and themes, in five ways:

1. The language build within a week of lessons and a unit

In the Ecology units, 3–4 students study the ways in which animals are impacted by their environment and then learn words and phrases (brick and mortar) needed to express their understanding. (At right: Example of the language build within a week of lessons.)

Together, the six units collectively teach the competencies of each English proficiency level as outlined in the Systematic ELD framework. The units are organized to teach and practice key patterns and functions in increasingly greater depth and complexity throughout the school year, and for this reason, they should be taught in sequence.

2. Teaching charts and handouts included in the lessons (Example: This samplechart from Grades 5–6 The Art of Getting Along Intermediate ensures that students see how to use both grammatical forms and vocabulary to respond to questions.)

3. At the end of each lesson, students are asked to apply the language theyhave learned to express an idea about the content using scaffolds (e.g., charts, picture/word/pattern cards, handouts, writing templates) with interaction routines such as: Whip Around; Ticket Out the Door; Give One, Get One.

4. At the end of each week and then at the end of each unit, students are askedto use all the language they have learned to complete a performance task in order to discuss the central themes and topics more clearly. For example, throughout one week of the 3-4 Healthy Living INT Unit students learn and practice the language listed on the following vocabulary cards (below at right). They use this language at the end of the week to conduct an interview using a handout as a scaffold (below at left).

3–4 BEG

5–6 INT

3-4 INT

1. Materials provide scaffolding for English Learners of varying English proficiency to construct meaning from grade appropriatetexts and oral presentations.


2. Materials provide students with opportunities for frequent oral and written interactions for the specific purposes.

The Systematic ELD Instructional Units provide 3–6 students with opportunities for frequent oral and written interactions to:

§ Exchange ideas and information using language that is proficiency-level appropriate

In Virtual Field Trip Units, 3–6 students discuss a setting and tell about the activities they did:

§ Critique, analyze, and respond to peers using language that is proficiency-level appropriate

One example is found in the Visual and Performing Arts Units. 3–6 students respond to their peers’ performances and give each other feedback and compliments.

§ Obtain information from the real world using language that is proficiency-level appropriate In the How’s the Weather? Units, 3–4 students use cardinal directions to ask and tell each other where to go, and 5–6 students use a range of verb phrases to describe weather conditions.

§ Engage in complex, relevant, and authentic academic tasks

Daily, weekly, and unit assessment tasks are created with grade-level standards in mind to ensure students are given ample opportunities to apply the spoken and written language they will need to engage in grade-level content tasks. Unit Assessments (shown below) require students to complete written compositions and express their thinking using a range of media.

In addition to the supports provided in the curriculum itself, teachers reference their Systematic ELD Handbooks and Support Kits for additional resources to design oral and written structured language practice routines that provide students ample opportunities to use the target language.

The materials support teachers in ensuring that students are provided with appropriate scaffolds in three ways: chart examples, lesson handouts, and student vocabulary cards. Examples from Healthy Living:

3–4 INT We weren’t quiet enough when we were hiking because the deer never came out.

3–4 ADV A We were at the waterfall. Which way should we have gone to get to town? B If you were at the waterfall, you should have gone south to get to town.

5–6 BEG It’s hot in the north today. It’s going to be windy tomorrow. (Late BEG) Today the wind is blowing in the west. It’s going to snow tonight.

3–4 BEG

5–6 BEG

5–6 ADV We had started building a sand castle when a huge wave crashed in and destroyed it.

3–4 BEG chart

5–6 INT handout


3. Materials provide opportunities for students to speak and write about complex literary and informational texts and topics.

The Systematic ELD Instructional Units for 3–6 are built on CCSS and content standards to ensure that topics and language taught are grade-level appropriate, high leverage, and portable.

There are three units that are built on informational text and topics (The Art of Getting Along, Ecology, and Healthy Living) and three units that are built on literary text and topics (Virtual Field Trip, How’s the Weather? and Visual and Performing Arts). Each unit integrates structured, targeted oral language practice into every lesson, every day, and equips students to use language flexibly and fluently for a wide range of purposes.

The Systematic ELD Instructional Units provide ELs with opportunities to:

§ Deliver oral presentations and have discussions about a variety of grade-appropriate texts, topics, and experiences

Within each lesson, students are required to discuss and share their thinking in structured language practice throughout the instructional sequence. The example below, from the Grades 3–4 How’s the Weather? beginning unit, shows how language objectives in the lessons require that students discuss informational topics on a daily basis, and lists the structured language practice routines that teachers use to ensure students have ample opportunities to practice.

In Weekly and Unit Assessment Tasks, students use the language they have learned and practiced to complete performance tasks. For example, in the 5-6 Visual and Performing Arts Unit, students deliver oral presentations on a range of literary texts/topics.

In the 5-6 Healthy Living Unit, students deliver oral presentations on a range of informational texts/topics.

§ Compose thoughts in writing

Student writing demands increase throughout the school year and are written with grade-level CCSS writing demands in mind. Shown at right is an example of how writing is infused into 3–6 lessons.

§ Interact with and express thinking using various media

The Weekly Assessment Task examples provided above show some of the ways in which students use various media to interact with others and express ideas: video, audio, use props, participate in performances, write and share stories and skits, and use templates to create presentations and conduct interviews.

5–6 INT/ ADV

My Turn, Your Turn; Talking Stick with Spinners; A/B Writing Partners; Elbow Partner

Language Pattern Song; My Turn, Your Turn; Talking Stick with Spinners; Give One, Get One; Elbow Partner

Language Pattern Song; My Turn, Your Turn; Card Game, Language Logs; Elbow Partner

Language Pattern Song; My Turn, Your Turn; Talking Stick with Spinners; Lines of Communication; Elbow Partner

3–4 BEG

3–4 INT

5–6 BEG


4. Materials provide activities that require students to create and support oral and written claims.

The Systematic ELD Instructional Units use a functional language approach organized around essential purposes for communication. The following graphic shows the essential purposes for communication taught in the units for the specified grade span and proficiency level.

Language practice activities are interwoven throughout the instructional sequence, which follows the Gradual Release of Responsibility model. The activities are structured to ensure students have the opportunity to think about and use language in supported and organized ways for maximum engagement and accountability.

For example, the goal of the Grades 3–4 Ecology: Our Environment Unit is to ensure that students gain the language necessary to report facts and observations. They read about animals and the environment and expand their bank of topic-specific vocabulary and use it in a range of expanded simple and compound sentences. After they have studied each habitat, they use future tense verb phrases to make and ask others for predictions about how specific environmental changes might impact each habitat.

Activities are structured to ensure students have multiple opportunities to think about and use oral and written language in supported and organized ways for maximum engagement and accountability.

In the lesson example at left, students do Table Partners to discuss the challenges each animal faces and Talking Stick to move from oral to print. Both activities allow them opportunities to hone their skills in making oral and written claims.

Throughout the unit, students use the Report Template to apply reasoning and evidence in order to write descriptively about a habitat and compare some plants to others.

Using well-organized visuals, templates, and other explicit scaffolds, students learn essential vocabulary and language patterns so they can be in charge of how they communicate orally and in writing.

3–4 INT

5–6 ADV


In Week Four, students read several informational articles and then discuss long- and short-term goals and how to develop habits to accomplish them. They learn the language needed to introduce a topic, explain and elaborate ideas, and summarize the most important points. The chart at right shows an example of how teachers are directed to do this.

At the end of the week, students use information from an expository article to write a paragraph summarizing ways to meet goals and maintain a growth mindset.

5. Materials guide to communicate findings, to answer questions and to solve problems.

All of the Systematic ELD Instructional Units include well-organized visuals, templates, and other explicit scaffolds to teach essential vocabulary and language patterns. Engaging instruction leads students to use English to communicate for authentic purposes about relevant, grade-appropriate topics in both everyday and academic settings. Students are provided with multiple opportunities to interpret and report information for a variety of purposes. They develop the ability to study a topic, answer questions, solve problems, and summarize information through oral and written presentations.

It is important that students have opportunities to work with grade-appropriate informational text and media resources of substantive content, explore how their ideas impact others, and learn to convey their thoughts clearly and precisely.

For example, the goal of the Grades 5–6 Healthy Living Unit is to build students’ proficiency in verbal and written communication as they explain and elaborate on complex ideas. After reading nonfiction articles on a range of healthy habits, they discuss information about the benefits and impacts of exercise and a healthy diet, having a growth mindset, managing time wisely, and establishing habits that lead to meeting goals.

In Week Three, students read and use information from an article to research the differences between a fixed view of intelligence and a growth mindset. They use a variety of sentence structures, synonyms, antonyms, and verb phrases to elaborate on behaviors suggesting a fixed or growth mindset. The four lessons culminate in an assessment task during which students write a skit to teach a friend about healthy brain habits and the growth mindset.

Structured Language Practice - Dice Game - Students are given multiple opportunities to practice communicating their findings through highly structured, engaging activities, with high levels of accountability.

5–6 ADV


6. Materials provide resources and activities that require students to analyze and critique the arguments of others orally and in writing.

The Systematic ELD Instructional Units for 3–6 are built on CCSS and content standards to ensure that topics and language taught are grade-level appropriate, high leverage, and portable. Resources support teachers in discovering and connecting to students’ funds of knowledge and were created to appeal to the age group and diversity of 3–6 grade students. Throughout the units, students are taught a range of foundational language functions that they must be able to skillfully bring together in order to analyze and critique the arguments of others.

For example, the goal of the 3–4 Ecology: Our Environment Unit is to ensure that students gain the language necessary to report facts and observations. Students research desert, tundra, coast, and ocean habitats. They utilize a report template to write informational paragraphs that explain the adaptations of plants and animals. They also make and ask others for predictions to analyze how specific environmental changes might impact each habitat.

This unit helps equip students with the language needed to express understanding about our environment as they strengthen their proficiency in verbal and written communication. Learning this language supports students in connecting fact-based knowledge with analysis and inquiry.

The goal of the 5-6 Ecology: Our Environment Unit is to ensure that students gain the ability to use informational text and video to identify and explain facts that influence their ideas and opinions. They describe significant details about four methods to improve the environment, and they employ verb phrases, adverbs, adjectives, and prepositions to compare and contrast the methods. In these lessons, students learn and draw on patterned phrases to build more complex language. These skills equip them to articulate their understanding and make cogent arguments orally and in writing.

It’s important for students to learn to identify key features as well as advantages and disadvantages of a new concept by re-reading and discussing informational text. This equips them for common academic tasks, such as identifying significant details in text in preparation for making and critiquing arguments.

Students are also asked to evaluate the resources used in the lessons and how they impact their language learning. These lessons help build their metalinguistic awareness, increase their ability to use English proficiently, and give them agency over their own language use.

3–4 INT

5–6 INT

Examples of predictions to analyze how specific environmental changes might impact each habitat.


7. Materials provide resources and activities that require students to adapt language choices to purpose, task, and audiencewhen speaking and writing.

The Systematic ELD Instructional Units use a functional language approach to equip students with skills to fulfill essential purposes for communication. Language tasks are highly applicable to real-world and academic interactions that students must adroitly navigate. Each grade-specific unit emphasizes oral language development and includes substantive oral and written practice to ensure students develop an in-depth understanding of how English works and acquire fluency and a confident command of the language.

The units equip students to use language flexibly and accurately for a wide range of collaborative purposes and registers in both formal and informal communication. There is a focus on the demands of audience, task, and purpose. The units also include exploration of language choices and development of metacognitive awareness.

The goal of the Grades 5–6 Advanced: The Art of Getting Along Unit, for example, is to give students an authentic context to practice the formal aspect of the functions that make up interpersonal communication. Students discuss issues that are relevant to them as students. They learn to greet and introduce themselves and others, direct others to resources on campus, plan for and discuss making positive change at school, and work together to resolve conflicts. These skills help them to become proactive members of their school community.

In order to create an authentic context to use the formal language taught in the unit, all application and assessment tasks are set in the genre of a newscast.

In many lessons, students are asked to collect the taught language in their language logs so that when they do the Weekly Assessment Task, they have a supportive resource of the vocabulary and sentence structures learned throughout the week. The example shown below illustrates a Think, Write, Pair, Write routine in which the teacher guides students to think about the language they want to record in their language logs (from Lesson 1 of the Grades 5–6 Advanced The Art of Getting Along Unit).

These examples of charts used in the Getting Along unit illustrate the formal and informal greetings and introductions

that students learn and practice.

A log with the language that has been taught and practiced multiple times provides a supportive resource for students, and they can refer to it to inform their choices about language

they need to use in different contexts.


8. Materials provide resources and activities for students to determine the meaning of words/phrases in oral presentations andin literary and informational text.

E.L. Achieve’s Systematic ELD Units are backward mapped from grade-level appropriate cognitive tasks and assessed language proficiency-level needs. The materials and activities support students as they develop an in-depth metalinguistic understanding of how English works. Students use that knowledge to comprehend text and accurately express their understanding in ways that are appropriate to the task in writing and oral presentations.

In order for students to successfully navigate through text (from basic to complex), they need to possess a rich and varied vocabulary. The words that are taught and practiced in the units become increasingly sophisticated, growing from vocabulary needed to discuss here-and-now, concrete, observable experiences at the beginning levels, to past and future experiences at more intermediate levels, to events not in students’ experience and abstractions at the advanced levels. The taught vocabulary and concepts help to develop students’ comprehension and proficiency with language on a continuum from general to specific and technical to abstract.

The units use well-organized visuals, templates, and other explicit scaffolds to teach essential vocabulary and language patterns so students are able to use precise language and take charge of how they communicate. The following examples from the Grades 3–4 Intermediate Ecology: Our Environment Unit illustrate the materials provided to help students determine the meanings of words and phrases as they build their knowledge of nouns, descriptive adjectives, and future tense verbs. The unit material helps students learn and practice the language needed to express understanding about the environment, and also to connect fact-based knowledge with analysis and inquiry, as they strengthen their proficiency in verbal and written communication.

As students are learning and practicing the vocabulary, they are also using it correctly in the provided sentence frames (shown above).

The Report Template (shown at right) guides students through several ways to report details. The template “chunks” the process to ensure students are using correct and precise language to organize their ideas as they compose a paragraph.

As students work on their templates with a partner, they have multiple opportunities to practice the language verbally.


9. Materials provide resources/activities for students to create clear and coherent grade appropriate speech and text.

Throughout the span of 3–6 Systematic ELD Instructional Units, a range of communication is addressed: from basic to elaborated and detailed communication about an event or topic, and from syntactically simple to expanded, and finally, complex sentences. The language learning is organized according to a research-based scope and sequence including the Matrix of Linguistic Knowledge, vocabulary, and cognitive functions mapped to grade-appropriate expectations. For each cognitive task, language functions are indicated to focus and contextualize the language learning. Language functions are a foundational component of E.L. Achieve materials and are used to express the cognition described in content standards. These functions move along a continuum from simple to complex, both orally (express opinion, participate in a discussion) and in writing (persuasion, description), and can be applied to a range of topics.

The goal of explicit language instruction is for students to build toward the goal of internalizing the forms and functions appropriate for their proficiency level in order to use language flexibly. Each lesson is designed to build fluent and accurate use of English for a range of academic and other real-life purposes.

The examples below, from the 5th/6th Grade How’s the Weather Unit, illustrate how E.L. Achieve materials provide instruction and opportunities for students to make accurate use of English for oral communication and writing. Students use word cards and pictures, such as the ones below, to build the language they need to describe and report on U.S. weather patterns and explain preparations and responses to the aftermath of storms.

During one of the lessons in this unit, fifth and sixth grade students learn ways to explain about weather events using simple to complex sentence structures, depending on their language proficiency. They practice accurate use of adverb phrase placement, appropriate verb tenses, and comparative adjectives

Students are also provided scaffolding for writing using sentence frames such as the one to the left. These frames support the oral and written practice of language and allow students to try various ways to explain weather patterns using accurate English with increasing complexity.

Structured language practice routines are embedded into each lesson to ensure that students internalize new

language patterns, grammatical forms, and topic vocabulary through practice in engaging and supportive settings. Using routines such as A/B Partners, Dice Games, and Compass Appointments, students are given multiple opportunities to organize their thinking and rehearse the language they will be called upon to apply in written tasks.


10. Materials provide resources and activities for students to make accurate use of standard English to communicate inspeech and writing.

The Systematic ELD Instructional Units present instruction that is backward mapped from weekly language goals and teaches high-leverage language students need to develop English language proficiency. Together, the six units collectively address the competencies of each English proficiency level as outlined in the Systematic ELD framework. The units are organized to teach and practice key patterns and functions in standard English with increasingly greater depth and complexity throughout the year. Each lesson includes clearly stated target language.

The goal of the Healthy Living Units, for example, is to build the foundational language necessary to discuss behaviors, benefits, and impacts of choices related to exercise, hygiene, and food consumption. At the 3rd and 4th grade level, this unit equips students with the language needed to express understanding about exercise, nutrition, time management, and reacting to challenging situations as they build their proficiency in oral and written communication. In the unit assessment, students demonstrate their command in applying the language learned by conducting an interview and delivering a presentation to their peers.

Specific target language structures taught in the 3rd/4th Grade Healthy Living Unit include: - phrasal verbs (keep on trying to, ask for help to, gives you energy to, learn from, complain about) - modal verbs (might, might not, could) - nouns (muscle, cramp, performance, side ache, serving, food group, siblings, tantrum) - prepositions of time (for half an hour, for 45 minutes, over the weekend, until it gets dark) - adverbs of time and frequency (every day, daily, regularly) - comparatives and adjectives of states of being (better, more, normal, upset, angry, frustrated) - conjunctions (because, but, or, whenever, although, not only, but also, even though)

The Systematic ELD Support Kit and the Systematic ELD Instructional Units include virtually all materials needed to teach Systematic ELD lessons so that teachers focus on refining and adapting lessons rather than on preparing materials. Ongoing and Unit assessments are included in the units, along with visuals and sets of student cards to support large- and small-group instruction and practice.

The language examples below demonstrate how 3rd and 4th graders practice generating sentences from simple to complex using standard English, and show specific structures taught to communicate about the topic of instruction.

Each E.L. Achieve instructional unit provides frequent opportunities for focused language practice on a daily basis through routines such as My Turn, Your Turn. The units follow a Gradual Release of Responsibility model of instruction. Target language is modeled and demonstrated by the teacher, and this is followed by guided practice opportunities for students. Teachers then facilitate collaborative application of the learning in small groups and pairs. Ultimately, student progress in applying standard English target structures is assessed through written and oral production tasks.


11. Teacher and student materials include pre-assessments, formative assessments, and summative assessments.

Teachers using the 3–6 Systematic ELD Instructional Units participate in professional development that leads them to understand that assessment is an integral part of instruction. It is how they gather information to know whether:

§ their pacing and delivery are on track, § they are losing students and need to slow down to build more background, re-teach a key point, and provide

additional examples, or § students already know most or all of what is being presented, so teachers need to increase the pace and rigor to

provide more of a challenge.

Teachers use ELD assessment to ensure that their instruction supports students in transferring what they can say to what they can write. E.L. Achieve units are based on the principle that instruction must lead must lead English learners to proficiency in all language domains: reading, writing, listening, speaking – and thinking.

Embedded in the 3–6 Systematic ELD Instructional Units are three levels of assessment: daily (formative), weekly (formative), and unit (summative). The following excerpt is included in the introduction of every unit.

Opportunities for pre-assessment are included in the Open section of each lesson. At the end of each week of lessons, a Re-Teaching Planner is included. Re-Teaching Planner provides a structure for teachers to design the objectives and instructional sequence for two days of re-teaching. Teachers have access to E.L. Achieve webinars to continue to refine their understanding of when and how to re-teach critical language knowledge and concepts.

The formative and summative assessments, including the series of unit assessments, address all four domains – reading, writing, listening, and speaking. All levels of assessment are aligned with Oregon’s 2013 ELP standards. The examples below show the types of assessments 3-6 students are asked to complete throughout the six instructional units.

3–4 BEG

3–4 INT/ ADV

5–6 BEG

5–6 INT/ ADV


12. Materials include developmentally and age-appropriate support for Newcomers across grade levels.

At every grade level range and for every unit theme, there are units designed for beginning level English language learners. Each unit is backward designed from grade-level standards from the Common Core. Units at the beginning proficiency level address the needs of newcomers by teaching foundational language across a variety of developmentally appropriate topics. The beginning level units provide newcomers the opportunity to actively practice oral language in order to build fluency and confidence in English for both academic and social settings.

The graphic to the left illustrates the E.L. Achieve philosophy that language instruction includes much more than grammar and vocabulary. The units develop a solid English language foundation so that students can fully engage in a range of academic and real-life situations with ample opportunities for structured and purposeful interaction regardless of their literacy level.

Themes and grade-level topics for the units were carefully selected to build vocabulary and linguistic structures that are practiced orally and then applied to reading and writing. Upper elementary newcomers can practice English pronunciation and build on their native language literacy as they are intentionally supported in applying skills they already possess to develop English grammar, phonology, syntax, and reading comprehension.

Reading and writing are supported through labeling: modeling of sentence frames; practice completing sentences with words from banks, webs, and other resources; and predictable, patterned texts with basic vocabulary and sentence structures. Newcomers are taught to accomplish the following in each of these communication modes:

Nonverbal – listen, point to, circle, show, act out, choose, categorize, match, respond to commands Oral – repeat, tell, say, list, identify, answer yes/no and who/what/where questions Reading – use sound/symbol relationships in known words and read high frequency words Writing – draw, circle, label, match, construct sentences using frames and word banks

The chart below demonstrates the specific topics and the purpose of the language taught within each unit theme. Theme/ Grade Levels

The Art of Getting Along

Virtual Field Trip

How’s the Weather?

Visual and Performing Arts

Ecology Healthy Living

Grades 3–4 Avoiding & solving problems at school

Snowy destination: flora, fauna & activities

Climate: appropriate actions for weather

Peter & the Wolf: Music appreciation

Natural & human impact on biomes

Physical and emotional health

Grades 5–6 Making positive changes at school

The beach: Flora, land features & activities

Extreme weather: preparation, aftermath

African folktales: Art of storytelling

City planning: waste reduction & transportation

Monitoring progress toward health goals

The example below, from the Grades 3–6 The Art of Getting Along Unit, taught in the fall, shows how newcomers learn and practice language related to emotions. In the activity, students role-play solving a social problem using taught vocabulary and language structures. Later in the week, students write their dialogues and, working with a partner, present to their peers.


13. A clear research plan is provided that details how the efficacy of materials in teaching English to English Learners of differentlevels of English proficiency will be assessed and improved over time.

E.L. Achieve takes a system-wide approach and focuses on long-term collaborative planning and implementation.

We establish partnerships with districts and employ a district capacity-building model that initially provides intensive services, support, and guidance, while preparing district, school, and teacher leaders to take charge of their improvement process.

Using the science of implementation, we support districts through the recursive phases of implementing professional development initiatives.

During the five-day institute (one session every two to three weeks), E.L. Achieve presenters incorporate reading, presentation, discussion, and collaborative practice to apply newly learned skills. This format offers a deep learning of essential skills while providing ample planning time for teacher application. Throughout the sessions, teachers share lesson artifacts and their deepening understanding of ELD instructional delivery and assessment with peers.

Infusing a Prepare/Plan, Teach, Reflect process, we model and provide guidance in facilitating: 1) review of lessons to internalize elements and delivery, and adapt for

student needs, 2) focused lesson observation, and 3) purposeful debriefing to reflect on effectiveness of delivery, evidence of student learning, and the quality of student interaction.

Teachers use this process to reflect and on their daily, weekly, and unit assessments. At the end of each lesson, students are asked to apply the language they have learned to express an idea about the content using scaffolds (e.g., charts, picture/word/pattern cards) with interaction routines such as: Whip Around; Ticket Out the Door; Give One, Get One. As teachers listen to them practice and/or looks over their written work, they make decisions about how to adjust instruction in upcoming lessons.

At the end of each week and then at unit, students are asked to use all the language they have learned to complete a performance task. These tasks provide teachers the opportunities to assess students’ learning using both qualitative and quantitative measures. (Example performance tasks for the units are shown below.)

In the five-day Systematic ELD Institute teachers are trained to use a rubric-scoring protocol. Teachers review unit documents to understand the language students from each proficiency level should apply in their assessment tasks so that when they assess what students can actually do, they have a target in mind and plan next steps that will support students in growing their English proficiency.

Plan/

Prepare

Teach

Reflect

3-4 INT/ADV

5-6 BEG


14. An array of instructional supports are provided and appropriate to the intended tasks.

The Systematic ELD Support Kit is designed to streamline preparation for teachers by providing tools needed to structure engaging, purposeful student interactions. The tools are generic and can be used with any Systematic ELD lesson or instructional unit.

Along with the interactive language practice tools in the Systematic ELD Support Kit (materials listed in the green box to the right), each Systematic ELD Instructional Unit includes virtually all the materials needed for instruction. The Curriculum Guide (CG) provide a structure of “Teach, Practice the Language, Take Language to Application” as well as a “script” for teachers to follow as they teach the language and lead students through practice activities. CG’s also provide specific content to be taught and the tools to teach it (e.g., suggested sentence frames and charts).Electronic versions of instructional materials are available to partner districts teaching Systematic ELD units. These materials, along with additional resources to supplement instruction, can be downloaded from the Systematic ELD participant website at www.elachieve.org.

For example, the goal of the Grades 3–4 Visual and Performing Arts Unit is to ensure that students can describe events, discuss ideas and opinions with others, and perform in front of an audience. Students retell the main events and characters’ actions in the story Peter and the Wolf using topic-specific vocabulary, verbs and verb phrases in several forms, prepositions of location, and adverbs of time.

Interactive and Sensory Support: Students manipulate instrument cards, description cards, character cards, and sentence strips to retell the story. They also listen to various instrument sounds on the Instrument Sounds CD. Students practice negotiating and making decisions as a group by asking questions and giving and receiving feedback.

Metacognitive Strategies: Teacher competencies and a rubric for teaching metacognitive awareness are included in the Systematic ELD Handbook. Students use different strategies such as Ticket Out the Door to share how they will use taught target language beyond the ELD classroom.

Graphic Supports: Students learn from and use charts, instrument cards, description cards, character cards, and sentence strips to retell the story.


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