Top Ten Resources on the CCSS for ELLs

Happy New Year! I hope that all of you have enjoyed a restful and fulfilling holiday season and have had a chance to recharge your batteries to begin 2013.

Since top ten lists are popular during this time of year, I thought I’d compile my own with the focus on CCSS resources for ELLs. Since I’ve been writing this blog (and actually before then), I’ve been mentally compiling my favorite practical resources for teachers who work with ELLs. I will share this list with you in this post. In case you're wondering, my list is in alphabetical, not hierarchical, order.

The resources included span a continuum of teachers’ knowledge related to the standards, from beginners to experts.

Please feel free to comment and share your favorite resources with our community!

1. California Department of Education – California English Language Development Standards – Not only are these the ELD standards that will guide instruction for the state with the country’s highest number of ELLs, the standards and guiding documents present ELLs from a strengths model, valuing ELLs’ home languages and culture. The standards and supporting documents frame teaching ELLs the CCSS through describing how language will provide ELLs access to the CCSS and also defining which types of teacher supports are necessary for ELLs to reach the CCSS.
2. Colorín Colorado – Common Core 101: Getting to Know the New Standards – This resource, written by former ESOL teacher Susan Lafond, presents an introduction to the CCSS for teachers of ELLs in an FAQ format. The Common Core & ELLs: Overview page provides information on how the standards will impact ELLs and their educators. This page contains a compilation of video interviews, webinars, presentations, and papers related to teaching the CCSS to ELLs. Also, a project taking place in Albequerque, NM focuses on implementing the CCSS for ELLs and contains several resources, including video interviews of lesson planning sessions and authentic teacher journals.
3. Council of Chief State School Officers – English Language Proficiency Development Framework – The ELPD Framework made the list because, even though it is intended for state level administrators who are revising state English language proficiency/development standards, it can also help teachers of ELLs understand the new language demands of the CCSS.
4. Council of Great City Schools – From the CGCS’ Common Core Works website, I chose the newly released Parent Roadmaps for Grades K-8 in English Language Arts and for Mathematics in Spanish for this list because these documents address how parents can support their children achieve the CCSS. There are also English Parent Roadmaps available.
5. EngageNY – Helping English Learners Meet High Standards – This presentation by Diane August highlights the need to improve ELLs’ educational outcomes, provides guiding principles for helping ELLs meet the CCSS, and shows educators what this actually looks like by scaffolding a high school English Language Arts Unit on the Gettysburg Address for ELLs.
6. Multiple Organizations – CCSS ELL Webinars –2012 saw a fair number of free webinars related to implementing the CCSS for ELLs, which is a very good sign that ELLs and their educators are being taken into consideration. In this blog, I highlighted webinars hosted by the American Federation of Teachers, Education Week, the Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands (REL-NEI) English Language Learners research alliance, and Understanding Language. I look forward to sharing more info on webinars with you in 2013.
7. New Jersey Department of Education – Scaffolded CCSS English Language Arts Model Curriculum for ELLs – The CCSS organized into five units at each grade level, and each unit culminates with formative assessments. Each unit also contains targeted student learning objectives that define what ELLs need to know and be able to do within the unit, which varies with ELLs’ level of English language proficiency (ELP). The framework delineates what ELLs can do within each student learning objective as well as which teacher supports are appropriate for each level of ELP so that ELLs can achieve the objectives.
8. TESOL International Association – TESOL Connections CCSS Special Issue – TESOL has recently provided a comprehensive resource that captures prominent ELL teacher educators’ voices. This TESOL Connections issue provides teachers of ELLs guidance on implementing the CCSS ELA and Mathematics as well as Next Generation Science Standards.
9. Understanding Language – Persuasion Across Time and Space ELA Unit – I included this unit because it is the first exemplar created by Stanford University’s Understanding Language initiative which applies the expert group’s theory to practice for teachers of ELLs in today’s classrooms. I hope to see more of this initiative’s exemplars for teachers of ELLs in 2013.
10. World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment - 2012 Amplified ELD Standards – Even if you don’t teach in a WIDA state, WIDA’s English language development standards provide an understandable definition of academic language and provide concrete examples of the academic languageELLs will need to access the CCSS in English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics as well as the Next Generation Science Standards.