ELA/ELD CCSS Content and Pedagogy Grades 7-12: ELD CCSS Shifts and Expectations for EL Programs Taken from the California Department of Education Draft ELA/ELD Framework (for review by November 2013)

ELA and ELD CCSS Synthesis The CA ELD Standards are designed to be used in tandem with the CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy and other California content standards in order to provide a robust and comprehensive instructional program for ELs.

What are the Key Shifts? Key Shifts CCSS for ELA/Literacy and the CA ELD Standards: Meaning Making Language Development Effective Expression Content Knowledge Foundational Skills In short, students who meet the ELA/ELD standards develop the skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening that are the foundation for any creative and purposeful expression in language : As students advance through the grades and master the standards in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language, they are able to exhibit with increasing fullness and regularity these capacities of the literate individual. They demonstrate independence; they build strong content knowledge; they respond to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline; they comprehend as well as critique; they value evidence; they use technology and digital media strategically and capably... (NGA/CCSSO 2010, 98 3).

ELA: Three Emphases Three new emphases in the CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy include: increased attention to informational text, textual evidence, and text complexity. Often viewed as “shifts” from previous sets of standards, they impact the implementation of the standards, including professional learning, assessment design, and curriculum.

1. Content-rich Informational Texts. Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction plays an essential role in literacy and in the standards. In kindergarten through grade five, fulfilling the standards requires a balance between informational and literary reading. Informational reading primarily includes content rich non-fiction in history/social studies, science and the arts. In grades six through twelve, ELA classes place much greater attention on a specific category of informational text—literary nonfiction—than has been traditional. In grades six through twelve, the standards for literacy in history/social studies, science and technical subjects ensure that students can independently build knowledge in these disciplines through reading and writing. By grade eight, informational text should represent 55 percent of students’ reading across all subject areas, and by grade twelve it should represent 70 percent.

2. Responding and Arguing from Textual Evidence. The ELA/Literacy standards place a premium on reading, writing and speaking grounded in evidence from text, both literary and informational with students writing to sources. Students must: – present careful analyses, well-defended claims, and clear information; – answer questions that depend on their having read the text or texts with care rather than asking students questions they can answer solely from their prior knowledge or experience; – cultivate narrative writing throughout the grades, and in later grades a command of sequence and detail will be essential for effective argumentative and informational writing; – read carefully and grasp information, arguments, ideas and details based on text evidence; – answer a range of text-dependent questions, questions in which the answers require inferences based on careful attention to the text.

Complex Texts and Academic Language. The CCSS standards necessitate regular practice with complex texts and academic language. Rather than focusing solely on the skills of reading and writing, the standards highlight the growing complexity of the texts students must read to be ready for the demands of college and careers. The standards build a staircase of text complexity so that all students are ready for the demands of college- and career-level reading no later than the end of high school. Closely related to text complexity—and inextricably connected to reading comprehension—is a focus on academic vocabulary: words that appear in a variety of content areas (such as ignite and commit). (Student Achievement Partners 2013). Similarly, the standards highlight the importance of grammatical structures and usage. In particular, understanding the purposes for using specific grammatical features in particular disciplines and text types and knowing how to use knowledge of grammar to comprehend complex academic texts are emphasized (NGA/CCSSO 2010, Appendix A).

ELA/ELD Instructional Materials What are "instructional materials?" The definition of instructional materials is in EC Section (h). This law states “‘Instructional materials’ means all materials that are designed for use by pupils and their teachers as a learning resource and help pupils to acquire facts, skills, or opinions or to develop cognitive processes. Instructional materials may be printed or non- printed, and may include textbooks, technology- based materials, other educational materials, and tests."

What are “state-adopted” instructional materials? “State-adopted” instructional materials are those instructional resources which the SBE has formally “adopted” for use in the classroom. This action is required by the California State Constitution, Article 9 Section 7.5. The SBE considers K-8 instructional materials for adoption following a thorough review process outlined in both law (EC 60200) and regulations (CCR, Title 5 sections ). There are no state adoptions for grades nine through twelve. LEA governing boards have the authority and responsibility under EC Section to adopt instructional materials for use in their high schools for grades nine through twelve.

Language Access The CA ELD Standards were designed to support the dual endeavor of ensuring that all California ELs have full access to intellectually rich academic content across the disciplines and that they simultaneously develop academic English.

Each Student Has Different Needs and Abilities

ELD Specific Shifts The CA ELD Standards represent three big ideas regarding the way in which ELs learn English as an additional language, develop advanced literacy in English, and build content knowledge through English across the disciplines: Using English purposefully Interacting in meaningful ways Understanding how English works

Nature of the CA ELD Standards The CA ELD Standards describe the knowledge, skills, and abilities in English as an additional language that are expected at each grade level (K-8) or grade span (9-10, 11-12) at each of three English language proficiency levels: Emerging, Expanding, and Bridging. (

ELD Specific Points EL students may require additional time, appropriate instructional support, and aligned assessments as they acquire both English language proficiency and content area knowledge.” (NGA/CCSSO 2010, Application of the Standards for English Language Learners) All ELs must have full access to the types of high quality curriculum and instruction called for by the CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy and other SBE-adopted content standards in all disciplines (including English language arts, mathematics, science, and history/social studies) at the same time as they are progressing through the continuum of English language development. Because they are learning English as an additional language as they are simultaneously learning academic content through English, full access to rigorous content includes specialized instructional support focused on English language development in order to ensure their steady academic and linguistic progress across the disciplines.

ELA/ELD CCSS Classroom Implications Should be used strategically by all teachers with ELs in their classrooms during content instruction (e.g., English language arts, science, history, mathematics). All teachers with ELs in their classrooms should use their CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy and other content standards as the focal standards for content instruction, and they should use the CA ELD Standards in order to ensure ELs are fully supported to access rich content knowledge and develop academic English. This use of the CA ELD Standards throughout the day in all content areas to support ELs’ academic and linguistic development is often termed “integrated ELD.” In addition, the CA ELD Standards should be used as the focal standards for “designated ELD” instruction, which is a specific time during the day where teachers use the CA ELD Standards to attend to ELs’ particular English language development needs.

1. Knowledge of Language The CA ELD Standards emphasize the importance of language awareness as a critical element of language development—including understandings about how to: organize and structure different texts types, expand and enrich ideas, and how to connect and condense ideas. Just as rich content knowledge building is critical to developing language, language knowledge is a resource for academic learning across the content areas. In order to make informed and appropriate linguistic choices when using English across the disciplines, ELs must learn how English works to make meaning in different ways and in different disciplines.

2. Using English Purposefully The CA ELD Standards call for a comprehensive and integrated approach to language and literacy instruction that artfully integrates reading, writing, speaking and listening(RWLS), and language awareness. ELs learn that language is a resource for making meaning and that there are different purposes for using English: describing, explaining, persuading, and retelling, etc. ELs learn to make informed choices about using different linguistic resources in English (e.g., vocabulary, grammatical structures, text organization) based on discipline, topic, audience, task, and purpose in order to meet the expectations of academic learning in different content areas. In short, ELs learn to use English intentionally to make meaning and engage effectively in different tasks (e.g., retelling a story, writing an argument, participating in a debate).

3. Meaningful Interaction The CA ELD Standards were designed to work in tandem with the CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy and other content standards, which ensures that ELs interact in meaningful ways with intellectually challenging content as they develop Academic English. Academic English broadly refers to the type of English used in school through which students develop content knowledge and which students are expected to use to convey their understanding of this knowledge. Developing content knowledge across the disciplines is essential for learning academic English, and this development occurs through rich and meaningful language interactions: collaborating with others, interpreting meaning, and producing meaningful messages. Meaningful interaction with others and with intellectually challenging content texts and tasks are essential for both language and content knowledge development. Instruction must emphasize interaction, collaboration, comprehension, and communication, along with strategic teacher scaffolding and specific attention to language.