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Academic Language in Diverse Classrooms: English Language Arts, Grades K-2
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Academic Language in Diverse Classrooms: English Language Arts, Grades K-2
Promoting Content and Language Learning

Foreword by Douglas Fisher


Courses:
ESL Methods

October 2013 | 200 pages | Corwin

Make every student fluent in the language of learning.

Language has always been the center of English Language Arts, but with most states adopting CCSS, the focus on language and literacy across the content areas is required. Today it’s more essential than ever that English language learners and proficient English learners have the supports to access and achieve the language of school.

The Common Core and ELD standards provide pathways to academic success through academic language. Using an integrated Curricular Framework, districts, schools and professional learning communities can:

  • Design and implement thematic units for learning
  • Draw from content and language standards to set targets for all students
  • Examine standards-centered materials for academic language
  • Collaborate in planning instruction and assessment within and across lessons
  • Consider linguistic and cultural resources of the students
  • Create differentiated content and language objectives
  • Delve deeply into instructional strategies involving academic language
  • Reflect on teaching and learning

With dynamic classrooms and units of learning, this book gives you a streamlined path for designing and implementing curriculum that leads to student mastery of academic language—the key to school success.

“These volumes are packed with practical ideas that will help all teachers attend to language within their classrooms from the discourse level to word/phrase levels. This is a road map for teaching Common Core content in language rich classrooms, and hence a resource every teacher needs within arm’s reach! It’s all here and clearly presented; this is pure gold for everyone who teaches students to speak, listen, read and write in school, with special attention to English language learners.”
—Tim Boals, Executive Director of WIDA


 
Foreword by Douglas Fisher
 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Editors
 
1. Academic Language: A Centerpiece for Academic Success in English Language Arts by Margo Gottlieb and Gisela Ernst-Slavit
 
Examples From the CCSS for English Language Arts of Related Academic Language
 
2. Kindergarten: A Window Into My Family and Community by Gabriela Cardenas, Barbara Jones, and Olivia Lozano
 
3. Grade 1: Bombarding Students With Informational Texts: Writing Across the Curriculum by Eugenia Mora-Flores
 
4. Grade 2: Developing Academic Language Through Ecosystems by Sandra Mercuri and Alma D. Rodriguez
 
Glossary
 
Index

“These volumes are packed with practical ideas that will help all teachers attend to language within their classrooms from the discourse level to word/phrase levels. This is a road map for teaching Common Core content in language rich classrooms, and hence a resource every teacher needs within arm’s reach! It’s all here and clearly presented; this is pure gold for everyone who teaches students to speak, listen, read and write in school, with special attention to English language learners.”

Tim Boals, Executive Director
WIDA

Academic Language in Diverse Classrooms is an invaluable resource for all K through 8th grade teachers, especially those working with diverse students. This book gives teachers both a clear explanation of academic language and specific strategies they can apply in their own classrooms. Throughout the book, contributors provide specific connections between the Common Core State Standards and Language Development Standards. Each chapter helps educators understand students’ academic language needs and, through a variety of classroom examples from each grade level, shows teachers how to teach academic language through content. “

Yvonne Freeman, Professor of Bilingual Education
Key features

(1) Provides a concise, logical, and practical approach to identifying grade-level academic language associated with the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts, academic content standards, as well as English Language Proficiency Standards  to readily incorporate into teaching and learning.   

(2) Includes excerpts from actual grade-level texts for analysis of academic language functions, vocabulary, sentence level meaning, and genre type.

(3) Explains how to connect academic language demands to grade-level standards.

(4) Describes the process by which teachers can incorporate academic language into their instructional assessment practices.

 

Sample Materials & Chapters

Forward

1. Academic Language