How would the English Language Development Standards be used in conjunction with the Florida Language Arts Standards to plan for effective instruction?
The English Language Development Standards would be used to enhance and deepen previously done lessons and instruction. WIDA’s standards “represent the social, instructional, and academic language that students need to engage with peers, educators, and the curriculum in schools” (The English Language Development Standards, 2012, p.4). When English Language Development Standards and LAFS are used together, students are better able to understand the intricate meanings of words and so use them in a more comprehensive manner in their topic discussions, readings, and writings.
The Language Arts Florida Standards (LAFS) for Grade 8
Although WIDA’s English Language Development Standardsare called standards, they are not the same type of standards (such as state standards) that teachers look to when planning effective instruction. WIDA’s standards “represent the social, instructional, and academic language that students need to engage with peers, educators, and the curriculum in schools” (The English Language Development Standards, 2012, p.4). Language Arts Common Core (LACC) is now Language Arts Florida Standards (LAFS). Incorporating the English Language Development Standards would mean widening the scope of lessons to include Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills(BICS) language along with Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) language. Applying some vocabulary development activities will allow students opportunities to practice and apply knowledge of academic vocabulary as well as improving lessons for all students. English language learners give an outward appearance of being fluent in English, but to be certain, they need to be involved in the different nuances of vocabulary words. Incorporating English Language Development Standards allows student to be more confident in speaking and writing, going from short sentences to compound sentences to integrating vocabulary words in their writing. This also helps them in reading complex texts. “When writers know a lot of words, they can compose more sophisticated documents” (Fisher & Frey, 2014).
Description of the Resources Found in Each Section of the Toolkit.
The Educator Toolkit for grade 8 English Language Arts Standards (LAFS) identifies the standards, first by strand, second by cluster, then by detailed standards in the cluster and strand. The strands are Reading Standards for Literature, Reading Standards for Informational Text, Writing Standards, Standards for Speaking and Listening, and Language Standards. Under the first, Reading Standards for Literature, for example, there are four clusters: Key Ideas and Details, Craft and Structure, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas, and Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity. Under the first cluster, Key Ideas and Details, there are three levels of standards: citing textual evidence, determining a theme, and analyzing lines of dialogue. Under each of the levels (for example, LAFS.8.RL.1.1) there is extra information, and a list of resources for citing textual evidence. Under the resources, there are teaching ideas, lesson plans, tutorials, and the unit/lesson sequence.
References
Browse and Search Standards. (n.d.). Retrieved from
Fisher, D., Frey, N. (2014) Content Area Vocabulary Learning. Reading Teacher, MAY 2014, 67(8), 594-599.
The English Language Development Standards (2012). Published by theBoard of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, on behalf of WIDA -