WIDA: English Language Development Standards
English Language Development Standards
The ELD Standards address language proficiency, not content knowledge.
For example, the ELD Standards focus on the academic language of math, not the math/computation itself.
The ELD Standards reflect the social and academic language expectations of ELs in grades Pre-K-12.
| ELP Standard 1 | ELs communicate for Social and Instructional purposes within the school setting. | Social and Instructional Language |
| ELP Standard 2 | ELs communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of Language Arts | The Language of Language Arts |
| ELP Standard 3 | ELs communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in Mathematics | The Language of Mathematics |
| ELP Standard 4 | ELs communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in Science |
The Language of Science
|
| ELP Standard 5 | ELs communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in Social Studies | The Language of Social Studies |
WIDA Key Language Uses
The Key Language Uses (KLU's) are present across all content areas. When educators plan lessons that are strategically connected to these four Key Language Uses, English Learners have opportunities to strengthen their English language proficiency skills. Often, we think about supporting ELs by focusing specifically on vocabulary; however, the KLU's allow us to support students at a deeper level by examining what language is essential in order to narrate, inform, explain, and argue effectively.
Check out the link below to see how the Key Languages Uses are distributed by grade-level clusters. This allows us to strategically plan on which Key Language Uses are essential as students progress from one grade level to the next.
Can-Do Descriptors
The Can-Do Descriptors provide a general overview of the language skills that English learners possess at each level of language proficiency. The link below provides access to the Can Dos for Pre-K-12th grade.
This is an excellent resource for establishing student-friendly language goals in the areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing!
https://morethanenglish.edublogs.org/files/2015/09/Student-Friendly-Can-Do-Descriptors-K-12-1irn0ju.pdfOnline Tutorial: Creating Language Targets for ELs
Part 1:
Part 2:
