July 2013

Dear Subscribers,

We are very excited to announce the launch of our new Common Core and ELLs resource section!

This special summer edition of the newsletter features Common Core classroom videos, interviews, and lessons from Albuquerque, New Mexico; updated information about language proficiency standards, assessment, and instruction; and a collection of multilingual resources about the Common Core for ELL parents.

We'd like to send a special thanks to the American Federation of Teachers' Innovation Fund for their ongoing support of our Common Core work, as well as the Carnegie Corporation of New York for their early support of this project.

We'll be back with more resources for the new school year in August. Until then, enjoy the rest of your summer!

Sincerely,

The Colorín Colorado Team

This Month's Highlights

Here are some highlights from our new Common Core and ELLs resource section:

• Introduction to the Common Core: This section provides an overview of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) initiative, as well as links to the standards themselves, recommended resources, and helpful introductory videos from the Hunt Institute and the Teaching Channel.
• Classroom Videos: These videos feature teachers who participated in our Common Core in Albuquerque, NM project planning and delivering lesson plans for ELLs in grades 1, 4, and 8. All videos are accompanied by the related lesson plan documents, teacher reflection interviews, ELL strategies, and expert interviews.
• Lesson Plans: The lesson plans featured in the above videos were created by teachers in Albuquerque in collaboration with Dr. Diane August, and they target ELLs' language and literacy needs. These plans are available through a zip file or online links to individual documents. They include:
  • Grade 1: Burro's Tortillas by Terri Fields
  • Grade 4: Cinderella by Barbara McClintock
  • Grade 8: "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin
• What Does the Common Core Mean for ELLs?: This resource section covers topics including information on language proficiency standards, assessment, research, policy, and interviews with teachers and researchers about implementing the new standards with ELLs.
• Common Core in Your School District: This resource section includes information on the role of ESL teachers in the Common Core, as well as ideas about ELL classroom strategies in language arts and math. We also include information about the Next Generation Science Standards and ELLs.
• For Parents: This collection of materials features a number of multilingual tip sheets and guides for parents about the Common Core and parents' role in the new standards.
• Common Core and ELLs blog: Links to relevant blog posts are included throughout the section, and Dr. Diane Staehr Fenner will be back blogging about the Common Core and ELLs in August!

We would love to hear your feedback on our resource section, as well as ideas for new materials or questions that you have about the Common Core. Post a comment online, join our Colorín Colorado Facebook discussion group, or send us an e-mail at [email protected].