Common Core and ELLs Blog: Highlights from 2013

Happy New Year, everyone!

Before we launch our new Common Core and ELLs topics for 2014, we want to do a recap of some of the highlights from all of the great content posted in 2013. Throughout the year, blogger Dr. Diane Staehr Fenner covered quite a bit of ground in terms of what the new college- and career-ready standards will mean for English language learners, their teachers, and their schools.

Here, in no particular order, are some of the most popular posts she wrote last year, each of which features in-depth information as well as multiple links to recommended resources and related posts.  (Some of these posts are the first part in a series; links to the following posts are included in each article.)

Also, don’t forget to take a look at Colorín Colorado’s Common Core for ELLs section while you’re at it!

Highlights from 2013

Reading and Writing

• Background Knowledge: A Key to Close Reading with ELLs
• Teaching Informational Text to ELLs
• Determining How Much Background Knowledge to Provide for ELLs
• Writing with the Common Core: Considerations for ELLs (Part 1)

Math

• Resources for Teaching the CCSS in Mathematics to ELLs

Assessment

• A Deeper Look at Smarter Balanced’s Assessment Supports for ELLs
• Analysis of a PARCC ELA Assessment Task Through an ELL Lens (Part 1)
• Assessment of ELLs on the CCSS

Professional Development and Planning

• Your Role in the Common Core: Advocating for ELLs (Part 1)
• ELLs Are Everyone’s Kids: The Role of Collaboration in the CCSS
• TESOL Report: The Changing Role of the ESL Teacher
• NY State’s Sample Language Progressions

Your Ideas

Finally, as we prepare for the New Year, we’d love to hear from you. What topics would you like to see covered on the blog this year? Share your ideas in the comments section below!