ASCD Article: Unlocking the Code to Reading Instruction

Links to Digital Texts for English Learners

Are you looking for texts at a variety of levels to use with your English Learners? These links offer digital texts, passages, and books in a variety of languages. Use these resources to engage students in online reading.

Free digital books in various languages

Digital Books

Reading A to Z

NY Times Resources

Children’s Library featuring Bilingual Books

Spanish Children’s Stories in English and Spanish

Updates from DPI: Extended School Closure for English Learners Due to COVID-19

Please review this document with answers to questions regarding meeting the needs of English Learners during the extended school closure. The following topics are addressed:

• Administering the Home Language Survey
• Administering proficiency screener 
• Providing EL services
• Access to paper materials and remote learning
• ILP team meetings

Link to the full document HERE

WIDA: Teaching Multilingual Learners Online

Letter from Tim Boals, WIDA Director

Dear WIDA community,

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we know you are worried about your students, your community, and the world – WIDA is too. We cannot predict how the spread of the coronavirus will affect schools tomorrow, next week or months from now. However, we do know that educators across the world are leaders in understanding the power of unity, patience, and kindness. It is because of your steadfast commitment to multilingual learners and youth that our communities will persevere.

During this uncertain time, we remain committed to you by:

- Connecting with educators to provide support and share resources to serve the global education community: https://wida.wisc.edu/…/teaching-multilingual-learners-onli…
- Encouraging educators to stay connected and share resources through our social media channels: Facebook and Twitter
- Fielding calls and emails from educators via our Client Services Center – feel free to reach out with questions! help@wida.us or 866-276-7735
- Adding relevant and timely COVID-19 updates to our website wida.wisc.edu

WIDA, as an organization, recognizes our connection to humanity and understands the human complexities that global situations like this pandemic can evoke. In times like these, we must remain kind, we must remain strong, we must protect those that we can protect. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for all that you do to serve children and the community. We are all in this together.

Sincerely,
Tim Boals, WIDA Founder and Director

Teaching ELLs Online

WIDA has shared a great resource on Teaching ELLs Online. It includes 10 Guiding Principles for engaging English Learners online. Each guiding principle includes:

• What teachers can do
• What multilingual learners can do
• Practical examples and resources with links

These resources should be helpful as we support students in online learning.

Here is a LINK to the document from WIDA.

WIDA Resources to Strengthen Family Engagement

https://wida.wisc.edu/teach/learners/engagement

ACCESS Testing Update

March 2-12 is the pre-reporting data validation window. Please make sure to review your data between now and March 12. Make sure all student names are correct. Please double check that there are no split records for grades 1-3 due to a mismatched writing booklet. Let us know if you have any questions about this quick validation check of your data.

Upcoming ACCESS Dates:
April 24: Data available in WIDA AMS
Post-Reporting data validation open
May 1: Paper ISRs delivered
May 8: Post-reporting data validation closes