Ells Thinking Skills And Ccss Focus On The Six Shifts

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts (ELA) require students to engage higher level thinking skills and language use to activate their understanding of content/text. They are designed to be academically rigorous for all students, and are especially so for students who are English language learners (ELL). In ELLs: Thinking Skills and CCSS, Dr. Estee Lopez provides evidence-based instructional approaches as well as best practices for helping ELLs meet the CCSS for ELA. The six-page (tri-fold) guide is structured around the six shifts embodied in the CCSS for English Language Arts: 1. Increasing reading of informational text/balancing informational and literary texts 2. Knowledge in the disciplines 3. Staircase of complexity 4. Text-based answers 5. Writing from sources 6. Academic language The guide explains each shift, its implications for ELLs, and what is required of teachers. For each shift, the author lists best practices, examples of scaffolding for ELLs, and things that teachers and administrators must to do create conditions that ensure that ELLs succeed.