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TOM TORLAKSON STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION Appendix B: The California English Language Development Standards Part II: Learning About How English Works The California English Language Development Standards Part II: Learning About How English Works Challenges and Opportunities Many California teachers have observed that while their students who are English learners (ELs) develop everyday English quite rapidly and use it to communicate effectively in a variety of informal social situations, sometimes they struggle with tasks involving academic English, such as writing a logical argument, comprehending their science or history textbooks, or participating in an academic debate.1 For K–12 settings, academic English broadly refers to the language used in school to help students develop content knowledge, skills, and abilities, and the language students are expected to use to convey their understanding and mastery of such knowledge, skills, and abilities. Academic English is different from everyday, or informal, English. There are some features of academic English that cut across the disciplines, such as general academic vocabulary (e.g., evaluate, infer, resist), but there is also variation depending upon the discipline (in domain‐ specific vocabulary, for example). However, academic English encompasses much more than vocabulary. It also includes ways of structuring clauses, sentences, and whole written and oral texts that convey precision, show relationships between ideas, and present thinking in coherent and cohesive ways in order to achieve specific purposes (e.g., persuading, explaining, entertaining, describing) with different audiences in discipline‐specific ways. Research has shown that not all children come to school equally prepared to engage with academic English.2 However, research has also demonstrated that English learners can learn academic English, use it to achieve success in academic tasks across the disciplines, and build upon it to prepare for college and careers. Part II of the California English Language Development Standards (CA ELD Standards): Learning About How English Works offers K–12 teachers a new perspective on how to support their EL students to develop understanding of and proficiency in using academic English. The goal of Part II of the CA ELD Standards is to guide teachers to support EL students, in ways appropriate to grade level and English language proficiency level, to (a) unpack meaning in written and oral texts they encounter across the disciplines in order to better comprehend them; and (b) make informed choices about how to use language appropriately, based on discipline, topic, purpose, audience, and task, when producing oral and written texts. Part II offers something that has been largely absent in prior ELD standards: Attention to how the English language resources available to students are––and can be––used to make meaning and achieve particular communicative purposes. Such visibility is intended to support teachers to make transparent for their students the linguistic features of English in ways that support disciplinary literacy. This new perspective emphasizes the interrelated roles of content knowledge, communicative purposes for using English (e.g., recounting a family event, explaining a scientific phenomenon, describing a historical event, arguing for a position), and October 19, 2012 1 “If they are taught simply to vary their grammar and language to keep their writing ‘interesting,’ they may actually become more confused about how to make effective language choices.8 . . . As students learn more about the patterns of English grammar in different communicative contexts throughout their K–12 academic careers, they can develop more complex understandings of English grammar and usage. Students can use this understanding to make more purposeful and effective choices in their writing and speaking and more accurate and rich interpretations in their reading and listening.” (p. 29) The following examples are a small sample of where specific language demands related to text complexity and grammatical and vocabulary knowledge appear in the Common Core State Standards at various grade levels and across domains: Reading RL.1.5:9 “Explain major differences between books that tell stories and books that give information, drawing on a wide reading of a range of text types.” RI.3.8: “Describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison, cause/effect, first/second/third in a sequence).” The first example (RL.1.5) sets expectations for first‐graders to distinguish and explain differences between text types. This necessitates, at minimum, an understanding about how informational texts, such as science explanations, are structured differently from narrative texts, such as stories. The second example (RI.3.8) sets expectations for third‐graders to develop an understanding about how language is used throughout a text to create cohesion.10 The following example sets expectations for fourth graders to understand how to shift between informal and formal registers to meet the expectations of particular contexts:11 Speaking & Listening SL.4.6: “Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English (e.g., presenting ideas) and situations where informal discourse is appropriate (e.g., small‐group discussion); use formal English when appropriate to task and situation.” This shifting between registers requires, among other things, an understanding about which vocabulary and grammatical structures to use to convey understanding of the subject matter and topic in question, how to interact with the audience, how to organize the information, and what kind of communicative method to use (e.g., text message, formal presentation, a side conversation). From this perspective, grammatical and lexical choices can be said to be highly dependent upon context. As they move up through the grades and into secondary schooling, students are expected to draw on their knowledge about how to use particular linguistic resources (e.g., vocabulary, October 19, 2012 4 clause combining, expanded noun phrases) in increasingly sophisticated ways to achieve specific academic purposes (e.g., arguing for a position), as the following examples demonstrate: Writing W.8.1: “Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence. a) Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically. b) Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text. c) Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. d) Establish and maintain a formal style. e) Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.” Language L.11‐12.3: “Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening. a) Vary syntax for effect, consulting references . . . for guidance as needed; apply an understanding of syntax to the study of complex texts when reading.” As these examples illustrate, the Common Core State Standards set high expectation for students to use English in advanced ways across the disciplines. These expectations represent significant shifts from previous standards, and they necessitate key shifts in the CA ELD Standards. Some of these key shifts are shown in Table 1. Table 1: Key shifts from the 1999 CA ELD Standards to the 2012 CA ELD Standards 1999 CA ELD Standards FROM THE IDEA OF . . . 2012 CA ELD Standards TO UNDERSTANDING . . . English as a set of rules English as a meaning‐making resource with different language choices based on discipline, topic, audience, task, and purpose Grammar as syntax, separate from meaning, with discrete skills at the center An expanded notion of grammar as encompassing discourse, text structure, syntax, and vocabulary and as inseparable from meaning October 19, 2012 5 1999 CA ELD Standards FROM THE IDEA OF . . . 2012 CA ELD Standards TO UNDERSTANDING . . . Language acquisition as an individual and lockstep linear process Language acquisition as a nonlinear, spiraling, dynamic, and complex social process where meaningful interaction with others is essential Language development focused on accuracy and grammatical correctness Language development focused on interaction, collaboration, comprehension, and communication with strategic scaffolding to guide appropriate linguistic choices Simplified texts and activities, often separate from content knowledge, as necessary for learning English Complex texts and intellectually challenging activities focused on content knowledge building as critical and essential for learning academic English A key goal of the CA ELD Standards is to support EL students to develop advanced proficiencies with academic English as they are also developing content knowledge across the disciplines. The following section provides a discussion of some ways that teachers can support their EL students to develop these proficiencies. Supporting English Language Students to Develop Academic English Part II of the CA ELD Standards is necessarily contextualized in the type of instruction called for in Part I, which emphasizes a clear focus on content knowledge and purposeful language development and use. As they progress through the grades, ELs will be expected to move increasingly from everyday English to academic English. This shift from more everyday to more academic registers requires an understanding about how English works on a variety of levels, including the text, sentence, clause, phrase, and word levels. Text‐Level Understandings One understanding that ELs can begin to acquire as early as kindergarten is how different text types are structured. For example, a story is typically structured in three main stages: orientation, complication, and resolution. In the orientation stage, the author orients the reader to the story by providing information on the characters and setting, and also by setting up the plot. In the complication stage, the author introduces some kind of plot twist that complicates the situation and that must be resolved in some way. In the resolution stage, the author ties everything up neatly by resolving the complication and sometimes by offering a moral to the story or a lesson to be learned. This isn’t the only way a story can be structured, but this organization illustrates the basic features of many stories students encounter in school, especially in the elementary grades. When students are aware of the text structure of stories, they’re in a better position to (a) comprehend stories read to them or read independently, and also (b) write their own stories, meeting the expectations of story text structure. As students progress through the grades and into secondary schooling, the academic texts they are expected to comprehend and produce become more varied and complex. The academic October 19, 2012 6 say that organic is too expensive. I say that we can’t afford to risk the health of students at this school by not serving organic foods. Therefore, we must find a way to make organic foods part of our school lunches. Clearly, this type of writing requires time for students to develop. Students need time to learn and interpret the content, time to analyze and evaluate the content of arguments, time to discuss and debate their ideas, and time to build the language resources necessary to write arguments. By the same token, students who understand how an argument is structured–– through classroom activities such as analyzing and evaluating models of arguments, jointly constructing arguments as a class or with peers, and producing multiple drafts of arguments with opportunities to revise and edit based on useful feedback––are in a better position to comprehend the arguments they read in school and to produce arguments that meet their teachers’ expectations. Students also need to understand how writers and speakers make their texts cohesive. Cohesion refers to how information unfolds, or flows, throughout a text and how the text “hangs together.” A cohesive text is created through the selection of a variety of language resources, such as referring back or forward in the text to people, ideas, or things using pronouns or synonyms (e.g., replacing “farmers” with the pronoun “they” or “people” with “human beings”) or linking chunks of text with text connectives (e.g., instead, in addition, to put it simply) in order to signal shifts in meaning in the text, among other cohesive language resources. One important focus that teachers need to maintain when teaching their students to better understand text structure and cohesion is meaning. The whole purpose of writing an argument is to persuade others to think or do something, and a successful argument involves more than structure. It also involves a range of language resources that are useful for conveying meaning. In the case of argument, language resources that are especially effective are those that are associated with persuasion, including an appeal to people’s humanity (our basic right to be taken care of; that farmworkers aren’t exposed to dangerous chemicals), building a sense of community (our school; the use of the pronoun we), and the use of modality to establish authority and temper statements (we should do this, organic food might be more expensive, we must, definitely). Teachers who are aware of text structure, cohesive language resources, and language that makes arguments more persuasive are in a better position to support their students to write convincing arguments that are well supported by good reasons and evidence. Sentence‐ and Clause‐ Level Understandings In addition to understanding text structure and cohesion, students need to learn to analyze how sentences are constructed in particular ways to convey meaning effectively in different contexts. For example, a student might tell her friend, “Polluting the air is wrong, and I think people should really stop polluting,” which is a perfectly appropriate way to express this idea to a peer in an informal interaction. However, this idea will likely be presented in a different way in a textbook or journal article and may be articulated as “Although many countries are October 19, 2012 9 addressing pollution, environmental degradation continues to create devastating human health problems each year.” This shift from more “spoken” or commonsense ways of expressing ideas or phenomena to more “written” or specialized ways requires students to develop content knowledge (in this case, knowledge about the consequences of various types of pollution and what countries around the world are doing about it) along with the language needed for humans to express (or comprehend) this understanding. This is one reason developing full proficiency in English cannot occur in isolation from content learning. Academic English includes a variety of linguistic resources that are different from those we use in everyday informal interactions in English. The particular linguistic resources used in academic texts in the different disciplines vary, but in general, academic texts tend to include a higher proportion of general academic and domain‐specific vocabulary, complex sentences that connect ideas with subordinating conjunctions (e.g., although, rather than, in order to), expanded noun phrases, and longer stretches of discourse that are tightly organized depending upon their text type and disciplinary area. Teachers can draw students’ attention to these linguistic resources in order to make them more transparent and understandable. Table 2 illustrates some of the ways in which everyday English registers differ from academic English registers. Table 2: Differences between Everyday and Academic Registers Everyday English Registers Academic English Registers “Polluting the air is wrong, and I think people should really stop polluting.” “Although many countries are addressing pollution, environmental degradation continues to create devastating human health problems each year.” Register: More typical of spoken (informal) English Register: More typical of written (formal) English Background knowledge: More typical of everyday interactions about commonsense things in the world Background knowledge: Specialized or content‐rich knowledge about topics, particularly developed through school experiences and wide reading Vocabulary: Fewer general academic and domain‐ specific words (pollute, pollution) Vocabulary: More general academic words (address, although, devastating) and domain‐ specific words/phrases (environmental degradation, pollution) Sentence: Compound sentence Sentence: Complex sentence Clauses: Two independent clauses connected with a coordinating conjunction (and) Clauses: One independent clause and one dependent clause connected with a subordinating conjunction (although) to show concession While both of these sentences are grammatically correct and could be used as the thesis statement in an argument, the sentence in the “Academic English Registers” column better meets those expectations established in the Common Core State Standards for writing an argument in secondary settings. In addition, this example illustrates how academic English is not just everyday English translated into an academic register. Rather, it requires both content and linguistic knowledge, which is one reason it has been widely argued that content and October 19, 2012 10 language are inextricably linked. Content knowledge is embedded in language, and language conveys content in particular ways. Correspondingly, Part II of the CA ELD Standards should not be applied––whether in instruction or assessment––in ways that isolate language use from the purposeful meaning‐making and interaction presented in Part I. The CA ELD Standards allow teachers to focus on critical linguistic features of academic English so that they can make them transparent for their students. The following example illustrates how one of these linguistic features of academic English (connecting ideas in logical ways to show relationships through clause combining) appears in the CA ELD Standards: ELD Standard, Grade 7, Part II, C.6 (Bridging): “Combine clauses in a wide variety of ways (e.g., creating compound, complex, and compound‐complex sentences) to make connections between and join ideas, for example, to show the relationship between multiple events or ideas (e.g., After eating lunch, the students worked in groups while their teacher walked around the room.) or to evaluate an argument (e.g., The author claims X, although there is a lack of evidence to support this claim).” The examples in this standard illustrate a specific way of using language (combining clauses) in purposeful ways (e.g., to make connections between and join ideas) in order to convey understanding of content meaning. This understanding about how language works is particularly important as students move into secondary schooling and encounter the densely packed language of science and history. In order to support their students’ ability to combine clauses in a variety of ways (in writing and/or speaking), teachers might first show them how to be more analytical as they’re reading by deconstructing complex sentences. Deconstructing sentences serves the dual purpose of analyzing the structure (linguistic features) and deriving meaning (comprehension). Teachers could also work with students to revise writing and adopt some of these same ways of making connections between ideas through clause combining. For example, using the sentence in the Academic English Registers” column of Table 2, which is part of a longer piece of writing that students have previously read, a teacher could guide students to deconstruct, or unpack, the sentence, first by focusing on what it means (in order to support comprehension) and then by focusing on its structure (in order to support both comprehension and subsequent writing by students). To focus on meaning, the teacher might lead a discussion with students on unpacking the meaning in the densely packed text, resulting in the following summary: Sentence to unpack: “Although many countries are addressing pollution, environmental degradation continues to create devastating human health problems each year.” Meaning: Pollution is a big problem around the world. October 19, 2012 11 can aid comprehension. This type of deconstructive activity can be extended by identifying types of pre‐ and post‐modifiers (e.g., adjectives, embedded clauses, prepositional phrases). Teachers can also create activities for students to expand noun phrases in meaningful ways and discuss how using specific modifiers create different types of meaning. These practices of deconstructing and then constructing long noun phrases in purposeful ways, all the while keeping a sharp focus on meaning, can be implemented in strategic ways by both content and ELD teachers in secondary settings and by elementary teachers who teach both core content and ELD in self‐contained classroom settings; at the elementary level grade level teams could work collaboratively to address content and ELD. Word Level Understandings Nominalization: In addition to learning the meanings of and using general academic and domain‐specific vocabulary16 in context, as students progress into secondary schooling, they will encounter a special kind of language resource called nominalization. One of the prominent features of academic texts is that they are densely packed with meaning. Nominalization is one linguistic resource that helps to achieve this density, as well as to make texts more cohesive. A simple type of nominalization that is relatively straightforward is when a verb is transformed into a noun or noun phrase (e.g., They destroyed the rain forest. The destruction of the rainforest . . .). Sometimes, adjectives are nominalized as well (e.g., strong strength, different difference). Additional examples of how verbs are transformed into nouns include: Verb Noun develop development grow growth dense density interact interaction Sometimes nominalization collapses an entire clause or even multiple clauses into nouns or noun phrases. For example, in conversational language, a student might say, “The ranchers came to the rainforest, and they cut down a lot of trees. The next year, the river flooded everything.” Nominalization allows writers/speakers to densely pack these three clauses into one, achieving a more academic register: “The destruction of the rainforest led to widespread flooding.” Also note how the nominalized subject of the example sentence (“destruction”) hides the agents involved in the act, which is characteristic of history texts and a common reason for using nominalization in history. At the text level, this collapsing of entire clauses through nominalization helps to create cohesion in texts and also contributes to the lexical density (percentage of content words to total words) of academic texts by condensing larger chunks of information into single words or phrases, often through summarizing nouns (e.g., this event, the problem). By turning actions into things, nominalization allows writers/speakers to create abstractions, condensing entire events, theories, and concepts into nouns and noun phrases (e.g., democracy, photosynthesis, the symbolic presence of children in the scene, the disappearance of native languages). This October 19, 2012 14 allows writers and speakers to create relationships between the abstractions, develop arguments with them, and evaluate them. Secondary ELD teachers can support content teachers to raise students’ awareness of how nominalization works in academic texts to achieve specific purposes. They can develop opportunities during ELD instruction for students to identify nominalization in the texts they are reading in their content classes, discuss how nominalization conveys meaning (and how it is different from everyday language), and practice using their growing understanding of nominalization when writing texts such as arguments or explanations for their content classes. In this way, students can learn to be more analytical when reading and also develop new ways of conveying their ideas and structuring their texts in more academic ways. Secondary content teachers and elementary teachers who teach the intermediate grades can also use their understanding of nominalization to build their EL students’ awareness of and proficiency in using nominalization. Part II of the CA ELD Standards provides a framework for teachers to design these types of activities and talk with their students about how English works. The underlying purpose of Part II is, therefore, to support teachers’ efforts to ensure that all EL students develop the ability to: a) comprehend the disciplinary texts they read, view, or listen to by thinking about how the language is used in the texts to convey meaning; and b) meet academic discourse demands within disciplines when writing, speaking, and creating texts by making conscious and informed choices about the linguistic resources they use. Organization of the California English Language Development Standards Part II: Learning About How English Works Part II of the CA ELD Standards: Learning About How English Works identifies key language demands in the Common Core State Standards, as well as those in academic English texts, that may present particular challenges to EL students as they develop academic English across the disciplines. Research has demonstrated that identifying these linguistic challenges and attending to them in meaningful ways through instruction can help ELs develop proficiency with academic English.17 The language demands that are featured prominently and repeatedly in the Common Core State Standards are grouped together and represented by key language processes: structuring cohesive texts, expanding and enriching ideas, and connecting and condensing ideas. These language processes are further unpacked into numbered strands as follows: A. Structuring Cohesive Texts 1. Understanding text structure 2. Understanding cohesion B. Expanding and Enriching Ideas October 19, 2012 15 3. Using verbs and verb phrases 4. Using nouns and noun phrases 5. Modifying to add details C. Connecting and Condensing Ideas 6. Connecting ideas 7. Condensing ideas Part II of the ELD Standards provides guidance to teachers on intentionally, strategically, and judiciously addressing the language demands in the Common Core State Standards and in the texts used in instruction. Table 4 provides an example of how multiple Common Core State Standards across the domains correspond with the CA ELD Standards in Part II: Learning About How English Works. Table 4: Correspondence of Grade 5 Common Core State Standards and CA ELD Standards Grade 5 CA Common Core State Standards Grade 5 CA ELD Standards Part II: Learning About How English Works Structuring Cohesive Texts, Strands 1 & 2 Emerging Expanding Bridging RL.5.5 Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem. RI.5.5 Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts. W.5.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information. a. Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which ideas are logically grouped . . . c. Link opinion and reasons using words, phrases, and clauses (e.g., consequently, specifically). d. Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented. (See similar cohesion expectations in W.5.2 and W.5.3.) 1. Understanding text structure Apply basic understanding of how different text types are organized to express ideas (e.g., how a story is organized sequentially with predictable stages versus how opinions/arguments are organized around ideas) to comprehending texts and writing basic texts. 2. Understanding cohesion a) Apply basic understanding of language resources for referring the reader back or forward in text (e.g., how pronouns refer back to nouns in text) to comprehending texts and writing basic texts. 1. Understanding text structure Apply growing understanding of how different text types are organized to express ideas (e.g., how a story is organized sequentially with predictable stages versus how opinions/ arguments are structured logically around reasons and evidence) to comprehending texts and writing texts with increasing cohesion. 2. Understanding cohesion a) Apply growing understanding of language resources that refer the reader back or forward in text (e.g., how pronouns or synonyms refer back to nouns in text) to comprehending texts and writing texts 1. Understanding text structure Apply increasing understanding of how different text types are organized to express ideas (e.g., how a historical account is organized chronologically versus how opinions/arguments are structured logically around reasons and evidence) to comprehending texts and writing cohesive texts. 2. Understanding cohesion a) Apply increasing understanding of language resources that refer the reader back or forward in text (e.g., how pronouns, synonyms, or nominalizations refer back to nouns in text) to comprehending texts October 19, 2012 16 October 19, 2012 19 Endnotes Through such a coordinated application of standards, the CA ELD Standards will help California educators to support ELs to: 1. read, analyze, interpret, and create a variety of literary and informational text types; 2. develop an understanding of how language is a complex, dynamic, and social resource for making meaning; 3. develop an understanding of how content is organized in different text types across disciplines using text structure, language features, and vocabulary depending on purpose and audience; 4. become aware that different languages and varieties of English exist; 5. recognize their home languages and cultures as resources to value in their own right and to draw upon in order to build proficiency in English; 6. contribute actively to class and group discussions by asking questions, responding appropriately, and providing useful feedback; 7. demonstrate knowledge of content through oral presentations, writing, collaborative conversations, and multimedia; and 8. develop proficiency in shifting registers based on context. This multilayered and complex undertaking requires deep commitment, collaboration among groups of educators, support for teachers to develop and refine instructional practices, and, most importantly, a sustained focus on the strengths and needs of individual ELs and a persistent belief that all ELs can achieve the highest levels of academic and linguistic excellence. Fostering the academic and linguistic development of ELs is best done in professional communities of practice, where teams of teachers work together to recognize and identify language challenges in core content, develop strategies to address these challenges, and regularly discuss student work, and reflect on the effectiveness of their instruction for student learning. This collaborative approach among teachers requires districts to adopt an appropriate paradigm of support, one in which teachers have adequate time to collaborate to develop lessons, participate in relevant, sustained professional learning where they can refine their practice, and are held accountable for implementing the practices they have been adequately supported to implement.18 In such a collaborative and supportive environment, teachers are better prepared to meet the needs of their EL students, and EL students have ongoing opportunities to achieve the Common Core State Standards and the CA ELD Standards. 1 Cummins, J. (2008). BICS and CALP: Empirical and theoretical status of the distinction. In B. Street & N. H. Hornberger (Eds.), Encyclopedia of language and education, 2nd edition, Volume 2: Literacy (pp. 71–83). New York, NY: Springer Science and Business Media LLC. October 19, 2012 20 2 The CA ELD Standards view the language that students bring to school, both their native language and different varieties of English, as resources. The English that students use with their peers or families is not “improper English” or wrong. It is appropriate for particular contexts. Being sensitive to the language resources students bring to school and discussing different ways of using English that are appropriate for different contexts can help build students’ awareness of language while also validating and leveraging their knowledge and experiences. 3 “Register” refers to the ways in which grammatical and lexical resources are combined to meet the expectations of the context (e. g., the content area, topic, audience, and mode in which the message is conveyed). Informal registers include chatting with a friend or texting a message to a family member about a familiar topic. Formal registers include participating in a structured debate on climate change, writing an essay about a novel, engaging in a collaborative discussion about solving a math problem using mathematical terms, etc. 4 National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010a). Common core state standards for English language arts and literacy in history/social studies, science and technical subjects: Appendix A: Research supporting key elements of the standards and glossary of key terms. Washington DC: Author. 5 Note that complex narrative texts (e.g., those that present complex ideas with relatively familiar words and simple sentences) can also present challenges for readers. 6 Carlo, M. S., August, D., McGlaughlin, B., Snow, C. E., Dressler, C., & Lippman, D. N. (2004). Closing the gap: Addressing the vocabulary needs of English‐language learners in bilingual and mainstream classes. Reading Research Quarterly, 39, 188–215; Lesaux, N. K., Kieffer, M. J., Faller, S. E., & Kelley, J. G. (2010). The effectiveness and ease of implementation of an academic vocabulary intervention for linguistically diverse students in urban middle schools. Reading Research Quarterly, 45(2), 196–228; Nagy, W., & Townsend, D. (2012). Words as tools: Learning academic vocabulary as language acquisition. Reading Research Quarterly, 47(1), 91–108; Silverman, R., & Crandell, J. D. (2010). Vocabulary practices in prekindergarten and kindergarten classrooms. Reading Research Quarterly, 45(3), 318–340; Spycher, P. (2009). Learning academic language through science in two linguistically diverse kindergarten classes. The Elementary School Journal, 109(4), 359–379. 7 Achugar, M., Schleppegrell, M., & Oteza, T. (2007). Engaging teachers in language analysis: A functional linguistics approach to reflective literacy. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 6(2), 8–24; Aguirre‐Muñoz, Z., Park, J., Amabisca, A., & Boscardin, C. (2008). Developing teacher capacity for serving ELLs’ writing instructional needs: A case for systemic functional linguistics. Bilingual Research Journal, 31(1/2), 295–323; Gebhard, M., & Martin, J. (2010). Grammar and literacy learning. In D. Fisher & D. Lapp (Eds.), Handbook of research on teaching the English language arts. Mahwah, NJ: October 19, 2012 21 Erlbaum/Taylor & Francis; De Oliveira, L. C., & Dodds, K. N. (2010). Beyond general strategies for English language learners: Language dissection in science. Electronic Journal of Literacy through Science, 9. 8 Lefstein, A. (2009). Rhetorical grammar and the grammar of schooling: Teaching “powerful verbs” in the English National Literacy Strategy. Linguistics and Education, 20, 378–400. 9 The order of the coding system of the Common Core State Standards is domain, grade level, standard. For example, W.5.2 is Writing, fifth grade, standard number two. 10 “Cohesion” refers to how information unfolds, or flows, in a text. A cohesive text is created through a variety of cohesive devices, such as referring back to people, ideas, or things with pronouns or synonyms throughout a text so as not to be repetitive (e.g., replacing “the first settlers” with “they”) or linking clauses, sentences, and larger chunks of text with conjunctions, such as transition words (e.g., in contrast, consequently, next). 11 “Context” refers to the environment in which language is used, including disciplinary area, topic, audience, text type, and mode of communication. Context determines language choices, and language choices that writers and speakers use help to establish context. 12 Schleppegrell, M. J. (2004). The language of schooling: A functional linguistics perspective. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 13 In the K–5 Common Core State Standards and the CA ELD Standards, “argument” is referred to as “opinion.” 14 National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers (2010b). Common core state standards for English language arts and literacy in history/social studies, science and technical subjects: Appendix B: Text exemplars and sample performance tasks, Washington, DC: Author. 15 Adapted from Fang, Z. (2010). Language and literacy in inquiry‐based science. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press and National Science Teachers Association. 16 Domain‐specific and general academic vocabulary are explicitly addressed in Part I of the CA ELD Standards and are an integral part of Part II. 17 National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers (2010a), op. cit.; Gebhard & Martin, op.cit.; Schleppegrell, M., Achugar, M., & Oteíza, T. (2004). The grammar of history: Enhancing content‐based instruction through a functional focus on language. TESOL Quarterly, 38(1), 67–93; Schleppegrell, M., & de Oliveira, L. (2006). An integrated language and content approach for history teachers. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 5(4), 254–268. 18 Elmore, R. F. (2002). Bridging the gap between standards and achievement: The imperative for professional development in education. Washington, DC: Albert Shanker Institute.