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DEVELOPING

The Can Do Descriptors are a sampling of the language expectations of English language learners as they travel along the continuum of English language development.  These Descriptors for the four language domains—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—and five levels of English language proficiency are based on the WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards. (From WIDA website:  http://www.wida.us/standards/CAN_DOs/ )

LISTENING

  • Categorize content-based examples from oral directions

  • Match main ideas of familiar text read aloud to visuals

  • Use learning strategies described orally

  • Identify everyday examples of content-based concepts described orally

  • Associate oral language with different time frames (e.g., past, present, future)

SPEAKING

  • Begin to express time through multiple tenses

  • Retell/rephrase ideas from speech

  • Give brief oral content-based presentations

  • State opinions

  • Connect ideas in discourse using transitions (e.g., “but,” “then”)

  • Use different registers inside and outside of class

  • State big/main ideas with some supporting details

  • Ask for clarification

READING

  • Identify topic sentences, main ideas, and details in paragraphs

  • Identify multiple meanings of words in context (e.g., “cell,” “table”)

  • Use context clues

  • Make predictions based on illustrated text

  • Identify frequently used affixes and root words to make/extract meaning (e.g., “un-,” “re-,” “-ed”)

  • Differentiate between fact and opinion

  • Answer questions about explicit information in texts

  • Use English dictionaries and glossaries

  WRITING

  • Produce short paragraphs with main ideas and some

  • details (e.g., column notes)

  • Create compound sentences (e.g., with conjunctions)

  • Explain steps in problem solving

  • Compare/contrast information, events, characters

  • Give opinions, preferences, and reactions along with

  •  

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