Weekly Update
Wayne Township LAP 12/6/19
What's New with WIDA?
WIDA has released the new drafts of its 2020 English Language Development Standards and is seeking public feedback through December 15. Additional information about the 2020 WIDA ELD Standards and the survey can be found here.
WIDA has transitioned to Central Office Services (COS) Service Device instead of the Testing Site Manager system from previous years. Schools must delete the TSM from their system and install the COS-SD to be able to access the WIDA assessments. The Technology User Guide and Technology Readiness Checklist at WIDA AMS will guide you on this installment.
IDOE Announces Course Credits Changes for High School ELs
The IDOE English Learning team has recently announced some changes to the English as a New Language course which will benefit Indiana’s English learners.
For English/ Language Arts credit, up to eight credits may be counted as the required ELA credits for all diplomas if the EL course work addresses Indiana’s Academic Standards for E/LA and is based on general E/LA curriculum and the student’s ILP.
For World Languages credit up to eight credits may be counted as World Language credits for all diplomas if EL course work addresses Indiana’s Academic Standards for World Languages and is taken concurrently with another E/LA course.
More information can be found at IDOE's guidance document High School Credit and English Learners.
Computer Science Education Week
December 9-15 is Computer Science Education Week. Schools are encouraged to invite students, families, and staff to participate in activities that promote computer science skills, including the world-wide Hour of Code activities. Find more information here.
Evaluating Your Programming for ELs
The Indiana Department of Education has created a new guidebook, the English Learner Program Evaluation Toolkit to encourage schools to conduct comprehensive evaluations of their EL programs. The focus is on identifying areas of needed improvement and effectively enacting revisions to strengthen student growth in English acquisition.
Math Resources for Teachers
Visual Patterns will help elementary students notice, expand, and move into writing the rules for a wide variety of patterns in a fun and engaging way. Consider using this website for a daily math warmup or encourage students to build their own patterns. Visit this site for almost 300 ready to use patterns!
Graphing Stories is perfect for middle school or high school math students. The students create a graph that reflects data from a short video that will capture their attention. Try it for yourself here!
Indy Library Jingle Books
Encourage your families to give the gift of reading during Jingle Books 2019, a project of The Indianapolis Public Library and the Office of Indianapolis Mayor to provide free books to children of all ages during the holiday season. From now through December 22, every Indy Library will have a Jingle Books box for families to either take or donate new or gently used books. Most library sites offer free gift wrapping for the Jingle books. More information can be found here.