Resources/Recursos

​This Focus Bulletin illustrates how teachers and students can use language development portfolios to interpret and document language growth. The bulletin follows the story of how a grade-level team introduced portfolios to their practice, posing several questions the team asked as they refined their usage. It closes by offering two sample tools that teachers can use and adapt to capture multilingual learners’ language growth using modified Proficiency Level Descriptors (PLDs) from the WIDA English Language Development Framework, 2020 Edition.

Published: December 2022 
Authors: Fernanda Marinho Kray, Margo Gottlieb, Lynn Shafer Willner

Released December 2022

This WIDA Snapshot focuses on how you can gather information and reflect on the language and cultural goals families have for their children.

Released November 2022

WIDA research findings show that MODEL Online overall composite scale scores can predict overall composite proficiency level (PL) scores on ACCESS for ELLs. Use the table in this document to look up a student's overall composite scale score on MODEL Online and estimate the PL score that they would be likely to receive on ACCESS.

Released October 2022

Making Connections: Using the Washington State Early Learning and Development Guidelines and WIDA Early Years Resources to Plan Instruction for Young Multilingual Children is a comprehensive resource that offers suggestions, tools, and sample plans for teachers who use the Washington State Early Learning and Development Guidelines and WIDA resources to plan equitable learning opportunities for young multilingual children.

Released September 2022

This website serves as a digital database of the WIDA English Language Development (ELD) Standards Framework. It categorizes Language Expectations in two ways: by ELD standard statement and grade-level cluster, and by Key Language Use and communication mode. Proficiency Level Descriptors (PLDs) can be explored by grade-level cluster and communication mode.

Released August 2022

This WIDA Snapshot is grounded in WIDA’s ABCs of Family Engagement and can be used to initiate reflection and conversation on local efforts to engage with families of multilingual children.

Released August 2022

This flyer provides a breakdown of the role school/district-level educators, state-level administrators and WIDA play in using or developing ACCESS Online and Paper test scores, interpreting scores and making decisions based on scores to best serve English learners. Plus, there’s a checklist outlining the positive and intended outcomes of using ACCESS Online and Paper scores, so you’ll always know what it takes to ensure your students have the supports they need.

Released July 2022

This Focus Bulletin reframes the WIDA Can Do Philosophy as a can do cycle of actions that can be embedded into teaching and learning experiences throughout the entire school year. In it, we offer resource banks of questions that can be used to elicit student assets and reflect on ways to build on student assets at the beginning of each unit, during each unit, and at the end of each unit.

Published April 2022
Authors: Maya Martinez-Hart, Christina Nelson

Released April 2022

In early care and education (ECE) settings, planning for multilingual children includes fostering the many ways we use language to make meaning of our environments, experiences, and learning. This WIDA Snapshot includes ideas for gathering information from families, community members, and classroom observations to use while planning.

Released April 2022

This WIDA Snapshot provides an overview of who multilingual children are, the benefits of promoting home language(s), and initial ideas for developing reciprocal partnerships with multilingual families.

Released February 2022

In this Focus Bulletin, we aim to help readers better understand how WIDA MODEL test scores may be used to support instructional planning decisions for multilingual learners and their teachers. We describe the rich resources available from WIDA to help educators understand what the test scores mean. We also explain how these resources may be used, along with MODEL test scores to help inform where multilingual learners have opportunities to further develop their English language skills.

Published February 2022
Authors: Mark Chapman, Heather Elliott, Jennifer Feldmann

Released February 2022

These posters bring each of the 10 WIDA Guiding Principles of Language Development to life and can be used by educators in classrooms and with parents, families and community members. Each illustrated guiding principle is set up for printing on a color laser printer. The finished printed size is 8.5x11 inches.

Released January 2022

Making Connections: Using the Virginia Early Learning and Development Standards and WIDA Early Years Resources to Plan Instruction for Young Multilingual Children is a comprehensive resource that offers suggestions, tools and sample plans for teachers who use the Virginia Early Learning and Development Standards and WIDA resources to plan equitable learning opportunities for young multilingual children.

Released December 2021

Making Connections: Using the New Mexico Early Learning Guidelines and WIDA Early Years Resources to Plan Instruction for Young Multilingual Children is a comprehensive resource that offers suggestions, tools, and sample plans for teachers who use the New Mexico Early Learning Guidelines and WIDA resources to plan equitable learning opportunities for young multilingual children.

Released November 2021

Making Connections: Using the Early Childhood Indicators of Progress: Minnesota’s Early Learning Standards and WIDA Early Years Resources to Plan Instruction for Young Multilingual Children is a comprehensive resource that offers suggestions, tools, and sample plans for teachers who use the Early Childhood Indicators of Progress: Minnesota’s Early Learning Standards and WIDA resources to plan equitable learning opportunities for young multilingual children.

Released November 2021

This report examines English learners’ (EL) testing, proficiency and growth in the academic years of 2018–19, 2019–20 and 2020–21, using population-level data from ACCESS for ELLs Online, administered across the WIDA Consortium to students identified as ELs. The objective of the report is to shed light on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ELs’ educational outcomes.

October 2021 
Authors: Narek Sahakyan, H. Gary Cook

Released October 2021

Marco de referencia de las artes del lenguaje del español de WIDA: Aplicación para la actualización y desarrollo de estándares is the first Spanish language arts framework of its kind in the United States. This document serves as a guide to learn more about the elements of Marco ALE and how to apply them in the enhancement, development, and alignment of Spanish language arts standards.

Written in Spanish with English summaries

Released October 2021

Making Connections: Using the Maryland Early Learning Standards and WIDA Early Years Resources to Plan Instruction for Young Multilingual Children is a comprehensive resource that offers suggestions, tools, and sample plans for teachers who use the Maryland Early Learning Standards and WIDA resources to plan equitable learning opportunities for young multilingual children.

Released September 2021

Making Connections: Using the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards and WIDA Early Years Resources to Plan Instruction for Young Multilingual Children is a comprehensive resource that offers suggestions, tools, and sample plans for teachers who use the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards and WIDA resources to plan equitable learning opportunities for young multilingual children.

Released September 2021

Making Connections: Using the Alabama Early Learning and Development Standards and WIDA Early Years Resources to Plan Instruction for Young Multilingual Children is a comprehensive resource that offers suggestions, tools, and sample plans for teachers who use the Alabama Early Learning and Development Standards and WIDA resources to plan equitable learning opportunities for young multilingual children.

Released August 2021