To ensure the academic achievement of English learners, a comprehensive approach for developing English proficiency is essential. Integral to such an approach is explicit language instruction in every class, every day.
Constructing Meaning provides teachers with the process and tools for weaving explicit language instruction into content area teaching. Lesson planning is driven by the content and academic language demands of discipline-specific learning. Based on backward design and a gradual release of responsibility model, the Constructing Meaning process prompts teachers to:
The work of the Common Core and other content standards assumes native English proficiency. Constructing Meaning offers an accelerated approach to instruction that emphasizes both academic English and critical literacy skills, thereby supporting English learners in acquiring the analytical language necessary to meet the demands of the Common Core. As students move through their academic careers, they must continually build their content knowledge and academic language foundation to be prepared to meet the increasing demands of each grade level.
Critical Research-based Features of Constructing Meaning Instruction
Constructing Meaning Institutes
A five-day Constructing Meaning institute builds teachers’ capacity to infuse language instruction into their classroom practice while modeling a replicable process of professional collaboration.
The comprehensive handbook lays out a theoretical model and vision of instruction. It includes tools that help teachers analyze content for language demands, strategies for teaching language, routines to support oral production, and drafting templates to improve academic writing.
The secondary handbook also includes content-specific modules for English Language Arts, Mathematics, History, and Science. Secondary participants work with the Constructing Meaning Instructional Units and use them as models when designing their own instruction.
E.L. Achieve’s initiative work is not a one-time event. Throughout all phases of implementation – planning, launching, and sustaining – district teams work toward established goals. After initial training, there is ongoing support for improving classroom instruction. We provide videos to discuss, guides for self-reflection, rubrics for developing key teaching skills, and protocols for facilitating collaborative, results-driven discussions.
As part of our district capacity-building model, partner districts join E.L. Achieve’s expert networks through leadership seminars and ongoing support. Our goal is for districts to take ownership of the initiative and achieve deep, system-wide classroom implementation that leads to increased English learner achievement.