Curricular Approach
Teaching by Proficiency Level
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is a member of the WIDA Consortium. The JCPS English as a Second Language (ESL) Department's curricular approach is guided by:
- WIDA English Language Development Standards, which are aligned to Kentucky Core Academic Standards (KCAS).
- WIDA's Can Do Philosophy: Believing in the assets, contributions, and potential of linguistically diverse students.
- WIDA's Can Do Descriptors, listed below, provide educators with guidance on what English language learners can do for their given level of English language proficiency, with support.
Level 1—Entering
Listening: Point to stated pictures, words, and phrases; follow one-step oral directions; match oral statements to objects, figures, or illustrations
Speaking: Name objects, people, and pictures; answer WH- (who, what, when, where, which) questions
Reading: Match icons and symbols to words, phrases, or environmental print; identify concepts about print and text features
Writing: Label objects, pictures, and diagrams; draw in response to a prompt; produce icons, symbols, words, and phrases to convey messages
Level 2—Emerging
Listening: Sort pictures and objects according to oral instructions; follow two-step oral directions; match information from oral descriptions to objects and illustrations
Speaking: Ask WH- questions; describe pictures, events, objects, and people; restate facts
Reading: Locate and classify information; identify facts and explicit messages; select language patterns associated with facts
Writing: Label objects, pictures, and diagrams; draw in response to a prompt; produce icons, symbols, words, and phrases to convey messages
Level 3—Developing
Listening: Compare and contrast functions and relationships from oral information; analyze and apply oral information; identify cause and effect from oral discourse
Speaking: Formulate hypotheses; make predictions; describe processes and procedures; retell stories or events
Reading: Sequence pictures, events, and processes; identify main ideas; use context clues to determine meaning of words
Writing: Produce bare-bones expository or narrative texts; compare/contrast information; describe events, people, processes, and procedures
Level 4—Expanding
Listening: Compare and contrast functions and relationships from oral information; analyze and apply oral information; identify cause and effect from oral discourse
Speaking: Discuss stories, issues, and concepts; give speeches and oral reports; offer creative solutions to issues and problems
Reading: Interpret information or data; find details that support main ideas; identify word families and figures of speech
Writing: Summarize information from graphics or notes; edit and revise writing; create original ideas or detailed responses
Level 5—Bridging
Listening: Draw conclusions from oral information; construct models based on oral discourse; make connections from oral discourse
Speaking: Engage in debates; explain phenomena; give examples and justify responses; express and defend points of view
Reading: Conduct research to glean information from multiple sources; draw conclusions from explicit and implicit text
Writing: Apply information to new contexts; react to multiple genres and discourses; author multiple forms/genres of writing