Authorized CLIMBS Instructor
As a firm believer in WIDA and its Can Do Philosophy, I am excited to be an authorized WIDA CLIMBS Trainer (Content and Language Integration as a Means of Bridging Success). CLIMBS is helping our staff unify our approach to helping ELLs develop academic language and ensure their access to challenging grade-level content.
I am in the process of delivering the WIDA CLIMBS to Daystar Academy’s three schools throughout the 2018-19 school year. During this time, we are engaging as a professional community in the following endeavors:
- Examining the connections between culture and language
- Considering the culture of collaboration in our local contexts
- Describing principles of acquisition and learning
- Examining the features of academic language
- Exploring the connections between language acquisition principles and WIDA ELD practices
Exploring how academic language varies across subject areas and domains- Developing differentiation for language
- Investigating the language demands of texts and tasks
- Recognizing effective feedback practices
- Providing effective feedback to language learners
- Discussing learning strategies
- Developing instruction and learning strategies for ELLs
- Examining scaffolding strategies
- Identifying scaffolding strategies in practice
- Reflecting on peer observations
- Planning differentiated lessons using WIDA framework
As Daystar Academy is a WIDA consortium member, I have sent several teachers to the WIDA Institute. Further, our team has been working with WIDA Can Do Descriptors and Performance Definitions for two years. We are excited to take this next step in developing our school-wide approach to serving ELLs through collaboration and best practices.