Writing Grade Level Cluster-Specific CAN DO Descriptors
Teacher reflection written by Angela de la Cruz, Illinois
I had the opportunity to attend the WIDA CAN DO Descriptor session at the Illinois Resource Center on November 7, 2007. What an experience to be a part of; getting together with fellow teachers from the consortium and starting the process of developing grade level cluster statements. The whole process required major brain power, but I came away satisfied with the contributions I was able to make.
After a brief description on the history of WIDA and an overview of the process that has brought them to the development of grade level cluster-specific CAN DO Descriptors; then breaking off into grade level cluster groups, we began with an "anchoring" activity to get us going in the right direction together. We were given sample CAN DO Descriptors and had to individually label them by their correlating Language Proficiency level, then compare them to others in our group and discuss any differences. Then the fun truly began.
In our groups we began looking at the strands of Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing and what ELLs could do at each level of proficiency. Our group began with Speaking, feeling it would be the easiest.
We grappled over how level 1 and 2 may look the same as the lower grade level clusters since new arrival ELLs would need the basics of each strand. Following the same pattern we moved on to Reading, Writing, and then Listening. Listening was, by far, the most difficult for our group.
The discussions that took place throughout the day with teachers from different states that deal with the same issues was a bank of ideas, resources, and strategies that will continue to impact my classroom for years to come. By having this experience, I think I may purposefully look for more opportunities like this to increase my knowledge of the greater ELL world. I truly enjoyed working alongside Margo Gottlieb and her WIDA team. I will be sharing this information and experience with our building during team meetings next week. I hope they are half as excited about our progress as I am.