K-2nd Grade - Multilingual Learner Supports

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades K-2 of myView partially meet the criteria of amplifying rather than simplifying texts while maintaining complexity to provide access for Multilingual Learners (MLLs) without watering down the content. The structured weekly lesson sequence with accompanying Language Support - Multilingual Learners call-out boxes assists MLLs in making meaning of texts. However, the texts are not engineered to amplify language, resulting in a missed opportunity to support MLLs effectively.

The materials follow a structured weekly lesson sequence, including a Weekly Launch to build background knowledge, a First Read with teacher think-alouds and comprehension checks, multiple Close Reads for deeper analysis, and a final reflection to synthesize learning. The materials provide Language Support - Multilingual Learners call-out boxes in the Teachers’ Edition throughout the sequence. For example, in Grade K, Unit 4, Week 2, the teacher reads Uncovering the Past by Jennifer Torres aloud. During Lesson 1, Build Knowledge, students review an infographic entitled “Learning About the Past.” The Language Support - Multilingual Learners call-out box accompanying this task prompts teachers to “support students as they complete the Turn, Talk, and Share activity,” with the following differentiated guidance:

• Light:  Have students work in small groups to discuss ways they can learn about the past.

• Moderate: Guide students to make connections. Help them complete a sentence stem: I can _____ to learn about the past.

• Substantial:  Ask: “How can you learn about the past?” Point to each picture as you read the caption. Have students repeat.

These supports facilitate MLLs’ full and complete participation in the Build Knowledge activity, preparing all students for the Read Aloud and Close Read to come.

The materials provide some support for MLLs in making meaning of the text during the First Read and the Close Read. However, MLL supports are not always offered, may only be provided once or twice within a text, or the support may be unrelated to the close read question. For example, in Grade 2, Unit 3, Week 1, the materials provide MLL supports for reading a compilation of fables. The Teacher’s Guide facilitates teachers’ understanding of some of the language demands of the text prior to reading in a Language Demands - Multilingual Learners call-out box. This guidance directs teachers to “use the chart to help students understand the language demands.”  The chart includes columns for Word Level and Sentence Level demands.

• Word Level: 

  • Adjectives with -y, -ed: furry, leafy, alarmed, bloodied, bruised, frightened, tired

  • Words with prefixes out, over:  outsmarted, overwhelmed

  • Phrasal Verbs: dropped off

• Sentence Level:

  • Past and Past Progressive:  Then, Hen was not surprised to see a large Wolf in the place where an apple tree had been standing just a moment before.

Directing teachers to the language demands is a step, but this call-out box does not include guidance on how to use that understanding in instruction, limiting teachers’ ability to amplify language structures and forms. The notes for teachers accompanying the text include two Language Support - Multilingual Learners call-out boxes. However, both focus on general reading comprehension support through vocabulary and do not directly help MLLs understand the language features needed to make meaning from the text. While the materials occasionally include Language Support - Multilingual Learners and Language Links call-out boxes to support MLLs in reading texts, these appear inconsistently and focus primarily on vocabulary rather than explicitly amplifying language structures and forms.

The Language Awareness Handbook occasionally provides direct support for reading a text, but these supports rely heavily on teacher-led questioning. For example, in Grade 2, Unit 3, Week 1, students read the fable The Mouse at the Seashore. The accompanying support in the Language Awareness Handbook prompts teachers to “Guide Practice: Read aloud p. 37 of the Student Interactive as students follow along. Say:  Let’s look for key ideas on this page of the fable. Why does Mouse want to see the ocean? How do mother and father feel about Mouse’s decision? Mouse wants to see the ocean because _____. Mother and father feel _____.” This guidance provides an entry point for MLLs’ understanding of one small piece of the text, but falls short of amplifying language. Additionally, teachers must access the Language Awareness Handbook in a separate part of the Realize platform, putting the onus on the teacher to find the materials and make time in the lesson facilitation to implement the strategies.  

While the general scaffolds offered before, during, and after reading complex texts may support some MLLs, the inconsistent integration of linguistic supports and lack of intentional text design limit access for others. Text complexity charts do not mention MLLs, and support for reading texts is confined mainly to word-level strategies such as cognates and picture or bilingual dictionaries. Although the spiraling structure allows complexity to build through deeper connections across concepts, it does not sufficiently account for the linguistic needs of MLLs to ensure equitable access to core reading tasks.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades K-2 of myView partially meet the expectations of providing support for Multilingual Learners’ (MLLs’) full and complete participation in text-based questions, tasks, and assignments, as well as the demonstration of their thinking in various formats. The materials include language support boxes that offer targeted strategies and scaffolds to help MLLs actively engage with some text-based questions, tasks, and assignments; however, these do not appear in every lesson, nor do they support all text-based questions and tasks.

The materials incorporate language support call-out boxes that provide targeted strategies and scaffolds to help MLLs fully engage with text-based questions, tasks, and assignments. For example, in Grade K, Unit 3, Week 3, Lesson 4, the objective for the whole class is to “Generate questions about text before, during, and after reading to deepen understanding and gain information with adult assistance.” The accompanying Language Support - Multilingual Learners call-out box focuses on helping MLLs ask questions about Humpty Dumpty, with differentiated guidance:

• Light: Reread p. 37 to students. Then have partners take turns asking and answering a who, what, why, or how question.

• Moderate: Reread aloud p. 37. Help students answer the following: Where is Humpty Dumpty? What happens to Humpty Dumpty?

• Substantial: Read aloud p. 37. Ask: “Do you have a question about Humpty Dumpty? Do you have a question about the fall? What do you want to know? Students can answer in their home language. Then repeat their questions in English and have students repeat them with you.

These scaffolds help ensure that MLLs can actively participate in grade-level literacy instruction while building both language and comprehension skills.

The materials tailor strategies to meet the demands of specific tasks. In Grade 2, Unit 2, Week 4, Lesson 3, all students work on describing and understanding characters. The accompanying Language Support - Multilingual Learners call-out box reinforces the learning and supports students to describe the character Pip and complete the whole class practice. The call-out box guides teachers to: “Be sure students understand the meanings of external and internal. Point out the Spanish cognates external/externo and internal/interno.” It also includes differentiated supports:

• Moderate: Provide students with sentence stems to help them complete the chart: Pip _____. This tells me that Pip feels _____.

• Substantial: Guide students to complete the activity. Read aloud the paragraphs that describe each event. Ask “What does Pip do? How does Pip feel?” Students can respond using words, phrases, or gestures.

This task-specific scaffold fosters the development of content knowledge while supporting MLLs in articulating their ideas using academic language.

For text-specific tasks,  the materials target MLL support to meet the objectives of the lesson. For example, in Grade 1, Unit 1, Week 2, Lesson 3, the materials list the objective as “Use illustrations and details in a story to describe the characters, setting, or events.” The teacher models and guides practice in describing the setting of the recent close read text, Henry on Wheels. The accompanying Language Support - Multilingual Learners call-out box guides teachers to “Help students describe the setting of the story,” with differentiated supports:

• Light: Have pairs work together to describe where the story takes place. Then have them identify two pieces of text evidence to support their answer.

• Moderate: Guide pairs to answer the question to identify the setting: Where does Henry ride? He rides ______. Then help them complete this sentence frame with text evidence: The story says that Henry rides _____ and _____.

• Substantial: Guide students to reread pp. 66-67. Ask: “Where can Henry ride?” (around the block) Repeat with p. 75. Then ask: “Is the setting of the story Henry’s (house/neighborhood/school)?” (Henry’s neighborhood) Restate students’ answers in complete sentences.

This MLL support facilitates MLLs’ engagement with texts through text-based questions and tasks while reaching the academic expectations of the whole class.

However, the materials fall short in consistently supporting MLLs throughout First Reads and Close Reads of texts. In Grade 2, Unit 4, Week 1, students engage in multiple reads of “Who Says Women Can’t be Doctors?”  (see report for Indicator 2g for more details). The materials provide some guidance for teachers to support MLLs in some, but not all, of the tasks associated with this text. The materials offer a Language Demands - Multilingual Learners call-out box guiding teachers to help students understand the language demands of the text, but do not explicitly address any text-based tasks. The materials provide twenty First Read prompts for students, but only one includes an accompanying Language Support - Multilingual Learners call-out box to directly support the First Read task. Throughout the text, the materials provide ten Close Read prompts for students, but only three include accompanying Language Support - Multilingual Learners call-out boxes to directly support the Close Read tasks. As a result, MLLs are not consistently supported in navigating the language demands of text-based tasks during First and Close Reads, limiting their ability to fully engage with and analyze complex texts.

Overall, while the materials include targeted and effective supports that help MLLs engage with specific text-based tasks and demonstrate their understanding using academic language, these supports are not consistently applied across all lessons or reading phases. The lack of regular scaffolding, particularly during First and Close Reads, limits MLLs’ opportunities for full and equitable participation in text analysis and comprehension, preventing them from consistently accessing the full depth of grade-level content.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades K-2 of myView partially meet the criteria of providing support for Multilingual Learners’ (MLLs’) full and complete participation in developing their ability to comprehend complex ideas within and across texts through their full and complete participation in opportunities to analyze and evaluate texts. 

The materials offer strategies and supports to help MLLs comprehend complex ideas within and across texts and engage in opportunities to analyze and evaluate them; however, these supports are not consistently sufficient to ensure MLLs’ full and meaningful participation. Language support call-out boxes are noted throughout the lessons to provide MLL support for participating in lessons and tasks, offering Spanish cognates, sentence starters, and suggestions for additional minilessons. 

The materials provide opportunities for students to engage in academic discourse with peers, analyzing key ideas and details based on grade-level standards within individual texts and across multiple texts, thereby supporting students in making meaning. In Grade 2, Unit 5, Week 2, Lesson 3, Compare and Contrast Texts, the teacher models how to compare and contrast using a graphic organizer. The Language Support call-out box provides differentiated MLL support based on language proficiency. Three language levels - Light, Moderate, and Substantial - are provided to ensure all MLLs can participate in this activity. Light support suggests students work in pairs to complete the task. Moderate support includes sentence starters for the pairs to use when completing the task, and substantial support requires students to read aloud details and prompts them to identify the similarities and differences. 

The materials include these types of supports throughout grades and units; however, they do not consistently provide for full and complete participation by MLL students. In Grade 1, Unit 5, Week 5, Lesson 5, Reflect and Share, the teacher models how to share ideas and opinions when comparing texts. The materials prompt teachers to model a response for the whole class using text evidence and personal reasoning, after which students answer the Weekly Question, “What do living things do in the winter?” by drawing on information from the week’s readings and discussing their ideas in small groups. The accompanying Language Support - Multilingual Learners call-out box only supports students in speaking about whether or not they like winter:

• Moderate: Lead a small group in reviewing facts about winter they learned in Signs of Winter and other texts. Then, encourage students to share why they like or don’t like winter using this sentence frame: I (like/don’t like) winter.

• Substantial: With students, brainstorm a list of facts about winter, drawing from Signs of Winter and other texts you’ve read. Ask: “Do you like winter?” Then have students identify facts from the texts that helped them decide whether they like or don’t like winter.

Teachers are directed to the Language Awareness Handbook for further support; however, this guidance only reiterates the use of sentence frames with suggestions to look in other resources for even more sentence frames. While MLLs are supported here in the specific task to share what they like about winter, the materials do not provide guidance to support MLLs in using text evidence from multiple texts to answer the weekly question or to participate in the small group discussion. Here, as in other instances, MLLs cannot build their capacity to understand complex ideas across texts because they are not supported in fully engaging in opportunities to analyze and evaluate them.

The materials partially support MLLs in developing the ability to comprehend complex ideas across texts through analysis and evaluation. While some lessons include differentiated language supports that facilitate full and complete participation for MLLs, these supports often do not extend to supporting the entire task, limiting full participation for MLLs.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades K-2 of myView partially meet the criteria of providing strategies and supports for Multilingual Learners (MLLs) to fully and completely participate in the explicit instruction of independent word-learning strategies and key vocabulary words to build knowledge within and across texts. The materials consistently provide instruction on academic vocabulary. However, they do not always account for the additional supports MLLs may need to fully engage in developing this vocabulary. 

Sometimes, the Language Support and Language Links call-out boxes reinforce the vocabulary, but other times they do not. The materials effectively include scaffolds in Grade 2, Unit 4, where the teacher introduces the Academic Vocabulary words discuss, connect, responsible, equal, and improve using the Oral Vocabulary Routine. The accompanying Language Support - Multilingual Learners call-out box directs teachers to “Reinforce students’ understanding of the Academic Vocabulary words.” The Light and Moderate supports have students use the vocabulary in context, while the Substantial support helps students understand the meaning of each word, providing meaningful scaffolds for MLLs to work with this vocabulary. Spanish speakers are also supported with cognates for two of the words: discuss and connect. This additional cognate support helps clarify the meaning of these two words, but offering cognates in only one language falls short of providing adequate reinforcement of the Academic Vocabulary words for all MLLs.

Conversely, in Grade K, Unit 2, the teacher introduces the Academic Vocabulary words grow, need, share, and depend while introducing the unit using the Oral Vocabulary Routine. The accompanying Language Links - Multilingual Learners call-out box directs teachers to, “Point out the Spanish cognate in this unit’s Academic Vocabulary: depend: depender.” No additional guidance for MLLs aligns with the Oral Vocabulary Routine, leaving the words grow, need, and share unsupported for all MLLs, and depend supported only for Spanish-speaking MLLs. Additionally, the Language Support - Multilingual Learners call-out box associated with the Student Interactive page on Academic Vocabulary supports students in discussing the picture without addressing the vocabulary itself. The Turn, Talk, and Share prompts all students to “talk about the picture with a partner, using the Academic Vocabulary words.” The Light, Moderate, and Substantial supports prompt students with questions and provide sentence frames with any mention of the academic vocabulary they should be practicing.  

The Language Awareness Handbook provides an Academic Vocabulary section for each week in each unit. Sometimes this guidance is directly related to the academic vocabulary words for the unit. For example, in Grade 1, Unit 3, Week 1, the Language Awareness Handbook directs teachers to “Review - Display this week’s Academic Vocabulary: create, imagine, suppose, possible. Help students find and add related words to help talk about the unit theme.” The second part states, “Guide Practice - Tell students that most related words have parts that look similar. Use the Web routine on p. 76 to create a web with possible in the center. Help students think of related words, such as possibility and impossible to add to the web. Ask volunteers to underline the parts that are similar. Repeat using other academic words.” Along with the Web routine referred to in this example, the Language Awareness Handbook includes other vocabulary routines in Part 2: Routines and Activities. These routines are generic, but paired with specific activities throughout the Language Awareness Handbook. While they support MLLs’ understanding of academic vocabulary, their placement in a supplemental resource, as separate, additional activities exclusively for MLLs, limits their effectiveness in promoting full and equitable participation in grade-level content.

The materials also provide another, separate resource, the Reading Routines Companion, for each grade. The included Vocabulary Routines do not provide any specific support for MLLs.

The materials offer inconsistent support for MLLs in vocabulary instruction. While some lessons include meaningful scaffolds and differentiated strategies, others lack sufficient guidance, especially for non-Spanish speakers. Additional vocabulary routines appear in supplemental resources rather than in core instruction, limiting their impact on MLLs’ full participation in vocabulary development. These inconsistencies highlight areas where the materials could provide more robust and consistent scaffolding for academic vocabulary development among MLLs.  

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades K-2 of myView partially meet the criteria of providing support for Multilingual Learners’ (MLLs’) full and complete participation in the practice of independent word-learning strategies and newly taught vocabulary words. The materials partially support MLL students’ meaning-making of vocabulary in context.

At the beginning of each unit, Academic Vocabulary words are taught, integrated, and used across various activities and tasks based on the topics being studied each week. The materials provide scaffolded supports and targeted opportunities for MLLs to use and develop language. For example, in Grade 1, Unit 5, Introduce the Unit, students learn the unit’s academic vocabulary words: sense, expect, process, and information, and participate in an oral vocabulary routine where they discuss the seasons using these words and a picture in the Student Interactive. The accompanying Language Support - Multilingual Learners call-out box for MLLs includes differentiated guidance based on language proficiency. Light support has students taking turns asking and answering questions about the picture. Moderate support provides students with sentence starters to talk with a partner about the picture, and Substantial support provides questions for the teacher to ask students about the picture. Here, MLLs receive direct support in using newly acquired vocabulary words while engaging in structured academic discourse with teachers and peers, building conceptual understandings and disciplinary language use.

However, in Grade K, Unit 4, Unit Introduction, MLL support for meaning-making of vocabulary in context falls short. In this lesson, teachers introduce the academic vocabulary words for the unit: tradition, discover, change, and time. The materials assign students to “make up and say their own sentences using the new Academic Vocabulary words,” and then use the corresponding page in the Student Interactive to “take turns saying the words and acting them out.”  The accompanying Language Support - Multilingual Learners call-out box guides teachers in completing the activity in the Student Interactive. The Moderate support says, “Have partners act out each word together.” The Substantial supports states, “Point to each picture as you say each word. Have students repeat the word as they act it out.” While the Language Support call-out box does include some ideas to complete the activity, they do not support MLL students in applying their knowledge of these more abstract vocabulary words in context.

The materials partially support MLLs in using independent word-learning strategies and applying newly taught vocabulary in context. While some lessons include scaffolded, proficiency-based supports that guide MLLs’ practice of independent strategies and real-world usage of new vocabulary, others offer limited or insufficient guidance. As a result, vocabulary instruction for MLLs is uneven and does not consistently ensure meaningful application in context.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades K-2 of myView partially meet the criteria of providing strategies and supports for Multilingual Learners (MLLs) to fully and completely participate in the explicit instruction of sentence composition appropriate to grade-level standards, embedded in what students are studying through the unit. The materials include explicit instruction in sentence composition, but only occasionally guide teachers on supporting MLLs in those lessons. 

In Grade K, Unit 4, Week 1, the Language & Conventions lessons progressively build sentence skills, starting with prepositional phrases in Lesson 1, followed by oral practice with complete sentences in Lesson 2, and explicit instruction on sentence structure using nouns, verbs, and capitalization in Lesson 3. This is the first time in the sequence that the materials provide accompanying support for MLLs. The Language Support - Multilingual Learners call-out box states, “For additional support with using complete sentences, see p. 42 in the Language Awareness Handbook.” The referenced support in the Language Awareness Handbook directs teachers to “Remind students that complete sentences have a naming part and an action part.” Guided Practice directions follow:  “Say: The dog runs. Who or what is the sentence about? What does the dog do? Use Saying and Seeing Sentences on p. 133 to help students talk about actions people or animals do. Provide the verbs walk, jump, work, sing, and play for students to choose. Encourage students to say their sentences to a partner.” Students practice editing complete sentences in Lesson 4, and in Lesson 5, they complete a Standards Practice exercise. Neither Lesson 4 nor Lesson 5 contains any additional support for MLLs.

In addition, as noted in 2m, the materials provide explicit instruction and modeling guidance in sentence-composition skills through a structured weekly Language and Conventions focus within writing units. However, no MLL supports are provided for any of these lessons at any grade level. 

The materials offer only limited and infrequent guidance for supporting MLLs during instruction and modeling in sentence composition. Some lessons include minimal support or reference supplemental resources, such as the Language Awareness Handbook, but many sentence composition lessons lack integrated MLL supports across grade levels.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades K-2 of myView partially meet the criteria of providing strategies and supports for Multilingual Learners (MLLs) to fully and completely participate in evidence-based opportunities to practice sentence composition and editing of their own writing, appropriate for their grade level. The materials include supports for MLLs focused on revision and editing skills; however, these supports do not consistently extend to writing instruction within the practice activities.

In some lessons, the MLL supports are directly aligned with core instructional sentence composition practice. For example, in Grade 1, Unit 4, Writing, Week 4, Lesson 2, Revise and Edit, the practice step directs all students to complete sample sentences with correct end punctuation. The accompanying Language Support - Multilingual Learners call-out box provides supports for the editing end punctuation activity:

• Light: Have partners check each other’s sentences for correct end punctuation.

• Moderate: Have partners take turns telling which punctuation mark they will use at the end of the sentence and explain why.

• Substantial: Guide students to complete the sentences. Ask: “Should I end the sentence with a period or a question mark?” Or: “Should I end the sentence with an exclamation point or a period?” Have students write the end punctuation.

This example illustrates how specific supports help MLL students access grade-level content and actively participate in whole-class activities. 

Meanwhile, in other lessons, the materials provide MLL supports that check for students’ understanding, but do not link that understanding back to their written work. For example, in Grade K, Unit 4, Writing, Week 4, Lesson 2, Revise and Edit, the lesson objective is, “Edit drafts with adult assistance using standard English conventions, including verbs.” The teacher leads a lesson on verbs ending in independent practice in student notebooks, and teacher guidance around editing for verbs in students’ drafts. The Language Support - Multilingual Learners call-out box directs teachers to “Reinforce students’ understanding of verbs,” using the language domain of Speaking. Differentiated supports follow:

• Light: Have partners take turns sharing their sentences, naming the verb, and explaining why they used that form of the verb.

• Moderate: Have students share the sentences they wrote and tell about the verb they used. Help them use sentence stems: I used the verb _____. It tells about something that happened _____.

• Substantial:  Have students show you words or pictures in their writing notebooks that show an action. Write and say a sentence using the correct verb, and have students repeat. 

This support solidifies the learning, but does not explicitly connect these practices back to their written work. 

In other cases, the materials direct teachers to the Language Awareness Handbook. In Grade 2, Unit 3, Writing, Week 4, Lesson 2, the Language Support - Multilingual Learners call-out box directs teachers to the Language Awareness Handbook for guidance on simple and compound sentences. The Language Awareness Handbook instructs teachers to “Guide Practice: Write the following: The dog started barking. The cat ran up the tree. Work with students to combine these simple sentences to create a compound sentence. The dog started barking, and the cat ran up the tree. Have students review their writing and check to see if any of their simple sentences can be combined to create a compound sentence.” In this case, the support directs students to apply these concepts through editing and revising their writing. 

These examples highlight the need for more alignment between the Language Support—Multilingual Learners boxes and direct writing instruction to ensure that skills practiced in speaking scaffolds effectively transfer to written work.

While some lessons include differentiated supports for sentence composition and editing, these are not consistently connected to writing practice. In some cases, MLL supports focus skills without explicitly linking them to written work. References to the Language Awareness Handbook provide helpful extensions, but overall, there is a need for stronger alignment between language supports and writing instruction to ensure MLLs can effectively apply language skills in their writing.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades K-2 of myView partially meet the criteria of providing support for Multilingual Learners’ (MLLs’) full and complete participation in all instruction of varied writing processes, embedded in what students are studying throughout the unit. The materials sometimes offer targeted opportunities for MLL students to use and develop language through writing. 

The materials include explicit instruction in writing processes, featuring teacher modeling of writing strategies and processes. They are organized as follows: Week 1 - Prewrite, Week 2 - Draft, Week 3 - Draft, Week 4  - Revise and Edit, and Week 5 - Publish. MLL supports are embedded in some, but not all, lessons for each week as Differentiation - Multilingual Learners call-out boxes. The language support is differentiated based on language proficiency and whether students need Light, Moderate, or Substantial support. At times, the materials reference supports from the Language Acquisition Handbook in lessons that do not include Differentiation – Multilingual Learners call-out boxes, but more often, those lessons lack any guidance for teachers around MLLs.

Specifically, in Grade 2, Unit 5, Writing, Week 1, Lesson 5, students plan how to write a “how-to” book using a graphic organizer. A Differentiate - Multilingual Learners call-out box accompanies the lesson. Light support has partners working together to complete the graphic organizer. Moderate support provides sentence stems for students to complete in pairs, while substantial support guides students to use English and their home language to answer questions about the graphic organizer. These strategies aim to provide support that fosters MLL students’ regular and active participation in this task. However, the following activities within Lesson 5 on spelling, language, and conventions do not have any MLL supports embedded in the activities. The other lessons in this cycle lack MLL supports for every student task. Without supports for all steps in the writing process, MLLs cannot fully and completely participate in the varied writing tasks. 

Although the materials do not include MLL supports for every writing lesson, the lessons that do offer support feature effective strategies in the Language Support—Multilingual Learners call-out boxes, differentiated by language proficiency. These supports enable MLLs to actively engage in instruction in those lessons.

The materials partially support MLLs in fully participating in varied writing processes. While the materials include explicit instruction and effective, differentiated supports in some lessons, these supports are not present in all writing lessons or stages. As a result, the materials do not consistently support MLLs across the full range of writing tasks.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades K-2 of myView partially meet the criteria of providing support for Multilingual Learners’ (MLLs’) full and complete participation in opportunities to practice the writing process using evidence-based strategies, embedded in what students are studying throughout the unit. The materials provide multiple opportunities for students to engage in the writing process, including planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing; however, the opportunities do not always transfer to application in their own writing or include MLL supports.  

For example, in Grade 1, Unit 4, Writing, Week 3, Lesson 1, the materials direct the teacher to model and guide practice on narrative writing before saying to students, “Now it’s your turn to write the beginning of a new personal narrative. Use the examples we did together to help you.” The accompanying Language Support - Multilingual Learners call-out box directs teachers to “Support students as they write the beginning of their personal narratives.” Differentiated supports follow:

• Light: Prompt students with questions to guide their writing. For example, What will you write about? What happened? Where did it happen?

• Moderate: Provide students with sentence stems to help them begin writing: (Last week/When I was/A long time ago) _____. First, _____.

• Substantial: Have students use their home language to talk about something that happened in the past. Help them translate their descriptions into English and write the sentences on the board for them to copy.

These supports do guide MLLs in starting their personal narratives, but do not continue consistently throughout the writing cycle. Supports are also provided for Lesson 3 - drafting the middle of the personal narrative, but no supports are provided for Lesson 2 - drafting what happens next, Lesson 4 - teacher modeling of drafting what happens last, or Lesson 5 - student of drafting what happens last in students’ own personal narratives. Lesson 5 does reference additional support in the Language Awareness Handbook. However, that support is for the use of sequence words, not specifically to guide students in drafting the last part of their personal narratives. Throughout grades and units, the materials provide MLL supports for some, but not all, of the steps in the writing process.

Although the materials do not provide consistent MLL supports, they include effective strategies such as using graphic organizers during the drafting stage, which helps students to plan their writing. These attempts demonstrate a thoughtful approach to addressing the difficulties MLLs may have in generating a piece of writing. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grade K-2 of myView partially meet the criteria of providing explanations of the instructional approaches of the program for Multilingual Learners (MLLs) and identification of the research-based strategies. The materials explain the program’s instructional approaches for MLLs and reference some research-based strategies; however, not all of the research-based strategies are included in the implementation of the approach in the materials.

The document Multilingual Learner Support in myView Literacy © 2025, found in the Getting to Know myView tab under Multilingual Learner Support, explains the instructional approaches used in the program for MLLs and identifies several research-based strategies. The instructional approach described in the document includes: an assets-based viewpoint, focus on using the same learning objectives as fluent English speakers, scaffolding the language demands of the same text or task provided to all learners, balancing activities across all language domains, engaging students’ multilingual resources, and addressing the requirements of state/district evaluation processes.

The Multilingual Learner Support document references three sources: Elfrieda Hiebert’s “Generative Vocabulary Instruction,” a paper commissioned by the  English Learner Success Forum, and the WIDA English Language Development Standards Framework. The instructional content, however, primarily focuses on generative vocabulary and lacks broader application of research-based strategies for MLLs. Additionally, the Language Awareness Handbook is introduced by Jim Cummins, who references valuable strategies, such as language objectives and “juicy sentences.” Yet, those specific strategies are not incorporated into the instructional materials. In order for teachers to use those strategies, they would have to incorporate them into the materials themselves. In conclusion, the materials describe the program’s instructional approaches for MLLs and reference research-based strategies; however, they do not fully integrate all of those strategies into the instructional materials.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades K-2 of myView partially meet the criteria of providing teacher guidance to support Multilingual Learner (MLL) students and to utilize the strategies, supports, and/or accommodations found. 

The materials provide a variety of supports for MLLs within lessons and offer some annotations and guidance for teachers in utilizing these supports. Language Support - Multilingual Learners call-out boxes are provided throughout the materials in all grade levels to provide differentiated support for MLLs based on language proficiency. The Language Support - Multilingual Learner call-out boxes are straightforward and detailed enough for teachers at various levels of understanding in instructing MLLs to use. Language Links call-out boxes are woven throughout each unit to provide teachers with Spanish cognates for MLLs. However, the guidance for teachers on how to use this information with students is minimal, usually only to “point out” the cognates. Language Demand boxes support teachers in anticipating potential language demands, challenges, and opportunities in a lesson by providing a list of words and sentences that may need clarification for MLLs for each lesson’s text. However, the guidance for teachers only previews the demands and does not provide additional guidance for teachers in supporting students with those demands. For example, in Grade 1, Unit 2, Week 1, Lesson 2, Read the Text, the Language Demands - Multilingual Learners call-out box states: “To guide your planning, use the chart to help your students understand the language demands in the text.”  The Word Level column in the chart lists the following:

• Domain-Specific Words:  eggs, frog, tadpole, gills

• Comparative Adjectives:  longer, shorter

• Action Verbs: changes, lays, hatches

The Sentence Level column in the chart lists the following:

• Command Sentences:  Look at the tadpole now.

• Adverbial Phrase:  In the spring, the frog will go back to the pond.

The materials provide no further guidance on what teachers should do with this information about language demands or how this knowledge could support MLLs in their understanding of the text. This gap requires teachers to research and plan for the language demands, which could be especially difficult for teachers new to working with MLLs.

Guidance to teachers is not inclusive of all levels of understanding in instructing MLLs. The materials do not provide suggestions for guiding teacher responses, including probing questions and feedback. Teachers are not guided to support specific student moves or how to support productive struggle. Without this guidance, materials do not facilitate understanding in teachers new to working with MLLs or support deepening the understanding of MLL experts.  

Overall, while the materials offer a range of supports and embedded annotations to aid instruction for MLLs, the guidance provided lacks the depth and adaptability needed to effectively serve teachers across varying levels of expertise. The materials provide guidance for teachers associated with the Language Support, Language Links, and Language Demand call-out boxes that contribute valuable starting points. This guidance stops short of offering actionable, sustained instructional guidance. As a result, the materials do not fully equip teachers to respond to student needs in real time or support productive struggle.

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades K-2 of myView partially meet the criteria of the guiding teachers on how to match students with language supports, progressing along a continuum, and to be responsive to students’ current language development in relation to the content. The materials provide language support at varying language proficiency levels. However, the materials do not provide guidance for teachers on how to match students with supports. 

The materials include Language Support call-out boxes that offer differentiated supports at light, moderate, and substantial levels, intended to align with varying language proficiency. These supports reflect an effort to be responsive to students’ language needs within the context of content instruction. However, the materials do not provide guidance to teachers on how to determine which level of support is appropriate for individual students or how to adjust supports over time as students develop language proficiency. As a result, while the presence of differentiated supports may help multilingual learners (MLLs) access content, the lack of instructional guidance limits their effective use.

The instructional materials reviewed for grades K-2 of myView partially meet the criteria of providing guidance to encourage teachers to draw upon student home language to facilitate learning. The materials support the use of Multilingual Learners’ (MLLs’) home languages by incorporating some cross-linguistic connections, with a strong emphasis on Spanish. However, they offer limited integration of other languages and do not account for key factors like families’ language preferences or students’ prior linguistic experiences, and therefore do not fully meet the criteria.

The materials incorporate cross-linguistic connections and cognates to support and reinforce the use of students’ home languages. While the materials thoughtfully highlight Spanish as a primary focus, they provide limited opportunities to integrate and build upon other languages. This diminishes their effectiveness in fully leveraging home languages as assets to enhance learning and engagement. For example, Spanish cognates are consistently highlighted in the lesson sidebars; however, identifying cognates from other languages can also be a valuable strategy for speakers of diverse linguistic backgrounds. A specific example of a cross-linguistic connection is in Grade 1, Unit 5, Week 2, Lesson 4, where the resource identifies shared suffix patterns in Spanish and English with examples like “pintor” and “lector.”  Similar connections between English and Spanish are made throughout grades and units. The materials provide Language Links call-out boxes alongside Phonics lessons for contrastive analysis that usually provide connections to a broader range of languages. For example, in Grade 1, Unit 3, Week 3, the Phonics lesson is Decode and Write Words with Inflectional Ending -ed. The accompanying Language Links - Multilingual Learners call-out box reads: “Guide students in uncovering similarities and differences between English and their home language. In Chinese, Hmong, and Vietnamese, verbs do not change to show the tense. Instead, adverbs or expressions of time indicate when an action has taken place. Help students use English past-tense verbs in conversations.”  While the materials incorporate cross-linguistic supports, particularly for Spanish, through cognates and contrastive analysis, they offer limited integration of other home languages, reducing their potential to fully leverage linguistic diversity in support of student learning.

There are a few instances outside of the phonics lessons where the materials note connections to other languages, but they are minimal and not consistently integrated into the instructional design. This represents a missed opportunity to leverage MLLs’ full linguistic repertoires as assets, which could provide them with more meaningful participation. Additionally, the materials do not include considerations for the family’s preferred language of communication, prior schooling experiences in other languages, literacy abilities in those languages, or the student’s previous exposure to academic or everyday English, limiting their ability to fully support and engage MLLs. 

The instructional materials reviewed for Grades K-2 of myView partially meet the criteria of including a formative assessment plan for language alongside content that includes a connection to established unit/lesson language goals. The materials include a few opportunities to formatively assess language, but do not include explicit unit or lesson-level language goals to connect those formative assessments to.

In Lesson 5 of each week, the Small Group guidance for Teacher-Led Small Group Instruction includes a Language Checkpoint - Multilingual Learners. This guidance provides a rubric for Multilingual Learners (MLLs) describing the language students should use at each level to accomplish a content task. The levels listed are Emerging, Expanding, and Bridging, which are different names from the levels provided in the Language Support boxes (Light, Moderate, Substantial). For example, in Grade 1, Unit 3, Week 1, Lesson 5, the Language Checkpoint - Multilingual Learners reads: “Have students refer to the website ‘Planning Your Visit to the Zoo’ on pp. 14-15 in the Student Interactive as they discuss the Week 1 Question: Why is it important to plan ahead?” Use this checkpoint as one piece of data among others to inform instruction. The leveled rubric follows:

• Emerging students can

  • use gestures, words, and phrases to answer the question.

  • build on others’ ideas by using prior knowledge and illustrations.

• Expanding students can

  • use simple sentences to answer the question.

  • build on others’ ideas by providing clear examples from the website.

• Bridging students can

  • use complex sentences to answer the question.

  • build on others’ ideas by identifying evidence from the website to support ideas.

While this Language Checkpoint is connected to the weekly question, it is not connected to the functional language needed to accomplish the learning goals of the week: “I can read traditional stories” and “I can write an opinion book.” 

The Assessment Guide, Part 2, Multilingual Learners, provides ML Observational Checklists for each of the four language domains, to be completed three times per year. The Assessment Guide provides general guidance on observational assessment in Part 1, Chapter 1, Assessment and Data, Dig In! This section provides an overview of what observational assessment is and when teachers should use it, but it does not provide specific guidance on observing MLLs or using the ML Observational Checklists.

While the materials provide some opportunities for teachers to formatively assess MLLs through the Language Checkpoints in weekly Lesson 5 and the ML Observational Checklists for each language domain included in the assessment guide, they lack specific guidance on how to use these tools effectively or how they connect to instructional goals. As a result, opportunities to formatively assess language are present but not systematically or coherently linked to the curriculum.