Designated ELD Lessons Page
The Designated ELD Lessons page lists all lessons in sequence with title, lesson type badge, estimated time (30-45 min per lesson), and ELD Standards tags. Expanding a lesson row previews the texts used, the learning objectives, and a Go to Lesson button.
Designated ELD Lesson Type Badges
Lesson Type | Description |
Reading | Close reading for language—examining how writers make language choices and build meaning. |
Writing | Writing anchored in the set's language focus. |
Discussion | Collaborative academic discourse via named routines; often oral rehearsal for Writing. |
Spark | Unit-opener activating prior language and collaborative discussion norms via text-set texts. |
Flex Day | Arc-closing Reflection on language growth; no new language introduced. |
Presentation | D-ELD Culminating Language Performance Task—extended language production for a defined audience. |
Research | Showcase-arc lesson: individual language-toolkit building, then collaborative synthesis for the culminating task. |
Language Analysis | Explicit instruction in how English works—text structure, cohesion, verb/noun expansion, connecting/condensing ideas—with foundational-skills supports for eligible students. |
ELD Lesson Page
The Designated ELD lesson page includes all core elements of the ELA lesson page: lesson type badge, ELD Standards, Student Learning Objectives, Lesson Texts, Vocabulary, Lesson Sequence, and Lesson Materials, plus several features that are unique to Designated ELD instruction.
Designated ELD Lesson Page: What’s the Same
The lesson page displays the lesson title, lesson type badge, estimated duration, and ELD Standards tags. A prominent purple Open Student Lesson banner at the top of the page provides a direct link to the student-facing version of the lesson.
Designated ELD Learning Objectives
Designated ELD lessons display two learning objectives: a Language Objective and a Content Objective. The Foundational Skill Focus present in ELA lessons does not appear in Designated ELD lessons, reflecting the distinct instructional focus of Designated ELD.
Objective | What It Describes |
Language Objective | The specific language function and linguistic form that students will practice and produce |
Content Objective | What students will understand or analyze about the text and topic |
Language at a Glance
Each Designated ELD lesson includes a Language at a Glance section that provides a snapshot of the lesson’s language demands in two areas: the Language Domain Focus, which describes the language domains and tasks students will practice, and the Formative Language Output, which describes the written or oral product students will produce as a formative measure.
Element | What It Shows |
Essential Question | The arc’s driving question (language-focused) |
Connections to ELA | How the D-ELD lesson connects to the parallel ELA Core lessons |
Connection to Unit (Future Lessons) | How this lesson’s language focus connects to upcoming lessons |
Unit Performance Task | How the lesson’s language goal contributes to the unit’s culminating Performance Task |
Language Domain Focus | The language domains addressed in the lesson (e.g., reading, listening, speaking, and brief writing) and a description of the core language task students will practice |
Formative Language Output | The written or oral product that students will produce as a formative measure in the Look Back phase |
Lesson Pacing
Designated ELD lessons include a Lesson Pacing table that breaks the 30-45-minute lesson into timed instructional segments.
Lesson Flow Segment | Typical Duration |
Launch | 2-5 minutes |
Literacy Lab (when applicable) | 10-15 minutes |
Learning in Action | 15-30 minutes |
Look Back | 3-5 minutes |
Click the + View full pacing link to expand the complete lesson flow with purposes described for each segment.
Differentiation by ELD Proficiency Level and Typology
Each Designated ELD lesson includes a Differentiation table organized by ELD proficiency level and typology. For each level/typology, the table provides illustrative and flexible supports and an example of expected student language output.
Column | What It Shows |
Level and Typology | ELD proficiency level (e.g., Emerging, Expanding, Bridging) and Typologies (e.g., Newcomers, Long Term English Learner (LTEL), and Dually Identified (SPED/EL)) |
Supports (Illustrative, Flexible) | Specific, actionable instructional moves teachers can use to support students at that level/typology |
Example of Expected Output | A concrete example of what a student at that proficiency level should be able to produce after the lesson |
Click the + View full differentiation link to expand all proficiency and typology levels.
Vocabulary
The Designated ELD lesson vocabulary section includes two components.
Component | What It Contains |
Vocabulary Present in the Text(s) | Words drawn directly from the lesson's texts, each bolded with a student-friendly definition below; Spanish cognates appear in italics inline with the definition where applicable (e.g., Spanish Cognate: inspeccionar) |
Academic/Analysis Vocabulary | Cross-curricular academic and analytical terms needed for the lesson's language tasks, each bolded with a student-friendly definition below; Spanish cognates appear in italics inline where applicable (e.g., Spanish Cognates: efectivo/eficaz) |
Material List and Routines
Each Designated ELD lesson displays a Material List (physical and digital materials needed) and a Routines list (instructional routines used in the lesson). Both appear as side-by-side panels at the bottom of the lesson preparation section.
Unit Language Toolkits
Designated ELD lessons reference a Unit Language Toolkit that students build across each unit. In the toolkit, students collect vocabulary, sentence frames, language features, discussion moves, and home-language connections drawn from the unit's texts, discussions, and explicit instruction.
The Unit Language Toolkits resource is a single PDF differentiated by California ELD proficiency level, with three base versions (Emerging, Expanding, Bridging) and three optional Companions calibrated to specific student typologies (Newcomer, LTEL, and Dually Identified). Teachers print and copy the combination of base and Companion pages each student needs, so the toolkit each student holds is customized to their proficiency level and typology.
The toolkit culminates in a curated collection of production-ready language that students draw on for the unit's Showcase Performance Task. Across the year, students accumulate one completed toolkit per unit, building a four-unit language portfolio calibrated to each student's typology and proficiency level.
The Unit Language Toolkits PDF is available on the unit's Additional Resources page. The lesson Materials List also references a teacher-created Unit Language Toolkit Anchor Chart — a classroom display teachers build to model toolkit use during whole-class instruction.
Lesson Texts
Designated ELD lesson texts appear in a Lesson Texts section and may include both individual short-form and full-length texts, which are grouped collections of thematically related short-form articles used within a single lesson.
Lesson Materials
Designated ELD lessons display downloadable materials in two clearly separated columns.
Column | What It Contains |
Materials | Both teacher-facing and student-facing materials; may include PDFs to print ahead of time. Always includes the Personal Dictionary (student-created), the Student Unit Language Toolkit (teacher-printed), and the Unit Language Toolkit Anchor Chart (teacher-created). |
Both columns include individual Preview links and a “Download all” option for each category.
Designated ELD Lesson Sequence
Each Designated ELD lesson displays a complete instructional sequence directly on the lesson page. The sequence is organized into timed segments—typically Launch, Literacy Lab, Learning in Action, and Look Back—and is fully expanded inline so teachers can scroll through the entire lesson flow without navigating away. Within the sequence, teachers see scripted instructional moves (labeled: Say, Display, and Ask), Sentence Frames tiered by proficiency level (Emerging, Expanding, Bridging), formative assessment checkpoints (Listen-Fors and Look-Fors tied to specific ELD Standards), and Teacher Tips covering foundational skills, differentiation strategies, and language amplification moves. Designated ELD lessons also embed named routines (such as Language Objective Launch, Close Read & Annotation, and Language Reflection). Where the instructional sequence includes multiple parts—for example, Part 1: Explicit Modeling followed by Part 2: Structured Individual Gathering, each part appears as a clearly labeled subsection with its own directions and formative checkpoints. This level of instructional detail is unique to the teacher-facing lesson view; the student view shows only the lesson content and activity prompts.