Key Language Uses
This Key Language Use involves students sharing information, observations, and descriptions in oral or written forms.
What is Informing?
This feature includes words that connect ideas, such as because, therefore, and however, essential for building cohesive academic sentences.
What are Connecting Words or Transition Words?
This mode of communication involves students listening to audio recordings or instructions and understanding spoken language.
What is Listening?
This dimension focuses on the specific subject vocabulary and terms students need to learn in areas like math, science, or social studies.
What is Word/Phrase Level?
This WIDA Standard supports students in expressing ideas and understanding content in math classes.
What is Language for Mathematics?
When students make claims and back them up with evidence, they are using this WIDA Key Language Use.
What is Arguing?
Pronouns, verb tense, and sentence types are all examples of this grammatical WIDA Language Feature.
What is Sentence Structure?
When students share their ideas through spoken language in group discussions, they are using this mode of communication.
What is Speaking?
This dimension involves the organization of sentences and ideas, such as combining clauses to form complex sentences.
What is Sentence Level?
This standard focuses on language skills needed for reading, writing, and discussing history and civics topics.
What is Language for Social Studies?
This Key Language Use encourages students to understand and create stories or recount past events.
What is Narrating?
This feature describes the use of phrases like for example or such as, which support providing examples in informative or explanatory writing.
What are Elaboration Phrases?
In this mode, students interpret and understand written text, such as reading books, articles, or directions.
What is Reading?
When students understand how paragraphs are structured for different text types, they are using this level of language dimension.
What is Discourse Level?
This WIDA Standard guides the development of language skills essential for conducting experiments and understanding scientific concepts.
What is Language for Science?
In science class, when students design an experiment and explain their findings, they are typically using these two WIDA Key Language Uses.
What are Explaining and Informing?
These are specific vocabulary words and phrases that support understanding within a particular subject area, like photosynthesis in science.
What are Content-Specific Words?
Writing essays, reports, and responses are examples of this mode, which requires students to express their ideas in written form.
What is Writing?
This dimension emphasizes choosing the correct verb tense, pronoun use, and connecting words for coherent sentences.
What is Grammar and Sentence Structure at the Sentence Level?
This standard emphasizes using language for creating, interpreting, and evaluating texts in reading and writing.
What is Language for Language Arts?
This Key Language Use is crucial when students need to sequence events or explain cause and effect in both language arts and social studies.
What is Explaining?
This Language Feature refers to the way students organize sentences, paragraphs, or entire texts for a specific purpose, such as sequencing in narratives or problem-solution in argumentation.
What is Text Organization?
This interactive mode involves students using both speaking and listening skills in real-time conversations, allowing for immediate feedback.
What is Collaborative Communication?
The ability to recognize the tone, style, and purpose of text falls under this dimension, essential for understanding author intent in various texts.
What is Discourse Level?
This overarching standard applies to everyday classroom communication, helping students engage in school-wide and social activities.
What is Language for Social and Instructional Purposes?