Language development thatbuilds into and out of IBD's ELA Program
Inquiry by Design’s Designated English Language Development (ELD) program gives English learners in Grades 6–8 time to build the academic language they need to succeed, not as a separate curriculum, but as an integrated companion to IBD Middle School English Language Arts.
How it works
Each unit in IBD Middle School ELA includes an accompanying sequence of ELD lessons teachers can either implement during ELA instruction or as a separate, dedicated time for MLL students. ELD lessons leverage the same texts, vocabulary, and writing tasks students work with in ELA, using them as material for close language analysis rather than engaging in isolated ELL instruction with new content. Students examine how skilled writers use language features — connectives, subordinating conjunctions, reporting verbs, precise noun phrases — then apply those same features in their own speaking and writing.
Built on nine core strategies
Instruction centers on nine research-based strategies familiar to ELD instructors, including Sentence Deconstruction, Frayer Model, Close Reading, Collaborative Retelling, and Discussing/Presenting With Connectives. Because the same strategies recur throughout the year, students spend less time learning new routines and more time developing language. Each of the nine instructional strategies is accompanied by a lesson template, giving instructors a research-aligned framework to build their own lessons that target specific language development needs of their students.
Essentials for teacher success and growth
Each ELD lesson includes a built-in Proficiency Level Differentiation section that provides specific strategies to adapt the lesson’s instruction to meet the needs of three proficiency levels. Working from one, core ELD lesson, teachers adjust scaffolding, sentence frames, and language expectations to meet the needs of each group, eliminating the need to create separate lessons for each level. The program also addresses different types of MLLs (newcomers, long-term English Learners, SIFE, and students with strong first-language literacy) with embedded supports like cognate instruction, home-language connections, and foundational skills opportunities.
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Assignment framework that tracks language growth.
Curriculum built in pieces asks teachers to hold it all together. We built ours whole. Understanding builds lesson by lesson, and teachers can focus on the students in front of them.