Maine's Academic Standards (CCSS)
English Language Development Solutions:
Accelerate English Language Acquisition

Connect to Literacy

Maine & WIDA Assessments

Multilingual teachers can set reaching expectations for their multilingual students, accelerate English language acquisition, and ensure equity for all multilingual learners. The WIDA Consortium is a member-based organization made up of U.S. states, territories, and federal agencies dedicated to the research, design, and implementation of a high-quality, standards-based system for K-12 multilingual learners.

Summit K12 Language Development is evidence-based, aligns with WIDA, as well as The Common Core.

Ensure your K–12 English learners are making steady progress toward their English Language Proficiency Growth Goals throughout the year and are prepared for Fall and Spring testing with the Connect to Literacy™ online Review and Readiness program.

Summit K12 Provides ACCESS Readiness in all four domains within Interpretive/Expressive Modes.

Summit K12:

Is adaptive to all learners through Individualized Language Learning Plans (ILLPs)
Provides Autoscoring—including enhanced AI for Speaking Items
Offers Embedded ACCESS Speaking and Writing Rubrics
Was created to differentiate across The 6 WIDA Grade bands: K, 1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8, 9-12
Is organized around the 4 Key Language Uses: Narrate, Inform, Explain, Argue

With interactive, engaging video lessons written for all multilingual learners in WIDA States and the Proficiency Level Descriptors (PLDs) at six different grade bands, covering all five ELD standards, Connect to Literacy supports growth in all four domains with just 30-60 minutes of practice a week.

Help Students Progress At least One Proficiency Level

Developed specifically for the ACCESS exams, and including grade-level benchmarks, Connect to Literacy offers more than 2,000 practice items modeled after the ACCESS Listening and Speaking item types. Using Connect to Literacy, English learners from Beginning to Advanced High will develop their vocabulary and practice speaking and listening in a supported online environment designed to accelerate English language acquisition and prepare students for the ACCESS exam.

Through audio, video, and ACCESS Listening-Speaking practice assessments, students actively engage with English and build language proficiency.

Listening Practice Items

Connect to Literacy provides listening items for all proficiency levels, modeled after ACCESS item types so that students become confident in listening, comprehending, and responding to English in a variety of ways. All Listening item types include Lesson modeling videos to guide student practices.

Speaking Practice Items

Students will practice speaking using a variety of prompts, differentiated based on proficiency level and modeled after the ACCESS item types. All speaking items include Lesson Model Videos to guide students and Model Exemplar recordings for students to listen to after they submit their recordings. Every answer is recorded so that teachers can listen to the responses, rate them using the interactive speaking rubric, and provide coaching to guide student growth.

ACCESS Reading Readiness

The Connect to Literacy online ACCESS Reading and Writing program provides structured skills practice to help students become proficient readers and writers and prepare for success on the ACCESS exam.

With its easy-to-use interface designed for students with limited English proficiency, Connect to Literacy can be used independently by students at home or at school. Comprehensive reporting enables teachers to monitor students’ progress and provide support remotely or in person.

The Connect to Literacy Reading Course includes content differentiated at 6 grade-bands to mimic the ACCESS grade-level differentiation and provide you with an accurate predictor of ACCESS outcomes.

ACCESS Writing Readiness

Connect to Literacy guides English learners through the process of completing five practice writing activities during the fall semester that mimic the official ACCESS writing samples that will be completed in the second semester. First, students prepare using Connect to Literacy’s writing skill-building activities, mini-lessons and examples.

The Connect to Literacy Writing course includes Writing Skills and Grammar lessons covering 100% of the new WIDA standards. This gives teachers the lessons, practice items, and assessments to help students prepare for the ACCESS exam.

Students gain authentic practice and feedback during the school year through writing papers using each of the four WIDA Writing genres along with developing Key Language Uses:

  • Narrate: conveys experiences through stories;
  • Inform: conveys factual information by describing, comparing, contrasting, and categorizing ideas or phenomena;
  • Explain: expresses knowledge about how things work or why things happen;
  • Argue: supports claims, ideas, or solutions using evidence and reasoning. Also, part of WIDA’s mission is to increase accessibility
    options for students and emphasize multimodal forms of
    communication.

Students submit their draft and a final version of each writing type (Need to confirm).

Teachers review the drafts and provide comments and feedback using a built-in evaluation checklist that incorporates ELPS, PLDs and specific components of the writing theme or genre. Students revise and edit their writing based on teachers’ direction within Connect to Literacy. When students submit their final draft, teachers will review and grade them using an interactive TELPAS writing rubric.

The Connect to Literacy online English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) Mastery Course covers 12 areas of foundational language development to build proficiency in all four language domains.

This interactive, engaging program provides more than 23,000 grade—and language proficiency-level activities for students to learn and practice their English language skills. Used along with the Connect to Literacy Listening-Speaking and Reading-Writing programs, you can accelerate language acquisition for your English Learners and prepare them for success on the ACCESS exam.

12 Comprehensive ACCESS Mastery Course Skill Building Modules

Teachers unlock the skill building modules they want students to work on. Built for the ACCESS test and aligned with The Common Core and WIDA standards, students listen to words and phrases and record themselves speaking them back, practice using words such as abstract nouns, and listen to sentences and practice writing them, and much more.

Embedded Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Several ACCESS Mastery modules include embedded AI to automatically rate student pronunciation and writing skills while providing automatic feedback to students to promote self-efficacy and mastery while accelerating the learning process.

Vowel Digraphs

Distinct Sounds of English

Provide students with practice using the 44 unique sounds of English which are not part of the Spanish language.

ELPS_screens_2_041221

Phonemic Fundamentals

Reinforce the building blocks of English from consonant and vowel sounds to suffixes, prefixes and root words.

High Frequency Words Sample

High-Frequency Words

Students are introduced to grade appropriate research-based high frequency vocabulary words and practice using them.

Thinking Words Sample

Thinking Words

Students learn and practice using often overlooked words — like describe,
differentiate, interpret, and predict — that are essential to success on the ACCESS exam.

Cognates

Cognates

This module will help Spanish speakers gain confidence in English quickly as they learn words that look familiar and have the same meaning in their native language.

Anonyms Sample

Antonyms

Students formally learn what antonyms are and are introduced to them in word pairs through audio and visual content.

Synonyms Sample

Synonyms

Students are introduced to word pairs using both audio and visual content that have the same or similar meanings.

Homonyms Sample

Homonyms

Covering Homophones, Homographs and Homonyms, this module teaches the differences between the three types of word pairs with hundreds of examples.

Connecting Words Sample

Connecting Words

These words are necessary for students to write and speak clearly. Students will learn the different types of conjunctions and their uses.

Academic Vocabulary

Academic Vocabulary

This module provides interactive flash cards for all TEKS and STAAR academic vocabulary in core subjects from K-12.

Idioms and expressions sample

Idioms, Expressions, Adages & Puns

Students are shown a visual of the literal meaning of an expression and then a visual of the actual meaning of grade appropriate, high frequency idioms as well as common adages and puns.

Abstract Nouns Sample

Abstract Nouns

Designed for students at the Advanced or Advanced High proficiency levels, this module provides guided practice using some of the most challenging words for English learners.

Monitor Student Progress Towards Mastery

Easy-to-understand, yet data-rich, reports provide teachers with insights into students’ ongoing language growth. At-a-glance, see which proficiency level students are at, then drill down to learn in which areas students need additional practice and support.

ACCESS Exam Prioritized Focus Area & Essential Action Reports

The Connect to Literacy program includes two diagnostic Listening, Speaking, and Reading benchmarks that can be administered in the fall and winter to monitor student proficiency growth and support. The program also provides required reports to ensure ACCESS/WIDA compliance.

Preview Reports

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WIDA’s Four Big Ideas

How Does Summit K12 support WIDA’s Four Big Ideas?

The WIDA English Language Development Standards Framework runs through Kindergarten-Grade 12, and brings a focus on instruction for Multilingual/English learners (ELs) that is assets-based, equitable, collaborative, functional and integrates language and content. With this focus in mind, these standards bring educators closer to their goals of guiding students towards meeting their academic and language goals. WIDA’s suite of screeners and assessments continue to be informed by this framework.

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WIDA’s Mode of Communication

How Does Summit K12 support WIDA’s Mode of Communication?

Language Expectations

Language Expectations are articulated in
two expanded communication modes: Interpretive

(Listening, Reading, and Viewing) and Expressive (Speaking,

Writing, and Representing).


These modes of communication help students

communicate through listening, speaking, reading, and

writing, but they also communicate through gestures, facial

expressions, images, equations, maps, symbols, and other

means.

Multimodal communication is an essential
path for all students to make meaning.
Moving toward
interpretive and expressive communication modes helps
educators to remember that students must be offered multiple means to engage, interpret, represent, act, and express their ideas in the classroom.

Modes of Communication

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Key Language Uses

How Does Summit K12 support WIDA’s four Key Language Uses?

WIDA integrates the Key Language Uses along with all four KLUs. The four KLUs uses are Narrate, Inform, Explain, and Argue. All KLUs are present in every subject at every grade level and align with WIDA’s Mode of Communication.

  • Narrate: conveys experiences through stories;
  • Inform: conveys factual information by describing, comparing, contrasting, and categorizing ideas or phenomena;
  • Explain: expresses knowledge about how things work or why things happen;
  • Argue: supports claims, ideas, or solutions using evidence and reasoning. Also, part of WIDA’s mission is to increase accessibility
    options for students and emphasize multimodal forms of
    communication.

Key Language Uses

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WIDA and ACCESS Rubrics

Please note, Summit’s Rubrics are aligned with WIDA Rubrics.

Within the WIDA Standards Framework for instruction and assessment for ELLs lies the ELD Standards for kindergarten through grade 12. The ELD Standards divide the continuum of language development into six proficiency levels.

WIDA’s rubrics are in order from the highest to the lowest.

  • Level 6: Reaching
  • Level 5: Bridging
  • Level 4: Expanding
  • Level 3: Development
  • Level 2: Emerging
  • Level 1: Entering

Rubrics

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Easy Set Up. Exceptional Support

With our streamlined on-boarding process, teachers and students can begin using our programs quickly. Once our implementation team receives your class rosters, they can have your classes completely set up within 24 hours. Our professional development team is also available year-round for web-based and on-site teacher training.

Summit K12 integrates with Clever, Classlink, Rapid Identity, Enboard, Microsoft Azure, and many other platforms for Single Sign-on (SSO). We support rostering for all platforms.

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