The Meeting Students' Needs column in each lesson contains support for both ELLs and Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and some supports can serve a wide range of student needs. However, ELLs have unique needs that cannot always be met with UDL support. According to federal guidelines, ELLs must be given access to the curriculum with appropriate supports, such as those that are specifically identified as "For ELLs" in the Meeting Students' Needs column.

• New: ELL supports now labeled and condensed. Beginning in Module 3, ELL supports within the Meeting Students' Needs column are labeled and explained in detail the first time they are used. Supports repeated in subsequent lessons are also labeled but condensed for easier reading, and at times adjusted to provide lighter support. Attend to the detailed supports and labels early in the module to more easily apply them as the curriculum progresses. Note that a number of the supports may seem familiar, as they have been suggested repeatedly in Modules 1-2.
• Prioritizing lessons for classrooms with many ELLs: To prepare for the Unit 1 assessments, consider prioritizing and expanding instruction in Lessons 2-3, which establish the reading and summarizing routines and include Language Dives; Lessons 6-7, which establish the routine for listening to text read aloud and taking running notes; and Lessons 8-9, which include close readings of Promises to Keep. If necessary, consider placing less focus and condensing instruction in Lessons 1, 4, 10, and 11, which provide helpful background, practice, and repetition but don't introduce as many new concepts.
• Language Dives: All students participate in a two-day Language Dive in Lessons 2-3. Many lessons also include optional Mini Language Dives for ELLs. These Language Dives support ELLs and all students in understanding and practicing the meaning and structures of sentences from Promises to Keep. Be aware that in Modules 3 and 4, Language Dive goals remain the same: to empower students to analyze, understand, and use the language of academic sentences; however, beginning in this unit, and continuing throughout Modules 3 and 4, the Language Dive Guide and the Mini Language Dive formats have been modified. The modified format follows the Deconstruct-Reconstruct-Practice routine, which should seem familiar as a general process (see Language Dives on the Tools page). Additionally, beyond the teacher-led questions and answers as in Modules 1 and 2, there are suggested language goals that students should try to understand and apply for each chunk. Thus, this modified format goes beyond teacher-led questioning. It attempts to encourage students to take more of the lead in the conversation and build greater independence by taking an inquiry based approach to language in general, and the selected sentence in particular. Although students should briefly discuss all chunks in each Language Dive sentence, the new format invites them to slow down during one chunk, called the focus structure, to investigate and practice a particularly compelling language structure. For more context, consider reviewing the full Language Dive Guide in Lessons 2-3 of this unit, as well as a range of questions students might ask one another in Questions We Can Ask During a Language Dive on the Tools page.
• Goal 4 Conversation Cues: Encourage productive and equitable conversation with Conversation Cues, which are questions teachers can ask students to help achieve four goals: (Goal 1) Encourage all students to talk and be understood; (Goal 2) Listen carefully to one another and seek to understand; (Goal 3) Deepen thinking; and (Goal 4) Think with others to expand the conversation (adapted from Michaels, Sarah and O'Connor, Cathy. Talk Science Primer. Cambridge, MA: TERC, 2012. Based on Chapin, S., O'Connor, C., and Anderson, N. [2009]. Classroom Discussions: Using Math Talk to Help Students Learn, Grades K-6. Second Edition. Sausalito, CA: Math Solutions Publications). Refer to the Tools page for the complete set of cues. Goal 4 Conversation Cues are introduced in Lesson 1. Heightened language processing and development is a primary potential benefit for ELLs.
• Diversity and inclusion: Investigate the routines, practices, rituals, beliefs, norms, and experiences that are important to ELLs and their families. Integrate this background into the classroom as students explore the history of slavery and discuss the issues of racial injustice and segregation presented throughout Promises to Keep. Note that the Mini Language Dives selected for this unit focus primarily on sentences addressing segregation, allowing students to understand this issue more deeply through the text, as well as to provide time to reflect as a class. Be sensitive to students' experiences and perspectives on these topics, and foster inclusive action by creating space for students to express their feelings about issues embedded in the text, while being aware that these discussions may unearth trauma or social stigma. Consult with a guidance counselor, school social worker, or ESL teacher for further investigation of diversity and inclusion.
• Writing summaries: Throughout the unit, students write summaries of sections of Promises to Keep. Some students may need support with determining main ideas and key details (as part of writing a summary), because they are still learning to comprehend the language itself. Allow ELLs to rehearse their summaries orally with a partner before writing and encourage students by reminding them of their work with writing summaries in previous modules. Note that the summary criteria presented in this unit may be different from home-language summary criteria. Compare and contrast the criteria whenever possible.
• Verb tenses: Encourage students to notice verb tenses throughout the unit, discussing how verb tenses convey time, sequence, states, and conditions. Additionally, invite students to notice shifts in verb tense (for example, from simple present tense to simple past tense), and to identify and correct shifts in verb tense that are inappropriate. To support this work, there is a two-day Language Dive in Lessons 2-3, focused on the meaning that verb tenses convey, as well as appropriate and inappropriate shifts in verb tense. Students are introduced to a Verb Tenses anchor chart during the Language Dive on day one, which they add to throughout the unit.
• Celebration: Celebrate the courage, enthusiasm, diversity, and bilingual assets that ELLs bring to the classroom.