CommonLit 360 Support Multilingual Learners with CommonLit’s New Resources for Teachers and Students

CommonLit releases new multilingual learner focused instructional guidance for teachers and resources for 6-8 Ed2.0 units

CommonLit’s approach to supporting multilingual learners is anchored in four core beliefs: that language is an asset, high expectations are crucial, an inclusive learning environment is essential, and a balanced approach to content and language development is necessary. Designed to expand on the embedded supports in our CommonLit 360 curriculum, these new resources support teachers in putting our four core beliefs into practice for multilingual learners. Through research-backed instructional practices and strategic vocabulary supports, these resources help multilingual learners access the content-rich texts and tasks in CommonLit 360.

New, MLL-focused 360 Instructional How-to Guides

Our easy-to-use CommonLit 360 How-to Guides support teachers in facilitating CommonLit 360 using research-backed best practices. We’ve added new guides specifically outlining best practices that support multilingual learners in engaging with an ELA curriculum. Topics include:

• Creating Strategic Groups for Multilingual Learners: 
  • Learn when to group students by home language and when to use mixed groupings, leveraging language as an asset while fostering an inclusive environment for group work. 
• Leveraging Multilingual Learners Funds of Knowledge: 
  • Learn to tap into knowledge and skills multilingual learners bring to the classroom to bolster learning, treating their linguistic and cultural backgrounds as strengths rather than gaps. 
• Strategic Translation for Multilingual Learners:
  • Learn when to translate particular content to support English language acquisition — building bridges between languages, deepening understanding of home language and English, and freeing students to focus their cognitive load on content-rich texts and tasks. 
• Previewing for Multilingual Learners: 
  • Learn to use brief, strategic previewing to set multilingual learners up to engage in CommonLit 360’s grade-level, content rich lessons alongside their native English speaking peers with the same high expectations.

In each guide, teachers receive an instructional overview, details about the strategy, and suggestions for when and how to integrate them into our CommonLit 360 curriculum.

MLL Supportive Vocabulary Resources in 6-8 Ed2.0

CommonLit 360 unit texts assume a certain level of background knowledge and language familiarity. These new supports help reduce barriers and leverage home language to help multilingual learners access the engaging knowledge-building of CommonLit 360 alongside their native English-speaking peers. 

Content Supportive Vocabulary Resources: Each 6-8 Ed2.0 unit contains a set of content supportive, general academic words to support multilingual learners to access key knowledge building in the unit. Spanish cognates are included in this resource to support language acquisition for Spanish-speaking multilingual learners. Find these new resources in the Additional Materials section of each unit page and have students use them throughout units as needed.

Spanish translated unit vocabulary and key term word wall cards: Each 6-8 Ed2.0 unit’s vocabulary and key term word wall deck contains Spanish translations for the unit’s vocabulary and key terms. This scaffold leverages multilingual users' home language and helps them see connections between languages. 

For support in using these new resources alongside CommonLit 360, review the new CommonLit 360 Instructional How-tos:

• Previewing for Multilingual Learners 
• Strategic Translation for Multilingual Learners.

Built for Every Learner

These resources are designed with CommonLit’s anchor beliefs around multilingual learners in mind: that language is an asset, high expectations matter, an inclusive learning environment is essential, and a balanced approach to content and language supports multilingual learners in accessing content. Through research-backed instructional practices and strategic vocabulary support, these resources give teachers a practical and powerful starting point for ensuring every multilingual learner can access and thrive in their classrooms.

Additionally, our high-quality curriculum also received an all-green rating from EdReports for grades 6-8. Connect with our team to learn more about how to bring CommonLit 360 to your school or district.