Struggling to find effective ELD lesson plans for upper elementary students? You’re not alone. Many teachers—myself included—find that Designated English Language Development (ELD) programs built into reading curriculum lack engagement, structure, and oral language opportunities.
These ELD lessons often fall short of filling the required 30-minute instructional block and don’t provide the speaking practice English Learners (ELs) truly need.
That’s why I started creating my own ELD lesson plans using social studies content, like Native American history, to boost engagement and build academic language skills in meaningful ways.
Why I Create My Own Designated ELD Lessons
Like many teachers, I’ve developed my own supplemental ELD lessons to fill in the gaps. I integrate grade-level content like Native American social studies units to keep my students engaged while building academic language skills.
But before I talk about what works for me in my classroom, let’s define what Designated ELD is and how it can be approached effectively in a real classroom.
What is Designated ELD?
According to the California Department of Education, Designated ELD (English Language Development) is “instruction provided during a time during the regular school day for focused instruction on state-adopted ELD standards to assist English learners (EL) to develop critical English language skills necessary for academic content.”
For teachers, the words Designated ELD, are just another area of instruction where we have to come up with our own lessons. In my school district, we are required to teach 30 minutes daily of ELD through our reading program.
How to Teach ELD (Even with Mixed Levels)
Many of my classes have a mix of English Only (EO), RFEP (Redesignated Fluent English Proficient), and Emerging or Expanding English Learners. That makes small-group instruction difficult, and giving EO students independent work for 30 minutes is not realistic.
Some schools suggest swapping students by proficiency level with other teachers, but that comes with major logistical problems: uneven student numbers, mismatched schedules, and inconsistent instruction.
Instead, I’ve created a routine that supports every level.
How to Teach ELD When You Have a Combination of Levels
First 20 Minutes: Whole Group with Expanding & Bridging Students
- Start with a grammatical sentence frame or academic phrase using Google Slides
- Model it (I Do), repeat it together (We Do), then have students practice (You Do)
- Use “Turn and Talk” or “Inside Outside Circle” partner practice and sentence stems related to Native American history or culture
Even if I have English Only (EOs) or Redesignated Fluent English Proficient (R-Fep) students in my classroom, I still have them participate in this whole group instruction because it is good grammatical speaking practice.
Last 10 Minutes: Independent Practice + Small Group
- Students write in their interactive ELD notebook using the sentence frame
- I pull emerging students for small-group oral practice
- If I don’t have Emerging ELs, I work with students who need extra support using the grammatical forms
During these last 10 minutes, my other students are working on their writing or another independent activity.
If you do not have students who are at the emerging level, then pull your Expanding students who you know need more practice using the grammatical frames orally or who need help completing the independent work.
Extra ELD Support Beyond the 30-Minute Block
I also meet with Newcomers or Emerging ELs for 15 minutes during silent reading or whenever I get some free time (which frees like never!). This provides more speaking and listening opportunities without disrupting the day.
My students also use their Chromebooks to work on:
- Duolingo for language practice
- Lexia for Phonics and Lexia English
Why Content-Based ELD Lessons Work
I’ve found that using social studies topics like Native Americans makes ELD more engaging. Students are more eager to speak and write when the content is meaningful. Plus, it integrates language with academic content, just like the ELD standards recommend.
Tools and Strategies for ELD Instruction
Google Slides for oral language frames
During my ELD time, my goal is to get students talking. So the first step is to present a sentence or grammatical frame of what I want my students to say as a whole group.
I use Google Slides to create my sentences. I don’t like to waste time writing them, and when I use Google Slides, I have them ready for the next year.
I also like to incorporate Social Studies content so that my students have a fun and interesting topic to talk about. In this particular lesson, the topic was about Native Americans.
I Do, We Do, You Do Oral Language Strategy
The teaching strategy I implement when I do ELD is, I do, We do, You do method.
I will first model a conversation (I do), then students and I will say the conversation simultaneously (We do).
I create the questions and sentences that I want them to practice using slides; that way, I can use them year after year. We go through the different slides so that they have a lot of opportunities to practice the grammatical frames. If you are short on time, you can get them HERE.
Then my students practice the conversation with a partner (You do) using the “Turn and Talk” slides. The conversation will consist of a question and an answer. When I want my students to practice the conversation with a partner, the slides I present will only show the question.
Printable sentence frames with questions
The last step of my lesson is independent practice. Students will now get to show what they have just learned by answering questions using the same grammatical form.
They will also create their own questions and answers. These pages get pasted into their ELD notebook at the end of the lesson.
Interactive notebooks for grammar practice
My goal is for the ELD notebook to be used as a reference tool, but I want it to also be interactive.
So I will include a page with irregular past and present verbs that students can color and cut to make learning more fun. When they lift the flap, they write the past tense irregular verb, for example, drive and drove.
You can get the complete set of these activities that I discussed by clicking HERE.
Final Thoughts About ELD Instruction
Teaching Designated ELD doesn’t have to be overwhelming. With the right structure—and a little content that students find interesting—you can make your 30-minute block effective and even enjoyable.
I hope these ideas give you a fresh perspective and a few tools you can try right away. You got this! Giselle
For more ideas on how to teach English to your English Language Learners, be sure to read my other blog post: The Best Way to Teach English Learners about European Explorers