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Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE) activities must include instruction on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship and civic participation. Therefore, English language acquisition (ELA) classes in general, and IELCE activities in particular, often include components that help English learners and immigrants gain the skills and knowledge needed to engage with and integrate into their communities. This spotlight describes and provides examples of how civics content and activities can be integrated and contextualized into instruction in four discrete ways:

1. Teaching specific civics education topic
2. Supporting civic integration
3. Offering opportunities for civic engagement
4. Focusing on a civic understanding for the workplace.

Although this spotlight describes four distinct approaches to delivering civic literacy activities, these activities can be blended and scaffolded to develop a cohesive approach to supporting the full participation of ELs in U.S. society. Benefits and Uses Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE) activities must include instruction on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship and civic participation. Therefore, English language acquisition (ELA) classes in general, and IELCE activities in particular, often include components that help English learners and immigrants gain the skills and knowledge needed to engage with and integrate into their communities. This spotlight describes and provides examples of how civics content and activities can be integrated and contextualized into instruction in four discrete ways:

1. Teaching specific civics education topic
2. Supporting civic integration
3. Offering opportunities for civic engagement
4. Focusing on a civic understanding for the workplace.

Although this spotlight describes four distinct approaches to delivering civic literacy activities, these activities can be blended and scaffolded to develop a cohesive approach to supporting the full participation of ELs in U.S. society. Resource Notice This site includes links to information created by other public and private organizations. These links are provided for the user’s convenience. The U.S. Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this non-ED information. The inclusion of these links is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse views expressed, or products or services offered, on these non-ED sites. Please note that privacy policies on non-ED sites may differ from ED’s privacy policy. When you visit lincs.ed.gov, no personal information is collected unless you choose to provide that information to us. We do not give, share, sell, or transfer any personal information to a third party. We recommend that you read the privacy policy of non-ED websites that you visit. We invite you to read our privacy policy.

These two SIA classroom videos and associated lesson materials are designed to support adult educators in implementing the instructional shifts required by college and career readiness (CCR) standards and research-based language acquisition practices and strategies. The videos can be used for independent study or as part of a professional learning community or professional development program. The SIA Video Resource Package for English Language Acquisition accompanying the videos provides additional guidance and concrete, visible evidence of CCR standards-aligned lessons.  They include:

• Completed evidence-based observation rubrics that include descriptive annotations identifying observed lesson elements as well as instructor and student actions that support high levels of learning;
• Detailed English language acquisition lesson plans that identify targeted standards, learning goals, and sequence of planned activities;

The classroom videos have been carefully reviewed and annotated by experienced educators and content experts using the SIA Classroom Observation Tool for English Language Acquisition. They show students' productive and active engagement in effective, standards-based lessons. This includes, for example, peer-to-peer and small group discussions and deliberations in online settings. Educators can use these two videos and the accompanying materials as models to support their teaching and lesson planning to ensure they reflect the necessary shifts in language acquisition instruction. Benefits and Uses The video lesson and the accompanying tools included in this Video Resource Package provide additional guidance and concrete, visible evidence of standards-aligned lessons. Through these videos, adult educators can:

• See examples of strong, standards-aligned lessons in online settings;
• Hear from the videotaped instructor and participating students about the teaching and learning;
• Use the annotated instructional examples to better understand the video lessons and the evidence of desired instructor and student actions;
• Guide targeted professional learning for instructors working with students in various standards-based online contexts;
• Support the use of the SIA classroom observation tools in all programs statewide.

Resource Notice This site includes links to information created by other public and private organizations. These links are provided for the user’s convenience. The U.S. Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this non-ED information. The inclusion of these links is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse views expressed, or products or services offered, on these non-ED sites. Please note that privacy policies on non-ED sites may differ from ED’s privacy policy. When you visit lincs.ed.gov, no personal information is collected unless you choose to provide that information to us. We do not give, share, sell, or transfer any personal information to a third party. We recommend that you read the privacy policy of non-ED websites that you visit. We invite you to read our privacy policy.