Seesaw Launches Innovative Elementary English Language Development Curriculum in Districts Across Texas and California

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May 16, 2024, 08:00 ET

Early results spotlight increased student engagement and English language proficiency from multi-modal tools.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Seesaw, the global Learning Experience Platform designed for elementary schools, today announced the launch of Seesaw ELD, a new WIDA-aligned, content-driven English language development curriculum package. With early pilots throughout 21 school districts in California and Texas, elementary educators are signaling positive results for their students. The engaging, multimodal Seesaw ELD curriculum is now available to schools and districts across the country and is customized to align with each state's standards.

Research has proven that teaching language within subject-matter content through a multimodal approach is powerful for multilingual learners. Seesaw ELD offers students, educators, and families easy access to over 480 engaging, evidence-based lessons that provide K-5 multilingual learners with opportunities to practice reading, writing, listening, and speaking English in context across a range of subjects including math, social studies, science, and more. The curriculum's accessible multimodal tools empower all students to showcase their work through various mediums including photo, video, voice and text. Audio and visual directions along with task modeling and scaffolded steps enable students to engage more readily with the curriculum, including clear modeling of fluent language, real world images, and increased opportunity for practice in a safe learning environment. Educators are able to use the ready-to-use instructional materials with built-in assessments and progress monitoring to ensure student success. This extensive suite of tools provides teachers with deep insights that wouldn't be possible with paper and pencil materials.

Vacaville Unified School District in California has been piloting Seesaw's new ELD content with students in Kindergarten through 4th grade since November 2023. "I have found that multilingual students engage with the new curriculum, in particular the ability to record their responses and then listen to and rerecord those responses with enthusiasm. Teachers don't have to create support lessons because Seesaw's ready-to-use activities support small group, and even whole group instruction. Our other ELD curriculum is just a flat replication of the paper and pencil workbooks but Seesaw's includes multimodal tools and is easy to use digitally," said Cheryl Carter, Digital Education Coordinator at Vacaville Unified School District.

"Multilingual learners represent the fastest growing demographic of students across the U.S., and school districts must provide these students with robust and rigorous instructional materials that are aligned to state standards and specifically address their learning needs while honoring the experiences and achievement they bring to the classroom. Seesaw ELD presents districts with a streamlined, holistic approach to integrating language instruction that is engaging, effective and easy to adopt. The curriculum focuses on four core content areas: English language arts, math, science, and social studies, with each content theme made up of 30 lessons offering three language levels to meet each student's needs while honoring their skills and experiences. By combining existing frameworks with teacher resources and Seesaw's unique approach to creating inclusive, engaging content that emphasizes collaboration and communication, Seesaw ELD sets the stage for academic success" said Erin Wakshlag, Seesaw Director of Curriculum.

Seesaw ELD includes customized guides for educators that detail objectives, curriculum and standards alignment information, and recommendations for how to implement the lessons. The curriculum also incorporates familiar Seesaw-exclusive features such as FlexCard, the Read-with-Me read-aloud tool, and messaging options with over 100+ languages available to keep fellow teachers, parents, and other community members informed.

About Seesaw

Seesaw is trusted and loved by 25 million educators, students, and families worldwide and is the only elementary Learning Experience Platform that offers a suite of award-winning tools, resources, and curriculum for teachers to deliver joyful, inclusive instruction. Through interactive lessons, digital portfolios, and two-way communication features, Seesaw keeps everyone in the learning loop by providing continuous visibility into the student's learning experience to support and celebrate their learning.

SOURCE Seesaw