Wondering What L³IFT Might Look Like?
We invite you to journey through our L³IFT Curiosity Builder.
Culture & Language as Resources
In a second-grade classroom, students share their ideas in small groups using their home language to make sense of ideas before writing out their ideas in English.
What do you notice about this approach?
What questions does it raise for you?
1
Language + Content Integration
In a science lesson, students are learning about ecosystems while also developing their ability to explain cause and effect using specific sentence structures. They transition from informal, conversational language—such as “We see plants and animals living together in a place”—to a more formal register, expressed as: “An ecosystem is a system of interacting organisms and their physical environment.”
What stands out to you about how language is used here?
2
Experience Before Language
Before writing, students observe a phenomenon—such as ice melting, an object displacing water in a beaker, a plant bending toward light, or sugar dissolving in water—discuss their observations, and build a shared understanding.
Why might this sequence matter for learners?
How might this support sense-making and language development?
3
Language Objectives/Targets
An elementary teacher posts:
I can explain how a process works by:
using simple and longer sentences to describe each step,
using science words like water, particles, and energy,
using present-tense verbs like melts, changes, and forms.
How is this similar or different from typical lesson objectives or targets that students might see?
4
High Challenge + High Support
All students engage in grade-level tasks, but teachers provide scaffolds like modeling, sample text, word walls organized by language purpose, and discussion prompts.
What do you notice about expectations and support in this classroom?
5
Interaction & Meaning Making
Students regularly build on each other’s ideas, ask questions, and revise their thinking together. They refer to anchor charts with discussion-building questions to foster interaction.
What role does talk seem to play in learning here?
6
Language & Assessment
A teacher assesses not just what students know, but how they use language to explain, argue, or describe - the functions and features of the genre such as the generalized nouns, passive voice, and text connectors to communicate their ideas effectively.
What might it mean to assess both content and language?