The California ELD Standards Companion, Grades 3-5. Jim Burke

       Emerging—Students at the emerging level will need specific sentence frames for offering opinions, such as, “I believe ______ because ______”, as well as a word bank to complete their responses. Teachers will want to begin by using topics that students are familiar with, like their favorite sport.

       Expanding—Students at the expanding level can begin to offer their opinions on academic topics, such as their favorite books. A more sophisticated sentence frame such as, “In my opinion, ______ is best because ______”.