From Language Objectives to Lesson Implementation: Using Coteach to Support Multilingual Learners

In our previous blog post, we explored how to use Coteach to create content-aligned language objectives for multilingual learners using the WIDA framework. But crafting a strong language objective is just the beginning. The key is to transform that objective into concrete, activity-specific supports that help your multilingual students access and engage with grade-level math content.-

Today, we'll focus on just that: moving from language goals to practical lesson implementation by using Coteach to create the scaffolds, sentence frames, and differentiated supports that ensure your multilingual learners can access and succeed with grade-level content.

Building Activity-Specific Language Supports

Let's walk through a concrete example using the language objective that we co-created with Coteach in our previous blog: 

Students will explain ratio relationships using precise mathematical language ("for every," "the ratio of ___ to ___ is") while describing collections of objects using both spoken and written forms.

Use Coteach to Transform Objective into Lesson-Ready Supports

Here’s how you can partner with Coteach to develop targeted, grade-level aligned language objectives:

Create Sentence Frames for Each Activity

Multilingual learners benefit from structured language support that helps them participate meaningfully in mathematical discourse while developing academic language. To that end, you can use Coteach to generate activity-specific sentence frames that scaffold mathematical language while maintaining alignment with lesson goals.

Try these prompts:

• “Provide sentence frames for each lesson activity that support this language objective: [paste your language objective]”

• “Create sentence frames specifically for the warm-up activity that help students use [paste your language objective]”

• “Generate conversation starters for the main activity that incorporate the language patterns from our objective”

Develop Scaffolds for Lesson Access

Different activities within a lesson may present unique language demands, and multilingual learners need targeted supports that help them engage with each activity's specific requirements. Coteach can help you identify potential challenges within lesson activities and generate scaffolds that provide entry points while maintaining rigor.

Try these prompts:

• “What scaffolds aligned to this language objective will help my MLL students access the lesson activities?”

• “Identify potential language barriers in Activity 2 and suggest specific supports”

• “Create a graphic organizer that supports this language objective during the cool-down activity”

Differentiating for Language Proficiency Levels

Multilingual learners enter your classroom with varying levels of English proficiency, and effective support recognizes these differences while maintaining access to grade-level content. With Coteach, you can generate differentiated supports that meet students at their current language proficiency level while building toward the same mathematical understanding.

Try these prompts:

• “For each lesson activity, recommend differentiated supports aligned to this language objective for my 1) Entering, 2) Emerging, and 3) Developing language learners”

• “How can I modify the sentence frames for students at different proficiency levels?”

• “Create a tiered approach to mathematical explanations that accommodates different levels of language acquisition”

Ready to go from language objectives to classroom implementation? Head to Coteach now!