The Maine Department of Education is excited to announce that Maine’s early care and education community is now able to access to the WIDA Early Years online learning modules. These modules focus on supporting young multilingual children, ages 2.5 to 5.5 years and are available at no cost to teachers and administrators. Multilingual children, commonly referred to as dual language learners, are children who are developing more than one language.
Each self-paced, interactive module provides opportunities for reflection and offers suggestions for applying content to local practice. The following modules are available:
- Dual Language Learners and their Families
- WIDA Early English Language Development Standards Framework
- Dual Language Learners with Disabilities
- Scaffolding Language Learning
- Promising Practices
A description of each module, frequently asked questions, and instructions for creating a user account and registering for the modules can be found in the documents listed below:
- WIDA Early Years Online Learning Modules
- WIDA Early Years Online Modules: Frequently Asked Questions
- Online Modules: Instructions for Creating User Accounts and Registering
Access the modules: WIDA Early Years online modules (visit and create your user account)
If you are a program leader, administrator, trainer, or coach, we hope you will utilize these modules as a resource to support the professional learning needs of those serving multilingual children. The modules can be used in staff development sessions and/or shared with individual educators or teams of educators, such as professional learning communities.
Contact hours are available upon completion of a module. To receive a contact hours certificate, please download the certificate of completion generated by the WIDA Early Years online system and email it to april.perkins@maine.gov.
Additionally, the Department has purchased a set of WIDA Early Years Promising Practices Implementation Kits to assist districts in refining their programs for young multilingual children. These kits serve as a program self-evaluation tool, highlighting several evidence-based, highly effective strategies for supporting children’s development of multiple languages. Several districts with a significant number of dual language learners will receive these kits. A district that does not receive its own kit may request to borrow one from the Maine Department of Education.
WIDA Early Years resources have been provided to Maine educators through Title III, CDS, Head Start and public pre-k funds.
If you have any questions about these resources, or to request to borrow a WIDA Early Years Promising Practices Implementation Kit, please contact Maine DOE Director of ESOL/Bilingual Programs & Title III April Perkins at april.perkins@maine.gov or (207)624-6627.