Materials Must-Haves: Three essential, non-negotiable features
Educators value high-quality instructional materials, but research shows there is still a gap in understanding how to define, adopt, and implement them effectively for multilingual learners (MLLs). After nearly a decade of reviewing instructional materials and supporting their development, ELSF has gained deep insight into where materials succeed and where they fall short for MLLs.
In response, ELSF developed the Materials Must-Haves, three essential, non-negotiable product features that must be intentionally included for materials to meet the needs of MLLs. The Must-Haves are not new ideas; they are grounded in research and have long been part of ELSF’s work supporting materials for MLLs. Instead, they prioritize the research-based features we most often see missing, inconsistent, or underdeveloped in current materials, emphasizing the need to intentionally integrate language and content learning, rather than treating language as an add-on.
The three Must-Haves are:
- Mapping language and content,
- Monitoring language and content development, and
- Making connections through student collaboration and conversations.
At the center of the Must-Haves is a core premise: instructional materials must intentionally integrate language and content learning. The Must-Haves make that integration visible and actionable.
Our goal is to keep the message clear and accessible, building awareness and shared understanding of MLL needs across the education landscape. The Must-Haves are not exhaustive. They do not present the full picture of quality and do not include all the features needed for MLL–inclusive materials.
The Must-Haves stem from ELSF’s 10 years of reviewing materials and supporting how they integrate research for MLL success. They represent three essential, research-based product features we’ve seen most often misunderstood or lacking in the field. By prioritizing these product features, we aim to ensure they become standard practice in multilingual learner–responsive materials.
How do the Must-Haves align with ELSF’s Guidelines for Improving Instructional Materials for MLLs and the Benchmarks of Quality?
The Materials Must-Haves are grounded in ELSF’s Guidelines for Improving Instructional Materials for Multilingual Learners and the Benchmarks of Quality, which are based on years of research, practice, and collaboration with educators and experts. The Guidelines and the Benchmarks remain the research-based foundation and vision for instructional materials inclusive of MLLs.
The Must-Haves do not introduce new ideas. Instead, they prioritize a focused subset of the essential product features already defined in the Guidelines and Benchmarks, specifically those we most often see missing, inconsistent, or underdeveloped in instructional materials based on our years of experience working directly with those materials.
To make this work more accessible and actionable, the Must-Haves prioritize three research-based features that demonstrate how language and content should be integrated in materials. They provide a clear, shared way for educators, leaders, and publishers to recognize and prioritize what matters most, while remaining firmly grounded in ELSF’s broader research-based framework.
Do the Must-Haves apply to any content area? Are they content agnostic?
The core premise behind the Materials Must-Haves, the intentional integration of language and content learning, applies across disciplines and content areas. In essence, the Must-Haves can be universal. However, the specific ways this integration appears in instructional materials varies by content area. Each content area has distinct instructional structures, design features, and current state of materials that must be carefully understood.
At ELSF, the Must-Haves are intended to move the instructional materials market forward in practical, actionable ways. While the overarching premise and high-level messaging of the Must-Haves can apply across content areas, how they translate into specific, usable features will differ by discipline and context. For example, while the ELA Must-Haves can apply to PK–2 literacy materials, they do not include all essential components needed for multilingual learners in early literacy. Additionally, important PK–2 considerations must be explicitly outlined to ensure materials are fully responsive in those contexts.
We’ve been fielding many questions about Math and ELA from both content developers and state/districts. These content areas are top of mind at the moment. For that reason, ELSF is prioritizing the launch of Math and ELA at this time. We may launch Must-Haves for additional content areas that reflect the unique instructional demands of those disciplines.
Note: ELA Must-Haves will be published soon.
Who are the Materials Must-Haves for?
After nearly 10 years of reviewing materials for MLL responsiveness, ELSF has gained deep insight into common gaps, inconsistencies, and missed opportunities. Education leaders consistently tell us that while they value high-quality materials, they lack a clear understanding of what to look for to ensure materials support MLLs. The Must-Haves fill that gap.
The Must-Haves are designed to be accessible and easy to understand, helping education leaders prioritize research-based, essential features when selecting materials responsive to MLLs. Ideally, content or MLL experts with deep expertise will also use the Must-Haves as an awareness-raising tool to support colleagues, staff, and other education leaders who may be less familiar with the product features needed for MLL-inclusive materials.
The Must-Haves also create a clear call to action for curriculum publishers. When leaders know what to look for, they demand better materials, and publishers respond by designing them.
Ultimately, the Must-Haves aim to align the field on a shared understanding of the essential product features most often missing or inconsistent in the materials market, and to push the market forward toward stronger, more MLL-responsive materials.
Can the ELA Must-Haves apply to SLA materials?
At this moment, we have made the intentional decision not to include SLA within the ELA Must-Haves. This decision reflects the current state of SLA materials.
Right now, the most urgent and realistic leverage point in the SLA market is parity and authenticity. Currently, SLA materials are treated as afterthoughts or add-ons. In fact, most SLA programs are simply translations of ELA. Biliteracy cannot fully develop through translated texts.
In this context, layering the Must-Haves onto SLA materials risks overlooking the more essential shift that must happen first: ensuring that high-quality SLA materials are viewed as equally important as ELA and built on authentic Spanish texts. For us, the most strategic and impactful step for SLA materials at this moment in time is clearly authenticity and parity. Only then can we move the SLA materials market forward in a way that is responsive to today’s realities.
Note: the ELA Must-Haves will be published soon.
Now that we have the Must-Haves, what should we do with them?
We encourage education leaders, curriculum publishers, and the broader field to share the Must-Haves widely to build a common understanding of the research-based, essential product features most often missing and thus must be intentionally included to meet the needs of MLLs.
For districts preparing requests for proposals (RFPs), ELSF offers suggested language for Math and ELA that signals a clear expectation for materials that intentionally integrate language and content development.
For those who want to go deeper, the Benchmarks of Quality for Math and ELA provide detailed criteria for evaluating materials. ELSF offers training and support to help states, counties, and districts strengthen their adoption and implementation efforts.
For curriculum publishers, the Must-Haves serve as a call to action to respond to educator demands for product features that intentionally integrate language development and content learning. Publishers can use ELSF’s Guidelines for Improving Materials for Multilingual Learners and engage with ELSF for support in developing research-based materials that meet educators' demands.