ELL Tips of the Week

1
ELL Tips of the Week
2
ELL Tip of the Week Immersion

• Surround students with print. Having your class
  label a few objects in the room helps beginning
  English speakers. The classroom should be
  dripping with print. Environmental print is
  affixed to walls, doors, and furniture. A
  comfortable, orderly classroom library invites
  students to select books. Authentic reading and
  writing are everywhere. How many of us learn a
  new word just by hearing it? Language acquisition
  requires listening, reading, writing, and
  speakingthe listening and reading being easier
  and developing first.
• Walter, Teresa. (2004) Teaching English Language
  Learners.

3
ELL Tip of the Week Affective Variables

• There are 3 affective variables that influence
  language acquisition
• Self-esteem students with higher self-esteem are
  more apt to take risks (a huge part of language
  learning).
• Motivation motivated students are more focused
  and take greater risks
• Level of anxiety anxiety inhibits language
  acquisition. Anxious students focus more on form
  than communication and take fewer risks.
• To promote these affective domains praise
  specific appropriate behaviors, use caution in
  correcting small grammatical errors, and provide
  instruction that is academically, linguistically,
  and age-level appropriate.
• Walter, Teresa. (2004) Teaching English Language
  Learners.

4
ELL Tip of the Week Home Language

• Validating and appreciating the students home
  language helps build the affective domains that
  are beneficial to second language learning.
  Taking 30 seconds to greet the student in his/her
  home language or to teach the class a phrase in
  the home language will help to lower anxiety.
  Here are a few hellos to beginSpellings and
  pronunciations came from the kids, so Im not
  sure.
• Spanish- hola (oh- lah)
• Telugu- Namaste (naw-mah- stay)
• Korean- OnyungHaSayo (oniong-haw-say-oh)
• Persian- Salam (suh-lahm)
• Russian- privet- (pree-vet)
• Chinese- Knee-how-mah
• Japanese- Konichiwa- (koh-knee-chee-wah)
• French- Bon Jour

5
ELL Tip of the Week 10 Things Mainstream
Teachers Can Do To Improve Instruction for ELLs

• 5) Try to avoid idioms and slang wordsor explain
  them when you do use them.
• 6) Present new information in the context of
  known information.
• 7) Announce the lessons objectives and
  activities and list instructions step-by-step.
• 8) Present information in a variety of ways.
• 9) Provide frequent summarizations of the salient
  points of a lesson, and always emphasize key
  vocabulary words.
• 10) Recognize student success overtly and
  frequently. But, also be aware that in some
  cultures overt, individual praise is considered
  inappropriate and can therefore be embarrassing
  or confusing to the student.

• 1) Enunciate clearly, but do not raise your
  voice. Add gestures, point directly to objects,
  or draw pictures when appropriate.
• 2) Write clearly, legibly, and in printmany ELL
  students have difficulty reading cursive.
• 3) Develop and maintain routines. Use clear and
  consistent signals for classroom instructions
• 4) Repeat information and review frequently. If a
  student does not understand, try rephrasing or
  paraphrasing in shorter sentences and simpler
  syntax. Check often for understanding, but do not
  ask Do you understand? Instead, have students
  demonstrate their learning in order to show
  comprehension.

6
ELL Tip of the Week Reasonable Accommodations

• Identify common language learner mistakes when
  grading written work, but do not take off points
  for these mistakes.
• Verb tense, spelling, missing helping verbs,
  misplaced prepositions, no apostrophes, misplaced
  articles, etc.
• Allowing an extra day or two on deadlines.
• Be clear as to when they can have extra time. We
  dont want to make bad habits, but sometimes they
  completely miss the homework assignments.
• Allowing students to use a note-card full of
  notes for a test.
• Working in groups. Be sure to vary the groups
  frequently.
• Writing a paragraph and using the native language
  when they cannot remember an English word.
• Shortening a test. It takes ELL students much
  longer to read the problems and formulate
  answers. Multiple choice helps, but only some.
  The student still has to decode and read each
  answer.
• Asking for one well organized paragraph instead
  of a five-paragraph essay.

7
ELL Tip of the Week Myths
These are NOT true! Feel free to send me
questions or arguments.

• School districts are not obliged to enroll
  students who are not legal residents of the U.S.
• Teachers should not allow students to speak in
  their native language in the classroom.
• Learning a second language is entirely different
  from learning ones native language.
• Younger children are more effective language
  learners than are older learners.
• Academic success is determined primarily by a
  students ability to learn English.
• Language students need about one year to learn
  English. Therefore, the emphasis should be on
  transitioning students out of special programs as
  quickly as possible.
• When teaching newcomers, it is best to hold off
  on reading and writing instruction until they
  have a pretty good grasp on oral language.
• ELL teachers need to be able to speak a language
  other than English.
• Its impossible for us to involve ELL parents
  more, as most of our teachers are monolingual
  English speakers.

8
ELL Tip of the Week What constitutes reading?
Read the following and then answer the questions
in complete sentences. A krinklejup was parling a
tristlebin. A barjam stipped. The barjam grupped
minto to the krinklejup. The krinklejup zisked
zoely. 1. What was the krinklejup doing? 2. What
stipped? 3. What did the barjam grup? 4. How did
the krinklejup zisk? Is this considered reading?
We can speak the words and answer the questions,
so some argue that it is reading. However, it is
not considered reading unless it goes through
your head and meaning is made. Unfortunately,
this is what happens to our ELLs. They appear to
read wonderfully and answer all the questions
correctly, yet they still have difficulty on
other literacy activities. Encourage students to
interact with the text through predictions
verifications, rejections, and more predictions
9
ELL Tip of the Week Use Tiered Questions

• You can help ELLs to summarize by using tiered
  questions associated with their level of language
  acquisition. Suppose we had read Goldilocks as
  a class.
  
• Preproduction Students can point to a picture in
  the book as the teacher says or asks Show me
  the Papa Bear. Where is the girl?
• Early Production Students do well with yes/no
  questions and one-or two-word answers. Did
  Goldilocks eat the porridge? Whose porridge was
  just right?
• Speech Emergence Students can answer why and
  how questions with phrases or short-sentence
  answers, and can also explain their answers
  Explain why Goldilocks didnt like the first
  chair?
• Intermediate Fluency Students can answer What
  would happen if and Why do you think
  questions Why do you think Goldilocks liked the
  baby bears items the best? What would happen if
  Goldilocks were older?
• Advanced Fluency Students can retell the story,
  including the main plot elements and leaving out
  the insignificant details.

Hill, J.D. and Flynn, K.M. (2006). Classroom
instruction that works with English language
learners. Alexandria, VA ASCD.
10
ELL Tip of the Week Support Families

• ELL parents often feel marginalized. We can help
  to elevate their status using some of these
  strategies
  
• Avoid using students as interpreters for their
  parents. This shifts the power from parents to
  their children, robbing the parents of any
  parental authority.
• Use parents as cultural and subject-matter
  experts. Invite them as guest speakers to share
  experiences and/or expertise with the class.
• Encourage continued development of the primary
  language at home. Benefits include language and
  cognitive development, as well as the development
  and nurturing of family relationships.
• Understand and be supportive of home culture and
  family structure, including roles and
  responsibilities and forms of discipline.---This
  can be tough with some of our cultural clashes.

Walter, T. (2004). Teaching English language
learners The how-to handbook. White Plaines,
NY Longman.
11
ELL Tip of the Week Know the Learner

• Gathering background information helps the school
  and teacher better understand and meet the needs
  of English learners.
  
• Depending on age and level, determine the
  students
• Primary language
• Educational background
• Personal interests, abilities, health
• Geographical background
• Culture
• Have students develop posters to describe the
  place of origin, family, significant events, and
  so on. Students may also bring in significant
  items or artifacts.
• Find times to teach about the expectations of
  these cultures in ways that are respectful and do
  not embarrass or degrade. Look for opportunities
  to develop cultural literacy related to common
  background knowledge and experiences (i.e. tooth
  fairy, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, etc.)

Walter, T. (2004). Teaching English language
learners The how-to handbook. White Plaines,
NY Longman.
12
ELL Tip of the Week Standardized Tests for ELLs
in Illinois

• ELL students are exempt from taking the ISAT
• Instead, they take the IMAGEIllinois Measure of
  Annual Growth in English
• The IMAGE is administered at the same time as the
  ISAT
• All ELL students (receiving services or not) will
  take the ACCESS test
• This measures academic language growth and is
  used to report language progress to parents and
  to qualify/exit students from ELL services.
• The ACCESS is administered in January and
  February
• For more detailscome to the ELL update on
  Thursday, 11/9 at 800 am.

13
ELL Tip of the Week Our Kids
14
ELL Tip of the Week Know the Learners Culture

• What is the dominant cultural background of the
  student and the students family? What are their
  basic beliefs? What are their important days of
  celebration?
• For most of our ELL students, Thanksgiving and
  Christmas are not considered important days of
  celebration. With lots of American holidays and
  traditions nearing it is important to remember
  that this may be the first time some of our ELL
  students have been exposed to these fun
  traditions. Ive been working to introduce the
  idea of Thanksgiving to most of my ELL students,
  but reading about other peoples celebrations is
  not the same as sitting around grandmas house
  while the men cook, the women watch football, and
  the kids play games (thats what happens at my
  house anyway ?).
• Be sensitive to our ELL students lack of
  experience with our holidays. Most of them get
  very excited about them, and love to learn about
  everything, but have still never tasted pumpkin
  pieand will likely not do anything special to
  celebrate our traditions.
• This also opens a great opportunity to learn
  about some of their traditionssome sound very
  interesting.

15
ELL Tip of the Week Cohesion Using Referents

• Proficient readers carry meaning over chunks of
  text, while less proficient readers focus on the
  meaning of smaller units of text (words, and
  phrases). The result is a breakdown of meaning as
  they continue through the text. The ability to
  carry meaning through a text depends on being
  able to process cohesive devices between and
  within sentences. Native speakers typically do
  this intuitively.
• There are major areas we use to create
  cohesioneach of these present challenges to
  English learners, and help us to understand the
  root of some of their reading/writing struggles.
  Ill highlight these 5 areas during our next few
  weeks.
• Reference involves using devices in a text that
  refer to something else in the text. Referents
  signal the need to look somewhere else to in the
  text, usually to something previously mentioned.
• The weather was perfect. Susan hoped it would
  remain this way. Her friend was visiting from out
  of town and she wanted her to enjoy it.
• ELLs may not always see the connection between
  the referent and what it is referring to or be
  able to follow this thread through longer text.

Walter, T. (2004). Teaching English language
learners The how-to handbook. White Plaines,
NY Longman.
16
ELL Tip of the Week Cohesion Using Substitution

• Substitution is used in texts to avoid the need
  to repeat a word or phrase. We substitute a word
  or phrase to replace the original text.
• Bob got coal in his stocking for Christmas. I did
  too.
• English learners may not always understand that I
  did too means I also (too) got coal in my
  stocking for Christmas. Other substitutions for
  that phrase could include
• This was the second time that happened.
• Students may use these substitutions in their
  writing or speaking without always understanding
  exactly what they are saying.
• When possible, clarify these substitutions with
  students using probing questions appropriate for
  the linguistic levels of that student.
• Earlier production You also got coal in your
  stocking?
• Intermediate What did you and Bob get in your
  stockings?
• Advanced What does that mean? What did you do
  too?

Walter, T. (2004). Teaching English language
learners The how-to handbook. White Plaines,
NY Longman.
17
ELL Tip of the Week Cohesion Using Ellipses

• Ellipses can be thought of as omissions. Using
  this device requires the reader to assume certain
  information that may not be explicitly written.
• Some people eat tacos and some dont (eat tacos).
• He changed his clothes, (he) brushed his teeth,
  and (he) went to bed.
• In these examples, the words in parentheses are
  omitted from the text and the reader must supply
  them.
• Students learning English may not recognize the
  omissions and will not always be able to supply
  the missing wordmaking comprehension difficult.
• ELLs may also not be able to apply the use of
  ellipses in their writing, causing writing that
  sounds repetitive and wordy.

Walter, T. (2004). Teaching English language
learners The how-to handbook. White Plaines,
NY Longman.
18
ELL Tip of the Week Cohesion Using Conjunctions

• We use conjunctions to link and organize ideas in
  text. They also help the reader anticipate and
  interpret what comes next in text. Proficient
  English speakers could easily finish the
  following sentences because of the conjuctions.
• Although the light was red, the car (kept
  going).
• The light was green, but the car(stopped).
• Because the light was red, the car(stopped.)
• The light was red, so the car(stopped).
• Watch for students use of and understanding of
  conjunctions. The student who reads The boy was
  hungry, so he got a drink without stopping to
  check the meaning has missed the point as meaning
  hinges on understanding the word so.
• English learners will benefit from explicit
  instruction concerning how conjunctions trigger
  meaning.

Walter, T. (2004). Teaching English language
learners The how-to handbook. White Plaines,
NY Longman.
19
ELL Tip of the Week Language Acquisition
Variables

• There are many variables that enhance language
  acquisition. Some are part of a students
  personality, age, and attitude. These are a few
  that we can control
• Attention is given to background knowledge and
  experience.
• Context and language are real and purposeful
• Language is comprehensible
• Students feel free to take risks
• Interaction is high
• Active listening
• High levels of expectations
• Ill highlight each of these in the next few
  weeks.

Walter, T. (2004). Teaching English language
learners The how-to handbook. White Plaines,
NY Longman.
20
ELL Tip of the Week Give Attention to
Background Knowledge and Experience

• Familiarity breeds understanding. We have all
  heard the extensive research telling us to
  activate students prior knowledge and
  experience. Students connect and apply what they
  already know to new learning when we give them
  plenty of time to discuss and describe their
  previous experiences. Activating prior knowledge
  also allows the teacher to identify and supply
  relevant concepts or language that is missing, to
  know students better, and to validate students
  experience and cultural knowledge which motivates
  them to participate.
• Language learners with a lot of previous
  experience and content knowledge will typically
  acquire language faster and at higher levels
  because they can transfer known concepts to
  English.
• When possible, use ELL students as experts on a
  given subject to motivate, include, and learn
  about them. Most of them have something that they
  could talk about foreverif youre unsure about a
  specific student, see me for ideas.

Walter, T. (2004). Teaching English language
learners The how-to handbook. White Plaines,
NY Longman.
21
ELL Tip of the Week Make Context and Language
Real and Purposeful

• Students acquire language when they use it for
  real, authentic purposes. Language learning must
  be relevant, meaningful, and embedded in a
  context that makes sense to students. When
  students are engaged in authentic tasks, they are
  using language to accomplish a specific purpose,
  exchange information, or solve a problem that is
  of interest to themthe focus is on the function
  of language, not the form (grammar) of language.
  These engagements result in both language and
  cognitive development. Here are a few ideas
• Group problem solving activitieswith a
  motivation to succeed, but be careful about time
  restrictions
• Teamwork activities
• Debates
• Discussions
• Inquiry and Elimination- Like the Guess Who?
  game
• Barrier games- partner activities where each
  person has different information with a gap and
  they need to find the information they are
  missing. (could be map games, party invitations,
  silly faces, etc.)

Walter, T. (2004). Teaching English language
learners The how-to handbook. White Plaines,
NY Longman.
22
ELL Tip of the Week Make Language
Comprehensible

• Comprehensible input is Stephen Krashens key
  phrase. An example of this Ralph could go to
  Mexico and live there for 5 years. Unless he has
  some sort of instruction, or some well-developed
  language acquisition strategies, he will not
  learn Spanish because nothing is comprehensible.
  However, if some of it becomes comprehensible (He
  sees a stop sign that says pare, so he deduces
  that pare means stop), he will slowly learn. On
  the other hand, if he had received some direct
  instruction prior to his trip, he would acquire
  Spanish much more quickly because there would be
  something familiar in most every encounter.
• Our students do not typically come with previous
  direct instruction in English, so it is up to us
  to make language comprehensible.
• Use visuals, realia, and manipulatives
• Use gestures, facial expressions, and body
  language
• Speak clearly, using authentic natural speech
• Use shorter, less complex sentences for students
  in the early stages of language development
• Use intonation, volume, and pauses to aid meaning
• Contextualize ideas in relevant, real-life ways.

Walter, T. (2004). Teaching English language
learners The how-to handbook. White Plaines,
NY Longman.
23
ELL Tip of the Week Encourage students to take
risks

• Students acquire language when they are engaged
  in meaningful activities and their anxiety level
  is low.
• Encourage all language use attempts (with
  discretion), and step in with specific language
  supports when needed to ensure comprehension,
  further language development, and success.
• Although there may be some anxiety, the
  expectation (for both teacher and student) should
  be that students can and will accomplish the task.

Walter, T. (2004). Teaching English language
learners The how-to handbook. White Plaines,
NY Longman.
24
ELL Tip of the Week Create high levels of
interaction

• Highly interactive activities or tasks provide
  experiences that are both cognitively demanding
  and contextually supported.
• Research confirms that language development is
  supported through interaction and talk.
• Language must be used to be acquired!
• Encourage interaction with
• A variety of English-speaking models
• Large groups
• small groups
• Partners
• Students should have opportunities throughout the
  day to use language and interact with a variety
  of English speakers for a variety of purposes.
• The effective language classroom will probably
  not be a quiet one. ?

Walter, T. (2004). Teaching English language
learners The how-to handbook. White Plaines,
NY Longman.
25
ELL Tip of the Week Teach Students to Actively
Listen

• The Chinese character for listen is composed of
  four parts
• Ears to hear the words, tone, and language
• Eyes to see meaning through expression and
  gestures
• Undivided attention to give respect to the
  speaker
• Heart to give oneself to understanding
• To truly hear, students must give their undivided
  attention and listen with their ears, eyes, and
  heart.
• Use barrier activities to promote active
  listening and authentic language. Place a divider
  between 2 students. Each student has a set of
  identical materials (picture cards,
  manipulatives, sequencing cards,). One arranges
  the items and then describes the arrangement for
  the other to replicate. Both negotiate meaning
  until they are confident that they have the same
  arrangement. They then compare.
• All proficiency level students should engage in
  active listening by watching, following, and
  approximating the actions and language around
  them.

Walter, T. (2004). Teaching English language
learners The how-to handbook. White Plaines,
NY Longman.
26
ELL Tip of the Week Maintain High Levels of
Expectations

• Students will acquire language when the teacher
  and the students clearly identify the expectation
  of success. Students are encouraged, supported,
  and required to use language and engage in
  learning at increasingly higher levels.
• Continually challenge students while supporting
  and expanding their approximations. Gently but
  insistently, require all students to engage,
  making it clear that each student will succeed.

Walter, T. (2004). Teaching English language
learners The how-to handbook. White Plaines,
NY Longman.
27
ELL Tip of the Week Teach Students to Summarize

• Summarizing is a higher level thinking skill, but
  is helpful for ELL students. Here is one explicit
  method (keep, delete, substitute) to teach
  students to summarize with accommodations for the
  lowest language levels.
• Keep important information
• Delete trivial material that is unnecessary to
  understanding
• Delete redundant material
• Substitute general terms for more specific terms
  (e.g., use fish for rainbow trout, salmon, and
  halibut)
• Select a topic sentence or invent one if it is
  missing
• For preproduction use gestures for keep, delete,
  and substitute. Keep- hug yourself
  delete-pretend to throw something away
  substitute- with both fists in front of you,
  exchange the right for the left, and move the
  left behind your back.
• Early Production students will need extra work on
  the substitute rule. Model how to substitute
  generic terms for more specific terms. For
  example, you can let these students know that
  Mercury, Venus, and Mars can be replaced with the
  word planets.

Hill, J.D. and Flynn, K.M. (2006). Classroom
instruction that works with English language
learners. Alexandria, VA ASCD.
28
ELL Tip of the Week Optimal Conditions for
Second Language Acquisition

• An interactive classroom is essential if students
  are to achieve their potential at school.
  Students need many opportunities to use spoken
  language and to interact with native speakers of
  the new language. They need to experiment with
  new language terms and have the opportunity to
  develop ways of putting together their ideas and
  trying them out.
• The Magic Seven
• Low Anxiety Environment.
• Comprehensible Input.
• Communication Focus.
• Contextual Language.
• Error Acceptance.
• Respect for Language Acquisition Stages.
• Teacher as Facilitator.

http//www.celt.sunysb.edu/ell/tips.php
29
ELL Tip of the WeekTurn and Talk

• Instead of asking students to raise their hands
  if they know an answer, have each student turn
  and talk with a neighbor.
• Each student takes a turn responding to the
  question with a partner.
• Students then can share what their partners told
  them
• Works from Kindergarten through high school.
• Gives ELLs more opportunities to practice using
  English than when you call on one student at a
  time.
• ELLs often need extra time to translate your
  question into their language, formulate a
  response, then put the response in English. By
  that time, you are three questions ahead.
• Maximizes ELL students time speaking in English.
• Provides ELL students the time to formulate a
  response in the relatively safe environment of
  talking with one other student, not the whole
  class.
• Provides ELLs with positive language
  modelsnative speaking peers.

http//schoolcenter.nsd.org/education/components/l
inks/links.php?sectiondetailid41823sc_id1133879
146
30
ELL Tip of the Week Exit Slips

• At the end of a lesson, tell students that in
  order to leave, or move on, they need to give you
  an Exit Slip or Ticket Out. This is intended to
  demonstrate what a student understands about the
  lesson. Prompts for the Exit Slips should
  reflect the content objective you shared with
  students at the beginning of the lesson. Exit
  Slips can be a half sheet of paper, post-it note,
  or piece of scratch paper. The emphasis is NOT
  on grammar or conventions, but on the content.
• One thing I learned about ________.
• One thing I still wonder about ________.
• Give me 5 (or 3) ______ about_______.
• A sample test question (and answer) about the
  topic of study.
• A drawing or illustration demonstrating their
  understanding (math, science).
• A prediction of what the class will learn
  tomorrow about this topic.
• Why is this important for ELL students?
• English language learners work hard to make sense
  of what is going on and what is important.
  Reviewing the objective/s is crucial because it
  provides closure and allows ELL students to
  remember what is important. It also provides you
  with a sense of what students understand and what
  gaps may persist in their learning.

http//schoolcenter.nsd.org/education/components/l
inks/links.php?sectiondetailid41823sc_id1133879
146
31
ELL Tip of the Week Check for Comprehension

• When giving directions, do not ask, Do you
  understand? Instead, be specific
• Tell your partner What are we supposed to do
  first? Then what?
• What do you do if you get stuck?
• What does this mean?
• How are you going to do this?
• Where do you write the answer?
• What are you supposed to write?
• ELL students struggle to articulate where their
  comprehension broke down or what specifically
  they didnt get. Asking students to explain the
  directions allows you to see where the
  comprehension broke down and how to provide
  clarification. Further, this gives students
  practice using procedural language and explaining
  academic tasks orally which will gradually
  increase academic language proficiency.

http//schoolcenter.nsd.org/education/components/l
inks/links.php?sectiondetailid41823sc_id1133879
146
32
ELL Tip of the Week Quick Write

• Before having students brainstorm ideas orally,
  give them two minutes to write or draw their
  thoughts first.
• For example Write or draw everything you know
  about community. (bullets, web, single words, and
  pictures are all acceptable).
• While they are writing, circulate the room to see
  what types of ideas students have. You may also
  check ELL students individually to ensure they
  have at least one ideaor prompt them to get one
  or two.
• ELL students can struggle with whole group
  brainstorms for several reasons.
• Pacing- brainstorms move too quickly to allow
  students to translate ideas in their head.
• Content-related vocabulary can be inaccessible to
  ELLs.
• Students whose hands shoot up quickly can
  discourage ELLs from participating.
• Instead, a Quick Write allows students to gather
  their thoughts and have something to share. You
  can also pre-teach vocabulary for those students
  as you roam the room offering ideas. This also
  provides you with an informal pre-assessment
  about what the students know independently before
  instruction or group brainstorming.

http//schoolcenter.nsd.org/education/components/l
inks/links.php?sectiondetailid41823sc_id1133879
146
33
ELL Tip of the Week Vocabulary Technique

• To teach key vocabulary words, try this five-step
  process
• Teacher defines the word
• Teacher draws a picture to represent the word
• Student writes definition in own words
• Student draws a picture to represent the word
• After instruction, student revisits picture to
  refine, add, change.
• This is a research-based vocabulary technique
  effective with ALL students from Classroom
  Instruction that Works, by Robert Marzano, et.al.
  It is especially helpful for English learners to
  draw a representation of a word and to provide a
  written definition. When students draw a picture
  for a word without a written definition, the
  student may forget how the drawing was supposed
  to represent the word, making it difficult to
  recall the meaning of the word at another time.
• Younger and/or less proficient students may copy
  the teachers definition and/or picture. This is
  fine at first. One benefit to drawing a picture
  for a word is to be able to explain what the
  drawing means and how it represents the word.
  Even if a student copies the teachers picture,
  if s/he can explain how it represents the word,
  the student will gain a deeper understanding of
  the word and be more likely to remember its
  meaning.

http//schoolcenter.nsd.org/education/components/l
inks/links.php?sectiondetailid41823sc_id1133879
146
34
ELL Tip of the WeekUse Cognates

• Most of the academic English students need to be
  successful in the classroom comes from Latin or
  Greek. Spend 10 minutes a day (once a week, every
  other day) and select a Latin root to share with
  students. Introduce the cognate and what it
  means. Invite ELL students who speak a related
  language (e.g., Spanish) to share words from
  their language that have that root.
• Once you have shared the root, have students
  generate as many words in English with that root
  in 2 minutes. Generate a class list and post it
  as under the Latin root on a Word Wall. Continue
  to add to the list as you discover more words.
• Some examples of Latin roots include
• aqua water ject to throw, to lie
• terra Earth vert to turn
• ignis fire mit, mis to send
• port to carry mort to die
• form to shape script, scrib to write
• tract to pull junct to join
• rupt to break cide to kill
• spect, spec to see, to watch press to force,
  squeeze
• struct, stru to build spire, spir to breathe
• dic, dict to tell, to say grad, gress to
  step
• flec, flex to bend cept, capt take, receive
• cred to believe fact, fac to make, to do
• pels, puls to drive, push

http//schoolcenter.nsd.org/education/components/l
inks/links.php?sectiondetailid41823sc_id1133879
146