A Picture-Book Read-Aloud Curriculum for English Learners in ...

A Picture-Book Read-Aloud Curriculum for English Learners in Elementary School José Montelongo, Ph.D., M.L.I.S. New Mexico State University Anita Hernández, Ph.D. Don and Sarrah Kidd Chair for Literacy New Mexico State University

AASL Conference Hartford, CT November 15, 2013

The Cow That Went Oink (Bernard Most)

There once was a cow that went “oink.” The cows that went moo laughed at the cow that went “oink.” There once was pig that went “moo.” The pigs that went oink laughed at the pig that went “moo.”

Lessons from “The Cow That Went Oink” Those that can communicate in two languages have an advantage over those that can communicate in only one.  English-Spanish cognates are “funds of knowledge” for the Latino ELL who already knows Spanish. 

Overview What are English-Spanish Cognates?  English-Spanish Cognates and Academic Vocabulary  English-Spanish Cognates and Morphology  Cognates in Picture Books  Classroom Activities 

Main Idea of This Presentation 

Teach English-Spanish Cognate Vocabulary early and often through picture book read-alouds to: a) build vocabulary (especially academic vocabulary) b) build sensitivities to the similarities and differences between English and Spanish

Spanish-English Cognates Cognates are words in English and Spanish that (1) possess the same or nearly the same orthography

(2) semantic meaning and (3) share the same etymology.

Examples 

altar—altar hospital—hospital

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family—familia, project—proyecto,

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rice—arroz, scarce—escaso

Estimate

How many Spanish-English cognates are there?

More than 20,000 Spanish-English Cognates

Why Focus on Cognates? 

Research shows there is a strong relationship between knowledge of vocabulary and ability to comprehend a text.

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Explicit vocabulary instruction has been associated with improved comprehension.

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One instructional strategy that has been found to be especially valuable for Spanish-speaking students is their knowledge of cognate words, which account for from a 1/3 to as much as 1/2 of the active vocabulary of an average educated English speaker.

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Majority of Dewey Decimal System headings are English-Spanish Cognates.

Word Play 

Goodman (2003) Through language study, students come to realize that as they talk and think about language in serious ways they are continuously learning about language. They become conscious that they know a lot about language intuitively and that they can talk about language with others, and they come to believe that they have power and control over language. (p. 9)

Playing Loteria (René Colato-Lainez) A little boy visits his grandmother in Mexico, and with the help of la lotería, the boy and the grandmother learn Spanish and English from each other, respectively. A special bond between a boy and his grandmother emerges.

Playing Loteria (Colato-Lainez) 

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One afternoon, we went to the open market. There were many people selling fruit, meat, and candy. “Let’s buy un mango,”abuela said. “Mango is the same in English,” I told her. “Let’s buy una banana,” abuela said. “Banana is the same in English, too.”(sic) “Let’s buy pollo,” abuela said. “Pollo in English is chicken,” I told her. Then abuela held a cabbage in her hand and said, “I know! Let’s buy un rechicken” “No, abuela,” I laughed. “Repollo is cabbage, not rechicken.”

Academic Vocabulary Latin was once the language of scholarship;  Academic vocabulary is comprised mainly of words that originated from the Latin and Greek;  Many words in textbooks and textbook glossaries are cognates: democracy, microscope, literary 

A Three-Tiered System for Selecting Vocabulary Words to Teach (Beck, et al. 2002, 2008) 

Tier 1 Vocabulary -- Common everyday words that children learn at home and no instruction is required as to their meaning. (home, hour, dog)

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Tier 2 Vocabulary -- Words that adults know and for which the students have conceptual knowledge of.(sufficient, content, analyze)

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Tier 3 Vocabulary -- Specific and technical words in disciplines (photosynthesis, democracy)

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Many Tier 2 and Tier 3 words are English-Spanish cognates.

Using Picture Books 

Create Content Objectives The value of bilingualism in The Cow That Went Oink

Create

Language Objectives using the English-Spanish Cognates animal, idea, surprise,

Picture Books are an excellent source of enriched vocabulary

Example The Sneetches and Other Stories 

Content Objectives Teach students about Tolerance and Prejudice

Language

Objectives Introduce the English-Spanish Cognates in the book Really--realmente Possibly--posiblemente Precisely--precisamente

Morphology & Morphological Rules

Morphology Use morphology exercises to make Spanish-speaking ELLs aware of cognates

Morphology 

Many of the Latin and Greek root words can be used to generate hundreds and hundreds of words, many of which are Spanish-English cognates.

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For instance, the root word audi- give us: inaudible (inaudible), auditorium (auditorio), audience (audiencia),

Morphology 

Root Words (-port-) import, export, transport, portal …

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Root Words (-form) reform, transformation, formation …

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Root Words (-rupt) corrupt, erupt, rupture

Prefix and Suffix Regularities 

There are many prefix and word-initial regularities. sp- = espspecial - especial

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There are also many suffix and wordending regularities. -ity = -idad honesty = honestidad

Morphology Nouns  Prefixes and word initial regularities special = especial state = estado 

Suffixes and word ending regularities vanity = vanidad; brevity = brevedad -ity = -idad More …

Your Turn… Choose a read aloud  Skim the book and … 

– Write a content objective – Write a language objective (Introducing the English-Spanish 

Share your content objective and your language objective

English-Spanish Databases 

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http://www.angelfire.com/ill/monte/picturebookcognates.html Montelongo, Durán, & Hernández (2013) http://www.angelfire.com/ill/monte/teacherschoices.html Montelongo & Hernández (2013) http://www.angelfire.com/ill/monte/findacognate.html Montelongo, Hernández, & Herter (2011)

Common Activities for Working with Cognates

Cognates in the Classroom Third-Grade Bilingual Classroom

Example of Cognates in a Fourth-Grade Classroom

Cognates in a Fourth-Grade Class

Student Cognates in Read Alouds

Cognates in a Fourth-Grade Class

Student Created Lists of Cognates—Homework List

Cognates in a Fourth-Grade Class

Student Created Lists of Cognates—Homework List

Cognates in a Fourth-Grade Class

Student Created Lists of Cognates—Homework List

Word Endings -ic/-ico

Morphological Regularities

Verifying Cognates

Verified Cognate Pairs Using the Find-a-Cognate Database

Children’s Cognate Suggestions

Morphological Regularities

Morphology Anchor Charts

Morphological Regularity: tion=cion

False Cognates 

False Cognates are words in one language that are spelled the same or nearly the same, but which have different meanings:

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carpet (floor covering) carpeta (notebook)  parents (mom & dad) parientes (relatives) 

embarrassed (ashamed)

embarazada (pregnant)

False Cognates 

Usually very few false cognates in picture books.

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When encountering a false cognate during a read-aloud, use it as a teaching moment to teach kids about exceptions.

Resources 

Colato-Lainez, R. (2005). Playing Loteria/El juego de la loteria. Luna Rising Books.  Means, T. (2003). Instant Spanish Vocabulary Builder. Hippocrene Books.  Most, B. (1989). The Cow That Went Oink. HMH Books for Young Readers  Nash, R. (1999). NTC's Dictionary of Spanish Cognates Thematically Organized. McGraw-Hill.

Selected Resources 

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Hernández, A. C., Montelongo, J. A., Minjarez, P., & Oblack, A. (2011). EnglishSpanish cognate phenomena in a fourth-grade classroom. The New Mexico Journal of Reading, 32, 7-11. Montelongo, J.A., Durán, R., & Hernández, A.C. (2013). English-Spanish cognates in picture books: Toward a vocabulary curriculum for Latino ELLs. Bilingual Research Journal, 36(2), 244-259. Montelongo, J.A. & Hernández, A.C. (2013). The Teachers’ Choices Cognate Database for K-3 teachers of Latino ELLs. The Reading Teacher, 67(3), 187-192. Montelongo, J. A. (2012). Spanish-English cognates and the Dewey Decimal System. The California Reader, 45, 11-16. Montelongo, J. A., Hernández, A. C., & Herter, R. J. (2011). Identifying SpanishEnglish cognates to scaffold instruction for Latino ELs. The Reading Teacher, 65, 161-164.

 Thank

You for Coming!