Download 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

family—familia, project—proyecto,

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.

Explicit vocabulary instruction has been associated with improved
comprehension.

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.

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)

Tier 2 Vocabulary -- Words that adults know
and for which the students have conceptual
knowledge of.(sufficient, content, analyze)

Tier 3 Vocabulary -- Specific and technical words in
disciplines (photosynthesis, democracy)

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.

For instance, the root word audi- give us:
inaudible (inaudible),
auditorium (auditorio),
audience (audiencia),
Morphology

Root Words (-port-)
import, export, transport, portal …

Root Words (-form)
reform, transformation, formation …

Root Words (-rupt)
corrupt, erupt, rupture
Prefix and Suffix Regularities

There are many prefix and word-initial
regularities.
sp- = espspecial - especial

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:

carpet (floor covering) carpeta (notebook)
 parents (mom & dad) parientes (relatives)

embarrassed (ashamed)
embarazada (pregnant)
False Cognates

Usually very few false cognates in
picture books.

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!