Background

Students need instruction in: 1) Comprehension strategies 2) Vocabulary 3) English Language Development

Many English Language Learners lack academic language which hinders their academic achievement.

Teachers tend to view English language development as separate

activity, disengaged from classroom instruction

Current policies require schools to provide separate English language development as opposed to embedding it in content teaching

(Donnelly & Roe, 2010, p. 131)

What Researchers Did…. Used 4th grade Social Studies lesson to1) Analyzed: lesson, questions, activities on

sidebars2) Determined concepts and strategies

needed in lesson to assist students be successful

3) Established a core concept for the chapter4) Identified academic vocabulary essential

for students to understand lesson5) Identified predominant language function

students needed to think, talk, and write about core concept

How to Work With Vocabulary Words Needed to Understand Concept Strategy- Five-Column Chart

1. Choose 7 – 8 Tier 2 words (found in written text but less common in everyday conversation and Tier 3 (domain specific)

2. Create 5-column chart using headings: Word/Textbook definition/Sentence from textbook/Student-friendly explanation/Student-friendly example and nonexample.

Word TextbookDefinition

Sentence from book

Student-friendly

explanation

Student-friendly

example (E) and

nonexample (NE)

immigrate “v. to come to another country to live”

“To immigrate means to come to another country to live. Some American settlers immigrated to Mexican California to find land they could farm.”

When people immigrate, they move from one country to another country to live.

E: The Xiong family immigrated from Thailand to the United States to live.

NE: The Xiong family moved from Fresno to Stockton to live.

Five-Column Chart – Example – Tier 3 Word

Word TextbookDefinition

Sentence from book

Student-friendly

explanation

Student-friendly

example (E) and

nonexample (NE)

compare None “When you compare tow or more things, you tell how they are alike.”

When you compare two or more things or people, you describe how they are alike.

E: Lemons and oranges are alike because they are both fruit.

NE: Lemons and oranges are different because lemons are yellow and oranges are orange.

Five-Column Chart – Example – Tier 2 Word

Developed Sentence Frames

1. Using familiar vocabulary for students who are not familiar with English

Ex: Oranges are sweet. Lemons are sour.

2. Incorporating some academic language selected from text Ex: Three reasons people migrated from the east to the west were work, land, and adventure

Creating Sentence Frames -Target Language Function: Compare/Contrast

Write sentences expressing language function / Replace target vocabulary with blank spaces/ Create word bank with words that need to go in blank spaces/

Ex. Level 2 ELLsOranges are sweet. Lemons are sour.Oranges are ________. Lemons are ________

Ex. Level 3 ELLsOranges and lemons are both fruit, but oranges are sweet and lemons are sour.______and ______ are both ______, but ______are ______ and __________ are ________.

Ex. Level 4 ELLsThe main difference between oranges and lemons is oranges are sweet while lemons are sour.The main difference between _______and ______is _____ are ____while _____ are _____.

Familiar Content

Creating Sentence Frames -Target Language Function: Compare/Contrast

Write sentences expressing language function / Replace target vocabulary with blank spaces/ Create word bank with words that need to go in blank spaces/

Ex. Level 2 ELLsPeople migrated to the west. People migrated from the east. People __________(ed) to the west. People ________(ed) from the east.

Ex. Level 3 ELLsPeople migrated to the west from the east.People ________(ed) to the ______ from the ______.Ex. Level 4 ELLsThree reasons people migrated from the east to the west were work, land, and adventure.Three reasons people _______ from the ______ to the _____ were ______, ______, and _________.

Academic Content

Put It Together

After developing sentence frames:

Allow students time to practice.

Use sentence strips according to grade level and word bank

Have students read the sentences to one another

Reference

Donnelly, W. B., & Roe, C. J. (2010). Using sentence frames to develop academic vocabulary for english learners. The Reading Teacher, 642(2), 131-136. doi: 10.1598/RT.64.W.5