Bridging ELD to Academic Writing Presented by: Kevin Clark Clark Consulting and Training, Inc.

Concepts Concept #1: You can’t teach the to be verb enough…it’s the verb that just keeps on giving…

Concepts Concept #2: Content texts use recurring patterns with finishers that are more narrow – particularly when it comes to defining terms, ideas and concepts.

Concepts Concept #3: Seeing, understanding and knowing how to use these patterns increases academic writing ability and reading comprehension.

Task #1 TASK #1: Number the members of your table from 1-x. Write on a blank 3x5 card a school-like definition for the word below that corresponds to your number. Use to be as your main verb.

Task #1 Define the word… punctuation democracy agriculture globe history character DeoxyriboNucleic Acid ocean pollination integer

Task #1 Application How terms are defined in content texts: three frequent sentence patterns Fact: More than half of the definitions in content area texts are constructed with these three forms.

Pattern #1 Pattern #1: topic noun is/are article > noun Subject + to be + finisher topic noun is/are article > noun definition or explanation EX. Contour lines are the lines that connect.

Pattern #2 Pattern #2: Subject + to be + finisher topic noun is/are article > adjective > noun definition EX. The globe is a round model of Earth.

Pattern #3 Pattern #3: Subject + to have + finisher topic noun has/have article > adjective > noun EX. A bar graph has vertical lines.

Task #2 TASK #2: Did you use one of the formulas in your definition? Share with your table.

Application >Teaching These Forms… Step 1: Our Old Friend the Verb Tense Study (to be, to have)

Task #3 TASK #3: Finding formulas in text Follow these directions: Find a partner and select one of the colored texts on your table. Underline the various definitions presented in the text. Identify the pattern for each definition: Form #1, Form #2, Form #3. Identify and label – if present -- one other form for defining a term. Do these definitional forms come in predictable places in your text? Select one of the definitions from your paper and write it in big letters on the back of your handout. Label each of the components of the form. Join your group to another with a different text. Read the sentence you have written aloud and see if they can identify the pattern. They do the same thing with their text. Now show them your complete text and explain to them the various components of the form used.

Application Teaching These Forms… Step 2: Our “New” Friend the Content-Based Grammar Study

Application Step 3: Students find the forms in text…students write the forms using vocabulary words Step 4: Repeat as necessary…