1. Ana Perez BIE/DL 5338 Bi-Literacy Strategies Activity # 10 Summer 2014
Lesson activity:
promoting vocabulary development using cognates
Ana Perez BIE/DL Bi-Literacy Strategies Activity # 10 Summer 2014

2. TEKS
For students whose first language is not English, the students' native language serves as a foundation for English language acquisition.
For ELLs, comprehension of texts requires additional scaffolds to support comprehensible input. ELL students should use the knowledge of their first language (e.g., cognates) to further vocabulary development.

3. Before Reading
The teacher will ask students to predict what the book “Playing Loteria” by Rene Colato Lainez will be about.
The teacher will wait for students’ responses.
Then, to activate students’ prior knowledge and interest, the teacher will ask them if they have played “Lotería” with their relatives.
After students’ discussion, she will tell students that today they will be listening to a story about a boy who visits and spends time with his grandmother which speaks a different language from him. Soon they learn that the two languages, Spanish and English, have a lot of words with similarities.
Teacher will tell students that these words are called cognates.

4. During Reading The teacher will read the book to the students.
As the teacher is reading the story, she will stop for students to make predictions and/or change predictions.

5. After Reading
The teacher will ask questions about the book to the students, such as what happened at the beginning of the book, etc.
The teacher will then tell students that this book includes a lot of words that are cognates. She will define what cognates are to the students.
After defining cognates, the teacher will explain that some words in Spanish are similar in form and meaning to words in English.
She will tell students that they can use their knowledge of their language to help them learn new words in English.
The teacher will tell students that there are several types of cognates, but that today they will learn cognates words that are spelled exactly the same.

6. After Reading
After explaining, the teacher with the help of the students will identify cognate words found in the book using a bridge thinking map.
is a cognate word for
relating factor
Example
Timid is a cognate word for tímido as content is a cognate word for contento.

7. Students’ Activity Objective:
The students will be able to identify cognate words while playing a memory game.
Materials:
6 English words written on blue index cards
6 Spanish words written on red index cards
White board
Expo Markers

8. Students’ Activity Instructions to play Cognates Memory Game
One student will mix up the cards.
The other student will lay the cards face down in orderly rows and columns.
Then, each player will roll a dice.
The player with the highest number on the dice
begins the game.
Turn over two cards, one blue and one red.
If the two cards are cognates, the player who
made the match receives one point.
If they are not cognates, turn them back over
on the same place.
The game is over when all the cards have been matched.
The player with the most matches (points) wins.
Extension Activity:
As the students match a pair of cognate words, they will create a brace map to see the relationship of the two languages and then they will write a complete sentence using the cognate word and correct punctuation.

9. Memory Game
experimento
conflict
insecto
conflicto
experiment
insect

10. Memory Game
experimento
conflict
insecto
conflicto
experiment
insect

11. Memory Game
familia
sequence
secuencia
causa
family
cause

12. Memory Game
familia
sequence
secuencia
causa
family
cause

13. References
Cappellini, M. (2005). Balancing Reading & Language Learning A Resource for Teaching English Language Learners K-5. Stenhouse Publishers.
Beeman, K & Urow, C. (2013) Teaching for Biliteracy.
Book: Playing Loteria by Rene Colato Lainez. Retrieved from: