Page 31 - Scaffolding for English Language Learners

 Use a thumbs-up/thumbs-down routine to do a quick review.
AIR Instruction for Teachers
 Show students a picture of the desert.
 Explain to students that this is a picture of the desert and that before there was irrigation, some of
the land in Mesopotamia was desert.
 Have students work in partners to describe the picture. Say: You are going to describe the desert. Look at the picture. Talk about what you see. Talk about what you do not see. Talk about what you think the weather is like.
 Elaborate on students’ responses, ensuring they understand the attributes of a desert.
– Explain to students that it does not rain very much in the desert. It is so dry that it is hard for
many plants and animals to live there.
– Tell students that it is easier for plants and animals to live in areas with fertile land.
 Explain that fertile means that the soil, or dirt, in these areas is rich in nutrients. Nutrients are things that plants need to grow. So fertile means the soil has things in it that plants need to grow. Plants also need water. It does not rain very much in deserts, so plants that need a lot of water do not grow there.
 Do a thumbs-up/thumbs-down routine with students to check their comprehension:
– Some of Mesopotamia is not in the desert.
– It rains a lot in deserts.
– Soil is dirt.
– Fertile soil has lots of things in it to help plants grow.
AIR Instruction for Students
 This is a picture of the desert. Look at the picture.
 Partner Talk: What do you see? What don’t you see? Talk about what you think the weather is like and why you think that.
Core Knowledge Teacher and Student Actions: Image 1A-2
Teacher introduces children to the story, showing them Image 1A-2.
AIR Additional Supports
Use the picture to introduce the characters and repeat character’s names; use the title to introduce students to the text and then review the information with ELLs through discussion.
AIR Instructions for Teachers
Ask students the following questions:
 The title of the story is “A Father and His Son in Mesopotamia.” What do you think the story is
about?
 The part of Mesopotamia we will read about is not desert. It is fertile. What does fertile mean?
 Who are the main characters?
 Remember fictional means not real. Are Warad and Iddin fictional?
 Is Mesopotamia fictional?
AIR Instructions for Students
Answer the questions that your teacher asks you about the story that you will read.
Vocabulary Preview
American Institutes for Research Scaffolding Instruction for ELLs: Resource Guide for ELA–27