Page 32 - Scaffolding for English Language Learners

Core Knowledge Teacher and Student Actions
The teacher previews the words Mesopotamia and canals. During the preview, the teacher introduces
the words. The students repeat the words. The teacher explains the words using visuals. The students engage in partner talk about the word.
AIR Additional Supports
The CK routine is a good routine for extended vocabulary instruction. Add visuals and synonyms or examples in context to clarify word meanings; ask ELLs to explain concepts in their own words to check understanding; and have students color in the area of Mesopotamia to better understand it is situated between two rivers. In the example that follows, the CK text is in black and AIR additions are in green as a way to indicate the language that has been added.
AIR Instructions for Teachers
 Pre-teach selected vocabulary.
 Show the pictures to children as you talk
about them.
Today, you will meet a father and son who lived four thousand years ago in an ancient civilization called Mesopotamia. An ancient civilization is a group of people who lived a long time ago.
 Say Mesopotamia with me three times.
 Mesopotamia is the name of a region, or area, in Asia between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
[Point out the Mesopotamian region on a world map. Have students locate the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers on their map. Tell them that Mesopotamia was located between these two rivers.]
 [Have students color in the area between the two rivers.] Ask, “What area have you colored in?
What rivers is it between?”
 The word Mesopotamia means “land between two rivers.” Ask,
“What does it mean to be a “land between two rivers”?
 Look again at the image depicting, or showing, everyday life in Mesopotamia. Tell your partner three things you see. Then, tell your partner one thing you hope to learn about Mesopotamia.
 Today, you will learn that canals were important to people living in Mesopotamia.
 Say the word canals with me three times.
 Canals are long paths people dig into the land and fill with water. What are canals filled with? Canals are used for many things. Canals are used to water crops or plants. Canals are also used by boats for travel and shipping. People travel on boats in the canals. People also use canals to ship things or move things from one place to another. Can you name some things canals are used for?
 The Mesopotamians built canals so that boats could move goods and supplies to different parts of the land. Goods are the things people want to have, such as toys. Supplies are things they need to live, such as food. Name some things that could be shipped on canals.
 Can you find the canals in these pictures? AIR Instructions for Students
Look at the pictures and answer the questions your teacher asks you.
American Institutes for Research Scaffolding Instruction for ELLs: Resource Guide for ELA–28