Dsf consulting Contents Page Introduction 0

AIR Additional Supports

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  Partner ELLs at the entering and emerging levels with more proficient English speakers and having them work together to describe the desert.
  
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  Elaborate on student’s responses.
  
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  Explain the meanings of words such as soil and nutrients that were used to describe the desert.
  
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  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.