Dsf consulting Contents Page Introduction 0

AIR Additional Supports
If teachers think young ELLs are able to learn about cognates, teach them about cognates if their home language shares cognate status with English. The activity is modeled for Spanish speakers but similar routines can be developed for other home languages that share cognate status with English.

AIR Instructions for Teachers
Canals	canales	Desert		desierto	Pie				pie
Show cognate word pairs on a SmartBoard or screen and include images. Say words in each pair (as you point to each word). Have students repeat the words with you. Explain that these words are cognates. They are in two different languages, but they look alike, sound alike, and mean about the same thing. Explain to students that when they encounter a word they do not know but that has lots of the same letters, sounds the same, and has about the same meaning, it is probably a cognate. If they know a language that shares cognates with English, they can use this knowledge to try to figure out the meanings of English words. Ask students what desert means in English. Then ask them what it means in Spanish. Ask if it is a cognate. Explain that students need to watch out for false cognates (“false friends”), which are words that sound the same but have different meanings. Show students the false cognate example: pie (a food) versus pie (foot). Show other word pairs on a SmartBoard or screen. Tell students the words in each pair have the same meanings. Ask students to listen for how alike the words sound and how alike they look and give a thumbs up if they are cognates and a thumbs down if they are not cognates.