ExC-ELL
TEACHING
VOCABULARY
To English Learners For
Reading And Writing Mastery
Margarita Calderón, Professor Emerita, JHU
Elma Noyola, Lead Trainer
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Academic Language:
ExC-ELL
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Writing
Conventions
& Skills
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Language
Functions &
Discourse
Reading
Strategies &
Skills
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ExC-ELL
The Writing Process for ELLs
1.Pre-teach key vocabulary. Select key words that
students will need to understand and use for writing
assignments.
2.Develop background knowledge. Students from different
cultures approach writing differently and they also have
different schooling experiences. Develop background
knowledge or explanations of unfamiliar concepts and
mechanics for writing.
3.Describe it. Discuss and present the strategy, its
purpose, benefits, and goals, and the grading rules of
finished products. Consider differentiated grading scales
for ELLs, depending on their level of English proficiency.
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ExC-ELL
The Writing Process for ELLs
1. Model it. Show the writing you want them to emulate.
Model each phase of the strategy.
2. Memorize it. Ensure that students memorize the
language and steps of the strategy.
3. Support it. Support or scaffold the student’s use of the
strategy until he/ she can apply it with few or no
supports. Model self-regulated learning and the use of
mnemonic devices.
4. Ample use of student interaction. Model and implement
collaborative/cooperative writing strategies to plan,
draft, revise, and edit composition.
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ExC-ELL
•
Clear your desks.
•
Only one paper and pencil.
•
Each student writes one answer and passes the paper
to the right.
•
Everyone must write an answer.
•
Continue this process until the teacher calls time
out.

•
Count the number of correct responses by your
team. Delete repeated words and report your
numbers.
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ExC-ELL
• Write a key word from
the text and pass the paper.
• Keep writing one word at a time until
time is up.
• The words must be Tier 2 or 3.

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ExC-ELL
Round 2
• Put your heads together and come up
with a strategy to improve your team
total.
• Apply your strategy in Round 2 of
Round Table.
• Follow the same rules as for Round 1.
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ExC-ELL
Key: Teach vocabulary
before, during and after students read
• Vocabulary knowledge correlates
with reading comprehension.
• Reading comprehension correlates
with procedural and content
knowledge.
• Content knowledge correlates with
academic success.
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ExC-ELL
Key: Teach vocabulary
before, during and after students read
• Comprehension depends on
knowing between 90% and 95% of
the words in a text.
• Knowing words means explicit
instruction not just exposure.
Students need 12 production
opportunities to own a word.
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ExC-ELL
Multiple Applications of Words
Text structure
Writing strategy
Signal words
Problem –
solutions
• problems are
identified and
solutions are
provided
• supporting
details describe
the problem and
solution
accordingly, answer,
as a result, because,
challenge, decide,
fortunately, if ___then,
issue, one reason is,
outcome is, problem,
so, solution, the
problem is solved by,
therefore, thus,
unfortunately, trouble
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ExC-ELL
Identify and Classify Vocabulary:
Selecting words to teach before, during, and
after reading:
1. Select Tiers 1, 2, & 3 from students’ texts.
2. From your explanations, for class experiments,
demonstrations you will present to them.
3. From instructional activities, for class
discussions during and/or after reading.
4. For the oral and written summaries of what they
have learned.
5. From and for assessments.
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Tier 3 academic content specific
ExC-ELL
MATH
Square root
Rectangle
Radical
numbers
Circumference
Pi square
Power
SCIENCE
SOCIAL
STUDIES
Photosynthesis Government
Germ
Bylaws
Atom
Bailout
Matter
Osmosis
Power
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Congressional
Capital
Power
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ExC-ELL
Type of Words
Identify & Classify Words
Tier 3
Tier 2
Tier 1
Polysemous
Phrases (bundled
up words, idioms)
Cognates
Connectors &
transition
Info processing
Homophones
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ExC-ELL
Tier 1 for ELLs
Simple words for English speakers, but
might create difficulty for ELLs due to:
• Spelling
• Pronunciation
• Background knowledge
• Unfamiliar word
• False cognate
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ExC-ELL
Sample Tier 2 Words & Clusters
Phrasal clusters: stored energy, skim through, run your hand
over, stimulus package, over the course of
Idioms, social function words/clusters
In your dreams. Break a leg. It’s over his head.
You can lead a horse to water, but . . .
I’m just looking. I’m good.
I know what you mean [agreement].
If . . . then . . .
The problem is solved by . . .
Polysemous words
trunk, power, cell, left, right, light, prime, table
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ExC-ELL
Sample Tier 2 Words
Information-processing words
apparent, assortment, assumption, basis, crucial, display,
illustrate, generate, effect, affect, allow
Connectors
subsequently, although, as well as, however, as a result of, in
order to, in contrast, for instance
Sophisticated words and words to provide specificity
shuddered, scrutiny, celestial, wholesome
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ExC-ELL
Sample Sentence Frames
For example, when writing a summary,
sentence starters such as these can help:
● The author is writing about
● The author is comparing ... with ....
● Three facts I learned are (1) ..., (2) ..., (3)
....
● First of all,
● One important thing is
● We read about ... and discovered
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ExC-ELL
Tier 2 Sub-category: Words that nest
academic content
Some Examples of Transition Words & Connectors for:
• Cause & Effect -- because, due to, as a result, since,
for this reason, therefore, in order to, so that, thus…
• Contrast -- or, but, although, however, in contrast,
nevertheless, on the other hand, while …
• Addition or comparison -- and, also, as well as, in
addition, likewise, moreover, by the way …
• Giving examples -- for example, for instance, in
particular, such as …
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ExC-ELL
Sa
ELLs can begin by using connectors
such as and, but, and because, …
then proceed to in addition, however,
and due to.
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ExC-ELL
Getting off to a Good Start
During a student’s initial writing phases in English, it is
important to:
•Focus on ideas the student has, rather than the ones he/she
lacks.
•Teach the vocabulary or key words you want the student to
use.
•Provide opportunities to interact with peers; allow joint
authorships.
•Set high but flexible standards.
•Develop separate rubrics and criteria for each individual
student and increase in complexity every three weeks or so.
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ExC-ELL
Contextualized Grammar
• Through extensive conversations on students’
writing
• For students to play with and then use in their
writing
• Using authentic examples from authentic texts;
• Teaching about how different choices of modal
verbs in argument can position the writer
• Teaching about how expanded noun phrases can
create great mind-movies
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ExC-ELL
Assessing Progress
•Allow ELLs to work on one or two skills per week,
focusing on proofreading and editing skills.
•A rule of thumb might be to let the student write
only one paragraph and use three or four new
vocabulary words.
•The student and teacher will increasingly target
other skills to assess. Samples of work can be
included in personal portfolios to track growth.
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ExC-ELL
Assessing Progress
•Teaching vocabulary before, during, and
after writing
•Highlighting grammatical features to use
•Providing language tools for each objective
•Allocating ample time for peer interaction.
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ExC-ELL
Some Cautionary Notes
• Graphic organizers may not be the best way to
start writing. ELLs need substantial guidance for
understanding graphing ideas.
• When brainstorming requires rapid responses,
ELLs are at a disadvantage because they need
additional time to pull thoughts together into
sentences. By then, the class or the group has
moved on to another topic.
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ExC-ELL
Revising: Cut and Grow
 Students will need the following:
-- their compositions
-- a blank piece of paper (preferably pastel-colored)
-- scissors
-- tape
 Students cut their compositions right after their
unelaborated sentence and glue it onto the colored
sheet of paper.
 The elaborated sentences are written on the colored
sheet. Once written, the students tape the rest of
their composition onto the colored sheet.
 Students reread their improved compositions.
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Revising:
ExC-ELL
1. Find a simple declarative sentence in your
composition, one that lacks specificity and details.
2. Do not choose the first or last sentence in the
composition or the first or last sentences in a
paragraph.
3. Underline the sentence that you select.
4. Examples of sentences:
-- The girl is pretty.
-- The book was interesting.
-- The man was important.
Dr. JAC’s Guide to Writing with Depth, Joyce Armstrong Carroll
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ExC-ELL
Revising by Elaborating
The girl is pretty.
1. Have students elaborate or extend the sentence:
The girl’s blue eyes contrast with her dark hair and
olive complexion. When she smiles, she lights up the
room. Her slim, lithe figure gracefully and
confidently glides as she moves through the room.
2. The elaborated sentences can be written on a post-it
note and affixed to the composition or they can do a
“cut and grow” in order to add the elaborated
sentences to their composition.
3. Add adjectives, adverbs, specificity, polysemous
words, sophisticated words, compound sentences,
etc.
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ExC-ELL
Add an Introduction or Lead
and a Conclusion or Ending
1. Add an introduction that will hook the reader
to the composition.
2. Write a conclusion appropriate to the genre
and purpose of the composition.
3. Review the paper for errors in spelling
and/or conventions.
4. Reread the improved composition aloud to
your group.
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ExC-ELL
Revising: Ratiocination
1.Students create a chart with three columns.
2.Label the columns: Code, Clue, Decoding.
3.The students check their papers for a particular
purpose, such as overuse of the “to be” verbs.
4.Teachers may need to do a mini-lesson before the
particular skill is checked for.
5.Teachers should start by checking for one clue per
paper and add more for different writings.
6.Students should have colored markers, pencils, or
crayons available for this activity.
Acts of Teaching, Joyce Armstrong Carroll
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ExC-ELL
Chart for Ratiocination
Code
Clue
Decoding
Circle
“to be” verbs:
is, am, are, was, were,
be, being, been
• do not change
• change to a vivid verb
• indicates passive
voice
• indicates a weak
sentence
• do not change if the
“to be” verb is in a
quote or dialogue
first word in every
sentence
• do not change
• vary sentence
beginnings
Square
Make a list of every
first word.
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ExC-ELL
Tier 1, 2 & 3 for ELLs
What are the differences between Tier
1, Tier 2, and Tier 3?
Chat with your buddy or your inner
self and review.
Write in the question box a nice
succinct definition for the 3 Tiers.
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ExC-ELL
Academic Language:
Selecting 6 words to pre-teach:
1. Which words are going to be most important for
learning this content?
2. Start with tier 3 – words that are content specific.
3. Next, find tier 2 words that nest those concepts.
4. Finally, select tier 1 words that students do not
know and you need to teach those in order to
better comprehend the tier 2 and 3 words. If none
are necessary, select two tier 2 instead.
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ExC-ELL
Math
Equivalent Non-Negative Rational
Numbers
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ExC-ELL Equivalent Non-Negative Rational Numbers
As a 5th graders, we worked with fractions.
We learned about equivalent fractions which
are two fractions that look different but have the
same value. For example, 1/2 =8/16. We also
studied relationships of fractions and
decimals. Now as 6th graders, we will convert
decimals to percents to fractions. Therefore we
will match equivalent forms of non-negative
rational numbers.
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ExC-ELL
Tier 1
Pre-teach vocabulary
Tier 2
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Tier 3
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ExC-ELL
Mercantilism
Aim: SWBAT describe
mercantilism.
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ExC-ELL
Language Objective
• Students will orally describe the events
that helped develop mercantilism
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ExC-ELL
Mercantilism
• During the 17th and 18th centuries, Europeans
believed in an idea called mercantilism, the idea that
a nation’s existence depended on power, and power
depended on wealth. To gain wealth a country had
to have colonies. The colonies were to provide a
constant source of raw material and become
markets for the manufactured goods to the country
that owned them or their “Mother Country”. For
example, the colonists cut down trees, these trees
were sent to England where craftsmen made
furniture, paper, barrels, and tools. These goods
were then sent back to the colonies and sold to the
colonists. The money went back to England.
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ExC-ELL
Pre-teach vocabulary
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Wealth
power
Raw
materials
revenue
Mercantilism
Navigation
Act
Trade
vessel
Colony
Colonists
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ExC-ELL
PRE-TEACHING VOCABULARY
1. Teacher says the word.
2. Asks students to repeat the word 3 times.
3. Teacher states the word in context from the
text.
4. Teacher provides the dictionary definition(s).
5. Explains meaning with student-friendly
definitions.
6.  Engages students in activities to
develop word/concept knowledge.
7. Highlight grammar, spelling, polysemy, etc.
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ExC-ELL
Step 6: Student Engagement
1. criteria
2. criteria, criteria, criteria
3. Use the word in context
4. Dictionary definition
5 Student friendly definition
6. 100% student engagement: give students a football
picture and a basketball picture. They select which sport is
more rigorous..
What criteria did they use for making their choice.
My criteria for selecting _____is_______________.
7. ???
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ExC-ELL
Think-Pair-Share
Come up with a long sophisticated
complete sentence using the word
__________________
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ExC-ELL
Before Reading Science, Math,
Social Studies, and Language Arts
• Hook the Reader
• Build Background
• Connect with Prior
Knowledge
• Pre-teach Vocabulary
Explicitly
• Preview Text with
Students
• Set Purpose for
Reading
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ExC-ELL
Standards/Objectives
• State/District Science
Standard/Instructional Objective
Example: Interdependence of living
things, climate and the environment
•Comprehension Objective: Identify
main idea and supporting details
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ExC-ELL
Engagement with Text – Step 2
Modeling Comprehension
Why Do Teacher Read and Think Alouds?
•Fluency
•Comprehension Strategies
•Self-correction
•Fix-it strategies
Extend comprehension
M
O
D
E
L
Teach more words
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ExC-ELL
Assessment & Writing
The ultimate proof -- at the end of each week:
Write one or two paragraphs summarizing what
you learned about _______________ using as
many tier 2 and tier 3 words as you have
learned. Use appropriate connectors,
transition or signal words. Use compound
sentences or different types of clauses.
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ExC-ELL
EXIT PASS
Name _______________________ Subject _____________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
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ExC-ELL
Teaching Words After Reading or for
Anchoring Knowledge
•
Cooperative Learning strategies -- RoundTable, Tea Party,
Write-Around, 3-Step Interview, 8-Rectangles, Corners, etc.
•
Word journals, Freyer graphs, semantic webs, etc.
•
Games -- Jeopardy, Charades, let students invent!
•
Charts, graphs, cognitive organizers, semantic maps, word
webs!
•
Poems, chants, songs, rhymes!
•
Summaries, syntheses, story-related writing, reports, related
research, personification plays, cartoons, comic books -- all
should include as many of the key words as possible.
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ExC-ELL
Applying Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Process – 1
THINKING PROCESS
(Knowledge-1)
Shallow processing:
drawing out factual
answers, testing recall
and recognition
R
E
M
E
M
B
E
R
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VERBS FOR
OBJECTIVES
choose
describe
define
identify
label
list
locate
match
memorize
name
omit
recite
recognize
select
state
MODEL
QUESTIONS
Who?
Where?
Which one?
What?
How?
What is the best?
Why?
How Much?
When?
What does it mean?
INSTRUCTIONAL
STRATEGIES
• Highlighting
• Rehearsal
• Memorizing
• Mnemonics
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Applying Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Process – 2
ExC-ELL
THINKING
PROCESS
VERBS FOR
OBJECTIVES
(Comprehension-2)
Translating,
interpreting and
extrapolating
classify, defend
demonstrate
distinguish
explain, express
extend
give example
illustrate
indicate
interrelate
interpret
infer, judge
match
paraphrase
represent
restate
rewrite
select, show
summarize
tell, translate
U
N
D
E
R
S
T
A
N
D
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MODEL QUESTIONS
State in your own words.
Which are facts?
What does this mean?
Is this the same as…?
Give an example. Select
the best definition.
Condense this
paragraph.
What would happen if…?
State in one word…
Explain what is
happening.
What part doesn’t fit?
Explain what is meant.
What expectations are
there?
Read the graph (table).
What are they saying?
INSTRUCTIONAL
STRATEGIES
• Key examples
• Emphasize connections
• Elaborate concepts
• Summarize
• Paraphrase
• STUDENTS explain
• STUDENTS state the rule
• Why does this example…?
• Create visual representations
(concept maps, outlines, flow
charts, organizers, analogies,
pro/con grids) PRO/CON
• NOTE: The faculty member
can show them, but they have
to do it.
• Metaphors, rubrics, heuristics
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ExC-ELL
Instructional Sequence - For every
teacher action there is a student reaction!
Teacher
1. Introduces concepts/vocab
Students
Provide examples, questions, usage
2. Thinks aloud to model
comprehension strategies
Apply the strategies with partners
3. Reads aloud for fluency
Read along silently or whisper
4. Models how to partner read
Conduct partner reading for fluency
5. Monitors & records partners
Partners reread to practice strategies
6. Conducts cooperative activity
Work in teams to process & summarize
7. Conducts debriefing
Discuss words, concepts, summaries
8. Models writing strategies
Do content-related writing using vocab
9. Assesses vocabulary & content Analyze their test results and go back
to learn the missing pieces
10. Assesses a second time
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All students should be successful
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ExC-ELL
Thank you!
mecalde@aol.com
www.margaritacalderon.org
202-368-4621
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ExC-ELL
THANK YOU!!!
• Calderón, M. E., (2007). Teaching
reading to English language learners,
Grades 6-12: A framework for improving
achievement in the content areas.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
• Calderón, M. E. (2007). RIGOR! Reading
Instructional Goals for Older Readers:
Reading Program for 6th – 12th Students
with Interrupted Formal Education. New
York: Benchmark Education Co.
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ExC-ELL
THANK YOU!!!
• Calderón M.E. & Minaya-Rowe, L. (2011).
Preventing Long-Term English
Language Learners: Transforming
schools to meet core standards.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
• Calderón, M. E. (2011). Teaching
Reading & Comprehension to English
Learners in K-5th. Bloomington, IN:
Solution Tree Press.
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