Vocabulary Building
Bilingual Mini-Books
15 Picture Dictionaries of Spanish-English Cognates
That Help English-Language Learners
Build Confidence in Reading and Writing
by Merri Gutierrez
New York • Toronto • London • Auckland • Sydney
Mexico City • New Delhi • Hong Kong • Buenos Aires
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Scholastic Inc. grants teachers permission to photocopy the reproducible pages
of this book for classroom use only. No other part of this publication may be
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Cover design by Maria Lilja
Cover and interior illustrations by Maxie Chambliss
Interior design by Ellen Matlach for Boultinghouse & Boultinghouse, Inc.
ISBN 0-439-53807-6
Copyright © 2006 by Merri Gutierrez
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc.
Printed in the U.S.A.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 40 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Contents
Teaching English-Language Learners
With Spanish-English Cognates
What Is a Cognate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Why Use Cognates to Teach? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Lowering the Affective Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Meeting the Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Making the Mini-Books. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
A Model Lesson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
More Language-Building Activities
Using the Mini-Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Other Activities for Building Vocabulary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
More Cognates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
The Mini-Books
Transporte/Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Calendario/Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Animales/Animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Comidas y bebidas/Food and Drink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Frutas y vegetales/Fruits and Vegetables . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Deportes/Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
En casa/At Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Formas/Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Libros/Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Diversiones/Fun! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Matemáticas 1/Mathematics 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Matemáticas 2/Mathematics 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Lugares/Places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Vestidos/Clothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Mi libro de cognatos/My Book of Cognates . . . . . . . . . . 63
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Teaching English-Language Learners
With Spanish-English Cognates
Why Use Cognates to Teach?
Native Spanish speakers comprise the fastest growing sector of
the U.S. school-age population. They come to the United States
with a wealth of Spanish vocabulary—funds of knowledge that

can be used to build English-language vocabulary. If Spanish-
speaking students can recognize cognate relationships, their
English reading can be enhanced; once they know the word in
Spanish, recognizing it in English is significantly easier.
Using cognates is like providing shelter. “Sheltering” is a broad
term that includes many different strategies for providing
second-language learners with language they can understand
(Krashen, 1981). Slowing down when you speak, pantomiming
directions, and using props are all examples of sheltering in the
classroom. So is using cognates. Cognates provide a little
“shelter from the storm”!
Research has long proven that literacy skills in the first
language transfer to the second. This idea (the “cross-linguistic
transfer” hypothesis), suggests that the greater the similarity in
the writing systems of the two languages, the greater the
degree of transfer, and the less time and difficulty involved in
learning to read and write the second language (Odlin,
1989). So, if a native Spanish speaker can read and define the
4
What Is a Cognate?
Cognates are words with similar pronunciations, spellings, and meanings in
two languages. For instance, though pronunciation is slightly different, radio
is the same word in both Spanish and English. Some cognate pairs may have
the exact same spelling but dif
ferent pronunciation (such as radio), others
may differ slightly in both spelling and pronunciation (bicicleta/bicycle). In
either case, the meaning is the same between languages. Since so many
words in Spanish and English derive from Latin,
there are thousands of
cognates between Spanish and English.

Nombre
Name
ol English
te
avocado
banana
cauliflower
a salad
go
asparagus
a spinach
fruit
lemon
olive
pear
tomato
es vegetables
8
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books Scholastic Teaching Resources
Frutas y
vegetales
Fruits and
Vegetables
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
word autor in Spanish, it’s a natural and immediate step to
acquire the English word “author.” When teaching Spanish
speakers English, you can capitalize on this existing knowledge
and boost students’ self-confidence. Cognates can become
familiar “footholds” in the vast mountain range of new words!
When students are aware of Spanish-English cognates, they do

better on vocabulary tasks (Nagy, Garcia, Durgunolgu & Hancin-
Bhatt, 1993). More specifically, word structure analysis skills
transfer from Spanish to English in reading when bilingual
readers make use of their knowledge of cognates. In their study
of strategies used by Spanish-English readers, Jiménez, García
and Pearson (1996) found that the identification of cognates in
decoding unknown words was a key feature of bilingual
readers’ repertoire of skills when reading in both languages.
The benefits continue once the student has become a fluent
English speaker. Research evidence supports the conclusion that
proficient bilingual and biliterate children and adults have
heightened metalinguistic awareness and knowledge that may
enhance their ability to use linguistic processes and analysis in
second-language reading (Albert & Obler, 1978; Bialystok, 1991;
Cummins, 1976; Gass & Selinker, 1983; V. González, 1999;
Goswami, 1999; Muñiz-Swicegood, 1994; Zunkernick, 1996).
Lowering the Affective Filter
Krashen (1981) introduced the concept of the affective filter—
the emotional block that hinders learning. Simply put, when
we’re stressed out, we don’t perform as well! It’s the same with
second-language learners. When anxious, self-conscious, or
overwhelmed, the learner is more likely to “shut down”
cognitive functions. You can help keep the affective filter low
by keeping the student’s language demands appropriate—
difficult enough so the student is learning, but easy enough as
to be achievable. Using cognates as a starting place builds a
comforting bridge for the learner. The message is, “You already
know this word!” Using cognates shows the student that you
understand his or her previous experience and you believe that
speaking Spanish is helpful in learning English. With this kind of

value placed on the native language, students are more likely
5
Animales
Animals
Nombre
Name
Español English
ar
madillo
armadillo
ca
m
ello camel
c
angur
o
k
angaro
o
cebra zebra
chimpancé
chimpanzee
c
hita
cheetah
elefante elephant
gorila gorilla
hipopótamo hippopotamus
jirafa giraffe
león lion

tigre tiger
8
Vo
cab
u
l
ar
y
-B
u
i
l
d
i
n
g
B
i
l
i
n
g
u
al
Mi
n
i
-B
o
o

ks
S
chol
as
t
i
c Teachi
ng Res
our
ces
21
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
to feel accepted and respected—and embrace the challenge of
a new language.
Students from homes with languages that differ from the
language spoken at school are frequently evaluated on their
inadequacies, rather than on their strengths (Allington &
McGill-Franzen, 1991). Here is an opportunity to focus on the
wealth of knowledge students already have—and give them a
much-needed boost into reading, writing and speaking in
English. Your belief in the positive role of the primary language
in development of cognitive academic skills will go a long way.
The National Association for Bilingual Education (1995)
reported a compendium of research showing that when
teachers understand and believe in the important role of
primary language in literacy learning, English-language learners
show higher levels of academic achievement.
6
Calendario
Calendar

Nombre
Name
Español English
calendario calendar
febrero February
marzo March
abril April
mayo
May
junio June
julio July
agosto August
septiembre September
octubre October
noviembre November
diciembre December
8
Vocabulary-Building Bilingual Mini-Books Scholastic Teaching Resources
Deportes
Sports
Nombre
Name
Español English
atleta
athlete
básquetbol basketball
béisbol baseball
boxeo
boxing
esquí skiing

fútbol football
gimnasia gymnastics
golf golf
karate
karate
olimpiada
Olympics
tenis
tennis
vóleibol volleyball
8
V
o
ca
b
u
la
ry-B
u
ild
in
g
B
ilin
g
u
a
l
Min
i-B

o
o
k
s
Sch
o
la
stic T
e
a
ch
in
g
R
e
so
u
rce
s
33
Español English
cilindro cylinder
círculo circle
cono cone
cubo cube
espiral spiral
hexágono hexagon
octágono
octagon
óvalo oval

pentágono
pentagon
pirámide
pyramid
rectángulo rectangle
triángulo
triangle
Nombre
Name
8
V
oc
a
bul
a
ry-Bui
l
di
ng Bi
l
i
ngua
l
Mi
ni
-Book
s
Sc
hol
a

s
t
i
c T
e
a
c
hi
ng
Re
s
our
c
e
s
41
Formas
Shapes
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
ESL Standards for Pre-K–12 Students (Teachers of English to Speakers
of Other Languages, 1997) state what students should know and be
able to do as a result of ESL instruction. These are guideposts for
students’ social and academic language development and sociocultural
competence. Since a strong vocabulary base is necessary to second-
language competence, these mini-books will help you help your
students meet the challenge of functioning in a new language.
ESL Standards
Goal 1: To use English to communicate in social settings.
Standard 1: Students will use English to participate in
social interactions.

Standard 2: Students will interact in, through, and with
spoken and written English for personal expression
and enjoyment.
Standard 3: Students will use learning strategies to
extend their communicative competence.
Goal 2: To use English to achieve academically in all
content areas.
Standard 1: Students will use English to interact in
the classroom.
Standard 2: Students will use English to obtain, process,
construct, and provide subject matter information in
spoken and written form.
Standard 3: Students will use appropriate learning strategies
to construct and apply academic knowledge.
Goal 3: To use English in socially and culturally
appropriate ways.
Standard 1: Students will use appropriate language variety, register,
and genre according to audience, purpose, and setting.
Standard 2: Students will use nonverbal communication appropriate
to audience, purpose, and setting.
Standard 3: Students will use appropriate learning strategies to
extend their sociolinguistic and sociocultural competence.
Credit: ESL Standards for Pre-K–12 Students (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. 1997)
7
Meeting the Standards
25
Comidas y
bebidas
Food and Drink
Español English

café coffee
cereal cereal
chocolate chocolate
espaguetis spaghetti
hamburguesa hamburger
limonada lemonade
panqueque pancake
pizza pizza
soda soda
sopa soup
t
t
Vocabulary-Building Bilingual Mini-Books Sch
Lugares
Places
Nombre
Name
Español English
apartamento
apartment
auditorio
auditorium
castillo
castle
gimnasio
gymnasium
hospital
hospital
hotel
hotel

iglú
igloo
rancho
ranch
restaurante
restaurant
tipi
tepee
8
Vocabul
ary
-Bui
l
di
ng
Bi
l
i
ngual
Mi
ni
-Books
S
c
holastic Teac
hing Resourc
es
57
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
You can use any of these mini-books to help students strengthen vocab-

ulary, build confidence, and enhance reading skills. Use the following
suggestions to help students get the most from their mini-books.
1. Give the student a mini-book and invite the student to write his or
her name on the line. Open the book to the first page. Say
, in English
and Spanish, These words are similar. Las palabras son similares. Read
a few of the words out loud in English, and have the student say the
Spanish words after you, using the pictures as a cue. This puts the
entire book in context, as the student sees that all the wor
ds in the
book will be words that are already familiar to him or her
.
2. Have the student copy each word in English on the line provided and
read it aloud again. If he or she is familiar with the English alphabet,
invite him or her to spell it as he or she writes.
3. Students can test themselves in their mastery of the words by
covering one of the columns on the back cover (most of the
books
include these word lists), and saying or writing the
corresponding word.
4. When finished, students might color in the pictur
es with colored
pencils or crayons.
1. Make a double-sided copy of the mini-book pages on
8.5- by 11-inch copy paper
.
2. Once you have double-sided copies, place page 3 behind
the title page.
3. Fold the pages in half along the center line.
4. Check to be sure the pages are in proper order

, then staple
them
together along the book’s spine.
For the two-page mini-books, simply make double-sided copies and fold.
8
Making the Mini-Books
A Model Lesson
vagón
wagon
submarino
submarine
bicicleta
bicycle
tren
train
6 3
Vocabulary-Building Bilingual Mini-Books ScholasticTeaching Resources
15
Transporte
Transportation
Nombre
Name
E
spañol English
aeroplano airplane
ambulancia ambulance
bicicleta bicycle
bote boat
canoa canoe
carro car

helicóptero helicopter
motocicleta motorcycle
submarino submarine
taxi taxi
tren train
vagón wagon
8
Vocabulary-Building Bilingual Mini-Books ScholasticTeaching Resources
13
T
ransporte
T
ransportation
Nombre
Name
Español English
aeroplano airplane
ambulancia ambulance
bicicleta bicycle
bote boat
canoa canoe
carro car
helicóptero helicopter
motocicleta motorcycle
submarino submarine
taxi taxi
tren train
vagón wagon
8
Vocabulary-Building Bilingual Mini-Books ScholasticTeaching Resources

13
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
• Older students might circle or highlight the differences
between the Spanish words and the English words, indicating
which letters are different between the cognates.
• Use a mini-book as the basis for a weekly vocabulary or
spelling test.
• Invite students to create crossword puzzles or word searches
using the words.
• Challenge students to write sentences or stories that include
the words in the mini-book.
Other Activities for
Building Vocabulary
• When you read aloud to the group, ask the Spanish speakers
to raise their hand when they think they hear a cognate. Stop
reading and discuss the word.
• Use a buddy system, and have the Spanish speaker read a
mini-book to a friend. Have the Spanish speaker teach the
English speaker some words in Spanish. This can build
classroom community as native English speaker can empathize
with the newcomer.
• Play a matching game. Pair students and give each pair a set
of cognate cards: one card has the English cognate and the
other has the Spanish. Students find the match for each card.
For example:
family familia
center centro
radio radio
class clase
desert desierto

magic magia
gorilla gorila
9
More Language-Building Activities
Using the Mini-Books
family
familia
clase
class
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
In addition to the cognates that appear in each of the mini-books,
here are some other cognates you might introduce with English-
language learners. Students can make and illustrate their own mini-
books using these lists.
10
More Cognates
Astronomía/Astronomy
asteroide asteroid
cometa comet
constelación constellation
galaxia galaxy
Júpiter Jupiter
Marte Mars
Mercurio Mercury
meteoro meteor
Neptuno Neptune
órbita orbit
planeta planet
Plutón Pluto
satélite satellite

Saturno Saturn
Urano Uranus
Venus Venus
Carreras/Careers
agente agent
artista artist
astronauta astronaut
atleta athlete
autor author
barbero barber
dentista dentist
doctor doctor
fotógrafo photographer
músico musician
pianista pianist
policía police
secretaria secretary
Pájaros/Birds
albatros albatross
canario canary
cardenal cardinal
cacatúa cockatoo
cóndor condor
emú emu
halcón falcon
flamenco flamingo
ganso goose
kiwi kiwi
pelícano pelican
pingüino penguin

periquito parakeet
tucán toucan
Plantas y Flores/
Plants and Flowers
amarilis amaryllis
camelia camellia
cinnia zinnia
eucalipto eucalyptus
gardenia gardenia
hibisco hibiscus
palma palm
peonia peony
petunia petunia
pino pine
rosa rose
tulipán tulip
violeta violet
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Similar Endings
Some Spanish words ending in -ción are easily recognized in
English with -tion endings:
atención attention
circulación circulation
conversación conversation
edición edition
educación education
indicación indication
nación nation
pronunciación pronunciation
proposición proposition

protección protection
Some words in Spanish that end in o are easily recognized in
English without the o:
Atlántico Atlantic
democrático democratic
globo globe
romántico romantic
Some Spanish words that end in -ente or -ante are easily
recognized in English by dropping the final e:
cliente client
continente continent
equivalente equivalent
importante important
restaurante restaurant
Some Spanish words that end in -mente are easily recognized in
English with an -ly ending:
completamente completely
falsamente falsely
musicalmente musically
totalmente totally
11
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Allington, R. L., & McGill-Franzen, A. (1991). Educational reform and at-risk children:
Exclusion, retention, transition, and special education in an era of increased
accountability. Final report to the U.S. Department of Education, Office of
Educational Research and Improvement. (Grant #R117E90143)
Ard, J. & Homburg, T. (1992). Verification of language transfer. In S. M. Gass & L.
Selinker (Eds.), Language Transfer in Language Learning, pp. 47–70.
Cisero, C. A., & Royer, J. M. (1995). The development and cross-language transfer of
phonological awareness. Contemporary Educational Psychology 20, pp. 275–303.

González, V. (Ed.). (1999). Language and Cognitive Development in Second
Language Learning. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Jiménez, R. T., García, G. E., & Pearson, P. D. (1996). The reading strategies of
bilingual Latina/o students who are successful English readers: Opportunities
and obstacles. Reading Research Quarterly, 31 (1), pp. 90–112.
Krashen, Stephen (1981). Second Language Acquisition and Second Language
Learning, Pergamon Press.
Lee, J., & Schallert, D. L. (1997). The relative contribution of L2 language proficiency
and L1 reading ability to L2 reading performance. TESOL Quarterly 31 (4), pp.
713–739.
Legarreta-Marcaida, D. (1981). Effective use of the primary language in the
classroom. In California State Department of Education. School and Language
Minority Students (pp. 83–116). Los Angeles, CA: Evaluation, Dissemination and
Assessment Center.
Mora, J. K. (2001). Learning to spell in two languages: Orthographic transfer in a
transitional Spanish/English bilingual program. In P. Dreyer (Ed.), Raising Scores,
Raising Questions: Claremont Reading Conference 65th Yearbook. Claremont,
CA: Claremont Graduate University.
Muñiz-Swicegood, M. (1994). The effects of metacognitive reading strategy training
on the reading performance and student reading analysis strategies of third
grade bilingual students. Bilingual Research Journal 18 (1 & 2), pp. 83–97.
Nagy, W. E., Garcia, G. E., Durgunoglu, A. & Hancin-Bhatt, B. (1993). Spanish-English
bilingual students' use of cognates in English reading. Journal of Reading
Behavior, 25, pp. 241–259.
National Association for Bilingual Education (1995). Teaching literacy to bilingual
children: Effective practices for use by monolingual and bilingual teachers. NABE
News (August). Washington, D.C.
Odlin, T. (1989). Language transfer: Cross-linguistic influence in language learning.
New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Padrón, Y. N. (1992). The effect of strategy instruction on bilingual students’

cognitive strategy use in reading. Bilingual Research Journal, 16 (3 & 4).
Peregoy, S. F., & Boyle, O. F. (1997). Reading, writing and learning in ESL. NY:
Longman.
Pérez, B. & Torres-Guzmán, M. E. (1996). Learning in two worlds. White Plains, NY:
Longman.
Roberts, C.A. (1994). Transferring literacy skills from L1 to L2: From theory to
practice. Journal of Educational Issues of Language Minority Students, 13,
pp. 209–221.
12
References
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Transporte
Transportation
Nombre
Name
Español English
aeroplano airplane
ambulancia ambulance
bicicleta bicycle
bote boat
canoa canoe
carro car
helicóptero helicopter
motocicleta motorcycle
submarino submarine
taxi taxi
tren train
vagón wagon
8
13

Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
aeroplano
airplane
ambulancia
ambulance
tren
train
vagón
wagon
2
7
14
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
6 3
15
submarino
submarine
taxi
taxi
bicicleta
bicycle
bote
boat
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
4
5
16
canoa
canoe
carro

car
helicóptero
helicopter
motocicleta
motorcycle
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Calendario
Calendar
Nombre
Name
Español English
calendario calendar
febrero February
marzo March
abril April
mayo May
junio June
julio July
agosto August
septiembre September
octubre October
noviembre November
diciembre December
8
17
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
calendario
calendar
febrero
February

noviembre
November
diciembre
December
2
7
18
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
6 3
19
septiembre
September
octubre
October
marzo
March
abril
April
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
4
5
20
mayo
May
junio
June
julio
July
agosto
August

Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Animales
Animals
Nombre
Name
Español English
armadillo armadillo
camello camel
canguro kangaroo
cebra zebra
chimpancé chimpanzee
chita cheetah
elefante elephant
gorila gorilla
hipopótamo hippopotamus
jirafa giraffe
león lion
tigre tiger
8
21
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
armadillo
armadillo
camello
camel
león
lion
tigre
tiger
2

7
22
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
6 3
23
hipopótamo
hippopotamus
jirafa
giraffe
canguro
kangaroo
cebra
zebra
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
4
5
24
chimpancé
chimpanzee
chita
cheetah
elefante
elephant
gorila
gorilla
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources
25
Comidas y
bebidas
Food and Drink

Nombre
Name
Español English
café coffee
cereal cereal
chocolate chocolate
espaguetis spaghetti
hamburguesa hamburger
limonada lemonade
panqueque pancake
pizza pizza
soda soda
sopa soup
taco taco
té tea
8
Vocabulary Building Bilingual Mini-Books © Merri Gutierrez, Scholastic Teaching Resources