Building Background Knowledge and Supporting Vocabulary Development in English Language Learners/Multilingual Language Learners - Grade 7 Exemplars

Oct 1, 2026

Grade 7 exemplars focused on building background knowledge and supporting vocabulary development for English language learners and multilingual learners. The materials provide an overview and teacher and student instructions for background lessons tied to A Long Walk to Water, including “A Constant Search for Water” and “Time Trip—Sudan’s Civil War.” The text explains Sudan’s hot climate, rainy and dry seasons, water scarcity, long daily journeys, contaminated water, and health and education impacts, supported by glossaries, sample sentences, and guiding questions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages48

Reading Time2 h 1 min

AccessFree to download

Grade 7: A Long Walk to Water

Background 1: A Constant Search for Water

Background 2: Time Trip—Sudan’s Civil War

Background 3—Recent History of Sudan

Glossary of key vocabulary: A Long Walk to Water

Grade 7: Chávez’s Commonwealth Club Address

Background: Cesar Chávez: Embrace the Legacy

Glossary of key vocabulary: Chávez’s Commonwealth Club Address

Overview

A Long Walk to Water (Glossary and sample sentences)

Background 1: A Constant Search for Water

Guiding Question: What are the challenges related to water in Southern Sudan?

Word Bank

Building Background Knowledge and Supporting Vocabulary Development inEnglish Language Learners/MultilingualLanguage Learners:Grade 7 Exemplars Laura Golden Diane August American Institutes for Research Joanne Urrutia Independent Consultant January 2018 1000 Thomas Jefferson Street NWWashington, DC 20007-3835202-403-5000 | TTY 877-334-3499www.air.org Copyright © 2018 New York State Education Department. All rights reserved. Contents Grade 7: A Long Walk to Water..................................................................................................1 Background1:A Constant Search for Water .............................................................................2 Background 2: Time Trip—Sudan’s Civil War.......................................................................6 Background 3—Recent History of Sudan..............................................................................16 Glossary of key vocabulary: A Long Walk to Water.............................................................18 Grade 7: Chávez’s Commonwealth Club Address...................................................................25 Background:Cesar Chávez: Embrace the Legacy...................................................................26 Glossary of key vocabulary: Chávez’s Commonwealth Club Address .................................33 | | | | --- | --- | | https://www.engageny.org/resource/grade-7-ela-module-1 | | | Overview | | | A Constant Search for Water | American Institutes for Research (AIR) developed thisactivity to provide students with background information onthe environmental conditions in southern Sudan before theyread ALong Walk to Water.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR TEACHERS
• Turn to Expeditionary Learning: Grade 7: Module 1: Unit1: Lesson 1.
• Follow the instructions for the Opening and Work TimePart A.
• Complete the background activity “A Constant Search forWater,”which AIR has provided on the following pages. .
• Follow the instructions for Work Time Part B, Closingand Assessment, and Homework from the ExpeditionaryLearning materials. | | Time Trip – Sudan’s CivilWar | This activity was adapted from Expeditionary Learning:
Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 6, page 7. A supplementaryparagraph was added to the end of the text with updatedinformation on South Sudan. Images (with captions), glossedwords, and questions were added throughout to supportEnglish language learner (ELL) students’understanding ofthe text.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR TEACHERS
• Turn to Expeditionary Learning: Grade 7: Module 1: Unit1: Lesson 6.
• Follow the instructions for the Opening.
• Replace Work Time Part A with the background activity“Time Trip – Sudan’s Civil War,”which AIR hasprovided on the following pages.
• Follow the instructions for Work Time Part B, Closingand Assessment, and Homework from the ExpeditionaryLearning materials. | | Overview | | | --- | --- | | ALong Walk to Water | This glossary provides definitions and sample sentences forkey vocabulary drawn from ALong Walk to Water (pages 1–25) . The quartile from the list of the 4,000 most frequentwords is also provided, where applicable. Glossed wordsinclude those identified in the Expeditionary Learningmaterials and those identified by AIR staff as key tounderstanding the text. | # Background1: A Constant Search for Water | A Constant Search for Water | | | | --- | --- | --- | | The book ALong Walk to Water tells two separate stories at the same time. Each chapter tellsthe story of a boy named Salva side-by-side with the story of a girl named Nya. Salva and Nyalived in Southern Sudan during different time periods. Salva lived in Southern Sudan in 1985,and Nya livedin Southern Sudan in 2008. This background lesson describes what washappening in Sudan when Nya lived there in 2008. In preparation for reading ALong Walk toWater, we are going to learn about the lack of water in Sout

FAQs

What is the purpose of the background lesson “A Constant Search for Water”?

It teaches what was happening in Sudan when Nya lived there in 2008, focusing on the lack of water in southern Sudan to support reading A Long Walk to Water.

What challenges related to water are described for southern Sudan?

Southern Sudan experiences very hot conditions with rainy and dry seasons; during the dry season, water sources dry up, requiring long walks to collect contaminated water that can cause disease.

How is learning supported for English language learners in these exemplars?

Activities include teacher and student instructions, glossed key vocabulary, images with captions, supplementary questions, and a glossary with definitions and sample sentences to improve comprehension.

Oct 1, 2026

Uploaded by Jordan Avery