LETS DANCE

EMPOWERING STUDENTS
WITH ACADEMIC
LANGUAGE/VOCABULARY
PRESENTED BY
TYRA SMITH-DEAN, INSTRUCTIONAL SPECIALIST, SFA FACILITATOR, Pulaski

NORMS
Actively Participate
Be Fully Present
Have FUN!!!

GOALS
Define academic language/vocabulary and why
its important to students success
Identify and categorize examples of academic
language
Develop an understanding of academic
language/vocabulary in the Common Core State
Standards

LETS PLAY
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY

TURN AND TALK

WHAT IS ACADEMIC
VOCABULARY/
LANGUAGE?

ACADEMIC LANGUAGE
General and content/domain specific
vocabulary and language structures used
in textbooks and assessments. The
language students need to know to be
successful in school.

CATEGORIES OF
ACADEMIC LANGUAGE
TIER II
TIER I

GENERAL ACADEMIC

SIMPLE VOCABULARY

VOCABULARY AND
PHRASES
TIER III

SUBJECT/DOMAIN SPECIFIC

VOCABULARY AND
PHRASES

TABLE ACTIVITY
Read article The Secret Truth About Napping by Maria Allegra
Focusing on Tier II and Tier III Vocabulary Words categorize into 3
columns
Use strips of paper, write academic vocabulary, place in correct
column on table
TIER II
GENERAL VOCABULARY

TIER III
SUBJECT/DOMAIN SPECIFIC
VOCABULARY

CONTEXT DEPENDENT
(multiple meaning)

EXAMPLES OF
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
TIER II (GENERAL)

TIER III (CONTENT SPECIFIC)

Focused

Rousing

Frequent
Benefits
Patterns
Concluded

In relation,
According to,

CONTEXT DEPENDENT
(multiple meaning)
Benefits

Siesta (apposition)

Sync

Residents (apposition)
Sleep-deprived
Waves of weary teens
Internal clock

Patterns
Residents
(these words can also be in
Tier II or Tier III)

Recall
()definition is provided in article

COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS AND

ACADEMIC LANGUAGE
Tier II words (what the standards refer to as general academic
words) are far more likely to appear in written text than in speech.
They appear in all sorts of texts. Tier II words areparticularly
powerful because of their wide applicability to many sorts of
reading. Teachers thus need to be alert to the presence of Tier II
words and determine which ones need careful attention.
-Common Core State Standards, Appendix A
www.corestandards.org/

COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS AND

ACADEMIC LANGUAGE
VIDEO

SIX SHIFTS OF CCSS

INSTRUCTIONAL SHIFTS

BALANCING
INFORMATIONAL AND
LITERARY TEXT

TEXT-BASED ANSWERS

BUILDING KNOWLEDGE
IN THE DISCIPLINES

WRITING FROM SOURCES

STAIRCASE OF
COMPLEXITY

ACADEMIC VOCABULARY

SHIFT 6 ACADEMIC VOCABULARY

Students constantly build the transferrable
vocabulary that they need to access grade level
complex texts. This can be done effectively by
spiraling like content in increasingly complex
texts
THINK PAIR SHARE: What are other ways to get
students to build transferrable vocabulary?

COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS AND

ACADEMIC LANGUAGE
Reading Anchor Standard 4

Interpret technical, connotative, and figurative meanings for words and phrases.

Reading Anchor Standard 4

Analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

Language Anchor Standard 4

Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple meaning words and phrases
using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting reference material.

Language Anchor Standard 5

Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in

word meanings.

Language Anchor Standard 6

Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and
phrases.

Language Anchor Standard 6

Demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when encountering an

unknown word.

TIER II
EXPLICIT VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION
VIDEO

TURN AND TALK

Discuss one strategy you observed
in the video that you can share
with your teachers.

STRATEGIC APPROACHES TO TEACHING

ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
RUBRICS (TEAM TALK SUCCESS FOR ALL)
*Can be adapted to any subject/domain*

100

Gives a 90 point response and connects the answer to the supporting evidence and
uses academic language

90

Gives 80 point response and includes supporting evidence and examples (from the text
or from experience)

80

Uses full sentences to clearly and correctly answer the question

STRATEGIC APPROACHES TO TEACHING

ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
ACADEMIC CONNECTING PHRASES
Using CONNECTING PHRASES helps students elaborate and give more
detailed responses
For example, (EXPERIENCES)
In addition, (ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE/EVIDENCE)
According to the text, (TEXT BASED ANSWERS, REFERENCING A SOURCE)
This statement means, (INTERPRETING INFORMATION)
For these reasons, (EVIDENCE)
This supports the idea that, (SUPPORTING THE EVIDENCE)
As a result, (BENEFITS OR DAMAGES AS IT RELATES TO TOPIC)

STRATEGIC APPROACHES TO TEACHING

ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
IDENTIFY ACADEMIC VERBS

Indicate

Illustrate

Relate

Emphasize

Explain

Enable

Demonstrate

Identify

LETS TAKE A LOOK

IDENTIFY THE VERBS IN BOTH RESPONSES
COMPARE AND CONTRAST RESPONSES. WHAT ARE THE MAJOR DIFFERENCES?
Why do you think the author included the caption at the top of page 11?
STUDENT RESPONSES:

100 I think the author included the caption on page 11 because it explains some negative things about oil that
are not in the article. Throughout the article, the author emphasizes the benefits of oil and all the ways that it is
used. The caption and picture indicate that an oil spill hurt wildlife and the environment. Without this caption, a
reader might not know that there are disadvantages to oil.

90 I think the author included the caption on page 11 because it says some negative things about oil
that are not in the article. In the article, the author talks about all the ways that oil is used. The caption
and picture show that an oil spill hurt wildlife and the environment.

IDENTIFY VERB ACADEMIC VOCABULARY

100 I think the author included the caption on page 11 because it explains
some negative things about oil that are not in the article. Throughout the article,
the author emphasizes the benefits of oil and all the ways that it is used. The
caption and picture indicate that an oil spill hurt wildlife and the environment.
Without this caption, a reader might not know that there are disadvantages to oil.

90 I think the author included the caption on page 11 because it says some
negative things about oil that are not in the article. In the article, the author talks
about all the ways that oil is used. The caption and picture show that an oil spill
hurt wildlife and the environment.

TURN AND TALK

Driving Questions
Which academic words or phrases are important to students understanding of
a text? Why?
How do we choose which words or phrases to teach?

THINK ABOUT THESE

QUESTIONS

1. How useful is the word?

2. Will it be encountered in other content areas? How frequently?
3. Does it have multiple meanings?
4. Will learning it help a student figure out similar words (e.g. observeobservation, observatory?)

ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
LINKS/RESOURCES
https://www.vocabularyaz.com/vocabweb/home.do
http://www.usingenglish.com/files/pdf/academicvocabulary-words-with-multiple-meanings.pdf
http://wordgen.serpmedia.org/index.html (from our
colleague Susan O. at A.L. Holmes emailed January
15, 2016)

VOCABULARY BALLOON BURST

ACTIVITY
How do you plan to teach, model and reinforce the use of academic
vocabulary in your classroom/school?
Each team receives a balloon

BURST the balloon

Find your Academic Vocabulary inside
Team create a strategy for teaching the Academic Vocabulary
Share teams strategy with whole group

PLEASE COMPLETE THE

EVALUATION
CONTACT INFO

tyra.smith-dean@detroitk12.org
313 866-7022 school

313 866-7009 office