Academic Vocabulary North Carolina Department of Public Instruction English Language Arts Department

Academic Vocabulary Participants will learn how to identify Tier 2 words and determine which ones to teach.

The standards place a strong focus on the acquisition or high utility, sophisticated vocabulary… What is vocabulary that should be taught? What do teachers think vocabulary is? What do our students think vocabulary is? What does the CC say vocabulary is?

“Vocabulary” in the Standards R.CCR.4 - Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. L.CCR.3 – Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening. L.CCR.4 - Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate. Where do you find vocabulary discussed in the standards? We have highlighted where vocabulary is in each of these CCR anchor standards. Students must have the skills to infer the meaning of a word from information in the context. They must read widely, texts of sufficient complexity, in order to encounter a substantial number of unfamiliar words.

“Vocabulary” in the Standards L.CCR.5 - Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. L.CCR.6 - Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when encountering an unknown term important to comprehension or expression.

“Vocabulary” in the Standards SL.CCR.3 – Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric. SL.CCR.6 - Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. “Applying academic vocabulary accurately in speech.”

Choosing Words to Teach Three Tiers of Words Tier 1 – most basic words of oral language and rarely require instructional attention (80% of text) Tier 2 – words that are more sophisticated and used often across disciplines Tier 3 – words that are very rare or apply to specific domains Let’s review the three tiers: Tier 1 words are the most basic words in our oral lexicon and rarely require instructional attention. They are words that students learn and use in every day conversation and are found in texts intended for young and developing readers. Tier 1 words are the most frequently used in text and comprise approximately 80% of the texts we read. These are words that require little, if any instructional time. Examples: baby, happy, clock, hungry Tier 2 words are of high frequency for mature language users and are found across a variety of domains. These are words that are seen across disciplines and in later grades. Words not typically common to oral language High-frequency words for mature language users Words more typically found in written language Examples: coincidence, absurd, industrious, fortunate Tier 3 words are word that are very rare or domain-specific whose frequency are low and often limited to specific domains. These are the ones you “go over” quickly and give a brief explanation or words that are best learned when needed in a content area. Examples: glossary words, ameba, isotope, lathe, peninsula CCSS: Tier One words are the words of everyday speech usually learned in the early grades, albeit not at the same rate by all children. They are not considered a challenge to the average native speaker, though English language learners of any age will have to attend carefully to them. While Tier One words are important, they are not the focus of this discussion. Tier Two words (what the Standards refer to as general academic words) are far more likely to appear in written texts than in speech. They appear in all sorts of texts: informational texts (words such as relative, vary, formulate, specificity, and accumulate), technical texts (calibrate, itemize, periphery), and literary texts (misfortune, dignified, faltered, unabashedly). Tier Two words often represent subtle or precise ways to say relatively simple things—saunter instead of walk, for example. Because Tier Two words are found across many types of texts, they are highly generalizable. Tier Three words (what the Standards refer to as domain-specific words) are specific to a domain or field of study (lava, carburetor, legislature, circumference, aorta) and key to understanding a new concept within a text. Because of their specificity and close ties to content knowledge, Tier Three words are far more common in informational texts than in literature. Recognized as new and “hard” words for most readers (particularly student readers), they are often explicitly defined by the author of a text, repeatedly used, and otherwise heavily scaffolded (e.g., made a part of a glossary).

Identifying and Teaching Tier 2 Words Academic Vocabulary talk by Sue Pimentel (author of the CCSS). Need CD Introduction to vocabulary – what is it and the instruction around it.

by the Character Education Teen Residency Project Participants What Can a Small Bird Be? by the Character Education Teen Residency Project Participants Read the “Courage” section.

Start with choosing words that your students may not know. Ask participants to gather and write academic vocabulary words on sticky notes. Start with choosing words that your students may not know. We did this and now we’re going to share with you the which words we think are Tier 2 words. The notion of tiers of words is not precise, and if you were to identify tier two words from this selection, you may not choose all of the same words that we have. After they have found academic vocabulary words, click to show the words we chose. The tier two words that we identified in the first section are as follows: Courage: Curious: Ancient: Enormous: Hunched Timid: Currents:

Startled: Trembled: Hesitation:

Snatched: Flailed: Surfaced:

Which words are worthy of instruction? Students are likely to see the word often in other texts and across domains. The word will be useful in students’ writing. The word relates to other words or ideas that the students know or have been learning. Word choice has significance in the text. The context does not provide enough information for students to infer the meaning. Now you have all these words on your sticky notes and you need to decide which ones to teach. Using the academic vocabulary rubric, let’s decide which ones to teach. These questions will eventually become second nature as you learn to select vocabulary words.

Criteria to determine which words to teach: Academic Vocabulary Tier 2 Words Criteria to determine which words to teach: Instruction Not address Tell Worthy   Students are likely to see the word often in other texts and across domains. The word will be useful in students’ writing. The word relates to other words or ideas that the students know or have been learning. Word choice has significance in the text. The context does not provide enough information for students to infer the meaning.

Criteria to determine which words to teach: Academic Vocabulary Tier 2 Words Criteria to determine which words to teach: Instruction Not address Tell Worthy  surfaced X Students are likely to see the word often in other texts and across domains. X The word will be useful in students’ writing. X The word relates to other words or ideas that the students know or have been learning. X Word choice has significance in the text. X The context does not provide enough information for students to infer the meaning.    W Surfaced: Worthy of teaching because students will see it across disciplines

Criteria to determine which words to teach: Academic Vocabulary Tier 2 Words Criteria to determine which words to teach: Instruction Not address Tell Worthy  startled Students are likely to see the word often in other texts and across domains. X The word will be useful in students’ writing. X The word relates to other words or ideas that the students know or have been learning. X Word choice has significance in the text. X The context does not provide enough information for students to infer the meaning.    T Startled: Tell it because students cannot get the meaning from context and is significant to the meaning of the text. Students will not see the word across disciplines.

Criteria to determine which words to teach: Academic Vocabulary Tier 2 Words Criteria to determine which words to teach: Instruction Not address Tell Worthy  hunched Students are likely to see the word often in other texts and across domains. The word will be useful in students’ writing. The word relates to other words or ideas that the students know or have been learning. X Word choice has significance in the text. The context does not provide enough information for students to infer the meaning.    N Hunched Not address because students can obtain meaning from context

Your Turn Using another chapter from What Can a Small Bird Be?: Identify the words your students may not know. Identify the Tier 2 words. Use the rubric to determine which words to teach. Choose another chapter from the bird book. Work with a partner. Choose 5 words and apply them to the rubric.

Rich Vocabulary Instruction The goal of vocabulary instruction is for students to know words well, be able to explain them, and use them in multiple contexts. We want students to “own” the word. Discuss

RAP – Read-Aloud Project (K-2) “The Stranger” BAP – Basal Alignment Project (3-5) AAP – Anthology Alignment Project (6-12) “The Scarlet Ibis” Writing Text-Based Questions, Activities and Tasks for Picture and Chapter Books, Basals, and Anthologies Council of the Great City Schools and Student Achievement Partners The Stranger and The Scarlet Ibis (link to it on the LiveBinder) RAP, BAP, AAP Briefly go over the format and how they deal with academic vocabulary. Writing tasks from texts. Reading and writing connected to texts Text should be the boss in the classroom. -David Coleman

Edmodo Group Codes for: RAP (Read Aloud Project) pkx52i BAP (Basal Alignment Project) f4q6nm AAP (Anthology Alignment Project) jsv4r7 Hand out the lessons. Discuss