Tools for Teachers: Academic Vocabulary Implementing Key Shifts in the CCSS ELA Level 2 Session 4

Session Objectives As a result of this session, participants will… Revisit Shift # 3 Regular practice with complex text and its academic vocabulary Learn about the importance of a systematic focus on academic vocabulary within CCSS-aligned instruction. © 2012 The Aspen Institute

Why Design with a Focus on Academic Vocabulary Matters Teaching focused on academic vocabulary is linked to significant gains in comprehension. The lack of systematic instruction has been shown to be a leading cause of the achievement gap. Thus the CCSS stress the importance of contextual instruction around “Tier 2” academic vocabulary. © 2012 The Aspen Institute

Academic Vocabulary and the CCSS: The Three Tiers Tier 1: The basic and concrete words of everyday speech; examples include walk, said, and car. Tier 3: Highly specialized, domain-specific vocabulary used to describe content knowledge; examples include oligarchy, photosynthesis, and carburetor; their low occurrence in texts typically leads to them being explicitly defined by the teacher or in the text itself (e.g. “White supremacy was enforced through segregation laws called ‘Jim Crow’”). Tier 3 words are best taught in the context of a coherent course of study in which subject matters are integrated and coordinated across the curriculum and domains become familiar to the student over several days or weeks. © 2012 The Aspen Institute

Academic Vocabulary and the CCSS: The Three Tiers Tier 2: Precise and more abstract words typically found in written texts; examples include saunter, boasted, and vehicle; referred to as high utility general academic vocabulary because of their frequent appearance across content areas, rich representational quality, multiple meanings depending on context, and connection to other words; seldom defined or scaffolded within texts. The contextual analysis of Tier 2 words should be the academic vocabulary focus within close reading exemplars. These words should be reinforced across genres and subject areas. © 2012 The Aspen Institute

Tools for Selecting Academic Vocabulary Because there is a larger number of Tier 2 words than can be taught directly in a lesson, teachers must be strategic in selecting vocabulary to focus on when teaching a text. © 2012 The Aspen Institute Example of Academic Vocabulary lists

“The earliest arrivals found places as close as possible to the steps of the great marble monument. As the crowd grew, it spread back along the Mall, stretching around both sides of the long reflecting pool and extending beyond to the base of the Washington Monument, three-quarters of a mile away. Baby carriages were parked among the trees. Folks cradled sleeping infants in their arms and held youngsters by the hand or propped up on their shoulders. Uniformed Boy Scouts moved through the festive holiday throng handing out programs.” Academic Vocabulary and Real Texts © 2012 The Aspen Institute

“The earliest arrivals found places as close as possible to the steps of the great marble monument. As the crowd grew, it spread back along the Mall, stretching around both sides of the long reflecting pool and extending beyond to the base of the Washington Monument, three-quarters of a mile away. Baby carriages were parked among the trees. Folks cradled sleeping infants in their arms and held youngsters by the hand or propped up on their shoulders. Uniformed Boy Scouts moved through the festive holiday throng handing out programs.” Academic Vocabulary and Real Texts © 2012 The Aspen Institute

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Video Clip Close Reading - Vocab Focus - Grade 1 w w In this first day of instruction, the teacher focuses his first graders on a complex text. The instruction centers on the vocabulary. The subsequent lessons focus on text-dependent questions and details. This is the first of three days worth of instruction on this text.

Time to Reflect Effective CCSS-aligned instruction is designed with a focus on systematically developing students’ “Tier 2” academic vocabulary. © 2012 The Aspen Institute

Thank you to the Aspen Institute for sharing their work. This work has been adapted with their permission. shifts-common-core-state-standards