518+Professional+Toolbox

=Strategies to Support Academic Language=

= Vocabulary = One technique my CT loves to use is to allow kids to discover the vocab words in many different ways and contexts before giving them the definition. These could be through different articles or through different mediums like text and visual. This allows kids to form their own ideas about the word and inspire the independent learner through curiosity. This curiosity is especially prevalent in our classroom since it is an independent learner environment and any time we can tap into it, its very helpful. Furthermore, it generates interest into what the definition is, and how that definition can help them understand the word. While they may form their own idea, they still want to know what it //really// means by the end of their exploration. user:mpurphy
 * Finding the Need for Definitions ( Rollins, Krista)**

In math, there are a lot of words from everyday language that are used to describe something specifically in math. Sometimes these words have similar meanings in both everyday language and in mathematics, and sometimes they do not. More often than not, the definitions are related in some way. Autumn often introduces new words by asking students what they mean in everyday language. She then guides them to discover what they mean in mathematics. For example, when students learn about //independent variables// a teacher could ask the students what //independent// means. Once the students have come up with the idea that //independent// refers to “self-sufficient” or “not depending on anything else” then the teacher could explain that the //independent variable// is a variable whose value does not depend on any other quantity. user:Jayson44
 * Discovering Academic Definitions (Carper, Autumn) **

One strategy that my CT uses in the classroom is having the students hear the definition of a vocabulary word and then he will add to it by creating a visual image to go along with the definition. He will then have the students create an image of their own- either copying ours if it makes sense to them or creating on which resonates with them. This is effective in making sure that ELL students in particular, are understanding what the vocabulary means and gives them another access point in comprehending vocabulary. user:sarahnewman4
 * Visual Representations (Hall, Dave)**

In their book //Bringing Words to Life//, Beck, McKeown and Kucan discuss the importance of learning vocabulary through more than dictionary definitions, which often sacrifice nuance for the sake of conciseness. In learning, practicing and being assessed in academic language, students need exposure to facets of word meanings so they can develop robust understanding of the words, which will support both their receptive and productive vocabularies. The following exercises ask student to recognize nuances of the vocabulary words that distinguish it from other similar words or to recognize the relationship of the word to the meaning of the sentence. user:marcyray
 * Robust Vocabulary Instruction: Facets of Word Meanings (Beck, McKeown, Kucan) **

**Replacement Vocabulary** (Walters, Kelly)
In class Kelly often utilizes the strategy of replacing the student's non-academic vocabulary with the more scientific equivalent. For example, as we are discussing the data from a lab or a reading, students will often use the words they know to describe what is happening and as he writes our class discussion notes on the board he will pause and change the word. He tells students to get out their notebooks and write down the new word in their own words and the less academic equivalent. This exercise helps scaffold the language for students and allows them to integrate the new words into a genuine context. user:meganbatty

Using Summary Frames to Guide Comprehension (Finley)
Much like sentence frames, summary frames are used to guide comprehension of new vocabulary words that are discipline-specific. These frames not only help students comprehend what is occurring in a passage of text, but also give students practice with using vocabulary words in context. Before using the sentence frames, students verbally summarize a passage of text to a partner, then fill out a cause/effect frame or a problem/solution frame. The model for these summary frames can be found on the website below under strategy #2.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/8-strategies-teaching-academic-language-todd-finley user:mattcrichlow

**“This….Not That”**
This strategy is blended with “popcorn talk” from Jeff Zwiers’ book //Building Academic Language//. Popcorn Talk is a way to model a shallow discussion in order to lead students into a deeper discussion. “This…Not That” is supposed to model for students how to translate their everyday speech into academic appropriate language by using common phrases students use. This would be a vocabulary exercise as well as a syntax exercise. To implement this I would model a common phrase by writing it on the whiteboard and replace it with a more academic phrasing. For example: “I don’t know” --- “I currently do not have enough information to answer that question.” I would then ask student to pair up and think of a few phrases they would want to workshop. We could do a few as a class and write them on a poster as a resource. Students need to be explained that we all use different registers according to our environment, including teachers, and how to switch or “translate” as needed. -Popcorn Talk: pg. 73 -Materials: Whiteboard, poster, an example for modelinguser:Mmhightower

Marzano's Six Step Process for Teaching a Word

 * [|Marzano's Six Step Process]
 * [|Tip Sheet]

= Syntax =

This is an exercise that should be done after the students have completed a rough draft of a project. It is something that I used when I ran writing workshops in a writing center, and something I have seen Delvone Bullis and Staci Worth do at my placement in West Valley. The students should anywhere from 3-5 sentences from the essay, paragraph or project they have written and they feel needs improvement. On a sentence level, students should then revise these sentences into "academic-ese" specific to the discourse of your discipline. For instance, if a student wrote, "This shows that Gatsby is dumb for trying to win Daisy back," it may be revised as, "Gatsby, in trying to win back Daisy, compromises his judgment, and his worth as a character." This exercise should be heavily supported with academic vocabulary and explicitly modeled for the students. Workshopping their sentences with their peers is a good checking point as well.
 * Sentence Building and Rewriting**
 * This is similar to what many of us have down, but the point of this strategy is really building both the sentence and the vocabulary. Students should see how different sentence structures can be used, and try and include sentence variation and length when editing at this level as well. Another variant of this is for students to write out each sentence of a paragraph and examine it for similar structure, and then institute changes. user:rfay1

Sentence Frames

 * [] (Focus on the section on language frames)
 * [] (Focus on pages 11-12)
 * [|Tip Sheet]

= Discourse =

Creating Commentary from Evidence
One of my cooperating teachers, Beth L., along with the other sixth-grade teachers in my school, use many resources to help students understand the format and structure of informative and persuasive essays. Two important facets of both types of writing are the use of evidence and the commentary made about this evidence in light of the claim. These worksheets are two examples of this process of pulling evidence from and making commentary about an image and description for the purpose of supporting a claim that the students can decide on initially and revise throughout the activity. Students should be encouraged to use commentary sentence frames to phrase their reasoning (i.e. “This shows…, This suggests…, This illustrates…, etc.). The students love this activity because they feel like they are on an episode of their favorite crime shows rather than preparing a well-supported argument using the same language persuasive writers use. user:kala9

Mentor Texts

 * []
 * [] (Focus on pages 7-17)
 * [|Tip Sheet]

= General =

Expert Modeling (Zwiers)
This strategy uses the teacher as a “content expert” so students can model, listens, and sees what experts in the content do to solve problems, think critically, etc. The expert modeling strategy utilizes the teacher’s expertise and mastery of the academic language as a model for students to use and learn. Students can see how the teacher (and other content masters) work with particular vocabulary, procedures, and critical thinking pieces in practice. This particularly works well for math and science but can also apply to more specific areas of ELA and History. remengeruser:remenger

=KWL Charts for Text-Based Activities=

This strategy assesses what students know and want to know about a text, and finally what they've learned after completing a text. For pre-reading, the teacher sets up three columns with the letters "K," "W," and "L" as the headers. The teacher then asks the class what they know ("K") and want to know ("W") about the text. After completion of the text, the "L" portion is filled out collectively as a class. For historical texts, this gives the teacher a chance to see what the class knows about a certain subject area, and if they need to scaffold more before jumping into the text.

http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/printouts/chart-a-30226.html

user:mattcrichlow

"Top Ten" List of Academic Language Instructional Supports user:Anny1