The Importance of Teaching Academic Vocabulary Academic Vocabulary must be intentionally taught to all levels of students in all subjects. Academic words are used in a variety of ways depending on the subject or situation. When students enter school with a vocabulary deficit, learning Tier 2 words can improve their reading fluency and comprehension. What is Literacy? Literacy is the ability to read and write in order to make meaning from text Disciplinary Literacy refers to the specialized skills that someone must master to be able to read and write in the various disciplines and technical fields Each content or subject discipline has: - its own unique core and - its own ways of inquiring, investigating, reasoning, representing, and questioning What is Tiered Vocabulary? Tier 1 Words: Basic Words - high frequency words (sight words) - used in everyday talking - typically do not have multiple meanings - i.e.: dog, cat, green, run Tier 2 Words: General Academic Words - appear in various texts such as informational, technical, and literary - found more frequently in written text - can have multiple meanings or specific nuance - i.e.: dignity, steadfast, analyze, distribute Tier 3 Words: Domain-Specific Words - appear in specific domains or fields of study - found in the glossary or bolded in textbooks - i.e.: filibuster, algorithm, photosynthesis Sources McGready, Melissa. Building Vocabulary in Social Studies. Winston-Salem/Forsyth Co. Schools. “NC Teacher Evaluation Rubric.” NCEES. ncees.ncdpi.wikispaces.net/NCTeachers. NCDPI. “NCDPI K-12 Social Studies.” Concept Based Curriculum. 2018 (McGready) For a full explanation of how accomplished teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students read chapter two of What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do published by National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. (http://accomplishedteacher.org). Our Partners: Authors: Brad Rhew and Anne Proctor Layout & Design: Debra Coram Troxell
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