Academics
Academic Vocabulary
Research demonstrates that teaching specific terms in a specific way is the strongest action a teacher can take to ensure that students have the academic background knowledge they need to understand content. The more terms a person knows about a given subject, the easier it is to understand and to learn new information related to that subject. This general knowledge about a subject is referred to as background knowledge. When students have general knowledge of the terms that are important to the content taught in school, they can be said to have the necessary academic background knowledge. Many students acquire background knowledge outside of school, and they come to school with the knowledge necessary to succeed in school. Students with families with fewer resources may have lacked the experiences necessary to acquire academic background knowledge outside of school. Without specific vocabulary instruction, as time progresses the gap in academic background knowledge grows larger. Based on the research of Robert Marzano and Debra Pickering, the El Dorado Schools have implemented the Six-Step Process to teach academic vocabulary at all levels and in all content areas.
Academic Vocabulary and Six-Step Materials
Six-Step Process
Building Academic Vocabulary Powerpoint
Building Academic Vocabulary Questions and Answers
Visuwords
Quizlet
Academic Vocabulary Word Lists
Prefixes & Suffixes
Elementary Schools
Kindergarten
Grade 1
Grade 2
Grade 3
Grade 4
Washington Middle School
Reading
Math
Science
Social Studies
Barton Junior High
English
Math
Science
Social Studies
El Dorado High School
Art I
Career & Technical
English
German I
Mathematics
Science
Spanish I