Best Practices English - Hilltop High Schoolhth.sweetwaterschools.org/files/2012/06/Best-Practices-English.pdf · English(9(PLC( Page(4(!!! The!Academic!WordList!(AWL)! The Academic

English 9 PLC Page 1

English 9 PLC Best Practices for CCSS Anchor Standards: Vocabulary

Contents Academic Vocabulary List ........................................................................... 2

http://wordsift.com/ .................................................................................. 3

The Academic Word List (AWL) ................................................................... 4

AWL Selection ................................................................................. 4

Academic Vocabulary Highlighter ............................................................... 5

File produced at level 8 .......................................................................... 5

Vocabulary in Context ................................................................................. 6

Vocabulary in Context: Model .................................................................... 7

Characteristics of effective Vocabulary Instruction .................................... 8

READING TASK Graphic Organizer .......................................................... 10

Sage -‐N-‐ Scribe ........................................................................................ 11


Academic Vocabulary List http://www.englishcompanion.com/pdfDocs/acvocabulary2.pdf


http://wordsift.com/


The Academic Word List (AWL) The Academic Word List (AWL) was developed by Averil Coxhead as her MA thesis at the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. The list contains 570 word families which were selected according to principles. The list does not include words that are in the most frequent 2000 words of English. The AWL was primarily made so that it could be used by teachers as part of a programme preparing learners for tertiary level study or used by students working alone to learn the words most needed to study at tertiary institutions. The Academic Word List replaces the University Word List.

For detail on the development and evaluation of the AWL, see Coxhead, Averil (2000) A New Academic Word List. TESOL Quarterly, 34(2): 213-238.

AWL Selection

Principles of Selection Used in Developing the AWL

The word families of the Academic Word List were selected according to several principles. In order of importance, these selection principles were:

1. Range. The AWL families had to occur in the Arts, Commerce, Law and Science faculty sections of the Academic Corpus (see below for details on the Academic Corpus). The word families also had to occur in over half of the 28 subject areas of the Academic Corpus (see Table 2 below). Just over 94% of the words in the AWL occur in 20 or more subject areas. This principle ensures that the words in the AWL are useful for all learners, no matter what their area of study or what combination of subjects they take at tertiary level.

2. Frequency. The AWL families had to occur over 100 times in the 3,500,000 word Academic Corpus in order to be considered for inclusion in the list. This principle ensures that the words will be met a reasonable number of times in academic texts.

3. Uniformity of frequency. The AWL families had to occur a minimum of 10 times in each faculty of the Academic Corpus to be considered for inclusion in the list. This principle ensures that the vocabulary is useful for all learners.

Words Excluded From the Academic Word List

1. Words occurring in the first 2,000 words of English. The AWL assumes knowledge of West's General Service List (GSL) (1953) as the basic vocabulary any learner should have before starting to learn academic vocabulary.

2. Narrow range words. Words which occurred in fewer than 4 faculty sections of the Academic Corpus or which occurred in fewer than 15 of the 28 subject areas of the Academic Corpus were excluded because they had narrow range. Technical or specialist words often have narrow range and were excluded on this basis

3. Proper nouns. The names of places, people, countries, for example, New Zealand, Jim Bolger and Wellington were excluded from the list.

4. Latin forms. Some of the most common Latin forms in the Academic Corpus were et al, etc, ie, and ibid.


Academic Vocabulary Highlighter http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/alzsh3/acvocab/awlhighlighter.htm

File produced at level 8

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new


Vocabulary in Context

Word

Other form(s) of this word/derivaZons

Sentence using this word from original text.

Here is my own original sentence using this word in context. Annotate your "hints" that show context.

Prefixes, Roots, Suffixes

SyllabicaZon Part of speech

Etymology or word origin

DefinZon of word (paraphrased)


Vocabulary in Context: Model

Word Geography

Other form(s) of this word/derivaZons

geographical, geographer

Sentence using this word from original text.

"Historians o`en aaribute tribal conflicts to geographical proximity."

Here is my own original sentence using this word in context. Annotate your "hints" that show context.

In my world geography class we labeled a poliZcal map of South America.

Prefixes, Roots, Suffixes

prefix: geo root/base: graph suffix: -‐y

SyllabicaZon

Ge/og/ra/phy

Part of speech

Noun

Etymology or word origin

Geo: Earth Graphy: To write

DefinZon of word (paraphrased)

Drawing land masses or map making.


Characteristics of effective Vocabulary Instruction


3 Sentence Wrap-‐Up

Step One: Individual work:

• Determine what is most important in relationship to what we studied today (use your materials)

• Sum it up in 3 sentences (no more, no less) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Step Two: Partner work:

• Confer with your partner • Compare your individual 3 sentence wrap-‐ups

• Clarify any concerns and revise as necessary

Step Three: Make it global!

Create a fourth sentence (with your partner) that addresses how what we’re studying is connected to life...Begin your fourth sentence with “This is important because”…

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Name of Text________________________________________________


READING TASK Graphic Organizer 1.Pre-‐Reading Skim/Scan the piece for the title, author/source,

and date of publication. Number the paragraphs.

2.During Reading Circle or highlight the parts that resonate with or are important to you.

3.Post –Reading Choose 1-‐3 sentences from the piece that you think would benefit the “common good”.

WRITING TASK

Step 1: Copy 1-‐3 sentences from the piece: (Choose the ones that “speak” to you) Step 2: Write the sentences in your own words/Paraphrase (remember to give credit to the author) Structured Student Interaction: *Person 1: Read Steps 1-‐2 out loud to your small group. *Each person in the group: Comment on what was shared (Person who shares only listens). Step 3: Explain why you chose these specific sentences from the piece Structured Student Interaction: *Person 1: Read Step 3 out loud to your small group. *Process continues with the next person in the small group.


Sage -N- Scribe

Sage: The speaker

Scribe: The writer

1. Choose who will be the 1st Sage, who will be the 1st Scribe. 2. Sage’s role is to share his/her ideas with the Scribe in relationship to the text

being studied. The Sage thanks the Scribe once he/she is done sharing. 3. Scribe’s role is to write down what the Sage shares. The Scribe thanks the

Sage once he/she is done sharing. 4. SWITCH roles.

Best Practices English - Hilltop High Schoolhth.sweetwaterschools.org/files/2012/06/Best-Practices-English.pdf · English(9(PLC( Page(4(!!! The!Academic!WordList!(AWL)! The Academic

Documents