CELEBRATE the STRUGGLE
EMPOWERING STUDENTS TO DEVELOP A DEEP
UNDERSTANDING OF ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS,
PROCESSES, AND VOCABULARY IN ENGLISH
BOOK A
Kindergarten
through
Grade 5 SOL
Vocabulary
Resources
“We can, whenever and wherever we choose, successfully
teach all children whose schooling is of interest to us. We
already know more than we need to do that. Whether or not
we do it must finally depend on how we feel about the fact
that we haven’t so far.”
Ron Edmonds
Prepared for the Professional Learning Network of the
VIRGINIA ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS
by Dan Mulligan, flexiblecreativity.com
February 2014
Critical Common Core and College & Career Words
McREL researchers estimate 85% of achievement test scores are
based on the vocabulary of the standards. Students from poverty, ELL
students, and other at-risk students are particularly in need of learning
these words in ways that meet their specific learning needs.
CRITICAL VERBS
Analyze
Comprehend
Describe
Draw
Infer
Organize
Suggest
Trace
Articulate
Contrast
Determine
Evaluate
Integrate
Paraphrase
Support
Cite
Delineate
Develop
Explain
Interpret
Refer
Summarize
Compare
Demonstrate
Distinguish
Identify
Locate
Retell
Synthesize
Argument
Connotative
Language
Central Idea
Interaction
Metaphor
Rhetoric
Theme
Simile
Tone
CRITICAL NOUNS
Alliteration
Analogy
Conclusions
Connections
Evidence
Mood
Stanza
Trace
Figurative
Language
Illustrations
Point of View
Structures
Details
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THE RESEARCH
There are a large number of critical words our students must master to be successful
with the standards. The definitions of the word critical tell us the story. As we head into
the regular use of the Revised Virginia Standards of Learning, it is essential that our
students master these words. It will be absolutely necessary for them to automatically
know the definitions without utilizing precious working memory. If they must search
their brains to understand what the questions on the assessment are asking of them,
they are wasting precious time and brain space needed to analyze their readings and
answer the questions. Although the SOL have vocabulary standards that expect
increases in academic vocabulary, the place to begin is with these critical words.
Critical also is defined as “now or never.” As many as thirteen of the critical words
can be found in the math kindergarten standards. There is much catching up to do
for students in higher grades, but imagine what can be accomplished if your staff
begins now. The students who are comfortable with these words will be the most
successful in mastering the standards.
Here is the plan: process the critical words in enough different ways to get them
stored in the brain in multiple places. The result of this is easier access to the
definition. Continue to rehearse the processing in enough formats over time and the
words become as automatic as who, what, why, how, and where! Differentiate
opportunities for students to interact with each word, add movement, 2D and 3D
graphic organizers, use mind mapping, concept mapping, and vocabulary word maps.
All of these and more provide many opportunities for differentiation and long-term
memories.
Teaching the vocabulary of the SOL and College & Career Ready Standards is
urgently needed to assist students in understanding what is expected of them as they
tackle complex texts, learn to read more closely, add to their vocabularies, improve
speaking and listening skills, and become well-rounded learners and members of
society.
Your students may recognize words like determine, analyze, and distinguish, but do
they understand these words well enough to quickly and completely answer a
standardized test question? For example, can they respond to a question that says
“determine the point of view of John Adams in his ‘Letter on Thomas Jefferson’
and analyze how he distinguishes his position from an alternative approach
articulated by Thomas Jefferson”?
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SAMPLE ITEMS (CIRCLE/HIGHLIGHT EACH CRITICAL WORD)
Mathematics – Grade 3
Strand: Number and Number Sense – Fractions
Give a fraction that represents each point on the string compared to the whole.
A
B
C
D
E
Point A
_______
Point B
_______
Point C
_______
Identify another fraction equivalent to the fraction represented by point A
_______
Identify another fraction equivalent to the fraction represented by point A
_______
Mathematics – Grade 5
Strand: Geometry
A closed garden in the shape of a rectangle has a length of 13 cm and a width of 5.3
cm.
Part A: Draw a diagram of the garden and find its area in square centimeters.
After drawing your diagram and stating the area, explain your thinking:
____________________
Part B: A smaller rectangular garden has dimensions that are half the measurements
of the original. Find the ratio of the area of the original garden to the area of the smaller
garden.
After finding the ratio, explain what your answer tells us: ____________________
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English Language Arts – Grade 4
Strand: Comprehension of fiction materials
Which piece of dialogue supports the story’s main theme?
A. “Let us stay here to‐ night,” they said, “and see what we can find in the morning.”
(paragraph 7)
B. “Go back quickly and comfort my friend your mate, and say that I am coming.”
(paragraph 16)
C. “Sooner or later these men will get our young.” (paragraph 31)
D. “Why do you come at this hour of the night?” (paragraph 33)
English Language Arts – Grade 8
Strand: Comprehension of nonfiction materials
“The Story of My Life” and “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American
Slave” share many ideas about the human condition/character. What is a major central
idea that is shared by both passages? Explain the importance of the shared central
idea for each narrator. Discuss similarities and differences in the role of the shared
central idea for each narrator. Use details from both passages to support your
response.
In your response, be sure to:
 identify a central idea shared by both passages, “The Story of My Life” and
“Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave”
 explain the importance of the central idea to each narrator
 explain the similarities and differences in the importance of the central idea for
each narrator
 use details from both passages to support your response
Write your response in complete sentences.
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IDENTIFY THE WORDS TO TEACH
Find out which words are "your" words. Read the VA SOL for your grade level,
highlighting the words you think your students won't know. Then go back to each year
prior to yours and highlight those words. Next, create a pre-assessment for your
students with these critical words and glue it in their Interactive Notebook. A simple list
of words followed by columns marked "Yes" (I understand), "No" (I don't understand)
and "Maybe" (I might understand) is a start. Use this information and your professional
judgment to decide which words have not yet been mastered and require instruction.
Teach the words in the order they are presented in the VA SOL. Begin with the verbs
presented at the earliest grade levels. The VA SOL doesn’t use the word analyze until
fifth grade, but in subsequent grades it is used 80 more times. If you teach any grade
above fifth, analyze is a critical word for your students to know and use with facility.
VOCABULARY EXERCISES RECOMMENDED BY MEMORY
AND EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
What Educators Can Do to Improve Vocabulary?
Teaching specific terms in a specific way is probably the strongest action a teacher can
take to ensure that students have the academic background knowledge they need to
understand the content they encounter in school. The more students understand the
academic terms in content standards, the easier it is for them to understand
information they may read or understand about the topic. On the other hand, without a
basic knowledge of these terms students have difficulty understanding information they
read or hear.
A six-step process for teaching vocabulary:
1. The teacher provides a description, explanation, or example of the new term.
2.
Ask students to restate the description, explanation, or example in own words.
3.
Ask students to construct a picture, symbol, or graphic representing the term.
4.
Engage students periodically in activities that help them add to their knowledge of
the terms in their notebooks.
5.
Periodically ask students to discuss the terms with one another.
6.
Involve students periodically in games that allow them to play with the terms.
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Create a Glossary of Critical Content Terms:
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REVIEW ACTIVITIES AND GAMES
It is important to give students opportunities to reexamine their understanding of the
academic terms that have been presented to them.
1. FREE ASSOCIATION
Teacher calls out a term and asks students to take turns as a class, in small groups, or
in pairs-saying any word they think of that is related to the term. After a few seconds
the teacher says, “stop.” The last person to say a word must explain how the word is
related to the word provided by the teacher. An alternate to oral free association is to
ask students to write their responses. When time is called students exchange papers
with a partner and explain all of the words on their lists.
2. WHAT IS THE QUESTION?
Science
Math
English
Sports &
Arts
General
100
Earthquake
Fraction
Adverb
Mona Lisa
Peanut Butter
200
Rain
Decimal
Setting
Lance
Armstrong
chocolate
300
Photosynthesis
Parallel
Antonym
Van Gogh
Luke Skywalker
400
Gravity
Equation
cvc pattern
Michael Jordan
Walt Disney
500
Decibel
Hypotenuse
Maya Angelou
Impressionist
jaguar
This game is modeled after the popular game Jeopardy! It requires a simple game
matrix similar to the one above. Terms are placed in each cell. The cells can be
covered with sticky notes. Place students in teams or pairs. Select a team leader
who will raise her hand and provide the answer that the team agrees upon.
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3. PYRAMID PILE-UP
This game is modeled after the television show The $100,000 Pyramid. It helps
students focus on the attributes of concepts represented by or associated with terms
as they try to determine what the terms in a list have in common. The object of the
game is for a clue giver, who sees one category at a time on the game board, to list
words that fit that category until teammates correctly identify the category name. As
you reveal the first category, tell the clue giver to begin to list terms that pertain to that
category. For example, for the category liquids, the clue giver might say, “water, milk,
soda, tea, coffee…” and keep listing terms until the guessers name the category“liquids.”
200 points
100 points
50 points
50 points
100 points
50 points
50 points
4. MOTOR MOUTH
In this game, teams of students are given a list of terms that have been organized into
categories. Typically, the words in the list are related by meaning, such as “parts of a
cell,” or “things associated with the Civil War.” To play each round, each team
designates a “talker” who is provided with a list of words under a category title. The
talker tries to get the team to say each of the words by quickly describing them. The
talker is allowed to say anything about the terms, “talking a mile a minute,” but may not
use any words in the category title or any rhyming words. The talker keeps talking until
the team members identify the first term in the category. The talker then moves quickly
to the next term in the category until all terms have been guessed or time has been
called.
For additional Information read: Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement: Research on
What Works in Schools by Robert Marzano and Debra Pickering
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5. CREATING A VOCABULARY CARD
Have students write a word on a three-by-five-inch card and then brainstorm and write
related words on the same card. For instance, for baseball, students might write “bat,”
“ball,” “cap,” “diamond,” and other baseball-related words.
The vocabulary card works best with “big” words, such as those found in works with a
heavily Latinate vocabulary. Frankenstein, Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham
Jail and the Declaration of Independence all qualify. Students can pick a word from
their reading to work with or the teacher can select words.
The first step is to divide the word into prefix, root, and suffix—not syllables. Explain
that not all words have prefixes and suffixes, but that some will have more than one
prefix or suffix. This distinction is not an easy concept for students to grasp.
Antirevolutionary, for instance, has seven syllables but only one prefix, two suffixes,
and one root word. Model this for students.
The next step is to find the meaning of each part of the word. This puts students into
territory where they have been before—usually not very successfully. They have
memorized lists of prefixes and suffixes and their meanings, but, for the most part, this
exercise hasn't much advanced their knowledge. But now they are not memorizing;
they are digging, performing a kind of literacy detective work. They discover how to
identify the prefix in the dictionary: the in with the hyphen after it; the suffix tion with the
hyphen before it. Then students are asked to“Find the etymology,” Explain that they're
looking for the history of the word. “What language was this word before it became
English?” This research can be challenging. When they look for the root word for
inconceivable, for instance, they'll discover that while the root word is conceive, the
root of conceive is ceive. Be prepared to help.
Next, students do a quickdraw of the concept of the word, not the definition. A picture
of the definition of pedestrian is a person walking. A picture of the concept could be a
foot. See figure 1 for inconceivable.)
Figure 1
To help students
establish connections
among words, ask them
to find three words with
the same root. They can
usually do this by looking
on the same dictionary
page as their word, it is
helpful to direct them to other parts of the dictionary to help them to understand the
power of prefixes and suffixes. So a student investigating inconceivable is led to the
related words receive, conceive and conceivability.
Finally, direct students to the text they're reading to discover how the author used the
word. Ask them to identify the part of speech (frequently a function of the suffix) and to
write the definition as the author intended it. Armed with an understanding of the
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history, concept, and context, students begin to understand the power and nuances of
English.
After they have completed this, give them a five-by-eight-inch card and these
instructions:
1. Write the root of the word in capital letters in red in the middle of the card. Draw
an arrow and write the meaning of the root and the language of its origin.
2. Write the prefix in black to the left of the root. Draw an arrow and write the
meaning of the prefix.
3. Write the suffix in blue to the right of the root. Draw an arrow and write the
meaning of the suffix.
4. In the lower left corner, write three words with the same root.
5. Put your quickdraw in the lower right of the card.
6. Write the author's definition and part of speech at the top of the card.
7. When the students finish their cards, put them up on the bulletin board.
As students examine the cards their classmates have produced, they are not so much
collecting new words as they are developing an understanding of how the English
language works
6. ILLUSTRATED VOCABULARY
Introduce a quick version of the vocabulary card. Students divide the word into its
parts, find the meaning of each part, and then appropriately illustrate the parts. The
students do a “quickdraw” on a sheet of white paper. As with the vocabulary card, ask
them to draw concepts rather than illustrations. (See figure 2 for an illustration of
geologist. The
object on the
left next to the
glasses is a
magnifying
glass intended
to facilitate
close study.)
Figure 2
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7. THE WORD BIOGRAPHY
One way to help students understand that words have histories is to ask them to delve
into the origins of a word created from someone's name. Give students a list of words
that originally were someone's name: guillotine, bloomers, derrick, pasteurize,
macadam, boycott, mesmerize, watt, maudlin—there are many possibilities. Students
are asked to research the person and then, adopting the persona of their character,
create five artifacts that illustrate both the person's life and the word his or her name
became. They can create business cards, advertisements, or catalogs—their
imagination is the limit. Keeping in character, they can write letters to each other.
Amelia Bloomer created a catalog of several styles of her garment—striped, polkadotted, even a flip-down lace creation. She also made business cards. Rudolph Diesel
had the complete package for a booth at the Tulsa Engine Convention: booth license,
price list, catalog, sign, business cards. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin wrote to his parents,
explaining the humaneness of his invention and asking them to come see it.
Sometimes, students bring together a couple of these people. In one inspired work, the
Fourth Earl of Sandwich recognized the marketing potential of Louis Pasteur's
invention combined with his: “I would like to propose a plan,” he writes. “Your new drink
teamed with my new ‘sandwich' marketed to poker players worldwide. The perfect
combination to quench the players' hunger and thirst without ever having to leave the
cardtable.”
8. ILLUSTRATED OPPOSITES
These assignments create ways to make the abstraction of language concrete.
Give students antonyms: ebullient and grounded; energetic and insipid; haughty and
humble.
Ask them to illustrate the words and their relationships, using the words themselves.
Ebullient was written in brightly colored bubble letters, with springs and bouncy circles;
grounded on a straight black line, the bottom part of the word in black; the upper part in
green. Energetic filled the entire page with brightly colored letters crammed together
and a large exclamation point behind it. Its opposite, insipid, was written in gray narrow
letters, centered in the page with nothing around it. (See figure 3 for an example of
haughty and humble.)
Figure 3
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9. BIOPOEM
This activity helps students grasp the way that language evolves and changes. Put
students to work with the Internet or Oxford English Dictionary to trace the etymology
and changing meanings of a word.
Here is the form for the biopoem:
First name Four traits that describe the person Relative of Who feels Who needs Who
fears Who would like to see Resident of Last name.
The student who researched the word electricity traced the word back to its 1646
meaning, “attract by friction.” She learned that the term's “family tree” has two major
branches; elek, meaning “friction, heat” and tron, meaning “water” and “diffusion.” The
biopoem used these two parts for the first name and last name.
Eleck Shock, current, vital,magnetic Relative of anatomy, atom, contemplate, epitome
Lover of friction, lightning, heat Who feels hot, shocking, active Who needs chemical
action, magnetism, energy Who fears water, rain, diffusion Who would like to see
stimulation, technology, mechanics Resident of cities Tron
10. ABC BOOKS
As with all types of learning, the more relevant new words are made to students' lives,
the more likely they are to
take hold. ABC books
can be used in many
ways to make learning
meaningful. One way is a
community-building
project at the beginning of
a school year. For each
letter of the alphabet, the
Figure 4
students find an
appropriately descriptive
word for themselves.
Students elaborate on the
word by writing some sentences and creating an illustration. Students will often use the
dictionary and thesaurus to find the exact word to describe themselves, especially as
they get toward the end of the alphabet. They share new words with their classmates
and asked others' opinions about whether the word accurately describes them. They
were expand their vocabulary and having a great time doing it.
Students discover powerful words from all parts of the alphabet. One student described
her anger as “caustic.” Illustrating her word with a photograph of a burning car in a war
zone, she wrote a caption that connects her anger burning within with the hurtful
sarcasm it can inspire, thus drawing a link between two definitions of the word. (See
figure 4.)
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11. CONCEPT DEFINITION MAPPING
EXAMPLES
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DIRECTIONS: AFTER STUDYING THE SAMPLE CONCEPT DEFINITION MAP ABOVE, CREATE YOUR
OWN EXAMPLE ON THE TEMPLATE PROVIDED ON THE PREVIOUS PAGE.
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12. LIST-GROUP-LABEL – effective for activating prior knowledge and helping
learners make connections.
Directions:
1. Write a content-area word on the board or an overhead transparency.
2. Explain to students that their complete understanding of the word’s meaning is
important for success in the next area of study.
3. Ask students to generate words and phrases that they associate with this term.
As students volunteer responses, others in the class will notice a pattern in the
words and volunteer their own words.
4. Aster developing a list of 15 – 30 words or phrases, ask students to consider
what the words have in common and to organize them into categories.
5. Once students have completed classifying the words, ask them to explain the
rationale behind the groupings.
6. Use this discussion to broaden students’ understanding of these concepts and
how to apply this understanding when solving problems.
Example:
Measurement
meter
ruler
rectangle
foot
inch
width
area
quart
liter
mass
scales
mile
paper clips
protractor
13. PRE-LESSON PREDICTIONS
1. Before a lesson, the teacher selects some key vocabulary that will be used in the
learning experience. The teacher lists these terms in columns, grouping them by
parts of speech; that is, all of the nouns are listed in one column, verbs in
another, and so on. Students work in teams to discuss the meaning of the words.
2. Next the teacher models for students a few ways the words in different columns
can be combined to form simple sentences. The teacher asks students to explain
which combinations “make sense”, which do not, and why.
3. Based on the lists, students are asked to predict what the lesson may be about.
4. After the lesson, students revisit their lists and identify how they actually related
to the lesson.
Example: Try making sentences from the lists of words about
Measurement created in the List-Group-Label activity.
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14. CONCENTRATION
 Adapted from a strategy developed by the National Education Association, Metric
Concentration is an example of how mathematics teachers can help students
store what they have learned about metric equivalents.
 The components of the game include not only pairs that match but also
distracting pairs. Consequently, the game goes beyond asking students to rely
on memory alone. To win, students must think about metric principles.
 Variations include matching picture, term, and/or description.
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15. DIRECT LEARNING/THINKING ACTIVITY (DL/TA)
 This strategy is similar to K-W-L in both concept and versatility.
 It encourages active learning through activation of prior knowledge, predicting,
and checking for accuracy of predictions.
 It provides students with a system of organizing their thoughts, encourages
students to focus on the topic, and gives them a purpose for learning.
Directions:
1. Instruct students to preview the lesson – noting the title, any subheadings, and
graphic organizers – and complete the first two sections of the form. This will
focus students on the topic. Discussing these sections will expose
misconceptions.
2. Ask students to fill out the third section, which requires them to formulate
predictions about what they will study and sets the purpose for learning.
3. After the lesson, students should reflect on their predictions, confirming or
rejecting earlier predictions about the subject matter.
4. Ask students to complete the last section of the form. This helps to reinforce
understanding and to correct misconceptions.
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16. GROUP SUMMARIZING
 Class summaries help learners review and remember information. Summarizing
information requires students distinguish between key concepts and subordinate
ideas.
 It also requires the ability to condense information.
 Summarizing is a sophisticated skill; therefore, modeling this skill is critical.
Directions:
1. Have students survey the notes on the lesson.
2. Divide the chalkboard/note page into four parts (Description, Patterns, Uses, and
Interesting Facts).
3. Ask students to volunteer information for each category. Record the information
in sentence form. Class discussion is a key part of the process. Students need to
understand which concepts are most important and how they can be stated
clearly.
4. Class summaries are then developed from the recorded information.
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17. WORD SORT VARIATION
 A variation of Word Sorts is to provide sets of four or five terms.
 In each set, three of the four terms are related in some way.
 The student explains the relationship and identifies one term that is unrelated to
the others.
Example:
Each list of terms below has one unrelated term once the relationship among the
other terms is identified.
Create sample sets of terms for use in school with staff:
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VOCABULARY STRUCTURES
FRAYER MODEL
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NOTES PAGE
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