Academic Vocabulary At Home

As parents, we often wonder how to best help our children at home as they grow. Academic vocabulary is the perfect place to focus your time to help your child grow across all subject areas. Just a few minutes every day can give your child a quick boost in school.

Now you may be wondering, what exactly is academic vocabulary and how do we incorporate this into our home. Well, don’t worry, we’ve got your covered. We place a high focus on academic vocabulary in both of our children’s languages.

What is Academic Vocabulary?

Academic vocabulary are words that your child will hear often in school but is not often used in their everyday conversations. Academic vocabulary are the words that children need to know to understand directions, discussions, homework, projects, and tests.

Teaching professionals often times use other terms to refer to academic vocabulary and the list of words included varies greatly, depending on who you ask. In our community, we often hear academic vocabulary split into two categories: Tier 2 and Tier 3. Tier 2 words are the vocabulary that your child will encounter in many different subjects, while Tier 3 words are subject specific.

In our home, and through the research we have read, Tier 2 vocabulary words are definitely emphasized. Why focus on Tier 2 words? Well, these are words that you child will use in most of their classes and at many different grade levels. When your child is familiar with these vocabulary words, they are more able to focus on the Tier 3 words taught for a specific class or grade level. Thus, increasing your child’s academic success.

Academic Vocabulary Definitions

• Academic Vocabulary – formal words used in directions, discussions, homework, projects and tests.
• Tier 2 vocabulary words – formal words that your child uses in multiple subjects and grades
• Tier 3 vocabulary words – formal words that are specific to a subject or concept your child is learning

Why Do Children Need to Learn Academic Vocabulary?

Academic vocabulary is the language used in schools from elementary school through college. These words have a more formal use and are not often used in everyday conversations. Instead, children need to be taught academic vocabulary more explicitly to ensure they are learning the language of school.

While academic vocabulary words play a critical role in schools, these words also help with understanding articles, directions, and instructions as well. These words make up many of the vocabulary used in nonfiction reading, textbooks, directions, discussions, homework, projects, and test questions.

When your child has an understanding of the academic vocabulary they will encounter in the classroom, they are more able to focus their attention on understanding vocabulary specific to the concepts they are learning and comprehending the big ideas of the unit. Learning academic vocabulary helps your child to free up their short term memory for the more complex ideas they read in text and listen to in discussions.

Why Do Parents Need to Teach Academic Vocabulary

While your child will learn many of these words in school, teachers also need to focus on the vocabulary words that are specific to their unit. So, while your child’s science teacher may help your child to understand the difference between describe and infer, many times they need to focus on the science specific words as science is the only class your child will learn these words.

We want our children to be able to learn the vocabulary words specific to each subject, but also want them to have an understanding of the words used across subjects, especially the academic vocabulary words they will encounter on tests, directions, and other assignments.

Current research in vocabulary instruction includes the recommendation that children need multiple exposures to vocabulary words in a variety of settings. Providing your child extra opportunities to practice academic vocabulary words at home, gives your child extra exposures to the words across a variety of settings.

Choosing just one word per day or even one word per week, can really help to bolster your child’s academic vocabulary and help them to succeed academically.

Practical Ideas for Teaching Academic Vocabulary at Home

As a parent, you may be wondering how to help your child grow their academic vocabulary at home. At first, this seemed a little overwhelming both for us as parents and for me in the classroom. However, a few simple routines helped us to grow our children’s academic vocabulary.

1. Ask your child to choose one academic vocabulary word as the focus word for the day or week. We will provide a starting list down below to make choice easier in the beginning.
2. Hang the focus word up on your refrigerator, front door, or other area you see quite often during the day. Be sure to write it rather large. Each time someone uses the word, they can add a stamp, sticker, or tally on the word card. Yes, it does count if they hear it on TV.
3. During your day, build the word into a conversation with your child about school. We always ask our children about their school day, so now we add in an extra question to bring attention to the academic vocabulary focus word. We will include some sample questions below.
4. Challenge your child to use the focus word while eating breakfast or dinner together. If meals are a little tricky, try it out in the car.
5. For families who read aloud together each day, try to use the focus word to ask a question while you are reading with your child.

These five ideas are quick and easy to implement in our home and can be for you as well. If your family spends time eating together, driving in the car together, reading together, and playing together, you can add some academic vocabulary to your day without needing extra time.

Longer Academic Vocabulary Activities

For families who have a little more time to focus on academic vocabulary, we have a few more activities that we love to use with our children on occasion. We definitely do not use each of these for every word, nor do we even do one each week. We usually added in some extra vocabulary time on breaks from school and longer weekends. Half days are another wonderful time to focus on academic vocabulary.

1. Divide a paper in half. Write as many synonyms for the focus word on one side of the paper and all the antonyms you can think of on the other side of the paper. Tying in synonyms and antonyms allows your child to gain exposures to so many additional words and helps them to connect the new word with others.
2. Write a sentence using the focus word. Try to encourage your child to use the focus word in a sentence that fits with the concepts they are learning in each of the subjects at school. Or try to write a silly sentence using the focus word, something that tells the meaning but in a way that they will remember. For example: Please sequence the steps of a jumping jack. or When determining what to wear for the day, I had to evaluate the stains on each shirt.
3. Draw a picture of the focus word. Our children love to draw the focus word in bubble letters (or print it from the computer). Then decorate the letters in such a way as to show the meaning of the focus word. For example, with the word justify, we might turn the top of the J into a detectives hat, turn the t into a magnifying glass, and the y into the scales of justice.
4. Write the word in sand, snow, salt, flour, playdoh, etc. Use any material that you have available and ask your child to make or write the word.
5. Break a focus word into its parts. Does the word have a root, a prefix, or a suffix? What do these parts of the word mean?
6. Write as many variations of the focus word as possible. Use a variety of prefixes and suffixes to create as many words as your can. For example: Describe, descriptive, description, describing, described, redescribe, describer, undescribed, misdescribed, describable, indescribable, nondescript, descriptively, etc.
7. Write an acrostic poem for the focus word. An acrostic poem is when the focus word is written up and down (vertically) on a piece of paper. Then you write a word or phrase beginning with each letter in the focus word. The words and phrases should combine together to show understanding of the word or different ways the word might be used in each of your child’s classes.
8. Go for a newspaper or magazine hunt for the focus word. Highlight, underline, circle, or cut out as many variations of the focus word that your child can find in a newspaper or magazine that you know longer need.
9. If your child is learning another language, look up translations for the focus word in the other languages that your child is learning or any languages that you child is interested in learning. You might just find that the word is a cognate, or very similar in multiple languages.
10. Ask your child if this focus word was helpful to learn. Do they believe everyone should learn this word? Then have the justify in speech or writing why this specific focus word should or should not be taught to everyone.

Finally, we encourage you to keep a running list of the academic vocabulary words you have focused on throughout the year. It can be so helpful to see the difference you have made with your child over time. Those 50+ words really do start to add up when you consistently pick at least one new word a week!

Sample Questions or Directions for Academic Vocabulary

When your child arrives home from school, you probably have a short conversation about their day and any homework they may have. We love this time with our children! It is such an amazing way to have a quality moment with your child while learning more about their day.

While we are listening to our child share all about their school day, we love to add some academic vocabulary into the conversation too. We have found that a few simple questions and directions can be adapted to many different words on the academic vocabulary lists below.

• (Academic Vocabulary Word) on the topic you are learning about in (subject). Elaborate on the topic you are learning about in science. Describe the topic you are learning about in social studies.
• How would you (academic vocabulary word) the character’s (or historical figure’s) actions? How would you justify the character’s actions? How would you defend the character’s actions?
• What do you consider to be the most important (challenging) concept you are learning in (subject)? (Academic vocabulary word) your response. What do you consider to be the most important concept you are learning in English? Justify your response. Analyze your response.
• (Academic Vocabulary Word) why the topic you are learning about in (subject) is important to your future. State why the topic you are learning about in math is important to your future. Discuss why the topic you are learning about in PE is important to your future.
• (Academic Vocabulary Word) the one word that is most important to your learning today. Define the one word that is most important to your learning today. Argue which one word you believe was most important to your learning today.
• How would you (academic vocabulary word) the ideas you are learning in (subject)? How would you compare the ideas you are learning in science? How would you classify the ideas you are learning in history?

Academic Vocabulary Lists

There are many different academic vocabulary lists that exist today. Some of these include words that are more general, while others are class or unit specific. Different lists focus on different kinds of academic vocabulary words and many either contain way too many words or words that are very specific to one unit of study.

For our list below, we have tried to include a more general list of academic vocabulary words. We looked at multiple different vocabulary lists including the General Service List, New General Service List, Academic Vocabulary List, New Academic Vocabulary List, Marzano’s Vocabulary List, Common Core Academic Vocabulary Lists, and a variety of school district vocabulary lists. If you are looking for additional academic vocabulary words, these lists are an amazing place to find additional words.

To help boost academic skills as quickly as possible, we focused on words that your child will encounter in directions, assignments, and tests. We then split the list of 135 words into elementary vocabulary, intermediate vocabulary, and secondary vocabulary to give a little guidance for parents just beginning.

Elementary Academic Vocabulary List

The elementary vocabulary list includes 45 words in alphabetical order for younger children to focus. While the elementary vocabulary list focuses on words that children in third grade and below need to be successful, these words carry into the older grades as well.

Intermediate Academic Vocabulary List

The intermediate academic vocabulary list includes 45 additional words listed in alphabetic order for a little older children. This list focuses on words that children in sixth grade and below need to be successful.

Secondary Academic Vocabulary List

The 45 words included on the secondary vocabulary list build upon the elementary and intermediate academic vocabulary lists. The secondary academic vocabulary list focuses on words that children will need to be successful in sixth grade and older.

We’d Love to Connect With You

We cannot stress enough what an amazing decision you are making for your child. Adding in just a little extra attention to academic vocabulary at home will make such a difference for your child. Do you have questions about academic vocabulary lists or activities? Please leave us a comment below and let us know what you found most helpful or reassuring and what you wish we included.

Looking for more ways to support your child at home? Subscribe to our newsletter for families for more practical solutions to real-life parenting problems and a few freebies each year too! Still worried about your child’s learning, grab our FREE IEP Meeting Checklist for Parents below. Another wonderful resource is our Classroom Request Letter, which will help you to brainstorm specific strengths and areas of need for your child. This can be used prior to writing the referral for special education services or any time throughout the process.

Hi, I’m Nicole.

Here at Creatingbutterflies we provide families with practical solutions to real life problems for everything parenting, scouting, dual language, and enjoying time outdoors. We are a family of 6 with 4 wonderful becoming bilingual children who loves scouting, camping, and hiking with their family. Mom is an educator and dad is a firefighter/paramedic.

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