First, a reminder with two basic ways of understanding Academic Language
You need to be clear about the distinctions between the different types of language students need to use.
Susana Dutro and Carroll Moran’s “Bricks and Mortar” words. Bricks are key content words for your subjects and topics i.e. “imagery” in English Literature; in Science, Isotope, carcinogens, mitosis, etc.
Mortar words are the academic words and expressions which help students express/describe the brick words. They can be found across subject areas but are often used in a particular way in a subject area.
For example, In contrast, predict, explain, etc.
Here’s an example of mortar words and brick words:
“The figurative language used in Tennyson’s poem “Ulysses” reveals the narrator’s attitudes of . . .”
| Here is another clear way of thinking about this; consider how phrases may also be included:
Tier 1 words Common known words used in informal speech: big, small, house, family, etc.
Tier 2 words High-utility/frequency academic vocabulary (cross curricular vocabulary): analysis, evaluation, justify, explain, expand, predict, summarise, present, hence, illustrate, etc.
Tier 3 words Low-frequency, domain specific (content) words. Isotope, tectonic plates, carcinogens, mitosis, lithosphere, etc.
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(These are suggestions only; adapt, leave out, add to, as you see fit. You may consider some expressions only applicable to middle school).
Academic expressions for interpreting in English
It really means . . . because . . .
The . . . is a metaphor for . . .
It was not literal; that that is the author’s way of describing how . . .
The writer was trying to teach us that . . .
One way to interpret her words is . .
The . . . is an important symbol for . . . because . . .
His actions meant that . . .
That part when the narrator/character . . .
It’s a figurative way to describe how . . .
For us, these days, it could mean that . . .
When . . . shows us that . . .
If we read between the lines, we see that . . .
The author’s background helps us figure out . . .
It is like how people always . . .
The author used that analogy because . . .
That is similar to my life in that . . .
The moral of the story/novel is that . . .
Academic Expressions for Persuading in English
Based on the evidence in the story/novel so far, it seems that . . . .
It is a difficult issue, but the positives of . . . outweigh the negatives of . . .
There is a lot of discussion about whether . . . but the crux of the matter is . . .
However, there are several reasons to oppose this point of view.
It is also vital to consider . . .
That statistics are misleading, however, because they do not show . . .
Well, that is only partly the case. The other side of the story is . . .
The advantages of . . . outweigh the disadvantages of . . .
Granted, it can be argued that . . .
What it seems to come down to is . . . versus . . .
I understand what you are saying, but I would like to emphasise . . .
That is a good point, but I think the evidence shows that . . .
These (facts, reasons, data) strongly suggest that . . . Yet some argue strongly that . . .
Although not everyone would agree, our position is . . .
Although some people claim that . . .
The issue is not so much a question of . . . but a question of . . .
They say (claim, maintain, hold) that . . .
On the other hand, there are many who disagree with the idea that . . .
Opponents also argue that . . .
(These are suggestions only; adapt, leave out, add to, as you see fit. You may consider some expressions only applicable to middle school).
Academic Expressions for Cause-and-Effect Thinking in History
I believe that one reason for their . . . was . . .
It wasn’t just one cause, though; we need to think about other factors, such as, . . .
That was a result of . . .
Just because they . . . does not mean that . . .
The most likely reason for . . . was . . .
The . . . led to . . . which led to . . .
She was motivated by . . .
Each . . . played a key role. Firstly, . . .
There were political, social, and cultural motives for . . .
Even though the textbook says the cause was . . .it could be argued that . . ..
The seeds had been sown.
The ramifications of their actions were far-reaching.
If they had not . . . what would have happened?
. . . had a significant influence on . . .
The actions/events of . . . laid the foundation for . . .
Academic Expressions for Interpretation in History
Those events can teach us about how to act in the future. For example,
His actions, though seemingly trivial, changed the course of history for . . .
We are not much different from those people.
We can draw several conclusions from our analysis of the documents.
The evidence strongly suggests that . . .
We believe that this even shows how humans are generally . . .
This event was important because . . .
One way to interpret this event is . . .
At the time, . . . had a different meaning.
She belongs in history books because . . .
The author did not include . . . because . . .
For us in modern times, it could mean that . . .
Reading between the lines, we might make a guess that . . .
What did he really mean when he said . . .?
This is similar to my life in that . . .
I could be argue that . . . because . . .
Academic Expressions for Perspective Taking in History
If I had been . . . I would have . . . because . . .
Imagine you are . . . Map out your strategy for . . .
It would appear that she felt . . .
There are several clues that show us how they might have felt.
We can draw several conclusions from our analysis of the documents.
Seen through her eyes . . .
If we walk in their shoes.
When we try to empathise a bit with . . .
If we get inside her head for a moment.
One way to interpret this event is . . .
For us in today, it could mean that . . .
If we read between the lines, we might guess that he . . .
I believe that the author included . . . about her because . . .
From his perspective, he was thinking . . .
I think that . . . because . . .
History quotations for framing students’ thinking on this subject in classrooms. Quotation card ideas which could lead to a display
Students could converse on the quotations in order to explain their meanings to the class later. Students should think of examples from the past and from the present that might fit the quotation. (A present or past unit studied). After they share explanations some quotations could go up on the wall to help students frame their historical thinking during the year (and maybe for a long time afterwards.) You and your students can also select important quotations from texts used in class throughout the year.
| “History is written by the victors.”
Winston Churchill |
“Nothing capable of being memorised is history.”
R.G. Collingwood |
“History is something that happens to other people.”
Anonymous |
| “All modern wars start in the history classroom.”
Anonymous |
“Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.”
Edmund Burke |
“History will die if not irritated. The only service I can do to my profession is to serve as a flea.”
Henry Adams |
| “The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.”
L.P. Hartley |
“History is not the accumulation of events of every kind which happened in the past. It is the science of human societies.”
Fustel de Coulanges |
“Understanding the past requires pretending that you don’t know the present.”
Paul Fussell |
| “History is filled with the sound of silken slippers going downstairs and wooden shoes coming up. “
Voltaire |
“People are trapped in history, and history is trapped in them.”
James Baldwin |
“History consists of a series of accumulated imaginative inventions.”
Voltaire |
| “History is the most dangerous product evolved from the chemistry of the intellect . .
History will justify anything. It teaches precisely nothing for it contains everything and furnishes examples of everything.
Paul Valery |
“History consists, for the greater part, of the miseries brought upon the world by pride, ambition, avarice, revenge, lust, sedition, hypocrisy, ungoverned zeal, and all the train of disorderly appetite.”
Edmund Burke |
“My own conclusion is that history is simply social development along the lines of weakest resistance, and that in most cases the line of weakest resistance is found as unconsciously by society as by water.
Henry Adams |
The quotation approach could by used by several art subjects, as frames for students’ thinking. For instance, Literature, Lit and Lang, Sociology, Psychology, Music Tech, etc.
History analysis chart
| Events Persons, Sources
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| French Revolution | Napoleon | Letters | |
| Questions | Why did it start? | Did he do more good than bad? | Why did he write them? |
| Hypothesised answers | |||
| Purpose and importance | Got people thinking about freedom and rights | ||
| Empathy notes |
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| Possible Biases |
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| Causes and Effects |
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| Applications and Lessons | Ideas still around: church and state separation? | ||
Language Used to Describe Different Steps of Scientific Inquiry
| Steps of Scientific Inquiry | Language for This Step |
| Observe some aspect of the physical or natural universe | One notices that . . .
It can be observed that . . . We have all seen . . . Look at the way that . . . |
| Ask questions about the nature of the observations (why it is happening, how, and so on). | We can wonder why . . .
Where does the . . . come from? How does it reproduce? What kind of reaction could cause that? |
| Generate a guess, or hypothesis, that attempts to answer the questions. Use the hypothesis to make predictions. | What if we . . .?
If we add . . . then maybe . . . It can be hypothesised that . . . because . . . This will happen because . . . What do you think will happen? Based on . . . the result could be . . . Most likely, it will . . . |
| Carefully design further observations or experiments to test the hypotheses. Figure out how to isolate. | If we isolate the variable . . . then we can see . . .
Several variables come into play. We also need a control group. We need a microscope to see how . . . We need to change the . . . to see how . . . reacts. But how can we prove that . . .? But what about the effects of . . .? |
| Perform an experiment; gather data and organise them logically. | The control group does not get treatment.
The data should go into a table because . . . We need to measure the . . . As the . . . increases, the . . . decreases There is a correlation between . . . and . . . |
| Make conclusions as to the validity of your experimental data and their support of your hypothesis. Make generalisations based on observations. | The data shows that . .
We discovered that . . . Our data was not valid or reliable enough to make solid conclusions about . . . We found a negative correlation between . . . Based on these numbers, it is likely that . . . Our research has demonstrated that . . . |
Examples of Cause-and-Effect Language in Science
One reason for their . . . was . . .
It was due to the reaction between . . .
There could be multiple causes. For instance, . . .
The change resulted from . . .
There is a linear relationship between . . .
One can/could hypothesise that . . . because . . .
If we do that, then, . . .
It combines with . . . to produce . . .
They transform into new substances.
This process allows . . .
Since . . . then . . .
Several factors contributed to the . . .
The purpose of that part is to . . .
The practical applications of this discovery are . . .
If we had not . . . what would have occurred?
In order to maintain a balance, . . .
A force acts on an object.
It is generated by . . .
Common Terms with Specialised Meanings in Maths
| balance | interest | difference |
| coordinate | power | terms |
| even | similar | radical |
| imaginary | irrational | improper |
| plain | access | chance |
| product | mixed | expression |
| round | cube | Principal |
| scale | value | factor |
| slope | represent | simplify |
| square | find | function |
| positive | field | real |
| tangent | proof | odd |
| sketching |
Maths Imperatives, Questions, and Expressions
| Maths Imperatives | Questions and Expressions |
| Plot | Which system of equations represents the situation? |
| Graph | Which ratio represents an approximation of . . .? |
| Interpret | What is the measure of . . .? |
| Calculate | Average |
| Estimate | Equivalent |
| Construct | Relevant information |
| Convert | Descent, ascent, altitude |
| Compare | Operations |
| Substitute | Vary directly |
| Find the relationship between x an y | Reasonable |
| Design it to minimise . . . | Dimensions |
| Look for a pattern | If x equals . . . then what is . . .? |
| Work backward | Break the problem down into . . . |
| Predict | |
| Isolate | |
Prompt Posters with open ended questions.
You can compose your own subject specific ones
You can put question starters or prompts on it.
This is for when students or tutors get stuck.
Adapted from Robb 2003
- Use hindsight to explain how this problem or event could have been avoided.
- Explain how what we learn from this can help future generations.
- Explain different solutions or sides to the issue.
- How does the author try to persuade you? Are you convinced? Why?
- Do you have any more questions now than before reading?
- Can you find any strong words or statements in the text? Why are they there?
- Have your thoughts about this topic changed? Why or why not?
- Connect this topic or issue to another text or situation in the world?
- Persuade us to take a side of an issue.
- Use data, examples, or other evidence to suggest a change.
Generic display materials for self assessment
Sample chart of Good Speaker and Listener Behaviours
| A good academic speaker | A Good Academic Listener |
| Maintains eye contact | Maintains eye contact |
| Uses gestures and facial expressions to emphasise points | Nods head and uses facial expressions to support speaker |
| Varies voice tones and volume to emphasise points | Responds with conversation continuers, such as okay and interesting. |
| Pauses to let listener process information | Waits for appropriate pauses to talk. |
| Pauses to let listener respond | Asks probing questions to clarify and have speaker elaborate, give examples, and provide evidence. |
| Checks to see if listener understands (you see? Understand?) | Paraphrases what speaker is saying to show understanding and to clarify. |
| Stays on topic | |
The following is an example of a “Word Wall.” These can be composed with the help of students. Students often get into good discussions on where terms words go (sometimes they go on the lines to show overlapping.)
You can review the word walls often to refer to them as words arise from texts and discussions. Sometimes in the last four or so minutes of a lesson you can point to a word and get students to discuss it for twenty seconds in pairs: they could tell the meaning or how it would be used in the current unit of study.
Example of a Four Column Academic Word Wall
| Content words | General Academic Words | Classroom Discussion Terms | Terms for Writing |
| Reciprocal | Define the problem | It could be argued that . . .
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In conclusion |
| Complete the square | Tell whether the . . . | We don’t understand why . . . | The next step is . . . |
| Graph each system | Write it as a . . . | But if the number were . . . | By using the . . . |
| Parabola | |||
What you put in your word wall will depend on your subjects, topic, assessment criteria, etc.
Other ideas:
- Explain how on-going displays for important brick words/tier 3 words could up-dated through topics/the year. Learned words could later be removed. Students see their ideas validated.
- Explain the idea of “a parking lot” for ideas, etc.
Tutors need to ask students about the effectiveness of their displays. They should establish a small group to give their opinions on the displays.
Paper could be cut up into strips, placed in photocopy paper lid boxes with Blu Tack and marker pens.
- The cut up strips would also be helpful for students producing “exit tickets” in which they could write produce short paragraphs using the lesson’s target language from Tier 2 or 3 words.
Some of these ideas were drawn from texts by Jeff Zwiers, in particular “Building Academic Language”.
Academic Literacy and Language 