Building Academic Language: Essential Practices for Content Classrooms, Grades 5-12

315 Pages·2008·10.86 MB·English

by  Jeff Zwiers

Building Academic Language
More Praise for Building Academic Language
“Isurewishthisbookhadbeenpublishedduringmyyearsofteachingadolescents
and my years of training secondary teachers in content-based literacy! Rooted
inhisownextensiveclassroomteachingandresearchexperience,JeffZwiershas
written a gem which guides teachers on effective paths to bridge their students’
personalandacademicknowledge.”
—SusanRobertaKatz,professor,InternationalandMulticulturalEducation,
UniversityofSanFrancisco
“Zwiersapplieskeenintelligenceandconsiderablescholarshiptothetaskofhelp-
ingnon-traditionalstudentssucceedinourclassrooms.Thereismuchheretobe
excitedabout.”
—CharlesTemple,Ph.D.,professorofeducation,
HobartandWilliamSmithColleges
“Assomeonewhopreparesteachersondifferentcontinentstoincorporatecritical
thinking into their teaching, I can state unequivocally that anyone interested in
promotingthinkingskillsandtheirlanguage,especiallyamongEnglishlearners,
willfinddozensofhighlyeffectivestrategiesinthisbook.”
—AlanCrawford,emeritusprofessor,CaliforniaStateUniversity,
LosAngeles
Building Academic Language
E S S E N T I A L P R A C T I C E S F O R C O N T E N T
C L A S S R O O M S , G R A D E S 5 – 1 2
Jeff Zwiers
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Zwiers,Jeff.
Buildingacademiclanguage:essentialpracticesforcontentclassrooms,
grades5-12/JeffZwiers.
p.cm.–(Jossey-Basseducationseries)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-7879-8761-9(alk.paper)
1.Academiclanguage–Studyandteaching. I.Title.
P120.A24.Z852007
407.1–dc22
2007019658
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
FIRSTEDITION
PBPrinting 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Jossey-BassTeacher

CONTENTS
List of Figures and Tables ix
Preface xiii
ONE Understanding How Students Use Language 1
TWO Language for Academic Thinking 19
THREE Cultivating Academic Language Acquisition 41
FOUR Content-Area Variations of Academic Language 69
FIVE Academic Classroom Discussions 101
SIX Academic Listening and Speaking in Small Groups 135
SEVEN Language for Academic Reading 163
EIGHT Language for Academic Writing 195
NINE Building Language into Lessons and Assessments 221
TEN Concluding Thoughts 255
vii
APPENDIX A: Recommended Resources on Academic
Language 261
APPENDIX B: Frequently Used Academic Terms 265
APPENDIX C: Suggestions for Before, During, and After
Mini-Lectures 271
APPENDIX D: Permanently Borrowing the Language of
Standards 275
References 277
About the Author 289
Index 291
viii
Contents