At last October’s Saturday Reunion at Teachers College, Janet Steinberg, TCRWP’s data queen, talked about embedding academic language in our everyday discussions, instructions, and conversations with students. Academic language is Tier 2 words that students often encounter in directions, lectures, and other places of sophisticated talk. Instead of saying, “What is the theme in our read aloud?” try “Determine the theme in this selection.” By lifting the level of discourse, students would already be familiar with these words before encountering high-stakes situations and, more significantly, be more likely to use these Tier 2 words in their own output. I changed the topic of my Alphaboxes outside the Reading Lounge to showcase some of these words; stop by to see them up close. What other academic language would you add?

Here is this week’s roundup of literacy links for some quick inspiration, tips, and refreshment:

• Top graphic novels
• “Why Deeply Diving Into Content Could Be the Key to Reading Comprehension” from KQED
• “How Young Nonfiction Writers Can Dig Deep” by Melissa Stewart for Nerdy Book Club Blog
• “Just Keep Swimming Spelling Strategies” from Two Writing Teachers – great ideas for increasing independence and being brave spellers in the primary grades
• Thanksgiving resources:
  • pronunciation guide to the Cherokee words in We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, which is Scholastic’s current Dollar Deal book!
  • “Teaching Thanksgiving in a Socially Responsible Way” from Teaching Tolerance
  • “A Racial Justice Guide to Thanksgiving for Educators and Families” – shared by Donalynn Miller
• Mental health break: How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?