Running head: ACADEMIC VOCABULARY

Professional Development
Reading Lesson Plan
Academic Vocabulary
Elisabeth Clapp
Post University

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Introduction

Course Crafters (2011) state that using textbooks written for native English speakers is
difficult for English Language Learners (ELLs) because of the lack of background knowledge
and proficiency in the language. Colombo (2012) states that it is, therefore, unlikely that reading
alone will result in acquiring the academic vocabulary required to be at grade-level. According
to Kinsella (2013), students do not acquire academic language simply by reading or listening to
it. Benjamin (2015) explains that explicit and implicit vocabulary instruction has to be ongoing,
aggressive, pervasive, recursive, and planned (para. 2). Teachers, according to Colombo (2012),
must then confront how to choose the academic language for explicit instruction.
The lesson plan is to train 41 subject-specific secondary teachers at a private international
school in Nigeria to effectively address a problem English language learners (ELLs) are having
with academic vocabulary resulting in parroting or mimicking of academic language, rather than
comprehension of it. Using word lists compiled from the Cambridge and West African
Curriculum textbooks, teachers will obtain an understanding of how reading lessons are to
present academic vocabulary.
Lesson Plan
Goals and Objectives

The goal of the lesson is for teachers to realize lecturing on a topic does not automatically
result in student comprehension of academic vocabulary contained in the lecture and reading
materials.

The objective of the lesson is for teachers to obtain a direct understanding of the struggle
ELLs face when reading comprehension does not occur and fluency is not properly assessed,
by improving their knowledge of academic vocabulary as learners.

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Materials Used

Blank templates of The Frayer Model

Sample lists of academic vocabulary compiled from textbooks according to the learning
objectives and outcomes:
Maths. Hypotenuse, Right Angle, Scalene, Isosceles, Acute, Obtuse, Equilateral, Depth

& Breadth vs. Base & Height (English terms vs. American terms) and other terms as needed.
Geography. Basin, Berm, Cuesta, Crevice, Escarpment, Esker, Verdant, Moor, Morass
and any other terms as needed.
Physics. Adhesion, Affect, Constant, Displacement, Propagation, Torque, Viscosity,
Trajectory and any other terms as needed.
Economics. Appreciate, Deficit, Inflation, Amortisation, Depreciation, Free Lunch,
Long Run, Monopsony, Scarcity, Short Run and any other terms as needed.

Basic classroom materials will be made available to the teacher-learners including jotter
(notebook paper) and writing utensils. The teachers as learners are instructed that anything
beyond the supplied items can be utilized if applicable.

Dictionaries

Textbooks

Smartboard

Length of Time
Thirty minutes is allotted to complete this type of professional development lesson.
Normally, there are two sessions of any given teacher learning topic. One session for the 21
junior secondary teachers and one session for the 19 senior secondary teachers.

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Grouping of Students
Groups consist of three to five teachers working together. For this lesson the specialty of
the teachers should be homogeneous, i.e. maths teachers together, language teachers together,
humanities teachers together, etc. The list of words subject specific for Maths will not be given to
the teachers of Maths but rather to a group of teachers who are less well versed in Maths. The
reason for this is to simulate tension similar to that which the ELL students experience when
presented with subject specific vocabulary with little or no prior knowledge to bring meaning to
their reading. In the same manner, the other lists of words will be assigned to teachers that do
not normally encounter those subjects.
Essential Questions
The essential questions for the teachers are:

How can you teach content specific vocabulary, so you are certain your students share with
you the same cognitive meaning you are intending? The Economics vocabulary list, for
example, contains the word long run. The student from Kenya believes he understands what
a long run is, but in an economics class, it has a very different meaning.

How will you as the teacher help bring expanded meaning visually, tactilely or
kinesthetically to demonstrate or define the vocabulary terms?

Strategies

Working together in small groups teachers will complete blank templates of the Frayer Model
for their list of words. As previously stated, teachers of maths will not be given the list of
maths vocabulary. Instead, they will complete the model using terms they are not familiar
with to simulate the ELLs experience. The teacher learners will create as many alternate

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ways to demonstrate and bring meaning to define academic vocabulary by completing the
template.
Instruction

The Frayer model is explained to the teacher-learners as a type of graphical organizer, and a
familiar word is used to demonstrate how the model is used.

The

teacher-learners are provided a list of key concepts from the textbook selection they are to
read. They are to review the list before reading the selection and may also use dictionaries.

The teacher-learner groups after having reviewed the key concepts and read the selection are
asked to complete the Frayer Model.

The completed Models are given to the corresponding subject matter teachers, and the
conclusions are shared with the entire group.

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The lesson concludes with the teachers sharing the insight gained from the lesson and
teachers implementing the Frayer Model in their classroom as a pre-reading strategy.

Assessment
Teacher feedback and enthusiasm are key elements to know if the lesson was successful.
Lesson plans are routinely checked to determine if this strategy has been implemented into
classroom instruction. Indirect or unannounced classroom observations will also assess if the
strategy has been implemented. Ultimately, improved student performance will be the final
indicator whether or not the teachers have implemented or successfully implemented the strategy
into their lessons.
Connection
Course Crafters (2011) state that teaching academic language outside of the context of a
particular content area will not be effective (p, 40). Students learn to read, write, speak and
listen to vocabulary, but must be able to understand and comprehend the word and be able to use
it properly. When students do not, teachers refer to this as parroting or mimicking and it is a
problem occurring at the school in Nigeria. Identifying and defining academic vocabulary
addresses this issue and provides a viable and practical solution to improve ELLs comprehension
of reading materials, by improving their knowledge of academic vocabulary.

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Resources
Benjamin, A. (2015, Jul 9). Teach vocabulary the way toddlers learn. ASCD Express, 10(21).
Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol10/1021-benjamin.aspx
Colombo, M. (2012). Teaching English language learners : 43 strategies for successful k-8
classrooms. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. Retrieved from http://

eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/ebookviewer/ebook/ZTAwMHhuYV9fNTI1OTE2X19BTg2?
sid=845faa59ff36-4724-8a66-8fc2cfd98b39@sessionmgr4005&vid=
0&format=EB&rid=1

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Course Crafters, I. (2011). Teaching English language learners : Practical articles by educators
from the ELL outlook. Haverhill, MA: Course Crafters. Retrieved from http://

eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/ZTAwMHhuYV9fNDA1NjAxX19BTg2?
sid=3c20f123-1ef5-4d07-972d-37b56dc26e6d@sessionmgr4001&vid=0&forma
t=EB&rid=1
Kinsella, K. (2013). Cutting to the common core: Analyzing informational text. Language
Magazine. [Website]. Retrieved from http://languagemagazine.com/?
page_id=12282