Academic Language: Making Working Sense of Expectations ...

1 Academic Language: Making Working Sense of Expectations for Candidates in the edTPA. Nicole Merino Cathy Zozakiewicz SCALE. Goals/Outcomes of Session Define Academic Language Examine Academic Lang. Components of edTPA. Identify Academic Language Demands within an Elementary Math Lesson Complete Language Activities within edTPA. Develop Ways to Support Candidates CENTRAL GOAL: To Be Able to Identify AL in Order to Support Candidates 2. Where Are We Right Now? Individual Free Write: What is our present definition of Academic language? What does it mean in our own words? How might we explain it to our Teacher Candidates? (TC). Share Outs with Whole Group Academic Language . Academic language represents the language of the discipline that students need to learn and use to participate and engage in meaningful ways in the content area.

2 Academic language is the oral and written language used for Academic purposes and the the means by which students develop and express content understandings. Academic language is hard for us to see: it is like water to fish. Remember the Fish Bowl . edTPA. Academic language development is Making the language of the school, content, and classroom explicit to expand students' control over language and improve their language choices according to the purpose (FUNCTION) and audience for the message. Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity Zwiers' describes Academic language as the set of Academic Language Set of words words, grammar, and Grammar organizational strategies Organizational Strategies used to describe complex ideas, higher-order thinking processes, and abstract concepts (p.)

3 20). What are the words &. structures that students need to know to understand & make meaning in a content area? When we teach a Academic Language subject, or any topic or Terms text within that subject, Linguistic Processes Patterns we must teach the Academic vocabulary for dealing with it not just the words, but also the linguistic processes and patterns for delving deeply into and operating upon that content . (Wilhelm, p. 44). Academic Language Demands There are language demands that teachers need to consider as they plan to support student learning of content, which include: Vocabulary Language functions Syntax Discourse Vocabulary Vocabulary includes words and phrases (and symbols) that are used within disciplines including: 1. words and phrases with subject specific meanings that differ from meanings used in everyday life ( , table, ruler, force, balance).

4 2. general Academic vocabulary used across disciplines ( , compare, analyze, evaluate); and 3. subject-specific words defined for use in the discipline. Language Functions Language Functions are the content and language focus of learning tasks often represented by the active verbs within the learning outcomes. Functions are the purposes for which language is used. Examples of Functions in Performing Arts Describing techniques or methods used in a given period or style of performance Summarizing information Evaluating performances Classifying based on attributes Academic Language Compare - explain graphic organizer Functions showing contrast Purposes of Order - describe timeline, continuum or Language cycle Classify - describe organizing principles Chamot and O'Malley, 1974.

5 Analyze - describe features or main idea Infer - generate hypotheses to suggest cause/outcomes Justify & Persuade - give evidence why A is important Solve Problems - describe problem- solving procedures Synthesize - summarize information cohesively Evaluate - identify criteria, explain priorities, etc. Syntax is . The set of conventions for organizing symbols, words, and phrases together into structures ( , sentences, graphs, tables, in music a staff, etc). Examples in mathematics: Grammar and Syntax 1 Grammar consists of set rules regarding language and sentence structure, such as no splitting infinitives and no hanging prepositions. 1 Syntax, in reference to sentences, is how a sentence is worded and structured and in ways that can impact meaning. This includes consists types of sentence (Declarative, Interrogative, Exclamatory, Imperative) and word order (passive vs.)

6 Active voice), and even length of sentences (short vs. long). Discourse is . Discourse includes the structures of written and oral language, as well as how members of the discipline talk, write and participate in knowledge construction. Discipline specific discourse has distinctive features or ways of structuring oral or written language (text structures) that provide useful ways for the content to be communicated. Within Discourse Some Text Categories or Modes of Communication 1 Narration/Narrative 2 Description 3 Exposition/Expository 4 Argument Think about how these texts/modes are used or developed in different subject areas. Narration/Narrative Text Narration recounts an event or a series of related events. "Narration is .. a component of much of the writing done in the workplace.

7 Police officers write crime reports, and insurance investigators write accident reports, both of which narrate sequences of events. Physical therapists and nurses write narrative accounts of their patients' progress, and teachers narrate events for disciplinary reports. Supervisors write narrative accounts of employees' actions for individual personnel files, and company officials use narration to report on the company's performance during the fiscal year for its stockholders." (Barbara Fine Clouse, Patterns for a Purpose). Narration/Narrative Text Narration recounts an event or a series of related events. "Jokes, fables, fairy tales, short stories, plays, novels, and other forms of literature are narrative if they tell a story. Although some narrations provide only the basic who, what, when, where, and why of an occurrence in an essentially chronological arrangement, as in a newspaper account of a murder, others contain such features as plot, conflict, suspense, characterization, and description to intensify readers' interest.

8 " (Lynn Z. Bloom, The Essay Connection, Houghton Mifflin, 2001). Descriptive Text . A writing strategy using sensory details to portray a person, place, or thing. Two Types of Description: Objective and Impressionistic 1. "Objective description attempts to report accurately the appearance of the object as a thing in itself, independent of the observer's perception of it or feelings about it. It is a factual account, the purpose of which is to inform a reader who has not been able to see with his own eyes. The writer regards himself as a kind of camera, recording and reproducing, though in words, a true picture.. Descriptive Text . A writing strategy using sensory details to portray a person, place, or thing. Two Types of Description: Objective and Impressionistic 2.

9 "Impressionistic description is very different. Focusing upon the mood or feeling the object evokes in the observer rather than upon the object as it exists in itself, impressionism does not seek to inform but to arouse emotion. It attempts to make us feel more than to make us see.. Exposition/Expository Text A statement or text intended to give information about (or an explanation of) an issue, subject, method, or idea. "One of the traditional classifications of discourse that has as a function to inform or to instruct or to present ideas and general truths objectively (Woodson, 1979). Expository writing: Any form of writing that conveys information and explains ideas. As one of the four traditional modes of discourse, expository writing may include elements of narration, description, and argumentation, but unlike creative writing or persuasive writing, its primary goal is to deliver information about an issue, subject, method, or idea.

10 Argumentation/Argument The process of forming reasons, justifying beliefs, and drawing conclusions with the aim of influencing the thoughts and/or actions of others. "The three goals of critical argumentation are to identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments. The term 'argument' is used in a special Sense , referring to the giving of reasons to support or criticize a claim that is questionable, or open to doubt. To say something is a successful argument in this Sense means that it gives a good reason, or several reasons, to support or criticize a claim (Walton, 2006). Observations of AL in Use Our Task: Watch video clip of a veteran elementary teacher during a lesson on ml Take notes to identify the language demands . vocabulary/symbols, language functions, syntax and/or discourse Consider how this teacher is supporting student language use Debriefing about Video on AL.