unique to the discipline you are studying?What does that word or phrase mean in the context of this text?
7 Gist: Figure out what words and phrases mean in context, noting also any discipline-specific terms used in history or social studies texts.Which words or phrases contribute most to the meaning of a text?Which words are unique to the discipline you are studying?What does that word or phrase mean in the context of this text?
8 Gist: Figure out what words and phrases mean in context, noting also any discipline-specific terms used in history or social studies texts.Which words or phrases contribute most to the meaning of a text?Which words are unique to the discipline you are studying?What does that word or phrase mean in the context of this text?
Science/Technical Subjects
6 Gist: Figure out the meaning of pivotal and discipline-specific words and phrases, and symbols used in grades 6–8 scientific or technical texts.Which key words or phrases must you understand to comprehend this text?Which symbols are essential to know when reading this type of text?What does this domain-specific word or phrase mean in this context?
7 Gist: Figure out the meaning of pivotal and discipline-specific words and phrases, and symbols used in grades 6–8 scientific or technical texts.Which key words or phrases must you understand to comprehend this text?Which symbols are essential to know when reading this type of text?What does this domain-specific word or phrase mean in this context?
8 Gist: Figure out the meaning of pivotal and discipline-specific words and phrases, and symbols used in grades 6–8 scientific or technical texts.Which key words or phrases must you understand to comprehend this text?Which symbols are essential to know when reading this type of text?What does this domain-specific word or phrase mean in this context?
Common Core Reading Standard 4: What the Teacher Does
To have students interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, do the following:
Direct students’ attention to the words, phrases, and other details (captions, diagrams, images) in a sentence and those around it. Point out the ways authors add details to clarify the meaning of words: definition clues such as explanations, synonyms, phrases, and clauses; restatement of the word or phrase (e.g., In other words); contrast or antonym clues that help define what a word means by using words that mean the exact opposite; other clues such as typography, proximity to images, and the author’s general tone.
Tell students that not all words can be understood through context clues; help them see where context clues can confuse.
Complete a think-aloud while reading to the class to show how you puzzle out a word or phrase using syntactic, semantic, typographic, etymological, and other types of information to decipher words.
To have students determine the figurative and connotative meaning of words, do the following:
Identify with students figurative language or words with other connotative meanings; then have them determine the literal or denotative meaning of those words; then ask them to determine, in light of how the words are used, the figurative or connotative meaning.
Direct students’ attention to words used figuratively (simile, metaphor, analogy, euphemism, and pun) and ask them to determine a word’s meaning and explain how its use affects the meaning of other words around it or contributes to the meaning of the text.
Have them assess whether a set or series of words used figuratively has a unifying theme (e.g., they are all related to gardens, sports, the law) and, if they do, what it is and how that set of thematic words adds meaning to the text.
To have students analyze the impact of word choice on meaning and tone, do the following:
Complete a think-aloud as you read through a text, noting the author’s use of certain words that combine with others (through sound, imagery, meaning, stylistic or rhetorical effect) to add meaning or serve some other purpose (e.g., to reinforce a theme).
Direct students to highlight, code, or otherwise indicate (by alternately circling, underlining, putting dotted lines under words) those words or phrases that are connected; ask them then what conclusions they can draw from the patterns, connections, or general use of words about their meaning.
Provide students a list of words or phrases with a common theme left unstated; ask them what the words have in common and how that relates to the text from which they come.
To help students understand discipline-specific words, symbols, and terms, do the following:
Show students how to make use of any textual features—sidebars, captions, typography (is the word in bold and, thus, in the glossary), diagrams, footers, or glossaries in the chapter or in the appendix—available in the textbook.
Teach students, when appropriate, the root words or etymology of certain subject-specific words (bio = life, ology = study of) as part of the study of any discipline.
To have students analyze how authors use analogies and allusions, do the following:
Provide a focused lesson on analogies (perhaps extending it to distinguish between analogies, similes, and metaphors), illustrating with examples; then model for the class how to read for them in the assigned text; once they understand, have them apply the ideas on their own to the rest of the text.
Read aloud for students the text that has some good examples of allusions in it, explaining to them how these function and how you determine that they are, in fact, functioning as allusions.
To help your English Language Learners, try this:
Use these words as often as possible, speaking them aloud so students hear them used in context and pronounced correctly.
Preparing to Teach: Connections to My State’s Standards
Common Core Reading Standard 4: Academic Vocabulary: Key Words and Phrases
Analogies and allusions: Analogies are those words or phrases that compare two things, often based on similar structures or qualities, to explain or clarify some other point; allusions can include, in some cases, as little as a word but often a more developed reference to an image, a story, or some passage in the Bible, for example, that the writer uses to make a point by suggesting some point of similarity (e.g., that a place was an Eden).
Connotative meanings: Words have a primary or literal meaning; some also have a secondary or connotative meaning, which implies an additional idea or feeling related to the word or phrase.
Domain-specific words and phrases: Within each discipline or branch of that discipline, certain words (cell, division) have a domain-specific use in, for example, biology; other words, however,
