Chapter 2: How do we plan for the integration of key uses of academic language in our practice? What are some helpful tools? Having established a firm foundation for the efficacy of key uses of academic language and their utility with stakeholders, from students to educational leaders, we turn our attention to identifying DARE in standards. Subsequently, we suggest ways for inserting key uses of academic language into disciplinary practices and ultimately integrating DARE into curriculum. Additionally, we draw from the community to ensure that students are able to make connections among their languages, cultures, and daily lives to learning in school.
Chapter 3: How might we assess key uses of academic language in our content classrooms? Planning, collecting, analyzing, and reporting data gathered from various forms of assessment is synonymous with schooling. But to what extent have teachers considered the impact of language on student performance? In this chapter, we illustrate how authentic classroom assessment can be shaped by key uses of academic language that serve as the basis for defining what students can do. We pay special attention to student-centered assessment that stems from disciplinary practices. Much of the chapter is devoted to investigating how to identify, measure, and document DARE in the major content areas: language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.
Chapter 4: What are some viable ways of embedding key uses of academic language into classroom life so that learning is equitable for all students? Implementation of key uses of academic language involves the careful selection of a variety of instructional materials and the scaffolding of instruction so that it is personalized for and accessible to all students. In that way, students can maximize their opportunities to participate in learning experiences and achieve grade-level content. More important, however, is giving students choice and voice throughout the school day. By providing stimulating options that motivate students, teachers encourage student engagement in school and beyond. Additionally, students are led to become metalinguistically and metacognitively aware of their academic language use and its interaction with their thinking processes, with the ultimate goal of becoming agents of and responsible for their own learning.
Chapter 5: How can key uses of academic language be stimuli for cementing relationships among stakeholders so that students can maximize their learning? The stakeholder group most impacted by key uses of academic language is students; therefore, we speak to how students can be active participants in determining their educational destiny by taking responsibility for their own learning and becoming valued contributors to a community of learners. We also recognize families as critical stakeholders who can initiate academic language use at home and strengthen key uses of academic language introduced in school. We show how families can become aware of the importance of academic language development, whether in English or another language. Then, we acknowledge teachers whose leadership and advocacy help students become more attuned to communicating with intent. Finally, we address school leaders who must also be the conveyers of key uses of academic language and ensure that they are integral to school life.
Features of the Book
There is a full complement of features to lead educators to better understand, reflect, and communicate with others the power of language. Take the DARE is a feature that challenges the reader, teacher teams, or professional learning communities, along with school leaders, to reenvision teaching and learning through a language lens. It encourages these stakeholders to take time to extend their thinking on a particular issue or apply ideas related to DARE to their own settings. Questions are suited for stimulating educators to think about taking next steps for incorporating key uses of academic language into their own work.
Figures are illustrative or extensions of information presented in the text. As teachers and teacher educators ourselves, we are aware of the ongoing search for classroom tools. We hope that these are both stimulating and useful, as we converted many of them into resources.
Resources are educator tools designed for students, classrooms, and schools; they are intended to be stimuli for many stakeholders, including teachers, teacher teams, professional learning communities, and school leaders to ponder, plan, and practice. These charts, graphs, and activity sheets are presented in a chapter with exemplars. They are duplicated as blank forms at the close of each chapter for personal use or to share with other educators, students, and families. They are noted in the manuscript by the icon you see of two persons putting together two puzzle pieces.
Source: BrainPOP®, https://www.brainpop.com
To read a QR code, you must have a smartphone or tablet with a camera. We recommend that you download a QR code reader app that is made specifically for your phone or tablet brand.
The QR codes that are embedded in the pages throughout the book take you directly to the BrainPOP® website where you are able to utilize the cited source. We hope that you take advantage of these free materials, including movies, text, graphic organizers, activities, concept maps, and games. We have used these materials as a jump start for thinking about and illustrating academic language use in classrooms.
The references that relate to the four perspectives are presented at the close of each chapter and include cited references as well as seminal work in the field we suggest for further reading. We feel that the close proximity of references to the topic at hand increases the awareness of the literature base from which we draw and reinforces our ideas. References also serve as resources unto themselves for those of you who wish to probe more deeply into specific content.
How to Use This Book
Language Power is geared to stimulating in-depth conversations among educators in K–8 settings that lead to mutually agreed-upon goals for teaching and learning. It is written to foster collaboration, first and foremost, among teachers who wish to delve into refocusing curriculum, assessment, and instruction around academic language use. Our intent is to reach out to classroom teachers, content specialists, and special education teachers to ask them to think deeply about how to represent language learning more equitably within content learning for their students, with special attention to English language learners (ELLs), ELLs with disabilities, and students who speak other varieties of English (other English learners). In the same spirit, we also encourage partnerships between language specialists and content experts, whether teachers, coaches, or other instructional leaders.
School leaders who embody the mission and vision of their building are invited to see how academic language works in tandem with content throughout their schools. Building a school climate that is inclusive of the linguistic and cultural assets of its student body will be embraced by the community and the students themselves. There are resources dedicated to envisioning academic language use that are applicable to standards, curriculum design, and assessment that can readily be implemented at a school level.
Reenvisioning Teaching and Learning Through Key Uses of Academic Language
As teachers and teacher educators who have tried our utmost to instill confidence in our students by building their academic language through content, we hope we have shared our passion and our can-do spirit throughout this book. We believe that all teachers need opportunities to be introspective and think deeply about how they use language to best promote their students’ academic achievement to ensure their success in school.
We ask you to refer to the figure “Reenvisioning Teaching and Learning Through Key Uses of Academic Language” often, as it serves as an overview