Building Academic Language: Essential Practices for Content Classrooms, Grades 5-12

by Jeff Zwiers

Many students, ranging from native English speakers to recent immigrants, need help in understanding and using the language of school. Language is the lifeblood of learning in all content areas, and it plays a major role in academic achievement. Building Academic Language explains the functions and features of academic language that every teacher (language arts, history, math, & science teachers, etc.) should know for supporting academic reading, writing, and discussion. The book includes research-based instructional and assessment activities that content teachers can use to build students' abilities to understand and describe the many abstract concepts, higher-order thinking skills, and complex relationships in a discipline. The book emphasizes an approach that builds from students' existing ways of learning and communicating, scaffolding them to think and talk as content area experts think and talk about math, science, history, and language arts. Major topics and themes

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction

295 pages, Paperback

First published November 9, 2007

Reviews

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book helpful because it was so detailed and research-based. I wouldn't say the strategies were all brand-new and groundbreaking to me, but I'll definitely use some of them in my classroom this coming school year.

[J-Lynn Van Pelt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zwiers tackles the tough distinction between content vocabulary and academic vocabulary. He provides a lot of background information on academic language and the students who struggle in the classroom because of the use of academic vocabulary. Each chapter ends with a handful of suggested activities to take into the classroom. The chapters on academic language in reading, writing, small group work, class discussions, and assessments are especially helpful.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think if I had different classes this year I would have enjoyed this much more and gotten more out of it. I kept mentally replying, "yes, but that pre-supposes the students want to think and and learn, all I'd get is blank stares (at best, more likely they'd just continue trying to play games on their phones and chat with one another) But, it is SPRING BREAK now and I'll be more hopeful after a week off.

[Ida · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another great one. Takes a lot of the big theories, i.e. Vygotsky and his ZPD and defines them in comprehensible and practical terms and then relates them to active work in the classroom.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good, easy to read text of teaching ELLs (and quite honestly most kids in an urban setting).

[Daniel Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book, and exactly what it says on the cover - how to help students build and process their academic language, and how to design lessons that support language development in the content area.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! So many inspiring strategies I want to try!

[Andrea dM · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing resource for teaching English Language Learners the rigorous and specific requirements of successful language use in academic contexts. Besides being important, it's readable and full of resources to bring directly into the classroom. I am so grateful for this book.