Building Academic Vocabulary: Teacher's Manual

Robert J. Marzano and Debra J. Pickering

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About This Book

In Building Academic Vocabulary: Teacher’s Manual, Robert J. Marzano and Debra J. Pickering give teachers a practical way to help students master academic vocabulary. Research has shown that when teachers, schools, and districts take a systematic approach to helping students identify and master essential vocabulary and concepts of a given subject area, student comprehension and achievement rises.

In the manual, readers will find the following tools:

• A method to help teachers, schools, and districts determine which academic vocabulary terms are most essential for their needs
• A six-step process for direct instruction in subject area vocabulary
• A “how-to” to help students use the Building Academic Vocabulary: Student Notebook. The six-step method encourages  students to learn critical academic vocabulary by connecting these terms to prior knowledge using linguistic and non-linguistic means that further encourage the refinement and deepening of their understanding.
• Suggestions for tailoring academic vocabulary procedures for English Language Learners.
• Samples and blackline masters for a variety of review activities and games that reinforce and refine student understanding of the academic terms and concepts they learn.

The book also includes a list of 7, 923 vocabulary terms culled from the national standards documents and other publications, organized into 11 subject areas and 4 grade-level categories.

Building Academic Vocabulary: Teacher’s Manual puts into practice the research and ideas outlined in Marzano’s previous book Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement. Using the teacher’s manual and vocabulary notebooks, educators can guide students in using tools and activities that will help them deepen their own understanding of critical academic vocabulary--the building blocks for achievement in each discipline.

See the book's table of contents and read excerpts.

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About the Authors

ROBERT J. MARZANO is a senior scholar at Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning in Aurora, Colorado; an associate professor at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; vice president of Pathfinder Education, Inc.; and president of Marzano & Associates consulting firm in Centennial, Colorado. He has developed programs and practices used in K–12 classrooms that translate current research and theory in cognition into instructional methods.

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DEBRA J. PICKERING is a private consultant and director of staff development in Littleton Public Schools, Littleton, Colorado. During more than 25 years in education, she has gained practical experience as a classroom teacher and district staff development coordinator and has done extensive consulting with administrators and teachers, K–12. Her work in research and development centers on the study of learning and the development of curriculum, instruction, and assessment that addresses clearly identified learning goals.

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