Academic Vocabulary in Context: Middle School
Tier-2 academic words and directive verbs that appear on every rubric and test prompt.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Read the context sentence aloud before the question and let the student use it. That is the skill being built: inferring a word's meaning from the sentence around it, which is what they will have to do on a test where nobody supplies a definition. When a student picks a wrong option, go back to the sentence rather than to the meaning — asking whether identical fits The two accounts were inconsistent does more work than explaining the word. Fifteen minutes covers the set.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPresent the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- HintGive a clue about the word's category, what it does, or where you find it.Log as cued
- Two choicesOffer two answers, the right one not always second.Log as cued
- ModelGive the answer in a sentence; the student says it back and uses it once more.Log as cued
Adjust it
Use fewer items and start with the ones the student already knows.
Ask for the word in a sentence of the student's own, or a second example from the same group.
Matching IEP goal
Given vocabulary cards, Student will name, sort or define target words in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than an indirect cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Sixteen items covering the words that appear in test directions rather than in stories: inconsistent, inconclusive, analyze, summarize, cite. Each is set in a sentence first — The two accounts of the event were inconsistent — and then asked about, because these words are almost never encountered in isolation and a definition learned out of context does not survive a rubric.
What to listen for
Watch for directive verbs going wrong. Analyze, summarize and cite are instructions, and a student who reads summarize as write everything will lose marks on content they actually know. Notice whether errors cluster on negative prefixes — inconsistent and inconclusive both hinge on the in-, and a student missing that pattern is missing a lot more than two words.
Carrying it home
Rubrics and assignment sheets are free practice material. When homework says analyze or cite, ask the student what the word is telling them to do before they start. Most homework failures at this level are instruction-reading failures.
What's in this activity
- 'The two accounts of the event were inconsistent.' Inconsistent means ___.
- identical
- not matching each other
- very long
- official
- 'The data was inconclusive.' Inconclusive means ___.
- proven false
- clear and final
- not settling the question
- collected quickly
- 'Scientists analyze the samples.' Analyze means ___.
- throw them away
- examine them part by part
- photograph them
- label them
- 'Summarize the chapter.' What should you write?
- Every detail
- Your opinion of it
- The main points, much shorter
- A copy of the first page
- 'Cite your evidence.' Cite means ___.
- make it up
- underline it
- translate it
- name where it came from
- In a science report, 'the results were significant' means ___.
- large in physical size
- unlikely to be due to chance
- important to the author
- surprising
- 'The author's claim is that...' A claim is ___.
- a proven fact
- a question
- the position being argued
- a definition
- 'Evaluate the argument.' Evaluate means ___.
- copy it
- memorize it
- judge it and give your reasons
- translate it
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Sixth through eighth. The words are tier-2 academic vocabulary that crosses subjects rather than belonging to one.
- Do I need an account?
- No. The whole set plays free in the browser.
- Why teach words like cite in speech therapy?
- Because they are language demands that sit between a student's knowledge and their ability to show it. A student who knows the content and misreads the instruction is a language case, not a content one.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.