Words Worth Using: Supporting Adolescents' Power With Academic Vocabulary

The author proposes a metalinguistic approach to vocabulary instruction that empowers adolescents to learn and use academic words that are meaningful to their lives, language background, and individual interests. The book provides research-based instructional routines and explores how academic vocabulary can position students as insiders or outsiders, and how culturally sustaining instruction can welcome all students into discovering and using language.

Format: Hardback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 28 October 2022
Publisher: Teachers' College Press

The author emphasizes the importance of teaching adolescents academic words that are relevant to their lives and academic pursuits. Rather than a traditional approach that focuses on memorization, the author advocates for a metalinguistic approach that empowers students to learn words through meaningful usage. The book provides research-based instructional routines to support adolescents as they acquire and apply new words in their academic learning. It explores how academic vocabulary can either position students as insiders or outsiders, and how culturally sustaining instruction can welcome all students into the process of discovering and using language.

Words Worth Using is designed to be a valuable resource for teachers who feel overwhelmed by the vast array of words they are expected to teach. The book offers several key features:

An engaging exploration of adolescents and the powerful word learning that can endure.

Metalinguistic awareness as an underutilized approach to helping adolescents develop word knowledge in engaging ways.

A culturally sustaining pedagogy framework that prioritizes the inclusion of emergent bilinguals.

Words Worth Using includes boxes that provide the etymology and morphology of numerous important words throughout the text, allowing students to gain a deeper understanding of their meanings.

The book is accompanied by a careful review of research, along with classroom anecdotes, real-world examples, and templates for teachers and instructional leaders to use in their own contexts.

In conclusion, Words Worth Using is a valuable resource for educators who are committed to helping adolescents develop a strong vocabulary and a deeper understanding of the language. By adopting a metalinguistic approach and providing culturally sustaining instruction, teachers can empower students to become confident and proficient word users, enabling them to succeed in school and beyond.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780807767634