which helps them to clarify and refine their analyses. When they answer questions with elaborations,
formulate and pose probing questions to others, and truly listen to their peers, their understandings of
texts is extended and enhanced.
Language Development
All students continue to develop as learners of language
throughout their academic careers, and indeed their lives. The
development of academic English is critical for successful and
equitable school participation as students progress through
middle school and into high school. Notably, students need to
build their linguistic awareness, in other words, their conscious
awareness about how language works. They need many guided
opportunities to analyze how English is organized and structured
in a variety of texts across academic disciplines and how the
language in these texts is different depending on text type,
audience, purpose, topic, and content area. Further, they need
many opportunities to experiment with language, applying what
they learn and adapting their own language to express their
ideas in ways that meet the expectations of different text types
and contexts.
Academic language broadly refers to the language used in academic texts and settings, such
as those found in school. Some students in the middle grades may have developed an awareness
of academic language and can use it flexibly; others, including ELs and standard English learners,
may need specialized instruction to further develop their proficiency in academic English registers.
Academic language shares characteristics across disciplines, but is also highly dependent upon
disciplinary content. Thus, instruction in academic English benefits from collaborations among teachers
across disciplines to address the variations of language use and text structures in multiple subjects
and text types. For more on the characteristics of academic English, see chapter 2 of this ELA/ELD
Framework and chapter 5, “Learning About How English Works,” of the CA ELD Standards (CDE 2014).
By the end of grade five, students expanded their language development in several ways. In
the realm of vocabulary, they learned to use Greek and Latin affixes and roots as clues to meaning
(L.5.4b) and acquired and accurately used grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific
words and phrases that signal precise actions, emotions, or
states of being (L.4.6) or signal contrast, addition, and other
logical relationships (L.5.6); they also learned how to use a
thesaurus (L.5.4c). They practiced expanding, combining,
and reducing sentences for meaning, reader/listener interest,
and style (L.5.3a) in writing and speaking, and used precise
language and domain-specific vocabulary in informational/
explanatory writing (W.5.2d) and concrete words and
phrases and sensory details in written narratives (W.5.3d).
By the end of grade five, students also had opportunities to
differentiate between contexts that call for formal English
(e.g., presenting ideas) and situations where informal
discourse is appropriate (e.g., small-group discussion)
(L.4.3c), as well as to compare and contrast the varieties of
English (e.g., dialects, registers) used in stories, dramas, or
poems (L.5.3b). They determined the meaning of words and phrases in texts relevant to grade-five
topics and subjects, including figurative language (RL/RI.5.4).
Academic language shares
characteristics across
disciplines, but is also highly
dependent upon disciplinary
content. Thus, instruction in
academic English benefits from
collaborations among teachers
across disciplines to address
the variations of language use
and text structures in multiple
subjects and text types.518 | Chapter 6 Grades 6 to 8