Class 6–8 Academic Vocabulary: Use The Words Your Textbooks Use
Your textbooks and exam papers are full of words you half-know. You can read them and roughly guess what they mean, but can you use them in answers, essays, science reports and arguments? This course turns "I've seen that word" into "I know exactly when to use it."
Words Your Questions Use
Chapter 1
Chapter 1 · Start here
Words Your Questions Use
Describe, explain, compare, classify: learn what each question word wants, so you write the answer the question actually asks for.
Sprint 1
Name, List, And Identify
Name, list, state and identify all want a short, direct answer, not an explanation.
Sprint 2
Describe And Explain
Describe says what something is like; explain says why or how it works. Learn to tell them apart.
Sprint 3
Compare And Contrast
Words for writing a clear comparison answer.
Sprint 4
Give Reasons And Suggest
Reasoning words that link your evidence to your conclusion.
Sprint 5
Define And Classify
Define a word exactly, and sort things into groups with a clear rule.
Sprint 6
Review: Words Your Questions Use
Put all the question words together and test yourself.
Words For Noticing And Describing
Chapter 2
Chapter 2 · Start here
Words For Noticing And Describing
Exact words for what you notice: features, amounts, patterns and changes, for science practicals, geography and reading graphs.
Sprint 7
Look And Notice
Look, notice, examine, inspect and detect: different levels of paying attention.
Sprint 8
Features And Properties
Describe things exactly with words like feature, property, texture and surface.
Sprint 9
Amount And Degree
Exact words for amounts, instead of a lot and a little.
Sprint 10
Patterns And Arrangements
Words for describing patterns you see and patterns in logic.
Sprint 11
Change In Amount
Words for going up, going down and changing, useful for graphs, data and science.
Sprint 12
Review: Words For Noticing And Describing
Put the words for noticing, describing, amounts, patterns and change together, and test yourself.
Words For How And Why Things Happen
Chapter 3
Chapter 3 · Start here
Words For How And Why Things Happen
Words for cause and effect, steps in a process, change, conditions and cycles, the way your school subjects explain things.
Sprint 13
Cause And Effect
Name both the cause and the effect, and link them with the right words.
Sprint 14
Process And Method
Describe a process step by step with the right words.
Sprint 15
Change And Transformation
Words for different kinds of change, from small to complete.
Sprint 16
Conditions And Requirements
Say what is needed, what is missing, and what depends on what.
Sprint 17
Cycle And Repetition
Words for cycles, things that repeat, and renewal.
Sprint 18
Review: How And Why Things Happen
Put the cause, process, change, condition and cycle words together, and test yourself.
Words For Sorting And Comparing
Chapter 4
Chapter 4 · Start here
Words For Sorting And Comparing
Words to group, rank, zoom in on detail, weigh pros and cons, and tell fact from opinion.
Sprint 19
Same And Different
Say exactly how things are the same and different, beyond same and not same.
Sprint 20
More And Less Important
Words for ranking things by how much they matter.
Sprint 21
General And Specific
Move from a general statement to specific details, and know when you need each.
Sprint 22
Good Side, Bad Side
Words for the good side and the bad side of something.
Sprint 23
Fact And Opinion
Tell fact from opinion, and use words like claim and evidence.
Sprint 24
Review: Words For Sorting And Comparing
Put the sorting, comparing, ranking and judging words together, and test yourself.
Words For Thinking And Arguing
Chapter 5
Chapter 5 · Start here
Words For Thinking And Arguing
Words to predict, agree and disagree, test an idea, argue your case and make decisions.
Sprint 25
Predict And Estimate
Predict, estimate, expect or guess: which one fits when.
Sprint 26
Agree And Disagree
Ways to agree and disagree that go beyond I agree and I disagree.
Sprint 27
Test And Verify
Experiment words: test, check, verify, confirm, measure, record.
Sprint 28
Argue And Defend
Build an argument and answer one, with argue, defend, challenge and counter.
Sprint 29
Making Decisions
Words for making a choice: decide, prefer, consider, weigh up.
Sprint 30
Review: Words For Thinking And Arguing
Put the thinking, arguing and deciding words together, and test yourself.
Words For Reading And Stories
Chapter 6
Chapter 6 · Start here
Words For Reading And Stories
Words for talking about stories and poems: characters, settings, moods, main ideas, figures of speech and how a plot moves.
Sprint 31
Characters And Settings
The words for the parts of a story: characters, setting and more.
Sprint 32
Feelings And Moods
Words for how a scene, a character or a text feels.
Sprint 33
The Main Idea
Find and name the main idea, the topic, the theme and the supporting details.
Sprint 34
Pictures In Words
Spot and name simile, metaphor, personification, imagery and symbolism.
Sprint 35
How Stories Move
Words for how a story moves, from beginning to end.
Sprint 36
Review: Words For Reading And Stories
Put the story and reading words together, and test yourself.
Words That Make Your Writing Better
Chapter 7
Chapter 7 · Start here
Words That Make Your Writing Better
Linking words and editing words that turn short, repetitive sentences into smooth paragraphs.
Sprint 37
Adding And Continuing
Ways to add a point beyond and and also.
Sprint 38
But And However
Ways to show contrast beyond but, like however and although.
Sprint 39
So And Therefore
Ways to link a cause to its result, like therefore and as a result.
Sprint 40
For Example And Such As
Back up a general point with an example, using for example and such as.
Sprint 41
Improving Your Writing
Words for editing and improving your own writing.
Sprint 42
Review: Words That Make Your Writing Better
Put the linking and editing words together, and test yourself.