Topics on the Page

 

• Origins and Meanings of Words

 

• Role Before Rule

 

• Purposeful Praise Statements and Strategies

 

• Learning Academic Language

 

• Kid-Friendly Definitions for Key Terms

 

• Writing Process

 

• Math Words and Terms

 

• Technology 

 

• Academic Terms 

 

 

Kid-Friendly Vocabulary Means Easily Understandable Language

 

 

Origins and Meanings of Words

 

ESL, ELL, Generation 1.5. Why Are These Terms Important? 

National Council of Teachers of English (September 7, 2017)

 

 

 

Student-Created Dictionary with Animations on YouTube

 

 

Sid the Science Kid Glossary of Science Terms

 

  Rewordify:  Takes Difficult Text and Makes It Easier to Understand

 

Examples of Restating Words in Kid-Friendly Language:

 

• Resources = Useful things and valuable supplies
• Curate = Collect
• Aligned = Matched Up
• Massive = Huge
• Cloud Computing = Computers do the work but it is stored elsewhere
• Alternatives = Other choices
• Transformation = Change

 

  The Many Origins of the English Language

 

• From Borrowed Words:  A History of Loanwords in English by Philip Durkin (2014)

 

Digital Glossary from Common Sense Media

• Decode teens’ shorthand in the digital world (includes explicit references)
  

For examples of kid-friendly language definitions, link to the picture book, The Fairy Dogfather. Alexandra Day. Green Tiger Press, 2012

 

   

   Shakespeare Invented 1700 New Words

 

•   Link here for a list with each word hyperlinked to the play where it appears

 

 

 

 

15 Words You Use Without Realizing They're From Foreign Languages

 

 

25 of the New Words Merriam-Webster Is Adding the Dictionary in 2018

 

 

 

Role Before Rule

The phrase role before rule is a helpful way to explain writing and language conventions to both multilingual as well as native English speakers.

 

• A term like "exclamation point" or "interrogative sentence" offers little context or frame or reference for understanding its meaning.
• As a result, young learners struggle to remember definitions or rules for usage.

 

• Restating the terms in kid-friendly language helps students to build a memory of the role or function that each convention plays in language and writing.
• Exclamation point becomes Excitement mark
• Interrogative Sentence becomes Question-Asking Sentence

 

• Role Before Rule supports children's natural inquisitiveness throughout the learning process.

 

Purposeful Praise Statements and Strategies

5 Reasons to Stop Saying Good Job, Alfie Kohn, Young Children (September 2001)

• "I notice you never give up."

 

 

Learning Academic Language

The Critical Words Your Students Must Know for the Common Core State Standards

180 Essential Vocabulary Words for 5th Grade, Scholastic

100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know, Vocabulary.com

 

 

The Writing Process Terms in Kid-Friendly Language

 

VOCABULARY WORD           k Capital Letters   Comma   Dialogue   Excerpt     Exclamation Point   Imperative Sentence   Interrogative Sentence   Period.    Question Mark   Quotation Mark     Peer Editing       Semi-Colon     Standard Spelling   Revision   Rhetoric

KID-FRIENDLY DEFINITION   Attention-Getting Letters   Slow Down, but Don't Stop   Talking on Paper   Small part of a larger piece of writing or book     Excitement Mark (!)       Question-Asking Sentence      Full Stop.      Answer Needed   Someone Said   Reader Response       Pause, More Coming     Book Spelling   Do again to make better; to change something you have done   Getting someone to do what you want using words

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mathematical Symbols and Their Definitions

 

Link to A Maths Dictionary for Kids

 

Link to Tutoring Math wiki

 

SYMBOL	KID-FRIENDLY DEFINITION
+.. Addition Sign.....	and Link to Addition Example
- Subtraction Sign.......................	Take Away
= Equal Sign	The same as
( ) Parenthesis	Answer Me First
X Multiplication Sign	Make Bigger Link to Multiplication Example k k k
' Decimal Point .	Dividing Point
Division Sign	Make Groups of
Right Angle	Link to photo showing Stairs are Right Angles
Parallel Line	Lines That Never Touch Lines That Are Next To But Do Not Touch Link to Railroad Tracks Are Parallel Lines
Perpendicular Line	Lines That End Up Touching Link to photo showing Parrots Have Parallel Wings and Perpendicular Toes k k
< ...	Smaller
> ...	Larger
Numerator and Denominator
Symmetry	Mirror Image
Infinity	Never ending

 

 

  Technology Terms and Kid-Friendly Definitions

 

VOCABULARY WORD           k

KID-FRIENDLY DEFINITION

 

Algorithm

 

App

 

Clickbait

 

Cloud

 

Data

 

Digital artifact

 

Digital citizen

 

Ergonomics

 

Hardware

 

Laptop

 

Mouse

 

Simulation

 

Smart device

 

Smartphone

 

Social media

 

Software

 

Spam

 

Tablet

 

URL

 

Virus

 

Website

 

 

 

  Reading, Writing, Math, Science and Social Studies Terms and Their Definitions

 

 

 

VOCABULARY WORD           k k

KID-FRIENDLY DEFINITION

 

A

Abbreviation: Shortened way to write a word

 

Acronym: First letter of a group of words that represent full words; for example ASAP (As Soon As Possible)

 

Acquire: To get

 

Adversary: Someone trying to block what you are doing

 

Alter: Change

 

Alliteration: Group of words that begin with the same sound; for example (Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers)

Amendment: A change in rules

 

Analogy: To compare two things

 

Appreciate: To grow in value (in economics)

 

Asset: An item of value (in economics)

 

Authentic: True, not false

 

B

 

Bias: To favor

 

C

Capital Letters: Attention-Getting Letters

• Link to a Sign with Capital Letters

 

Circumference: Distance around measured by a circle

 

Cite: Give credit to the original source

 

Clarify: To make easier to understand

 

Collapse: To fall down

 

Comma: Slow Down, but Don't Stop

 

Commence: To start

 

Compound: Consisting of more than one part; in math, to add more to a total over time

 

Compute: To find a total or an amount

 

Confirm: Make sure something is right or true

 

Contemporary: Up-to-date; current; modern

 

Contrast: To find differences between two or more things

 

Credit: Buying without money

 

D

Declarative Sentence:

Definite: For sure

 

Depict: to show

 

Destination: Somewhere you are going

 

Dialogue: Talking on Paper

 

Discovery: To find something new or that you did not know

Distinct: Something different from others

Dramatic: Attention-grabbing; full of emotions

 

Duration: How long something lasts; length of time

 

 

E

 

Element: Part or ingredient

 

Elevation: Height or distance from the ground

 

Employ: Pay someone to do a job or service

 

Erosion: Breaking down or moving over time

 

Eventually: Will happen in the future

 

Evidence: Information that shows something is true

 

Evolve: To change over time

 

Examine: Look at carefully

 

Exclamation Point: Excitement Mark. (!)

Exclamatory Sentence

Excerpt: Small part of a larger piece of writing or book

 

Executive: Person or people directing a company or government

 

Explanation: To give a reason why

 

External: Outside of something

 

F

 

Flexible: Able to bend or change easily

 

Formula: Directions about how to make something or figure something out

 

Foreshadow: To hint or imply what is going to happen

 

Foresight: To understand or know what is going to happen

 

Fraction:

 

G

 

Glossary: List of words with definitions

 

Guarantee: To ensure something will happen

 

H

 

Header: Information at the top of a page

 

Headway: To move forward

 

I

 

Ideal: the best

 

Identical: Looking the same

 

Imperative Sentence

 

Impending: Something that is about to happen

 

Income: Money you get

• The Average American Made $44.6K Last Year, CNBC (September 20, 2015)

 

Indifference: Not caring

 

Infer: To figure something out using clues only

 

Innocent: Not at fault; without blame

 

Internal: 

 

Interval: Short spaces of time in between two things

 

Interrogative Sentence

 

Inventory: To keep track of or make a list

 

Investment: Putting effort or time into something to get something back

 

J

 

Judicial

 

K


L


M

 

Majority: 

 

Malleable: 

 

Maintain: 

 

Maximum: the most

 

Metaphor: 

 

Military: 

 

Minimum: small amount

 

Minority: 

 

Modify: change shape or appearance

 

Motive: reason to doing something


N

 

Narrative: a story of what happened

 

Negative: 

O

 

Obvious: 

 

Occupy: to take up space

 

P

 

Paraphrase: 

 

Period: Full Stop

 

Periodic: repeating in a pattern

 

Persist: to keep going

 

Policy: rules to be followed

 

Positive: 

 

Precious: very valuable and important

 

Precise: very accurate

 

Previous: 

 

Property

 

Proposal: suggested or possible plan

 

Q

 

Question Mark: Answer Needed

 

Quotation Mark: Someone Said

 

R

 

Random

 

React:

 

Reform: changes to make it better

 

Remarkable: really special

 

Rephrase: to say in a different way

 

Resist: to oppose, disagree, or fight back

 

Resolution: outcome or end

 

Revision: Do again to make better; to change something you have done

Rhetoric: Getting someone to do what you want using words

• Definitions of rhetoric by Plato, Socrates, Aristotle and more

 

S

 

Salary: Money paid for during a job

 

Salutation: Greeting someone by name

 

Scarce: few

 

Scope:

 

Semi-Colon: Pause, More Coming

 

Skim:

 

Solution: answer to a problem

 

Specific

 

Stable: not often changing

 

Standard Spelling: Book Spelling

 

Stanza:

 

Submit

 

Suggest: offer an idea

 

Summarize: give a short explanation

 

Survey: ask questions

T

 

Target

 

Technique

 

Temporary: lasting only a short time

 

Transfer

 

U

 

Unify: to bring together

 

Unique: 

V

 

Valid: true

 

Variation: 

 

Voluntary: 

W


X


Y


Z