Vocabulary · Tier 2: academic words
Semantic mapping and shades of meaning
Map how related words connect, and line up similar words by strength or formality, so students choose the precise word instead of the first one they know.
- Bands
- 3 to 5
- Stages
- Upper elementary, Middle school and High school
- Settings
- Mainstream class and Small group
- Prep
- Low prep
How to do it
- Pick a concept or a set of similar words from the unit, such as said, claimed, argued and admitted.
- For a map, put the concept in the middle and build branches of related words and examples.
- For shades of meaning, give students word cards to arrange on a line from weakest to strongest, or least to most formal.
- Discuss the order and agree it as a class.
- Ask students to replace a vague word in their own writing with a more precise one from the line.
In a lesson
History (high school)
Students arrange said, suggested, claimed, insisted and admitted by how certain the speaker sounds. They then rewrite “Churchill said the war would be long” as “Churchill insisted the war would be long”, and discuss how that changes the meaning.
What commonly goes wrong
- Similar words are treated as interchangeable.
- The activity is done once and never applied to writing.
- There are too many words on the line.
Adapting it
For a lower band
Use three or four words with pictures or gestures, such as small, big and huge.
For a higher band
Add register: which word suits an essay, and which suits conversation?