Vocabulary · Tier 3: subject words
Labelled diagrams
Students label a diagram with subject terms, then use their labels to talk and write about the process. The diagram carries the meaning while the language grows.
- Bands
- 1 to 4
- Stages
- Lower elementary, Upper elementary, Middle school and High school
- Settings
- Mainstream class, Push-in support, Pull-out support and Small group
- Prep
- Low prep
How to do it
- Choose a diagram central to the lesson, such as a cell, a volcano or a process flow chart.
- Model labelling it and saying each term.
- Students label their own copy from a word bank.
- Students use their labelled diagram to explain the process to a partner.
- Students write an explanation, using the labels as a plan.
In a lesson
Geography (middle school)
Students label a diagram of the water cycle with evaporation, condensation, precipitation and collection. Following the arrows on her diagram, a band 2 student explains to a partner, “The sun heats the sea. Water evaporates. It condenses into clouds.”
What commonly goes wrong
- Labelling becomes the whole task, with no speaking or writing.
- The diagram is too detailed.
- Word banks have no pictures for new arrivals.
Adapting it
For a lower band
Give a partly labelled diagram and a word bank with pictures.
For a higher band
Ask students to draw and label their own diagram from a written description.