ESL Word Walls for ELLs - Middle School Academic Core Content-Area Vocabulary

Help your English Language Learners and other students in Grades 5-8 learn essential content-area vocabulary words for English Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies topics. Words come in 3 sizes and are organized by both academic subject and by grade level for your convenience.

When your ELLs understand these core vocabulary words, they will better comprehend your lessons, the texts they read, and will be more successful in school as a result. Ideas for 10 activities to reinforce the vocabulary are included. These word wall words are great to display at the beginning of the year and throughout the school year.

Resource at a Glance:

★ What will students learn?

* Academic vocabulary words for English Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies that are used in Grades 5, 6, 7, and 8.

★ Who is it for?

* English Language Learners in regular ed or sheltered English classes.

* ELLs learning Content-Based ESL.

* Other students who need to learn these words.

★ How does it help teachers?

* Displaying the posters and word wall words helps your students learn and understand core academic vocabulary, which will enable them to better comprehend your lessons.

* Giving the flashcards to students lets them learn the words on their own time.

* Using the word wall words or flashcards in centers helps students learn the words.

* Directions for doing the activities are provided so you can easily implement them with your class.

What educators who have used this resource say about it:

♥ "Excellent for ESL students learning these concepts on the secondary level!" -- Kirsten K.

♥ "Quick and easy resource - thanks for the blank cards, for additional words!" -- Ellen P.

♥ "These cards have been an excellent resource for my ESL classroom! Thank you!" -- Jamie M.

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What you get in this product for English Learners:

★ Table of contents for easy reference (1 page)

★ Notes to the Teacher with background information (2 pages)

★ List of ELA Common Core standards (1 page)

★ 2 vocabulary templates (2 pages)

★ List of 10 ways to use the vocabulary words (2 pages)

★ Vocabulary words organized by grade level (4 pages)

★ Vocabulary words organized by academic subject (4 pages)

★ Flash cards for Grade 8, four per page (6 pages + 1 blank template page)

★ Flash cards for Grade 7, four per page (5 1/2 pages + 1 1/2 blank template pages)

★ Flash cards for Grade 6, four per page (7 pages + 1 blank template page)

★ Flash cards for Grade 5, four per page (7 pages + 1 blank template page)

★ Word wall cards for Grade 8, two per page (12 pages + 1 blank template page)

★ Word wall cards for Grade 7, two per page (11 pages + 1 blank template page)

★ Word wall cards for Grade 6, two per page (15 pages + 1 blank template page)

★ Word wall cards for Grade 5, two per page (14 pages + 1 blank template page)

★ Photograph showing the word walls in use in a classroom (1 page)

★ Cover and copyright/social media/credits pages also included (2 pages)

More Info:

All the vocabulary words were compiled by asking middle school academic subject teachers which 3 - 5 words in their content areas they consider the most important for students to know. The vocabulary words are available in these 3 sizes:

* Poster size (8.5" x 11")

* Flashcard size (4 words per page)

* Word wall size (2 words per page)

The flashcard sized words are color-coded to match the border color on each grade level poster. The words can be used for review or test prep, in vocabulary games such as charades and matching the words with student-written definitions, or as references during classes. Copy, cut, and distribute them to your students for their own personal reference. Or cut, laminate, and keep them in class as a resource in centers or for reference. Blank template pages are also included if you would like to add your own vocabulary words.

The word wall formatted words, which are also color-coded to match the color on each grade level poster, can be cut apart and are ideal for use as a bulletin board display if you want to choose which words to display. If you laminate them, they will last longer.

You can create word walls for each academic subject differentiated by grade level. Or you can create word walls for each grade level that include vocabulary words in all 4 academic subjects for each individual grade. There are blank template pages in this size, too, so you can add your own vocabulary words.

The posters are an easy way to show all the grade-level or core subject area words that are mentioned in this resource. They can also be displayed on a bulletin board in your classroom or in a hallway. A photo showing how the vocabulary words in this size were displayed in a classroom is included at the end of the product.

The lists below show how many words are included for each content subject and for each grade level. However, since some words are repeated by more than one grade level, in the lists below they are not counted twice in the academic subject word walls but they are listed every time in the word walls for each grade.

Here is how each academic subject breaks down:

The English Language Arts word wall contains 24 words

The Math word wall contains 27 words

The Science word wall contains 24 words

The Social Studies word wall contains 27 words

Here is how each grade breaks down:

The Grade 8 word wall contains 24 words

The Grade 7 word wall contains 22 words

The Grade 6 word wall contains 28 words

The Grade 5 word wall contains 28 words

Please note that illustrations of the words are not included in this resource because by having students draw their own pictures, you can asses how well your students understand what the words mean. To help students develop their comprehension of these academic words, 2 templates for vocabulary work are included in the resource. Both templates have spaces for students to draw a picture to illustrate a word. The templates also ask students to write about the word in a few ways and to use it in a sentence.

To further help students internalize the meaning of these academic vocabulary words, 10 optional activities are included. Directions for doing each activity are clearly explained. Doing all or some of these activities will help students learn the meanings of the words and how to how them.

Learning content-area vocabulary can be difficult for English Language Learners because not only do they have to learn new words, they simultaneously have to learn the academic concepts associated with those words. When you display these posters or word wall vocabulary words where all students can easily see them and use the flashcards as well, you are supporting your students' acquisition of key vocabulary and that will greatly help them be successful in school.

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Other vocabulary products to help ELLs achieve success:

★ Ancient India: Indus River Valley Civilization Vocabulary

★ Presidential Elections Vocabulary Resources

★ Halloween Vocabulary Task Cards for ELLs and Mainstream Students: Paperless Version

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Thank you and happy teaching!

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Common Core Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Any claims of correlation or alignment to the CCSS Standards are solely those of The ESL Nexus and have not been evaluated or endorsed by the NGA. The ESL Nexus is the sole creator of this product and does not claim endorsement or association with the creators of the CCSS standards.

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