CCRA.L.6: General Academic and Domain-Specific Vocabulary
In plain English: CCRA.L.6 is the Common Core College and Career Readiness anchor standard for language that asks students to acquire and accurately use a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, and to gather vocabulary knowledge on their own when a word matters to comprehension or expression. In grades 6-12 it is carried by L.6.6 through L.11-12.6.
Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy · Domain: College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Language · Cluster: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use Also written as CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.6 · Official standard
CCRA.L.6 is about building the vocabulary that school and work run on. General academic words appear in every subject: analyze, evidence, significance, detect. Domain-specific words belong to one field: stamen and pistil in botany, denominator in math, legislature in civics. The anchor has three parts: acquire such words, use them accurately, and show independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when a word matters for understanding a text or for saying something precisely. In grades 6-8 the words are "grade-appropriate"; in grades 9-12 the target is the college and career readiness level, and independence becomes an explicit expectation.
The lesson uses two excerpts from Mrs. William Starr Dana's field guide How to Know the Wild Flowers (1893), a nineteenth-century book that defines its botany terms as it goes, plus two originals written for this page: a student's word log and a weak draft of field notes with planted word errors. Every activity has a grades 6-8 version and a grades 9-12 version, and the grade-level pages under Related Standards give each band in full.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
Tell general academic words from domain-specific words and explain the difference
Learn domain-specific words from an author's own definitions and a subject glossary
Use general academic and domain-specific words accurately in their own explanations
Decide when a word is important enough to stop for, and gather its meaning on their own
Prior Knowledge Required
Students should already be comfortable with:
Using context clues, word parts and dictionaries to work out unknown words CCRA.L.4
Reading a dictionary entry and a textbook glossary
"Sort these eight words into two piles, 'words you could meet in any class' and 'words that belong to one subject': analyze, photosynthesis, evidence, denominator, compare, legislature, significant, isotope."
Take answers. Analyze, evidence, compare and significant can turn up in English, history, math or science: these are general academic words. Photosynthesis (biology), denominator (math), legislature (civics) and isotope (chemistry) each belong to one field: these are domain-specific words. Both kinds matter. A student who knows stamen but not significance, or the other way around, will still get stuck in a science reading.
Direct Instruction15-20 minutes
Three parts of the anchor.
Acquire: meet the words in reading and listening, and learn them from the author's own definitions, a subject glossary or a dictionary. Many science writers flag a technical term with signals such as "is called," "the term used by ... to describe," "that is," or i.e.
Use accurately: put the words to work in your own writing and speaking, with the precise meaning the subject gives them. "The denominator of 3/4 is 4" is accurate; "the numerator of 3/4 is 4" is not.
Gather independently: decide which words matter for understanding or for what you want to say, then collect their meanings on your own from context, word parts and references, and keep a record you will use again.
How the anchor grows. Every grade-level standard below carries CCRA.L.6.
Progression of CCRA.L.6 in grades 6-12
Grade-level standard
Band
What this band adds
L.6.6
Grade 6
Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words; gather vocabulary knowledge when a word is important to comprehension or expression
L.7.6
Grade 7
The same wording as grade 6, applied to grade 7 texts and subjects
L.8.6
Grade 8
The same wording as grade 6, applied to grade 8 texts and subjects
L.9-10.6
Grades 9-10
Words sufficient for reading, writing, speaking and listening at the college and career readiness level; independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge
L.11-12.6
Grades 11-12
The same wording as grades 9-10, applied to grades 11-12 texts and the end of high school
Model text. Frances Theodora Parsons (1861-1952) published How to Know the Wild Flowers in 1893 under the name Mrs. William Starr Dana. It was written for readers who wanted to name the flowers they found on walks, so it explains its botany terms as it goes. In the excerpt she explains how flowers make seeds. The notes "(p. 11)" and "(p. 10)" send readers to pictures and definitions elsewhere in the book.
1To Darwin we owe our knowledge of the significance of color, form, and fragrance in flowers. These subjects have been widely discussed during the last twenty-five years, because of their close connection with the theory of natural selection; they have also been more or less enlarged upon in modern text-books. Nevertheless, it seems wiser to repeat what is perhaps already known to the reader, and to allude to some of the interesting theories connected with these topics, rather than to incur the risk of obscurity by omitting all explanation of facts and deductions to which it is frequently necessary to refer.
2It is agreed that the object of a flower’s life is the making of seed, i.e., the continuance of its kind. Consequently its most essential parts are its reproductive organs, the stamens, and the pistil or pistils.
3The stamens (p. 11) are the fertilizing organs. These produce the powdery, quickening material called pollen, in little sacs which are borne at the tips of their slender stalks.
4The pistil (p. 11) is the seed-bearing organ. The pollen-grains which are deposited on its roughened summit throw out minute tubes which reach the little ovules in the ovary below and quicken them into life.
5These two kinds of organs can easily be distinguished in any large, simple, complete flower (p. 10). The pollen of the stamens, and the ovules which line the base of the pistil, can also be detected with the aid of an ordinary magnifying glass.
6Now, we have been shown that nature apparently prefers that the pistil of a flower should not receive its pollen from the stamens in the same flower-cup with itself. Experience teaches that, sometimes, when this happens no seeds result. At other times the seeds appear, but they are less healthy and vigorous than those which are the outcome of cross-fertilization—the term used by botanists to describe the quickening of the ovules in one blossom by the pollen from another.
Mrs. William Starr Dana (Frances Theodora Parsons), How to Know the Wild Flowers, Introductory Chapter (excerpt) (1893). Public domain (published 1893). Source text.
Domain-specific word defined in the text
How does paragraph 3 teach the term stamens?
Result: Dana gives a definition right after the term: "The stamens (p. 11) are the fertilizing organs." Then she adds what they do: "These produce the powdery, quickening material called pollen." The pattern "X is/are ..." followed by "called" is a common way science writers define terms, and the page reference sends the reader to a picture.
General academic word
Paragraph 1 opens, "To Darwin we owe our knowledge of the significance of color, form, and fragrance in flowers." What does significance mean, and why is it a general academic word?
Result: Here significance means importance or meaning: what color, form and fragrance are for. It is general academic because it works in any subject: the significance of a battle, of a test result or of a symbol in a poem. Knowing it once helps in every class.
A signal phrase for a technical term
How does paragraph 6 show the reader that cross-fertilization is a technical term?
Result: Dana prints the word in italics and then defines it with a signal phrase: "the term used by botanists to describe the quickening of the ovules in one blossom by the pollen from another." The phrase "the term used by botanists" tells the reader that this is a domain-specific word, and the definition follows at once.
Guided Practice15 minutes
Gathering vocabulary on your own. The word log below was written for this page. It shows how a grade 10 student decided which words in the Dana excerpt mattered and gathered their meanings. Read it with the class, then work through the steps. Grades 6-8 may follow Word 1 only.
1Reading: Mrs. William Starr Dana, How to Know the Wild Flowers (1893), Introductory Chapter.
2Word 1: ovules (paragraph 4). Why it matters: the paragraph explains how seeds begin, and I cannot follow it without this word. My first guess: something small inside the pistil, because the pollen tubes "reach the little ovules in the ovary below." Word parts: the word history in my dictionary says ovule comes from Latin ovum, egg. What I checked: my biology textbook's glossary says an ovule is the structure in a seed plant that develops into a seed after fertilization. My sentence: In a pea flower, each ovule inside the pistil can become one pea.
3Word 2: deductions (paragraph 1). Why it matters: it is a general academic word I see in science and in math. My first guess: subtractions, like deductions from a paycheck. That did not fit "facts and deductions." What I checked: the dictionary gives another sense, a conclusion reached by reasoning. Check: "facts and the conclusions drawn from them" fits the sentence. My sentence: Our lab report keeps our measurements separate from our deductions.
4Word 3: quickening (paragraph 3). Why it matters: Dana uses quickening or quicken three times (paragraphs 3, 4 and 6), and the everyday meaning, speeding up, makes no sense here. What I checked: the dictionary lists an old meaning of quick, alive, and of quicken, to give life to. So "quickening material" is material that brings the ovules to life. Note: modern science texts call this process fertilization, so I will use that word, not quickening, in my own lab report.
SVHS (original model written for this page; invented student), Rosa's Word Log (model). Original passage written for this page.
Choosing words. Ask: "Why did Rosa log only three words from a passage full of hard ones?" Have students read each "Why it matters" line aloud and name, in their own words, the reason each word earned a place. The anchor asks for independence "when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression," not for every unfamiliar word.
Using more than one source. Ask what Rosa checked for ovules: context, a word history and a subject glossary. Discuss why the biology glossary matters here. A general dictionary gives the word, but the glossary gives the meaning biology students are expected to use.
Testing a first guess. For deductions, Rosa's first guess came from another subject (money). Ask: "How did she know it was wrong?" It did not fit "facts and deductions." She returned to the dictionary and found the sense that fits.
Older and newer terms. Dana wrote in 1893. Ask what Rosa decides about quickening for her own writing, and why. Discuss whether an old text can still teach an idea when some of its terms have changed. Note also that modern textbooks usually separate pollination (pollen reaching the pistil) from fertilization (the joining of cells inside the ovule), two steps that Dana's word covers together.
Independent Practice15 minutes
Students read Dana's Explanation of Terms (Text 2) and then revise the weak field-notes draft (Text 4), which was written for this page with planted word errors. Grades 6-8 find and correct at least three inaccurate or vague words, using Texts 1 and 2 as their glossary. Grades 9-12 correct every error, replace the vague words in paragraph 6 with precise domain-specific terms, and revise the overclaiming general academic word in paragraph 5. Collect the revisions as the formative check.
1The comprehension of the flower descriptions and of the opening chapters will be facilitated by the reading of the following explanation of terms. For words or expressions other than those which are included in this section, the Index of Technical Terms at the end of the book should be consulted.
[...]
2A Complete Flower (Fig. 6) is “that part of a plant which subserves the purpose of producing seed, consisting of stamens and pistils, which are the essential organs, and the calyx and corolla, which are the protecting organs.” (Gray.)
3The green outer flower-cup, or outer set of green leaves, which we notice at the base of many flowers, is the Calyx (Fig. 6 Ca). At times this part is brightly colored and may be the most conspicuous feature of the flower.
4When the calyx is divided into separate leaves, these leaves are called Sepals.
5The inner flower-cup or the inner set of leaves is the Corolla (Fig. 6, C).
6When the corolla is divided into separate leaves, these leaves are called Petals.
7We can look upon calyx and corolla as the natural tapestry which protects the delicate organs of the flower, and serves as well, in many cases, to attract the attention of passing insects. In some flowers only one of these two parts is present; in such a case the single cup or set of floral leaves is generally considered to be the calyx.
8The floral leaves may be spoken of collectively as the Perianth. This word is used especially in describing members of families where there might be difficulty in deciding as to whether the single set of floral leaves present should be considered calyx or corolla (see Lilies, Pls. XLV. and LXXX.); or where the petals and sepals can only be distinguished with difficulty, as with the Orchids.
Mrs. William Starr Dana (Frances Theodora Parsons), How to Know the Wild Flowers, Explanation of Terms (excerpt; cut marked [...]) (1893). Public domain (published 1893). Source text.
1May 14, 1:00-1:30 p.m., the clover patch behind the school garden.
2The red clover had a corolla, the green leaves under each tiny flower.
3I observed six bees landing on the flowers, and they were collecting pistils to take back to the hive.
4The stamens are the part of the flower that makes the seeds.
5Four bees went to the red clover and two went to the white clover. This proves that bees prefer red flowers.
6The flowers were really pretty and had lots of stuff inside them.
SVHS (original weak draft written for this page; invented student and data), Field Notes Draft: The Clover Patch (weak draft with planted word errors). Original passage written for this page.
Closure5 minutes
Exit ticket: (1) Write one general academic word and one domain-specific word you used today, each in a sentence of your own. (2) Name one word from today that you would put in a word log, and say why it matters.
Teacher note: Dana's 1893 science vocabulary is older than students' textbooks: she calls stamens "fertilizing organs" and pollen "quickening material." Present the excerpt as a good source of the basic ideas and a chance to compare older and current terms, not as a current biology text. The quiz and homework use all four texts above.
Differentiation Strategies
For Struggling Students
Give a labeled flower picture with calyx, sepal, corolla, petal, stamen, pistil and ovule before the reading
Provide a three-box word-log template: why it matters, what it means, my sentence
Read Text 1 aloud in two halves and stop after each definition to restate it
For Advanced Students
Ask students to compare Dana's definitions with a current biology glossary and list which terms have changed
Have students write a short guide to one hobby or sport, defining five of its domain-specific words in the way Dana does
Ask students to track one general academic word, such as theory, across three subjects and explain how its meaning shifts
Assessment Guidance
What to Look For
Check that students tell general academic and domain-specific words apart and can explain a domain word with the subject's precise meaning. In their own writing, look for terms used accurately rather than only included. For independence, look for a reason a word was chosen, more than one source consulted, a first guess tested, and a sentence that uses the word correctly. In grades 9-12, look for the use of a subject glossary and attention to current terms.
02
Classroom Activities
3 Activities
1
Two-Column Word Sort
15 minPairs
Pairs sort word cards into general academic and domain-specific columns, then explain three words from each column. The sort shows students that both kinds of vocabulary need attention.
Teacher key: general academic: observe, compare, conclude, describe, identify, explain; domain-specific: pollen, ovary, sepal, petal, nectar (botany) and fraction (math)
Pairs write a definition for three domain-specific words, using Texts 1 and 2 where they can, and use three general academic words in sentences about any school subject
Grades 9-12 Version
Words that change with the subject: theory, organ, deduction
For each word, pairs write the everyday or general meaning and the meaning in one subject, with a sentence for each
Teacher key: theory, informally a guess, in science a well-tested explanation of observed facts; organ, a musical instrument, in biology a body or plant part made of tissues that work together; deduction, an amount subtracted, in logic and science a conclusion reached by reasoning
Pairs explain in one sentence why "it's only a theory" can mislead when the subject is science
Discussion Questions
Which words were hard to place? Could a word belong in both columns?
Where do you usually meet general academic words? Where do you meet domain words?
Which column is easier to learn from a glossary? Why?
Modification
For students who need support, start with six cards and give one example sentence for each general academic word.
2
Explain It Accurately
15 minSmall groups (3-4)
Groups label the parts of a flower and then explain how a seed begins, using the domain words accurately. A second group checks every term against Texts 1 and 2.
Grades 6-8 Version
Using a real flower with large parts, such as a lily or a tulip, or a paper model, groups attach labels for calyx or sepals, corolla or petals, stamens, pistil and ovary
Each group writes four sentences explaining how a seed begins, using at least four of the labeled words
Another group checks each sentence: is each word used with the meaning Dana gives it?
Teacher note: Dana says a lily's single set of floral leaves is described with the word perianth (Text 2, paragraph 8), a good extra term for a lily
Grades 9-12 Version
Groups rewrite Dana's paragraph 6 (Text 1) for a current biology class in about 80 words, keeping its ideas but using current terms: pollination, fertilization, stigma, ovule
Each group underlines every domain-specific term and every general academic word it used
A second group checks the rewrite against a current textbook glossary and marks any term that is used loosely
Discussion Questions
Which word was easiest to misuse? Why?
What is the difference between including a domain word and using it accurately?
How did the checking group decide whether a word was used correctly?
Modification
For students who need support, give a word bank with a one-line definition for each label.
3
Word Hunt Log
15 minIndividual, then pairs
Students practice the independent part of the anchor. Each student reads a short new text, chooses the words that matter, gathers their meanings and logs them in the format of Rosa's Word Log (Text 3). Pairs then compare choices.
Grades 6-8 Version
Text: one page of the class science or social studies textbook chosen by the teacher
Students log two words with four boxes: why it matters, first guess and clue, what I checked, my sentence
Pairs compare: did both partners choose the same words? Each partner explains one choice
Grades 9-12 Version
Text: Dana's Explanation of Terms (Text 2) or a page from a current textbook in any subject
Students log three words, including at least one general academic and one domain-specific word, and consult at least two references for one of them, such as a dictionary and a subject glossary
For one word, students also note its word history and say whether it helps
Pairs swap logs and test each "my sentence" for accurate use
Discussion Questions
How did you decide a word was important enough to log?
Which source gave the most useful meaning, and why?
When will you use your logged words again?
Variation: Class Word Wall
Each pair adds one logged word to a class word wall, sorted into general academic and domain-specific sections, with the student-written sentence underneath.
03
Diagrams & Visual Aids
2 diagrams
Diagram 1: General Academic and Domain-Specific Words
Words from the two Dana excerpts sorted into the two kinds of vocabulary CCRA.L.6 names. General academic words travel across subjects; domain-specific words carry one field's precise meanings. Some words, such as organ, have both a general and a domain-specific meaning.
Diagram 2: A Routine for Independent Word Learning
The independent part of CCRA.L.6 as four steps, modeled in Rosa's Word Log (Text 3). Step 2 keeps the routine practical: students stop only for words that matter to comprehension or expression, and step 3 uses the strategies of CCRA.L.4.
04
Homework Assignment
~30 min
CCRA.L.6 Homework: Learning and Using Subject Vocabulary
Directions: Answer in complete sentences. Problems 1 and 3 use the Dana excerpts (Texts 1 and 2, in Direct Instruction and Independent Practice); Problems 2 and 4 use the field-notes draft (Text 4, in Independent Practice). Cite paragraph numbers. Problems 5 and 6 are writing tasks; grades 6-8 may write Problem 6 in 60-100 words.
Part 1: Domain-Specific Words (Problems 1-2)
Using paragraphs 2 and 8 of Dana's Explanation of Terms (Text 2), explain the difference between a complete flower and the perianth. Quote the words that define each.
Paragraphs 2 and 4 of the field-notes draft (Text 4) each misuse a flower term. Name the wrong term in each, give the correct term, and rewrite each sentence accurately. Cite Dana for the correct meaning.
Part 2: General Academic Words (Problems 3-4)
Paragraph 1 of Text 1 says it is wiser to explain things "rather than to incur the risk of obscurity." Explain what incur and obscurity mean here, and restate the whole phrase in plain words.
Paragraph 6 of the draft says, "The flowers were really pretty and had lots of stuff inside them." Rewrite it as a precise scientific observation, using at least two domain-specific words and one general academic word. Underline each.
Part 3: Gathering and Using Words (Problems 5-6)
Choose two important words from a reading assigned in any of your classes this week. For each, write a word-log entry in the format of Rosa's Word Log: why it matters, your first guess and its clue, what you checked, and your own sentence.
Write a paragraph of 100-150 words explaining how bees and flowers help each other. Use at least four domain-specific words and two general academic words, and underline them. Every term must be used accurately.
Rubric
Criterion
Full Credit (2 pts)
Partial Credit (1 pt)
No Credit (0 pts)
Domain-Specific Accuracy
Every flower term defined and used with its precise meaning, citing Dana
One term misused or uncited
Several terms misused
General Academic Words
Words explained in context and used precisely
Meanings given without the context
Missing or wrong
Independent Gathering
Each log entry gives a reason, a tested guess, a source and an accurate sentence
Entries missing one part
Entries copied definitions only
Writing with Vocabulary
Paragraph uses the required words accurately and explains the idea clearly
Words included but one used loosely
Required words missing
05
Quiz: 20 Questions
Interactive, with answers
Instructions
Questions 1-5, 16 and 17 use Dana's Introductory Chapter (Text 1, in Direct Instruction), questions 6-10 and 18 use her Explanation of Terms (Text 2, in Independent Practice), questions 11-12 use the field-notes draft (Text 4, in Independent Practice), and questions 13, 14 and 20 use Rosa's Word Log (Text 3, in Guided Practice). Questions 15 and 19 are writing tasks. Your score updates as you answer, and Reset quiz clears everything.
Multiple choice: pick an option to check it. Short answer: write your answer, then reveal the model answer.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which word from paragraph 1 of Dana's Introductory Chapter (Text 1) is a general academic word rather than a botany term?
Answer: C
Connection, in "their close connection with the theory of natural selection," is a word students meet in every subject: the connection between two events, two ideas or two numbers. Pollen, pistil and stamens (A, B, D) are domain-specific: they belong to botany. (They appear later in the excerpt.)
Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Paragraph 4 says, "The pistil (p. 11) is the seed-bearing organ." What is the pistil?
Answer: B
Dana defines it directly: "the seed-bearing organ." Choice A describes the stamens (paragraph 3), C describes the calyx, and D describes the petals of the corolla; all three are other parts of the flower.
Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Paragraph 4 says the pollen-grains "throw out minute tubes which reach the little ovules." What does minute mean here?
Answer: D
The tubes travel from the grains on the pistil's tip to "the little ovules," so they must be tiny; this adjective is pronounced my-NOOT. Choice A is the noun minute (MIN-it), a unit of time, which does not fit before "tubes." Choices B and C borrow other ideas (minutes of a meeting, speed) that the sentence does not support.
Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Paragraph 5 says the pollen and the ovules "can also be detected with the aid of an ordinary magnifying glass." What does detected mean?
Answer: A
A magnifying glass helps you see, so detected means noticed or discovered by careful looking. Nothing in the sentence involves removing (B), counting (C) or coloring (D).
Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which sentence uses the word ovary accurately, based on Text 1?
Answer: C
Paragraph 4 says the pollen tubes "reach the little ovules in the ovary below": the ovary is the lower part of the pistil, and it holds the ovules. Choice A confuses the ovary with pollen, which is what travels between flowers; B describes the calyx; and D gives the stamens a product they do not make, since their tips make pollen (paragraph 3).
Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice
According to paragraph 3 of the Explanation of Terms (Text 2), what is the calyx?
Answer: B
Dana writes, "The green outer flower-cup, or outer set of green leaves, which we notice at the base of many flowers, is the Calyx." Choice A is the corolla (paragraph 5), C is the pistil, and D is the rootstock, defined in the part of the Explanation of Terms that the excerpt omits.
Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Complete the analogy, using Text 2: sepals : calyx :: petals : ___
Answer: A
Sepals are the separate leaves of the calyx (paragraph 4), and petals are the separate leaves of the corolla (paragraph 6), so the relationship is part to whole. The perianth (C) is tempting, but it is calyx and corolla together, a larger whole. The pistil and the stamen (B, D) are organs, not sets of floral leaves.
Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In paragraph 8 of Text 2, when does Dana say the word perianth is especially useful?
Answer: D
She says the word is used "where there might be difficulty in deciding as to whether the single set of floral leaves present should be considered calyx or corolla," as with lilies and orchids. Choices A, B and C name features she never connects to the word.
Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice
A reader of Dana's book meets a technical term that the Explanation of Terms does not include. According to paragraph 1 of Text 2, where should she look?
Answer: C
Dana writes that for words "other than those which are included in this section, the Index of Technical Terms at the end of the book should be consulted." Using a book's own index and glossary is part of gathering vocabulary independently. The other choices are places she does not mention for this purpose.
Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Paragraph 1 of Text 2 says understanding "will be facilitated by the reading of the following explanation of terms." What does facilitated mean?
Answer: A
The explanation of terms is offered as a help to "the comprehension of the flower descriptions," so it makes understanding easier. "Made longer" (B) and "delayed" (D) would make the section a hindrance, and nothing is being replaced (C).
Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Paragraph 3 of the field-notes draft (Text 4) says the bees "were collecting pistils to take back to the hive." Which word should replace pistils?
Answer: B
The pistil stays in the flower. What bees collect is pollen, the "powdery" material the stamens produce (paragraph 3). Petals, ovules and sepals (A, C, D) are parts of the flower itself, not the powdery material it produces.
Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Paragraph 5 of the draft says, "Four bees went to the red clover and two went to the white clover. This proves that bees prefer red flowers." Which revision uses general academic vocabulary most accurately?
Answer: D
Six bees in one half hour cannot prove a preference. "Suggests" matches the strength of the evidence, and "here" limits the claim to this patch. Choice A keeps the overclaim, and B and C claim far more than the counts show, since two bees did visit white clover.
Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice
In Rosa's Word Log (Text 3), why does she decide that ovules is worth logging?
Answer: C
Her "Why it matters" line says, "the paragraph explains how seeds begin, and I cannot follow it without this word." That is the anchor's test: a word "important to comprehension." Length (A) is not a reason, nothing mentions a teacher (B), and she did not know the word (D).
Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice
What does Rosa decide about the word quickening for her own writing?
Answer: B
Her note says that "modern science texts call this process fertilization, so I will use that word, not quickening, in my own lab report." Using the current term of the subject is part of using domain words accurately. Choices A and D keep the old wording she rejects, and C is not what she says.
Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer
In three or four sentences of your own, explain how a flower begins to make a seed. Use the words stamen, pollen, pistil and ovule accurately.
Model answer: The stamens of a flower make pollen. When pollen lands on the top of a pistil, each pollen grain grows a tiny tube down into the ovary. The tube reaches an ovule, and once the ovule is fertilized it can develop into a seed. Pollen from a different flower often gives healthier seeds than pollen from the same flower. Rubric: 2 points for all four terms used accurately in a correct sequence; 1 point for three terms used accurately; 0 otherwise.
Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer
Paragraph 6 of Dana's Introductory Chapter (Text 1) uses the signal phrase "the term used by botanists to describe." Not counting paragraph 3, which Direct Instruction models, find two other places in the excerpt where Dana tells the reader what a word means, and name the signal she uses each time.
Model answer: In paragraph 2 she uses i.e. ("that is") to explain "the making of seed": "i.e., the continuance of its kind." In paragraph 4 she uses "is" to define a term directly: "The pistil (p. 11) is the seed-bearing organ." Rubric: 2 points for two correct places, each with its signal named and quoted; 1 point for one; 0 otherwise.
Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer
Paragraph 1 says it is wiser "to allude to some of the interesting theories connected with these topics." What does allude mean here, and what clue in the sentence helps?
Model answer: To allude to something is to refer to it briefly or indirectly rather than discuss it fully. The clue is the pairing in the same sentence: she will "repeat what is perhaps already known" and "allude to some of the interesting theories," which suggests brief mentions of a few ideas rather than a full discussion. The word is related to allusion, a reference to something without explaining it. Rubric: 2 points for the meaning and a supporting clue; 1 point for the meaning only; 0 otherwise.
Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer
Choose one word from Text 2 that you would add to your own word log. Write the entry in Rosa's format: why it matters, your first guess and its clue, what you checked, and your own sentence.
Model answer: Word: perianth (paragraph 8). Why it matters: Dana uses it for lilies and orchids, and I will need it to read those descriptions. First guess: all the floral leaves together, because she says "the floral leaves may be spoken of collectively as the Perianth." What I checked: a dictionary and my biology textbook glossary, which agree that it means the calyx and corolla together. My sentence: A tulip's perianth has six parts that all look like petals. Rubric: 2 points for all four parts, with an accurate sentence; 1 point for three parts; 0 otherwise.
Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer
Use each of these general academic words in a sentence about a different school subject: evidence, analyze, significant.
Model answer: History: "The letters are strong evidence that the town was founded earlier than the records say." English: "We will analyze how the poet uses the image of the wind." Math: "Rounding made a significant difference in the final answer." Rubric: 2 points for three accurate sentences in three different subjects; 1 point for two; 0 otherwise.
Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer
A classmate says that stopping to look up words "slows reading down." Using Rosa's Word Log as an example, explain when a reader should stop to gather vocabulary knowledge and when it is fine to keep reading.
Model answer: Stop when a word is important to understanding or to what you will write. Rosa stopped for ovules because she "cannot follow" the explanation of seeds without it, and for quickening because its everyday meaning would mislead her. Keep reading when the sentence still makes sense without the exact meaning, or when the next sentence explains the word. Stopping for the right words saves time later, because a logged word is ready to use. Rubric: 2 points for a clear rule, a cited example from the log and a reason to keep reading; 1 point for a rule without an example; 0 otherwise.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
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Frequently Asked Questions
10 Questions
What does CCRA.L.6 mean?
It means students build and accurately use the vocabulary of school and work: general academic words that appear in every subject and domain-specific words that belong to one field. It also asks them to gather new word knowledge on their own when a word matters for understanding or for saying something precisely.
What is the difference between general academic and domain-specific words?
General academic words, such as analyze, evidence and significance, appear across many subjects. Domain-specific words, such as stamen, denominator or legislature, belong to one field and carry its precise meanings. Some words, such as theory or organ, have both a general and a subject meaning.
What does "demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge" mean in CCRA.L.6?
It means students decide on their own which words they need, then find and record their meanings without waiting to be told. A word log like Rosa's in this lesson is one way to show it: a reason for choosing the word, a tested first guess, the sources checked and a sentence that uses the word.
Is CCRA.L.6 the same in middle school and high school?
The wording of L.6.6, L.7.6 and L.8.6 is identical, asking for grade-appropriate words. L.9-10.6 and L.11-12.6 raise the target to the college and career readiness level and make independence an explicit expectation. What changes from year to year is the difficulty of the texts and subjects the words come from.
How is CCRA.L.6 different from CCRA.L.4?
CCRA.L.4 gives the strategies for working out an unknown word: context, word parts and references. CCRA.L.6 is the goal those strategies serve: a large, accurate working vocabulary and the habit of building it. In practice, students use L.4 strategies in step 3 of the gathering routine in Diagram 2.
Which words should teachers teach for CCRA.L.6?
The standard does not give a list. Teachers usually choose general academic words that appear across many texts, and the domain-specific words a unit cannot be understood without. Words that students will meet often and need for their own writing are good choices for direct teaching; others can be left for students to gather on their own.
Why use an 1893 field guide to teach vocabulary?
Dana's book was written for beginners, so it defines its botany terms in the text, which makes it a clear model of how domain words are introduced. Its age is also useful: some of its terms have since changed, which gives students practice in checking a source against current usage.
Does CCRA.L.6 apply in science, history and math classes?
Yes. The anchor covers reading, writing, speaking and listening in every subject, and the literacy standards for history, science and technical subjects ask students to determine the meaning of domain-specific words in those fields. A science teacher who asks for accurate use of pollination and fertilization is teaching CCRA.L.6.
How can parents support CCRA.L.6 at home?
Ask your child to explain a new word from a class in their own words and use it in a sentence. Point out when a word has a special meaning in a subject, such as theory in science, and encourage keeping a short list of new words from each class.
How is CCRA.L.6 assessed?
Teachers usually look for two things: whether students understand the general academic and domain-specific words in what they read, and whether they use such words accurately in what they write and say. Word logs, short explanations that require specific terms, and revisions of inaccurate drafts, like the field-notes task in this lesson, all give evidence.
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Related Standards
8 standards
These are the grade-level standards that carry anchor CCRA.L.6 in grades 6-12, plus closely related anchors.
Grades 6-8
L.6.6Grade-band standard
Grade 6: acquire and use grade-appropriate academic and domain words
