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Academic Vocabulary

ELA words to know for in-class discussions, MAP, Iowa Assessment, and to be a well-informed student!

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flashback

  • A memory included in a text
  • A Signposts memory moment (MM)

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denotation

  • Dictionary definition of a word
  • Literal meaning

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journalism

  • A college major/career
  • Writing for magazine, television, newspaper, etc.

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etymology

  • The history/origin of a word
  • A word’s life story
  • Where the word came from
  • The year the word was created
  • A word’s family tree

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Central Idea/Main Idea

  • Central idea and main idea are the SAME THING → key idea

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  • Central idea – nonfiction
  • Main idea – fiction

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chronological

  • In order
  • By year
  • sequence
  • First, next, then, last

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cliche

  • A common saying

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  • It’s been said before

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memoir

  • Writing a memory
  • Usually shares a life-lesson

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memorandum

  • Memo
  • Note used for business purposes
  • Different from a business card

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novella

  • A short book
  • Tells an entire story
  • Shorter than a novel
  • Longer than a short story/essay
  • 30,000-60,000 words You do NOT need to memorize this fact!