Academic vocabulary for students with IEPs: what to teach and how

By the IEP Atlas editorial teamLast updated November 1, 2026

Short answer

Academic vocabulary is the language of school: direction words like analyze and explain, signal words like however and therefore, and the general words that appear across subjects. Students with IEPs often know the topic but miss what a question asks. Teach these words directly, practice them in every subject and check them in real assignments.

A student reads a science question: "Contrast the two types of cells." She writes a description of each cell, carefully and correctly, and gets half credit. She did not know "contrast" meant show the differences. That is an academic vocabulary problem, not a science problem, and it happens in every subject.

Academic vocabulary is different from content vocabulary. "Mitochondria" belongs to biology. "Analyze," "evidence," "therefore" and "significant" show up in biology, history, math and English. A student who does not own them loses points everywhere. The steps below each come with an example, and the worked example follows one fictional 9th grader. Numbers are illustrations. The cluster pillar on reading comprehension strategies shows where vocabulary fits.

Three kinds of academic words

Kind	What they do	Examples
Direction words	Tell the student what to do in a task	analyze, compare, contrast, describe, explain, summarize, evaluate, justify, infer, cite
Signal and connecting words	Show how ideas relate	however, therefore, although, as a result, in contrast, for example, similarly, despite
General academic words	Carry meaning in many subjects	evidence, factor, significant, process, structure, function, establish, consist, impact

Most general academic words are Tier 2 words; the guide to Tier 2 vocabulary words explains that framework. Direction and signal words get less attention in most programs but cause many lost points on assignments and tests.

What the research guides say

The What Works Clearinghouse adolescent literacy guide recommends explicit vocabulary instruction across content classes, not only in English.^[1] The WWC guide for English learners recommends teaching a small set of academic words intensively over several days, and integrating academic language into content teaching.^[2] The grades 4 to 9 intervention guide recommends building word knowledge as a routine part of comprehension lessons.^[3]

Step-by-step academic vocabulary routine

Step 1: Collect the words from real assignments

Gather a week of the student's assignments, tests and textbook questions from all classes. Highlight every direction word and signal word. This becomes the student's personal list. Most students with IEPs need 15 to 25 direction words over a year, not 100.

Step 2: Teach each direction word as an action

Define each direction word as what the student does, with a short checklist. "Contrast: tell how two things are different. Check: did I name both things? Did I give at least 2 differences?" "Justify: give a reason that proves your answer. Check: did I say because and give evidence?"

Step 3: Show a correct and incorrect answer

For each direction word, show one answer that does what the word asks and one that does something else. Ask which one follows the direction and why. A description answer next to a contrast answer makes the difference obvious.

Step 4: Teach signal words with the structure they signal

Group signal words by job: contrast (however, although, in contrast), cause and effect (because, therefore, as a result), sequence (first, then, finally), example (for example, such as). Read short paragraphs and have students say what each signal word tells them is coming next. The template to explain what a signal word tells the reader fits this step.

Step 5: Paraphrase academic sentences

Give one textbook sentence a day and have the student restate it in everyday words. "Despite the drought, the harvest was significant" becomes "Even though there was no rain, the farmers still got a lot of crops." This trains students to unpack dense academic text. See the template to restate an academic sentence in everyday words.

Step 6: Use the words across classes

Share the student's word list with general education teachers. A one-page card with the direction words and checklists can sit on the student's desk in every class. Use the same definitions everywhere so the student does not hear three versions.

Worked example: one student across 10 weeks

Student (fictional): Malik, grade 9, specific learning disability in reading. Reads grade 7 text with 97% accuracy. Teachers report that his answers are often accurate but off-task: he describes when asked to compare, and lists when asked to explain.

Baseline, September 8 to 19. The special educator pulled 10 short-answer questions from his classes, each with a different direction word. Malik answered each, and a response counted if it did what the direction word asked, whatever the content accuracy. Three probes: 3, 4 and 3 of 10. Median 3 of 10.

Goal. Given 10 short-answer questions from grade-level content classes using taught direction words, Malik will write a response that does what each direction word asks (for example, gives differences for contrast and a reason with evidence for justify) for 8 of 10 questions on 3 consecutive biweekly probes. See the template to explain what a test direction word asks for.

Instruction. Two direction words per week in resource, 3 sessions of 15 minutes, plus the desk card in content classes.

Week	Direction words taught	Responses that match the direction (of 10)
Baseline	0	3
2	describe, explain, compare, contrast	5
4	Plus summarize, justify, cite, infer	6
6	Plus analyze, evaluate	7
8	Review	8
10	Review	8

His content accuracy improved too. His history teacher reported short-answer scores rising from about 55% to about 75% of possible points over the same period, mostly from answers that now addressed the question.

How to measure academic vocabulary

Measure the use of the words in real tasks, not matching tests. For direction words, count responses that do what the word asks out of 10, as in Malik's goal, using percent accuracy. For general academic words, probe meaning in new sentences and use in writing. The vocabulary assessment guide compares formats. Record probes on an accuracy data sheet.

Common mistakes

Weak: A list of 100 academic words handed out in September. Better: A personal list of 15 to 25 words drawn from the student's own assignments.
Weak: Defining "analyze" as "examine in detail." Better: Define it as an action with a checklist: break it into parts, say how the parts connect.
Weak: Teaching direction words only in the resource room. Better: Share the card and definitions with content teachers.
Weak: Measuring with a matching quiz. Better: Measure whether the student's answers do what the question asks.
Weak: A goal that says "will understand academic vocabulary." Better: Name the task, the words and the count, as in Malik's goal.

Students who need to use course terms in writing can work on the template to use course terms in written work. Root work helps with many academic words; see teaching root words. For English learners, add the supports in vocabulary instruction for English learners. For more goal wording, see the vocabulary goals page. Paste a draft into the goal checker before the meeting.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between academic vocabulary and content vocabulary?

Content vocabulary belongs to one subject, like photosynthesis or legislature. Academic vocabulary shows up across subjects: direction words like analyze, signal words like however, and general words like evidence and significant. Both matter, but academic words affect every class.

Which academic words should I teach first?

Start with the direction words that appear most often in the student's own assignments, usually describe, explain, compare, contrast, summarize and justify. Then add signal words for contrast and cause and effect.

Can academic vocabulary support be an accommodation?

A desk card with direction words and checklists can be listed as a classroom support. Whether it is allowed on state tests depends on the state's accommodations rules. Teaching the words is still needed so the student can work without the card.

Use it in IEP Atlas

Sources

Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices, What Works Clearinghouse, Institute of Education Sciences
Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners in Elementary and Middle School, What Works Clearinghouse, Institute of Education Sciences
Providing Reading Interventions for Students in Grades 4–9, What Works Clearinghouse, Institute of Education Sciences

Written and checked by the IEP Atlas editorial team under our editorial policy. This guide describes general practice and federal rules. It is not legal advice; your state may add requirements, and the IEP team makes the decisions for each student.