Some of the most useful Primary 6 words do not belong to one subject.
Words such as compare, infer, justify, evidence, significant, evaluate and conclude travel between English, Mathematics, Science and everyday reasoning. These words are academic tools. They tell students what kind of thinking a task requires.
Use the Primary 6 AL1 Advanced Top 100 Vocabulary List as the central vocabulary bank. This guide teaches how academic words transfer across subjects.
Academic Vocabulary Describes Thinking
| Word | Thinking job |
|---|---|
| identify | recognise and name |
| describe | state relevant features |
| compare | examine similarities and differences |
| explain | show how or why |
| infer | reach a conclusion from evidence |
| justify | support a claim with reasons or evidence |
| evaluate | judge using relevant criteria |
| conclude | form a final judgement from information |
The Same Word, Different Subject
Evidence in English may be a quotation or behaviour from a passage. In Science, evidence may be an observation or result. In Mathematics, evidence may be a pattern, diagram or calculation supporting a conclusion.
The surface changes. The academic job remains similar: support a claim.
Command Words Matter
A student can know the subject content and still underperform if the command word is misread.
- State usually asks for a direct answer.
- Explain asks for a relationship or reason.
- Compare asks for similarities and/or differences.
- Justify asks for support.
- Predict asks what is likely to happen based on information.
Academic Collocations
- draw a conclusion
- provide evidence
- identify a pattern
- make a prediction
- justify a decision
- evaluate an approach
- compare outcomes
- record observations
From Subject Vocabulary to Transfer
A powerful learner asks: “Where else can I use this word?” If significant is learned in Science, it can also describe a significant change in a story or a significant difference in data.
Academic Vocabulary in English
English uses academic vocabulary to interpret passages, explain character, compare ideas, evaluate viewpoints and justify answers.
Academic Vocabulary in Mathematics
Mathematics uses language to define relationships: increase, decrease, equivalent, estimate, proportion, difference, product, factor, sequence and pattern.
Academic Vocabulary in Science
Science relies on precise verbs and nouns: observe, measure, predict, variable, evidence, process, interaction, relationship, conclusion and explanation.
Common Mistakes
- treating command words as interchangeable;
- memorising technical terms without understanding the thinking job;
- using evidence as a synonym for any detail;
- giving a description when an explanation is required;
- failing to transfer familiar words between subjects.
Mini Diagnostic
- What is the difference between describe and explain?
- What does justify require?
- Give one example of evidence in Science and one in English.
- What academic word describes finding similarities and differences?
- Use significant in two different subjects.
- Explain why command words matter.
A Seven-Day Academic Vocabulary Routine
| Day | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Learn eight command words. |
| 2 | Use them in English tasks. |
| 3 | Use them in Mathematics tasks. |
| 4 | Use them in Science tasks. |
| 5 | Build cross-subject collocations. |
| 6 | Rewrite one answer after checking the command word. |
| 7 | Explain each thinking job aloud. |
For Parents and Teachers: Ask “What Is the Question Asking You to Do?”
This helps students decode the academic verb before reaching for subject knowledge.
The Real Goal: Vocabulary That Travels
Academic language becomes powerful when a student recognises the same thinking operation inside different subjects.
Return to the Primary 6 AL1 Advanced Vocabulary List. Choose five academic words and use each in English, Mathematics and Science. Transfer is the test.
Advanced Academic Language Lab: Thinking Operations Across Subjects
Academic vocabulary becomes much easier to learn when students recognise that many words are instructions for thinking. Compare is not an English word that happens to appear in Science. It is a cognitive operation that can be performed on characters, quantities, experimental results or historical viewpoints.
A Transfer Matrix
| Academic verb | English | Mathematics | Science |
|---|---|---|---|
| identify | name a trait or clue | locate a pattern or value | name a variable or structure |
| compare | examine characters or viewpoints | compare quantities | compare observations or conditions |
| justify | support an interpretation | defend a method | support a conclusion with evidence |
| evaluate | judge an argument or choice | judge whether an answer is reasonable | judge evidence or method |
| infer | construct meaning from clues | infer a pattern from data | infer a relationship from results |
Abstract Nouns Hold Academic Ideas Together
- evidence;
- relationship;
- factor;
- significance;
- interpretation;
- conclusion;
- assumption;
- perspective.
These words are difficult because they do not point to one visible object. Teach them through repeated examples and relationships. Evidence, for example, is whatever supports a claim within the rules of a task; what counts as evidence changes by subject.
Command-Word Mismatch
A common error is answering the topic correctly but performing the wrong thinking operation. A student may describe when the question asks to explain, or give an answer without justifying it. Underline the command word before beginning and translate it into a plain-language action.
Academic Sentence Frames
- The evidence suggests that…
- The main factor is…
- This is significant because…
- When the two cases are compared…
- A reasonable conclusion is…
- This interpretation is supported by…
These frames are not scripts. They are grammatical pathways that help students focus attention on the reasoning job.
Final Transfer Challenge
Choose five academic words. Use each one in three subjects, then explain what conceptual job remains unchanged. The learner should begin to see a shared academic language sitting underneath apparently different school tasks.
Continue with Primary 6 Science Vocabulary, or return to the Primary 6 AL1 Advanced Vocabulary Hero.