03/13 - Academic Vocabulary

Academic language is used in your school books, in your teacher's instructions, and on your tests. This language is how you learn the basics of social studies, language arts, math, science, and other subjects. The more academic language you know, the better you will do in school!

The Petrified Forest National Park is in Arizona. It holds the world's largest collection of petrified wood. Petrified wood is a tree that has turned to stone. Around 200 to 250 million years ago, a 3,000-foot-thick blanket of dirt kept the dying trees from fully decaying. The sediment was carried down into the wood by water. As a result, minerals replaced the living wood cells. The petrified logs were then uncovered by rivers and storms that eroded the land. Unlike other fossils, the trees have kept the same shape they had when they were living.

Look at the passage again carefully. It says, "The sediment was carried down into the wood by water." Therefore, sediment is "material left by water, wind, or ice."

Look at the passage again carefully. It says that the petrified "logs were uncovered by rivers and storms." This means that the water and wind uncovered the earth surrounding the logs. Therefore, erode means "to wear away."

Look at the passage again carefully. The logs of petrified wood were once living trees. "Dinosaur bones" were once part of dinosaurs. Therefore, readers can guess that fossils are remains of plants and animals that once lived.