Academic Vocabulary

The following words are part of a list created by the Tennessee Department of Education. 
This list is designed to serve as a guide for teachers and students.  Knowing these terms 
helps prepare the students to learn new content in mathematics, science, language arts, and 
social studies. To put it simply, it is easier to understand new material if one understands 
the vocabulary that is being used to present the material.

Your child will not be tested on this list; however, they will be learning the following 
words and definitions throughout their fourth grade year. 
  1. ~~~~~~LANGUAGE ARTS TERMS~~~~~~~~~
  2. alliteration
  3. analogy
  4. audience
  5. author's purpose
  6. cause/effect
  7. compare/contrast
  8. double negatives
  9. drawing conclusions
  10. fable
  11. genre
  12. index
  13. making inferences
  14. outline
  15. possessive nouns
  16. prediction
  17. proofread
  18. punctuation
  19. quotation marks
  20. sentence fragment
  21. simple predicate
  22. simple subject
  23. thesaurus
  24. verb tense
  25. ~~~~~~~MATH TERMS~~~~~~~~~
  26. acute
  27. associative property
  28. attributes
  29. capacity
  30. computation
  31. congruent
  32. dividend
  33. divisor
  34. equivalent
  35. expanded form (whole numbers up to 10,000)
  36. grid
  37. hundredths
  38. identity property
  39. line
  40. mass
  41. median
  42. mode
  43. obtuse
  44. point
  45. quotient
  46. ray
  47. reasonable
  48. similar
  49. tenths
  50. transformations
  51. volume
  52. zero property
  53. ~~~~~~~SCIENCE TERMS~~~~~~~~~
  54. adaptations
  55. amphibians
  56. cell
  57. condensation
  58. earth's layers
  59. edible
  60. endangered
  61. erosion
  62. evaporation
  63. friction
  64. gravity
  65. heredity
  66. lunar
  67. mammals
  68. mixture/solution
  69. moon phases
  70. parallel circuit
  71. pitch
  72. renewable/ non-renewable
  73. reptiles
  74. series circuit
  75. simple machines
  76. solar energy
  77. threatened
  78. thriving
  79. traits/characteristics
  80. ~~~~~~~SOCIAL STUDIES TERMS~~~~~~~~~
  81. American Revolution
  82. ancient civilizations
  83. Articles of Confederation
  84. Bill of Rights
  85. colonial
  86. Constitution
  87. democracy
  88. executive branch
  89. explorers
  90. judicial branch
  91. legislative branch
  92. Louisiana Purchase
  93. Mayflower Compact
  94. mission
  95. Native American groups
  96. preamble
  97. Puritan
  98. Quaker
  99. religion
  100. slavery
  101. supply and demand
  102. taxes
  103. Tennessee political leaders
  104. Trail of Tears
  105. Westward expansion
  106. Link to Complete List



~~~~~~LANGUAGE ARTS TERMS~~~~~~~~~

Answer #1 (blank)
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alliteration

The repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at 
the beginning of words or in stressed syllables, as in "on scrolls 
of silver snowy sentences" 
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analogy

The comparison of two pairs which have the same relationship. The 
key is to ascertain the relationship between the first so you can 
choose the correct second pair. 
Example: kitten is to cat as puppy is to __________   (dog)
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audience

The spectators or listeners assembled at a performance
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author's purpose

The reason the author wrote the material  (to persuade, to 
entertain, to inform)
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cause/effect

cause- a reason for an action or condition
effect- the result of an occurence
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compare/contrast

compare- to examine the similarities of two or more items
contrast- to examine the differences of two or more items
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double negatives

Answer #8 (blank)
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drawing conclusions

Answer #9 (blank)
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fable

Answer #10 (blank)
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genre

Answer #11 (blank)
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index

Answer #12 (blank)
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making inferences

Answer #13 (blank)
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outline

Answer #14 (blank)
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possessive nouns

Answer #15 (blank)
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prediction

Answer #16 (blank)
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proofread

Answer #17 (blank)
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punctuation

Answer #18 (blank)
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quotation marks

Answer #19 (blank)
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sentence fragment

Answer #20 (blank)
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simple predicate

Answer #21 (blank)
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simple subject

Answer #22 (blank)
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thesaurus

Answer #23 (blank)
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verb tense

Answer #24 (blank)
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~~~~~~~MATH TERMS~~~~~~~~~

Answer #25 (blank)
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acute

an angle measuring less than 90 degrees.
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associative property

in addition and multiplication, no matter how the numbers are 
grouped, the answer will always be the same
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attributes

characteristics such as color, size, shape
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capacity

the amount a container can hold.
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computation

the procedure of calculating; determining something by mathematical 
or logical methods
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congruent

having the same shape and size.
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dividend

the number being divided in a division problem.
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divisor

a number that will divide the dividend exactly.
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equivalent

having the same value or amount
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expanded form (whole numbers up to 10,000)

a way of writing numbers to show place value

34,300 = 30,000 + 4,000 + 300
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grid

a pattern of regularly spaced horizontal and vertical lines
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hundredths

one part of one hundred divided into 100 equal parts
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identity property

In addition, adding 0 to a number leaves the number unchanged, or 
identical (2+0=2). In multiplication, the product of any number and 
1 is that number (4X1=4). (See property of zero; property of one.)
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line

a long, thin continuous mark
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mass

quantity of matter in an object

Often called weight but they are NOT the same.
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median

a type of average (the middle value of an ordered set of values)

18 18 32 48 56  (32 is the median)
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mode

a type of average (the value that occurs the most)

18 18 32 48 56  (18 is the mode)
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obtuse

any angle between 90 degrees and 180 degrees
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point

a position in space
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quotient

the number resulting from dividing one number by the other
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ray

line that has a starting point but no endpoint
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reasonable

showing sound judgement; a proper choice
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similar

having the same shape but not necessarily the same size
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tenths

one divided into ten parts
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transformations

flip- mirror image; refelection
slides-move an item in any direction without rotating it
turns-to rotate around a point
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volume

the amount of space occupied by a 3D object

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zero property

the sum of any number and zero is that number; the product of any 
number and zero is zero
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~~~~~~~SCIENCE TERMS~~~~~~~~~

Answer #53 (blank)
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adaptations

Answer #54 (blank)
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amphibians

Answer #55 (blank)
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cell

wall
membrane
cytoplasm
nucleus
vacuoles
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condensation

Answer #57 (blank)
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earth's layers

crust
mantle
core
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edible

Answer #59 (blank)
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endangered

Answer #60 (blank)
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erosion

Answer #61 (blank)
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evaporation

Answer #62 (blank)
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friction

Answer #63 (blank)
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gravity

Answer #64 (blank)
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heredity

Answer #65 (blank)
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lunar

Answer #66 (blank)
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mammals

Answer #67 (blank)
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mixture/solution

Answer #68 (blank)
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moon phases

(in correct sequence)
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parallel circuit

Answer #70 (blank)
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pitch

Answer #71 (blank)
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renewable/ non-renewable

Answer #72 (blank)
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reptiles

Answer #73 (blank)
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series circuit

Answer #74 (blank)
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simple machines

Answer #75 (blank)
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solar energy

Answer #76 (blank)
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threatened

Answer #77 (blank)
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thriving

Answer #78 (blank)
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traits/characteristics

Answer #79 (blank)
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~~~~~~~SOCIAL STUDIES TERMS~~~~~~~~~

Answer #80 (blank)
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American Revolution

Answer #81 (blank)
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ancient civilizations

Answer #82 (blank)
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Articles of Confederation

Answer #83 (blank)
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Bill of Rights

Answer #84 (blank)
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colonial

Answer #85 (blank)
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Constitution

Answer #86 (blank)
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democracy

Answer #87 (blank)
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executive branch

Answer #88 (blank)
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explorers

Answer #89 (blank)
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judicial branch

Answer #90 (blank)
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legislative branch

Answer #91 (blank)
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Louisiana Purchase

Answer #92 (blank)
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Mayflower Compact

Answer #93 (blank)
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mission

Answer #94 (blank)
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Native American groups

Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw
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preamble

Answer #96 (blank)
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Puritan

Answer #97 (blank)
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Quaker

Answer #98 (blank)
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religion

Answer #99 (blank)
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slavery

Answer #100 (blank)
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supply and demand

Answer #101 (blank)
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taxes

Answer #102 (blank)
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Tennessee political leaders

Daniel Boone, John Sevier
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Trail of Tears

Answer #104 (blank)
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Westward expansion

Answer #105 (blank)
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Link to Complete List

http://www.state.tn.us/education/ci/doc/academic_vocab.pdf

Go to this link to see a complete word list for all grades.


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