La Palabra Justa

Language proficiency is multidimensional. While conversational skills are essential for social interaction, they are insufficient for most academic purposes. To be successful, teachers and students must acquire a firm and accurate command of subject-area vocabulary.

Even though a growing number of Americans speak Spanish at home, the United States has a severe shortage of professionals with fully developed academic skills in Spanish. This poses a special challenge for bilingual classrooms. Educators must be able to identify la palabra justa - the right word - in preparing or presenting a lesson, especially when providing content instruction and second-language input at the same time.

Recognizing an acute need, the editors of this volume brought together an international team of language teachers, teacher educators, and other bilingual professionals to create an English-Spanish / Espaol-Ingls glossary. La Palabra Justa features more than 24,000 entries covering the academic vocabulary needed in K-12 education.

Unlike a dictionary, the glossary offers a quick, user-friendly way to find translations of key terms in context. Sections include:

Language Arts (Grammar & Composition, Literature, and Languages);
Mathematics (Arithmetic & Algebra, Geometry, Probability & Data Analysis, Numbers & Measures);
Science (Earth Sciences, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Inquiry & Process);
Social Studies (Civics & Government, Economics & Finance, Geography, and History);
Fine Arts (Performing Arts and Visual Arts);
Technology; and
School Life (Holidays & Celebrations, School Routines & Activities, Field Trips & Transportation, School Library, Playground & Sports, Student Health, Special Needs, Conduct & Discipline).