12 Powerful Words

Classroom Posters
 12 Powerful Words
Help all students:
• To better understand what each
question means
• To become familiar with words that
require higher order thinking skills
• To relieve test anxiety
• To achieve better on tests
 ANALYZE
•Break apart or into pieces
•Study the individual parts
 Compare
• Give all the likenesses or
similarities between 2 or more
things or ideas
• All of the ways they are alike
 Contrast
• Tell all the differences between 2 or
more things or ideas
• All the ways they are different
 Describe
• Tell all about (especially using the
5 senses
• Paint a picture using words
 Evaluate
• Tell the good and bad in your own words
• Judge; Rate
• Put in rank order
 Explain
• Tell how or why
• Tell about it in your own words
• Discuss
 Formulate
• Put together
• Create
• Come up with
• Form
• Design
• Make
 Infer
• Read between the lines
• Look for hidden information
• Make an educated guess
 Predict
• Tell what you think will happen next
• Make a guess about the next event
• Think ahead
 Summarize
• Sum it up
• Tell the main ideas or most important parts
• Give me the short version
 Support
• Give the facts
• Back up with details
• Give reasons for; defend
 Trace
• List in steps
• Write in order from the
beginning to end
• Outline; Track; Follow
 Works Cited
• Bell, Larry I. 12 Powerful Words.
Manassas, Virginia: Multicultural America,
2005.

• “FCAT Power Words.” Sarasota Middle

School. 5 Sept 2008
<http://www.sarasotamiddleschool.com/ht
ml/fcat_power_words.html