CALP CALP Social Studies Academic Language 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Why is the term 'manifest destiny' a CALP-level vocabulary item in US history education?
- It is a simple everyday phrase
- It is a culturally and historically specific concept requiring academic knowledge of US expansion ideology (Correct answer)
- It only appears in science textbooks
- It is a foreign language term
Correct answer: It is a culturally and historically specific concept requiring academic knowledge of US expansion ideology
Terms like 'manifest destiny' carry complex historical, ideological, and cultural meanings that require CALP-level academic language knowledge to understand and discuss.
Question 2: A student must write an essay arguing whether the US Civil War was primarily caused by slavery or economic factors. What CALP skill is most demanded?
- Copying facts from the textbook
- Constructing an evidence-based academic argument using historical reasoning and academic language (Correct answer)
- Social communication with peers
- Recalling a list of Civil War battles
Correct answer: Constructing an evidence-based academic argument using historical reasoning and academic language
Constructing a historical argument requires CALP-level academic language for evidence selection, reasoning, and argumentative discourse structure.
Question 3: How does geography vocabulary represent a CALP challenge in US social studies classes?
- Geography only uses visual maps without language
- Geographic terms like 'continental divide,' 'tectonic boundaries,' and 'demographic patterns' require academic language knowledge (Correct answer)
- Geography uses only everyday vocabulary
- Geographic language is the same as social conversational language
Correct answer: Geographic terms like 'continental divide,' 'tectonic boundaries,' and 'demographic patterns' require academic language knowledge
Geographic academic language involves discipline-specific terminology that must be explicitly learned and applied in CALP-level analytical tasks.
Question 4: In a CALP social studies context, what does 'historiography' require students to understand?
- How to draw historical timelines
- That history is constructed through interpretation, and different historians may analyze the same events differently (Correct answer)
- A list of important dates
- The geography of ancient civilizations
Correct answer: That history is constructed through interpretation, and different historians may analyze the same events differently
Historiography is a CALP-level concept requiring students to think critically about how historical accounts are constructed and interpreted.
Question 5: What CALP skill does 'document-based questioning' (DBQ) on US AP History exams assess?
- Ability to memorize key facts quickly
- Academic reading, synthesis, and argumentative writing using multiple primary sources (Correct answer)
- Social discussion skills in a group setting
- Speed-reading of historical documents
Correct answer: Academic reading, synthesis, and argumentative writing using multiple primary sources
DBQ tasks assess CALP competencies including reading comprehension, source analysis, synthesis, and academic argumentative writing from multiple historical sources.
Question 6: How does the concept of 'civic literacy' relate to CALP development for students in US schools?
- Civic literacy only involves knowing voting procedures
- It requires academic language proficiency to understand and participate in discussions of democracy, rights, and governance (Correct answer)
- It is separate from academic language development
- It only applies to social studies teachers, not students
Correct answer: It requires academic language proficiency to understand and participate in discussions of democracy, rights, and governance
Civic literacy requires CALP proficiency in the academic language of government, law, and democratic participation to engage meaningfully with civic life.
CALP CALP Social Studies Academic Language 2
Why is the term 'manifest destiny' a CALP-level vocabulary item in US history education?