A subtle but powerful section of 5.3 addresses ELLs. It notes that Tier 1 words for a native speaker may be Tier 2 for an ELL. The list includes a fourth, unspoken tier: Tier 1.5 – common words that are not pictorial (e.g., bring, carry, follow ). This prevents the tragic error of ignoring basic prepositions for ELLs. Part 3: Where the List Falls Short (Critical Limitations) No resource is perfect. In the four years I have facilitated LETRS training, the most common teacher complaints about Resource 5.3 are these:
| Tier | Description (per LETRS 5.3) | Examples | Instructional Priority | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Basic, everyday words. Rarely need instruction for native speakers. | clock, baby, happy, run | None (except for ELLs) | | Tier 2 | High-frequency, cross-curricular academic words. Mature language users. The sweet spot . | coincidence, absurd, fortunate, analyze, establish | Highest Priority | | Tier 3 | Low-frequency, domain-specific words. Best taught in context of a lesson. | photosynthesis, isthmus, pentameter, amortization | Contextual / Just-in-time | resource list 5.3 of the letrs manual
Two teachers can look at the same word ( compromise, consequence, tradition ) and disagree violently on whether it is Tier 2 or Tier 3. Resource 5.3 provides criteria, but not a definitive dictionary. I have watched entire PLC meetings derail over atmosphere – is it Tier 2 (academic, figurative: "classroom atmosphere") or Tier 3 (science: "Earth's atmosphere")? The answer, per 5.3, is both , but the list doesn't resolve the ambiguity. A subtle but powerful section of 5
The list assumes that if a word is Tier 3 (e.g., monarchy ), students can learn it via context. But a student who has no schema for kings, queens, or succession will flounder. Resource 5.3 needs a stronger caution: Tier 3 words that are conceptually dense should be pre-taught explicitly, even if they are low frequency. The list is slightly too rigid. This prevents the tragic error of ignoring basic
The list typically breaks down into three columns:
ESL specialists (who need to modify the Tier 1 assumptions), and kindergarten teachers (where almost all words are Tier 1, making the list less relevant until late first grade).
—often titled "Considerations for Selecting Words for Explicit Instruction" or a similar variation depending on the LETRS edition (1st vs. 2nd)—is the Rosetta Stone between research and reality. It answers the dreaded teacher question: "Which words do I actually have time to teach?"