The Power of 2

The Power of 2: Elevating Vocabulary & Instruction Across Content Areas

Empowering Mississippi Educators to Bridge ELA and Social Studies Standards

What Is the Power of 2?
The Power of 2 is an innovative instructional partnership that pairs ELA and Social Studies educators to deliver high-impact, vocabulary-rich instruction that is grounded in Mississippi’s Power Standards—transforming them into meaningful, relevant, and student-centered learning experiences.

Why It Matters:

• Stronger Academic Vocabulary: Deepen students' command of Tier 2 and Tier 3
  vocabulary through explicit, contextualized instruction in both ELA and Social Studies.
• Aligned with MS College- and Career-Readiness Standards: Grounded in both ELA and
  Social Studies standards to ensure instructional integrity.
• Dual Impact, Single Goal: Two educators. Two content areas. One mission—to build
  literate, critically thinking students.
• Strategic Literacy in Action: Use compelling texts, primary sources, and essential
  questions to drive comprehension, writing, and discussion.

How It Works:

1. Identify the Power Standards: Begin with high-leverage ELA and Social Studies
   standards.
2. Select Target Vocabulary: Choose academic and domain-specific words that are crucial
   to both content areas.
3. Co-Plan, Co-Deliver, Co-Elevate: Collaborate on strategies like word walls, close reading,
   structured academic talk, and formative assessments.
4. Monitor & Adjust: Use common language, shared rubrics, and reflective practices to track growth and refine instruction.

Sample Vocabulary Strategies:

• Vocabulary Mapping with historical context
• Text-dependent questioning using social studies texts
• Student-created glossary notebooks
• Socratic Seminar with vocabulary-based sentence stems
• ELA writing prompts based on SS concepts (e.g., “Argue why the Civil Rights Movement
  was a turning point…”)

Why Join the Movement?

• Build cross-curricular coherence
• Improve student outcomes on ELA & Social Studies assessments
• Foster instructional collaboration without losing subject-area focus
• Enhance teacher capacity and student engagement

Designed for Mississippi Teachers. Rooted in Mississippi Standards. Powered by You. 

“When two teachers unite with one shared goal—every student wins.”

Ready to harness the Power of 2 in your school or district?

Contact us today for a custom training, co-teaching models, and plug-and-play lesson resources.