affix
a syllable added to the beginning (prefix) or end (suffix) of a word to change the word's meaning (e.g., il- in illiterate and al- in
... [Show More] national).
alphabetic principle
The assumption underlying alphabetical language systems that each sound has corresponding graphic representation (or letter).
antonyms
words with opposite meanings (e.g., good-bad).
applying
the 5th stage of the reading process, in which readers go beyond the text to use what they have learned in another literacy experience, often by making aproject or reading another book.
background knowledge
a student's knowledge or previous experiences about a topic.
aesthetic reading
reading for pleasure
basal readers
reading textbooks that are leveled according to grade.
basal reading program
a collection of student textbooks, workbooks, teacher's manuals, and other materials and resources for reading instruction used in kindergarten through sixth grade.
big books
enlarged versions of picture books that teachers read with children, usually in the primary grades.
blend
to combine the sounds represented by letters to pronounce a word.
bound morpheme
a morphene that is not a word and cannot stand along (e.g., -s, tri-).
closed syllable
a syllable ending in a consonant sound (e.g. make, duck). They create a long vowel sound in the next syllable.
cluster
a spiderlike diagram used to collect and organize ideas after reading or before wiriting; also called a map or a web.
comprehension
the process of constructing meaning using both the author's text and th ereader's background knowledge for a specific purpose. There are three levels: literal, inferential and evaluative.
concepts about print (CAP)
basic understandings about the way print works, including the direction of print (return sweeping), spacing, punctuation, letters and words, print carries meaning, book orientation. Implicit teaching: reading aloud, shared book experience, big books, LEA, environmental print, print-rich environment. Explicit: letter recognition, associating names and things with letters, singing the alphabet, ABC books, upper and lower case letter writing, tactile and kinesthetic methods.
consonant
a speech sound characterized by friction or stoppage of the airflow as it passes through the vocal tract; usually any letter except a,e,i,o, and u.
consonant digraph
to adjacent consonants that represent a sound not represented by either consonant alone (e.g., th-this, ch-chin, sh-wash, ph-telephone).
content-area reading
reading in social studies, science, and other areas of the curriculum.
context clue
information from the words or sentences surrounding a word that helps to clarify the word's meaning.
cueing systems
the phonological, semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic information that students rely on as they read.
decoding
using word-identification strategies to pronounce and attach meaning to an unfamiliar word. (Taking a series of symbols--like the Matrix--and breaking it down into meaning).
dipthong
a sound produced when the tongue glides from one sound to another; it is represented by two vowels (e.g., oy-boy, ou-house, ow-how).
drafting
the second stage of the writing process, in which writers pour out ideas in a rough draft.
echo reading
the teacher or other reader reads a sentence and a group of students reread or "echo" what was read. A great tool for helping to develop fluency.
editing
the fourthe stage of the writing process, in which writers proofread to identify and correct spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammatical errors.
efferent reading
reading for information
Elkonin boxes
a strategy for segmenting sounds in a word that involves drawing a box to represent each sound in a word.
emergent literacy
children's early reading and writing development before conventional reading and writing.
environmental print
signs, labels, and other print found in the community
etymology
the origin and history of words; the etymological information is enclosed in brackets in dictionaries
explicit instruction
systematic instruction of concepts, strategies, and skills that builds from simple to complex.
exploring
the fourth stage of the reading process, in which readers reread the text, study vocabulary words, and then learn strategies and skills
expository text
nonfiction
fluency
reading smoothly, quickly and with expression (prosody)
free morpheme
a morpheme that can stand alone as a word (e.g. book, cycle).
frustration level
the level of reading material that is too difficult for a student to read successfully. < 95% on a Running Record
genre
a category of literature such as folklore, science fiction, biography, traditional, modern / high fantasy, contemporary realistic fiction, informational books or historical fiction
goldilocks principle
a strategy for choosing "just right books."
grand conversation
a small-group or whole-class discussion about literature
grapheme
a written representation of a sound using one or more letters.
graphic organizers
diagrams that provide organized visual representations of information from texts
graphophonemic
referring to sound-symbol relationships
guided reading
students work in small groups to read as independently as possible a text selected and introduced by the teacher. (Fountas & Pinnell)
high-frequency words
a common English word, usually a word among the 100-300 most common words
homographic homophones
words that sound alike and are spelled alike but have different meanings (e.g. baseball bat and the animal bat).
homonyms
words that sound alike but are spelled differently (e.g. see-sea, there-their-they're), also called homophones.
hyperbole
a stylistic device involving obvious exaggerations
imagery
the use of words and figurative language to creat an impression
independent reading level
the level of reading material that a student can read independently with high comprehension and an accuracy level of 95-100%
inferential comprehension
using background knowledge and determining relationships between objects and events in a text to draw conclusions not explicitly stated in the text
inflectional endings
suffixes that express plurality or possession when added to a noun (e.g. girls, girl's), tense when added to a verb (e.g. walked, walking), or comparison when added to an adjective (e.g. happier, happiest).
informal reading inventory (IRI)
an individually administered reading test composed of word recognition lists, graded reading passages, reading interest survey, CAP, phonemic awareness test, phonics tests, structural analysis tests, content reading CLOZE test, vocabulary tests and spelling tests. They are used separately or together to determine students' independent, instructional, and frustration levels and listening capacity levels
instructional reading level
the level of reading material that a student can read with the teacher support and instruction with 95-97% accuracy
interactive writing
a writing activity in which students and the teacher write a text together, with the students taking turns to do most of the writing
invented spelling
students' attempts to spell words that reflect their developing knowledge about the spelling system.
K-W-L
an activity to activate background knowledge and set purposes for reading an informational text and to bring closure after reading. What we Know, What I Wonder, and What I Learned. Also good to do in the beginning of a thematic unit, genre study or content-area literacy.
Language Experience Approach (LEA)
A student's oral composition is written by the teacher and used as a text for reading instruction; it is usually used with beginning readers
leveling books
a method of estimating the difficulty level of a text
lexile scores
a method of extimating the difficulty level of a text
listening capacity level
the highest level of graded passage that can be comprehended well when read aloud to the student.
literacy
the ability to read and write
literal comprehension
the understanding of what is explicitly stated in a text
literature circle
an instructional approach in which students meet in small groups to read and respond to a book
literature focus unit
an approach to reading instruction in which the whole class reads and responds to a piece of literature.
long vowels
the vowel sounds that are also names of the alphabet letters.
lowercase letters
the letters that are smaller and usually different from uppercase letters. They are also harder to read and are evident in emerging writers' writing last.
metacognition
students' thinking about their own thought and learning process
metaphor
a comparison expressed directly, without using like or as.
minilesson
explicit instruction about literacy procedures, concepts, strategies, and skills that are taught to individual students, small groups, or the whole class, depending on students' needs.
miscue analysis
a strategy for categorizing and analyzing a student's oral reading errors. (In the QRI)
mood
the tone of a story or poem
morpheme
the smallest meaningful part of a word; sometimes it is a word (e.g., cup, hope), and sometimes it is not a whole word (e.g., -ly, bi-)
narrative
a story
onset
the part of a syllable (or the one-syllable word) that comes before the vowel (e.g., str in string)
open syllable
a syllable ending in a vowel sound (e.g., sea). They also produce long vowel sounds (e.g., frozen)
orthography
the spelling system
personification
figurative language in which objects and animals are represented as having human qualities
phoneme
a sound; it is represented in print with slashes (e.g., /s/ and /th/).
phoneme-grapheme correspondence
the relationship between a sound and the letter that represents it
phonemic awareness
the ability to manipulate the sounds in words orally
phonics
predictable relationships between phonemes and graphemes
phonics instruction
teaching the relationship between letters and sounds and how to use them to read and spell words
phonological awareness
the ability to identify and manipulate phonemes, onsets and rimes, and syllables; it includes phonemic awareness
phonology
the sound system of language
polysyllable
more than one syllable in a word
pragmatics
the social use system of language
prediction
a strategy in which students predics what will happen in a story and then read to verify their guesses
prefix
a syllable added to the beginning of a word to change the word's meaning (e.g., re-in reread).
prereading
the first stage of the reading process, in which readers activate background knowledge, set purposes, and make plans for reading
prewriting
the first stage of the writing process, in which writers gather and organize ideas for writing
proofreading
reading a composition to identify and correct spelling and other mechanical errors
publishing
the fifth stage of the writing process, in which writers make the final copy of their writing and share it with an audience
quickwrite
an activity in which students explore a topic through writing
readability formula
a method of estimating the difficulty level of a text
reading
the second stage of the reading process, in which readers read the text for the first time using independent reading, or guided reading, or by listening to it read aloud
Reading Workshop
an approach in which students read self-selected texts independently
responding
the third stage of the reading process, in which readers respond to the text, often through grand conversations and by writing in reading logs
revising
the third stage of the writing process, in which writers clarify meaning in the writing
rhyming
words with the same rime sound (e.g., white, bright)
rime
the part of a syllable (or one-syllable word) that begins with the vowel (e.g. ing in string)
scaffolding
the support a teacher provides to students as they read and write
segment
to pronounce a word slowly, saying each sound distinctly
semantics
the meaning system of language
shared reading
the teacher reads a book aloud with a group of children as they follow along in the text, often using a Big Book
short vowels
the vowel sounds in cat, bed, big, hop and cut.
simile
a comparison expressed using like or as
skill
an automatic processing behavior that students use in reading and writing, such as sounding out words, recognizing antonyms, and capitalizing proper nouns.
strategy
a problem-solving behavior that students use in reading and writing, such as predicting, monitoring, visualizing, and summarizing
suffix
a syllable added to the end of a word to change the word's meaning (e.g., -y in hairy, -ful in careful).
sustained silent reading (SSR)
independent reading practice in which everyone in the class or in the school stops what they are doing and spends time (20-30) minutes reading a self-selected book.
syllable
an uninterrupted segment of speech that includes a vowel sound
synonyms
words that mean nearly the same thing
syntax
the structural system of language or grammar
trade book
a published book that is not a textbook; the type of books in bookstores and libraries
uppercase letters
the letters that are larger. They usually appear first in childrens' emergent writing.
vowel
a voiced speech sound made without friction or stoppage of the airflow as it passes through the vocal tract
vowel digraph
two or more adjacent vowels in a syllable that represent a single sound (e.g., bread, eight, pain, saw)
word families
groups of words that rhyme
word identification
strategies that students use to decode words, such as phonic analysis, analogies, syllabic analysis, and morephemic analysis
word sort
a word-study activity in which students group words into categories [Show Less]