WHich term refers to the act of monitoring ones own comprehension and then taking corrective action?

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Don't know a morpheme from a phoneme? Find out what these and other words mean in this glossary of commonly used terms related to reading, literacy, and reading instruction.

The common formal language that students are expected to learn and be able to communicate in across different academic disciplines. It’s the language used in classroom lessons, books, tests, and assignments, and it’s the language that students are expected to learn and achieve fluency in. Academic language includes a variety of language skills such as discipline-specific vocabulary, grammar and punctuation, syntax, and rhetorical conventions that are typical for a given content area (e.g., essays or lab reports). It is often contrasted with “conversational” or “social” language.

Accuracy

The ability to read words correctly.

Advanced phonics

Instruction that includes advanced decoding concepts such as vowel teams, vowel-r, consonant-le and begin reading multisyllable words containing prefixes, roots, and suffixes. Typically occurs in grade 2 and beyond.

Affixes

A morpheme (meaningful part of a word) added to either the beginning or the end of a word to form a different word with a different meaning. For example, ‘un’ is added to kind to form unkind. The word disrespectful has two affixes — a prefix (dis-) and a suffix (-ful).

Alliteration

The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words in connected text. For example: Harry the happy hippo hula-hoops with Henrietta.

Alphabetic principle

The concept that letters and letter combinations represent the phonemes (sounds) of spoken language.

Analytic phonics

An approach to phonics instruction that works from known words to the sounding out of unknown words on the basis of analogy. Unlike synthetic phonics where phonemes associated with particular letters or letter combinations are sounded individually and blended together one at a time, analytical phonics involves decoding words on the basis of already known words. For example: sounding out the word rat, based on the letters used in already-known words like run and cat.

Antonym

A word opposite in meaning to another word. For example: happy/sad or dry/wet.

Articulation

The formation of clear and distinct sounds in speech.

Automaticity

The ability to decode words in print correctly and instantly. Automaticity is developed through lots of reading practice.

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The amount of information or knowledge someone has on a particular topic. Background knowledge helps learners make connections with new information and understand new concepts.

Base words

A unit of meaning that can stand alone as a whole word (e.g., friend, bird). It is also called a free morpheme or root word. New words can be created from a base word by adding a prefix or suffix or changing both. For example: view, preview, viewer. Or migrate and immigration.

Bilingual education

A school-based program in which two languages are used to provide content matter instruction. Bilingual education programs vary in their length of time, and in the amount each language is used.

Blending

To combine the units of sound (syllables, onsets and rimes, phonemes) to form a word.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

A hierarchical system that categorizes the thinking skills of students, building from the most basic to the most complex: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating.

Book parts

A component of concepts of print, knowledge of book parts includes the ability to identify front and back covers, title, author, illustrator, spine, and title page.

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A decoding strategy for breaking words into manageable parts (e.g., /yes /ter/ day). Chunking also refers to the process of dividing a sentence into smaller phrases where pauses might occur naturally (e.g., When the sun appeared after the storm, / the newly fallen snow / shimmered like diamonds).

Close reading

A critical analysis of the form, craft, language, and meaning of a text to determine what it says, how it says it, and what it means in order to understand the deepest intentions of the author and the text’s message.

Closed syllable

A ‘short’ vowel that is followed by one or more consonants. This pattern is called the CVC pattern (consonant – vowel – consonant), although a closed syllable does not always begin with a consonant. For example: at, in, mop, fun, deck, twin, and scratch.

Coaching

A professional development process of supporting teachers in implementing new classroom practices by providing new content and information, modeling related teaching strategies, and offering ongoing feedback as teachers master new practices.

Cognates

Words in different languages that share a similar meaning, spelling, and pronunciation. While English may share very few cognates with a language like Chinese, 30-40% of all words in English have a related word in Spanish. For example: familia/family, alfabeto/alphabet, and poema/poem.

Complex sentence

A sentence composed of one independent clause and one dependent clause joined by a subordinate conjunction. For example: When I heard the dog barking, I jumped.

Compound sentence

Two complete sentences joined by a coordinating conjunction. For example: I heard the dog barking and I went outside to see what was happening.

Comprehension

Making meaning from something that is heard (oral comprehension) or from print (reading comprehension). Comprehension includes understanding what is expressed outright or implied as well as interpreting what is viewed, read, or heard by drawing on one’s knowledge and experiences.

Comprehension monitoring

An awareness of one’s understanding of the text being read. Comprehension monitoring is part of a reader’s metacognition — “thinking about thinking” — and knowing what is clear and what is confusing and having the ability to apply cognitive skills to understand a text.

Comprehension strategies

Instructional techniques that strengthen the cognitive skills involved in reading comprehension, including summarization, prediction, and inferring word meanings from context.

Comprehension strategy instruction

The explicit teaching of techniques that are particularly effective for comprehending text. The steps of explicit instruction include direct explanation, teacher modeling (“think aloud”), guided practice, and application. Some strategies include direct explanation (the teacher explains to students why the strategy helps comprehension and when to apply the strategy), modeling (the teacher models, or demonstrates, how to apply the strategy, usually by thinking aloud while reading the text that the students are using), guided practice (the teacher guides and assists students as they learn how and when to apply the strategy), and application (the teacher helps students practice the strategy until they can apply it independently).

Concepts of print

A child’s understanding that printed words carry meaning, and that reading and writing are ways to get information. It is an awareness of how print works and can be categorized into four main components: concept of book (parts of a book), concept of text (letters, words, and sentences), directionality (we read top to bottom and left to right in English), and mechanics (pause with a comma and full stop with a period).

Connected text

Words that are linked in sentences, phrases, and paragraphs. A group of sentences that relate to one another.

Consonant blend

Two or more consecutive consonants which retain their individual sounds. For example: ‘bl’ in black, ‘cr’ in crisp, ‘spr’ in spring, ‘st' in fast, and ‘nd’ in land.

Consonant digraph

Two consecutive consonants that represent one phoneme, or sound. For example: /ch/, /sh/, and /th/).

Content area literacy

Development of the ability to read, write, and comprehend information in core content areas. Teachers use subject matter texts, and the emphasis is on using instructional strategies that support reading comprehension overall, such as self-monitoring, summarizing, and answering text-dependent questions. (See also disciplinary literacy)

Context clues

Sources of information outside of words that readers may use to predict the identities and meanings of unknown words. Context clues may be drawn from the immediate sentence containing the word, from text already read, from pictures accompanying the text, or from definitions, restatements, examples, or descriptions in the text.

Continuous sounds

A sound that can be held for several seconds without distortion. For example: /f/, /m/, and /s/.

Coordinated instructional sequences

Coordinated instructional sequences take into consideration how information is selected, sequenced, organized, and practiced. Coordinated instructional sequences occur within each component of reading where a logical progression of skills would be evident: easier skills are introduced before more difficult skills, so that skills build progressively. The other way coordinated instructional sequences are evident is in the clear and meaningful relationship or linking of instruction across the five components of reading: phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension. If students orally segment and blend words with the letter-sound /f/ during phonemic awareness instruction, then we would expect to see it followed by practice in connecting the sound /f/ with the letter f. This would be followed by fluency practice in reading words, sentences, and/or passages with the letter-sound /f/. Spelling practice would include /f/ and other previously learned letter-sounds.

Core instruction (Tier 1)

Daily whole classroom instruction where all students receive an evidence-based core reading program that is explicit and systematic. It is sometimes referred to as Universal instruction.

Cumulative instruction

Instruction that builds upon previously learned concepts.

Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM)

A criterion-referenced assessment that is tied to specific reading skills and is used for screening and benchmarking purposes.

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Text in which a high proportion of words (80%-90%) comprise sound–symbol relationships that have already been taught. Decodable texts provide practice with specific decoding skills and is a bridge between learning phonics and the application of phonics in independent reading.

Decodable words

Words containing phonic elements that have been previously taught.

Decoding

The ability to translate a word from print to speech by using your knowledge of sound–symbol (letter) correspondences. It is the act of deciphering a new word by sounding it out.

Diagnostic

Tests that can be used to measure a variety of reading, language, or cognitive skills. Although they can be given as soon as a screening test indicates a child is behind in reading growth, they will usually be given only if a child fails to make adequate progress after being given extra help in learning to read. They are designed to provide a more precise and detailed picture of the full range of a child’s knowledge and skill so that instruction can be more precisely planned.

Dialect

Rule-governed linguistic systems that compose a language and highlight the variation of its speakers. For example, English is commonly recognized as a language, but there are multiple dialects of English such as Southern U.S., African American Vernacular, or Irish English.

Dialogic reading

A lively, interactive read-aloud technique that is designed to improve reading comprehension. During story reading, the adult asks open-ended questions, adds information (for example, about the setting or a new vocabulary word), and prompts children to connect what they already know and what they are learning about the text.

DIBELS

The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) is a set of assessments designed to measure reading fluency and early literacy skills of elementary students.

Differentiated instruction

Matching instruction to meet the different needs of learners in a given classroom, to ensure that all kids meet grade-level expectations. Instruction may be based on Core (Tier 1) instruction.

Digraphs

A combination of two letters representing one sound. For example: /sh/, /ch/, /th/, /ph/, /ea/, and /ck/.

Diphthong

A combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable — sometimes called a “gliding vowel.” The sound begins as one vowel sound and moves towards another. The two most common diphthongs in the English language are the letter combinations ‘oy’ or ‘oi’ as in boy or coin, and ‘ow’ or ‘ou’ as in cloud or cow.

Direct vocabulary instruction

Planned instruction to pre-teach new, important, and difficult words to ensure the quantity and quality of exposures to words that students will encounter in their reading. Direct vocabulary instruction aids reading comprehension.

Directionality

A component of concepts of print, directionality includes knowledge about how to read an English book or text, including: read top to bottom, read left to right, identify first and last word, tracking, and return sweep.

Disciplinary literacy

Specialized texts and ways of using literacy in the disciplines. Historians, mathematicians, literary critics, and scientists read and write differently because they create different kinds of knowledge and rely on different kinds of evidence. Disciplinary literacy refers to the idea that we should teach the specialized ways of reading, understanding, and thinking used in each academic discipline, such as science, history, or literature. Each field has its own ways of using text to create and communicate meaning. As children advance through school, literacy instruction should shift from general literacy strategies to the more specific or specialized ones from each discipline and help students grasp the ways literacy is used to create, disseminate, and critique information in the various disciplines.

Dysgraphia

A learning disability that affects writing abilities. It can manifest itself as difficulties with spelling, poor handwriting and trouble putting thoughts on paper.

Dyslexia

A language-based learning disability that affects reading. Children with dyslexia often have poor phonological skills, resulting in difficulties with decoding, reading fluency, and spelling. Dyslexia can also impact reading comprehension and writing.

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A part of writing and preparing presentations centered on improving the clarity, organization, conciseness, and correctness of expression in relationship to the task, purpose, and audience. Compare with revising, a smaller-scale activity often associated with surface aspects of a text. See also revising and rewriting.

Elkonin boxes

A tool used during phonemic awareness and encoding instruction. One box is provided for each sound in a target word. For example, the word bat would have three corresponding boxes. A child listens to a pronunciation of the word and then moves a token or coin into one box as they segment each sound or phoneme in the word. Elkonin boxes are sometimes referred to as sound boxes.

Embedded phonics

See phonics.

Emergent literacy

The view that literacy learning begins at birth and is nurtured through meaningful literacy-related activities between children and adults — long before formal reading instruction. Examples include early reading and writing behaviors (e.g., scribble writing and pretend reading), knowledge (e.g., a book is a source of a story or information), and attitudes (e.g., question asking about neighborhood signs).

Emergent bilinguals

Students who are learning an additional language, usually English. The term is grounded in a strengths-based philosophy, and can be used instead of terms like English language learners, English learners, or limited English proficient.

Encoding

The ability to translate speech into print (writing) using your knowledge of sound–symbol (letter) correspondences.

English language learner (ELL)

English language learners are students whose first language is not English and who are in the process of learning English. Defined by the U.S. Department of Education as national-origin-minority students who are limited-English-proficient. Often abbreviated as ELLs. See also: Emergent bilingual.

Environmental print

Printed materials that are a part of everyday life, including signs, billboards, labels, and packaging.

Error correction

Immediate corrective feedback during reading instruction.

ESL

ESL is the common acronym for English as a Second Language, an educational approach in which English language learners are instructed in the use of the English language.

Etymology

The origin of a word and the historical development of its meaning. For example: the origin of the word etymology comes from late Middle English: from Old French ethimologie and via Latin from Greek etumologia.

Evidence-based practices

Practices for teaching reading grounded and proven in research.

Executive function

A set of mental skills that we used every day in school and in life, and include working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control. Trouble with executive function can make it hard to focus, follow directions, plan, organize, problem-solve, handle emotions, and manage tasks and schedules.

Explicit instruction

Teaching children in a systematic and sequential manner. Explicit instruction is step-by-step, and the actions of the teacher are clear, specific, direct, and related to the learning objective. It often follows the “I do. We do. You do” model. Explicit instruction provides time for lots of practice and cumulative review with the goal of teaching to mastery.

Expository text

Text whose purpose is to present information or ideas about a specific topic, using factual information. It is also called informational text.

Expressive language

Language that is spoken.

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Language that departs from its literal meaning — such as, “the snow sparkled like diamonds.” Often one thing is compared to another, and it can be used to add color or intensity to a description. Figurative language is found in all genres, but is most common in poetry. Examples include similes (rusty as a nail), metaphors (“My hair is a garden. And like every good garden, it must be/cared for, every day.”), and personification (the fog comes on little cat feet).

Flexible grouping

Grouping students according to shared instructional needs and abilities, and regrouping as their instructional needs change. Group size and allocated instructional time may vary among groups.

FLoSS(z) rule

When ‘f’, ‘l’, ‘s’, and ‘z’ are at the end of a closed syllable — a syllable with one vowel — the letters are doubled. Examples: puff, will, hiss, and jazz. 

Fluency

Fluency is the ability to read a text accurately, at a good pace, and with proper expression and comprehension. Fluency is measured in Word Count Per Minute (WCPM).

Formal assessment

Student assessment that follows a prescribed format for administration and scoring. Scores obtained from formal tests are standardized, meaning that interpretation is based on norms from a comparative sample of children.

Formative assessment

Student assessments used during instruction to provide the information needed to effectively direct and target teaching and learning as it occurs.

Formal English

See standard English.

Frayer model

An adaptation of the concept map used to teach vocabulary. Students complete a four-quadrant graphic organizer with the word or concept (target term) in the center. Quadrant 1: definition; quadrant 3: provide facts; quadrant 3: add examples; and quadrant 4: provide non-examples or nonessential characteristics. Students can also add a sentence that expands the meaning and/or draw a picture that illustrates the meaning of the word.

Frustrational reading level

The level at which a reader reads at less than a 90% accuracy (i.e., no more than one error per 10 words read). Frustration-level text is difficult text for the reader.

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A teaching methodology that includes “I do” where the teacher models, “We do” where the class works with the teacher or with each other, and “You do” where students work independently.

Grammar

The set of rules in a language that governs the forms of words used in context (morphology) and how words can be combined in sentences (syntax).

Grapheme

A letter or letter combination that represent a sound (phoneme) in a syllable or word. In English, a grapheme may be one, two, three, or four letters. For example: e, ei, igh, or eigh.

Graphic organizers

Visual frameworks that help structure thinking. They make thinking processes visible by showing connections between data. Examples include concept maps, flowcharts and cause-and-effect patterns.

Graphophonemic

The relationship between letters and phonemes.

Guided oral reading

Instructional support that includes immediate corrective feedback as students read orally.

Guided practice

Instructional technique where students practice newly learned skills, with the teacher providing prompts and feedback.

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High-frequency words that are irregularly spelled, and whose irregular grapheme-phoneme correspondences must be explicitly taught in order to “know them by heart” — sometimes called “heart words.” For example: said, are, and where.

High-frequency words

The most common words found in print. They can be decodable (regularly spelled) or words with irregular spellings. Often, they are referred to as “sight words” since automatic recognition of these words is required for fluent reading. They should not be taught by visually memorizing whole words but instead by using decoding to teach the regular or irregular grapheme-phoneme correspondences.

Homograph

Words that are spelled the same but have different origins and meanings. They may or may not be pronounced the same. For example: can (a metal container) and can (able to).

Homonym

Words that sound the same but are spelled differently. For example: cents/sense and knight/night.

Homophone

Words that may or may not be spelled alike but are pronounced the same. These words are of different origins and have different meanings. For example: ate/eight and scale (the covering of a fish) and scale (a device used to weigh things).

See Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

IEP

See Individualized Education Program.

Idiom

A phrase or expression that differs from the literal meaning of the words; a regional or individual expression with a unique meaning. For example: it’s raining cats and dogs.

Immediate corrective feedback

An instructional practice where a teacher identifies and corrects a student’s error as it occurs, and explains specifically how to correct the error.

Independent reading level

The level at which a reader can read text with 95% accuracy (i.e., no more than one error per 20 words read). Independent reading level is relatively easy text for the reader.

Indirect vocabulary learning

Words learned through read alouds, independent reading, and conversation.

Individualized Education Program (IEP)

A written learning plan for special education services that is designed to meet the specific learning needs of a child.

Intensive instruction (Tier 3)

Designed for the smaller number of students who need more than targeted (Tier 2) instruction. Intensive instruction should occur in small groups of three. Intervention may include looking at time, intensity, frequency, and group size in order to meet each student’s needs.The focus of instruction is usually on foundational skills that need a lot of strengthening. Progress monitoring occurs every 7-10 days.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

The law that guarantees all children with disabilities access to a free and appropriate public education. It was first passed in 1975 and most recently updated in 2004.

Inflectional suffix

In English, a suffix that expresses plurality or possession when added to a noun, tense when added to a verb, and comparison when added to an adjective and some adverbs. For example: peaches or walking.

Informal assessment

Student assessment that does not follow prescribed rules for administration and scoring, and has not undergone technical scrutiny for reliability and validity. Teacher-made tests, end-of-unit tests, and running records are all examples of informal assessment.

Informational text

A nonfiction text whose purpose is to inform/describe/explain to the reader. Informational text is structured with topics, examples, information, and includes text features such as headings, subheadings, captions, diagrams, photos, and tables.It is also called expository text.

Intervention

Additional small group or individualized instruction that is tailored to children's needs so they can make progress and be on track to meet grade-level learning goals.

Invented spelling

Sound-based spelling where children create their own nonconventional spelling, based on their knowledge of the spelling system and how it works (e.g., ‘kt’ for cat).

Irregular words

Words that are difficult to sound out because they do not follow common phonic patterns. For example: said, were, was, laugh.

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An instructional strategy where students study portions of a text or topic with a small group in order to build expertise, and then meet separately with peers who have studied different portions to teach and learn from them. The goal is that all students learn the entire body of material.

K-W-L charts are graphic organizers that help students organize information before, during, and after a unit or a lesson. They are used most frequently with expository text to promote comprehension by engaging students in a new topic, activating prior knowledge, and monitoring learning. The K-W-L chart tracks what a student knows (K), wants to know (W), and has learned (L) about a topic.

A learning difference that affects a person’s ability to either interpret what they see and hear, or to link information from different parts of the brain.

Letter knowledge

The ability to identify the names and shapes of the letters of the alphabet.

Listening vocabulary

The words needed to understand spoken language.

Literacy

The ability to understand oral language, read fluently, and write well.

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The central thought or message of a reading passage.

Metacognition

The process of considering and regulating one’s own learning. While reading, readers think critically about their own understanding as they read. It can be described as “thinking about thinking.” Metacognitive strategies can be taught.

Modeling

An instruction technique where a teacher explicitly demonstrates a strategy, skill, or concept that students will be learning.

Morpheme

The smallest meaningful unit of language. A morpheme can be one syllable (book) or more than one syllable (seventeen). It can be a whole word or a part of a word such as a prefix or suffix. The word ungrateful contains three morphemes: un, grate, and ful.

Morphology

The study of word formation patterns and how words are formed by looking at their meaningful parts — prefixes, roots, and suffixes (e.g., mis-spell-ing).

Multimodal formats

The presentation of information in two or more formats or modes at once, for example, visual and auditory. Examples of multimodal texts include graphic novels (written language and still images), film (moving images, spoken language, audio), websites (still image, moving images, written language, audio), and oral presentations (gestural, spatial, and spoken language).

Multisyllabic words

Words with more than one syllable. A systematic introduction of prefixes, suffixes, and multisyllabic words should occur throughout a reading program. The average number of syllables in the words students read should increase steadily throughout the grades.

Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS)

A schoolwide framework used to provide targeted support to struggling students. MTSS is a proactive approach that includes universal screening for all students early in each school year, increasing levels of targeted support for those who are struggling, and integrated plans that address students’ academic, behavioral, social, and emotional needs through different levels of intensity.

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A story about fictional or real events. The purpose of a narrative text is to tell the story (real or imagined) of an experience, event, or sequence of events. It is typically structured around story elements such as setting, characters, problem, solution, and theme. Narrative texts can take the form of a song, poetry, drama, or prose.

Nonsense word

A “made-up” word (with no meaning) following regular patterns for reading and spelling words in the English language.

Nonverbal learning disability

A brain-based disability that makes it difficult for a person to understand communication such as body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions.

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Onset and rime are two parts of a word. The onset is the consonant sounds in a syllable that precede the vowel. For example: the tr- in trap, sw- in swim, h- in hat, and ch- in chin. The rime is the part of a syllable that includes the vowel and all subsequent sounds in the syllable. For example: the -im in trim, -at in cat, and -esh in fresh. Words that share the same rime are considered rhyming words. For example: fresh, mesh, and flesh).

Open syllable

A syllable that ends in a single vowel that is typically a long vowel sound. For example: me, no, apron, equal, program, and music.

Oral language

Communication through speaking and listening.

Orthographic mapping

The mental process readers use to permanently store words for immediate retrieval. Readers map the sounds (phonemes) of words they already know to the letters in a word and permanently store the sounds, letters, and meanings of these words. Orthographic mapping is required for effortless, accurate, and fluent reading. It explains how children learn to read words by sight, spell words from memory, and acquire vocabulary words from print

Orthography

The conventional spelling and writing system of a language.

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A cooperative or collaborative activity that involves two students turn taking and supporting each other’s oral reading and comprehension of a text.

Phonemes

The smallest parts of spoken language that combine to form words. For example: the word bat is made up of three phonemes: /b/, /a/, and /t/. If you change the first phoneme in bat from /b/ to /p/, the word becomes pat. Most linguists agree that English has 44 phonemes: 19 vowel phonemes and 25 consonant phonemes.

Phoneme manipulation

Adding, deleting, and substituting sounds in words. For example: add /b/ to oat to make boat; delete /p/ in pat to make at; and substitute /o/ for /a/ in pat to make pot.

Phonemic awareness

The ability to notice, think about, and work with the individual sounds in spoken words. An example of how beginning readers show that they have phonemic awareness is combining or blending the separate sounds /c/ /a/ /t/ in the word cat.")

Phonics

Reading instruction that focuses on the alphabetic principle — the systematic, predictable relationship between spoken sounds (phonemes) and written letters (graphemes) — to allow readers to identify or “decode” words.

Phonological awareness

A group of skills related to the ability to recognize the parts of spoken words. Examples include being able to identify words that rhyme, counting the number of syllables in a name, recognizing alliteration, segmenting a sentence into words, and identifying the syllables in a word. The most sophisticated — and last to develop — is phonemic awareness.

Prefix

A morpheme that precedes a root and that contributes to or modifies the meaning of a word. For example: ‘re’ in reprint.

The knowledge that printed words carry meaning, and that reading and writing are ways to get ideas and information. Print awareness is basic knowledge about print and how it is typically organized on a page. For example: print conveys meaning, print is read left to right, and words are separated by spaces. 

A component of concepts of print, print structure includes the knowledge of letters, words, and sentences in a text or book; spaces between words; capitalization; and punctuation.

Prior knowledge

The background knowledge and experience that readers bring to the text.

Progress monitoring

An assessment used to determine whether students are making adequate progress and to determine whether instruction needs to be adjusted. 

Prosody

Oral reading expression. Prosody includes pitch, tone, volume, emphasis, and rhythm in oral reading. For example: the rising intonation at the end of a question in English. 

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The ability to read aloud the names of letters, symbols, words, or familiar objects in a quick and automatic manner.

Rate

The speed at which a person reads.

R-controlled syllable

A syllable where ‘r’ follows the vowel. When this happens, the ‘r’ shapes the vowel sound and it makes an unexpected sound. For example: car, bird.

Readability level

Refers to independent, instructional, and frustrational levels of text reading.

Reading comprehension

The ability to understand what you are reading. Comprehension is the reason for reading. Good readers think actively as they read. They use their experiences and knowledge of the world, vocabulary, language structure, and reading strategies to make sense of the text. 

Reading centers

Special places organized in the classroom for students to work in small groups or pairs, either cooperatively or individually. Students work in centers while the teacher is conducting small group reading instruction. Each center contains meaningful, purposeful activities that are an extension and reinforcement of what has already been taught by the teacher in reading groups or in a large group. 

Receptive language

Language that is heard.

Reciprocal teaching

An instructional approach for building comprehension. Students learn four strategies: asking questions about the text they are reading; summarizing parts of the text; clarifying words and sentences they don't understand; and predicting what might occur next in the text.

Repeated and monitored oral reading

In this instructional activity, students read and reread a text a certain number of times or until a certain level of fluency is reached. This technique has been shown to improve reading fluency and overall reading achievement. Four re-readings are usually sufficient for most students. Students may also practice reading orally through the use of audiotapes, tutors, peer guidance, or other means.

Retelling

Recalling the content of what was read or heard.

Revising

A step in the writing process that focuses on reworking of the content of a text relative to task, purpose, and audience. This is different from editing, which is a larger-scale activity often associated with the overall content and structure of a text. 

Rewriting*

A part of writing and preparing presentations that involves largely or wholly replacing a previous, unsatisfactory effort with a new effort, better aligned to task, purpose, and audience, on the same or a similar topic or theme; compared to revising, a larger-scale activity more akin to replacement than refinement; see also editing, revising.

Rime

The "onset" is the initial phonological unit of any word (e.g. c in cat) and the term "rime" refers to the string of letters that follow, usually a vowel and final consonants (e.g. at in cat). Not all words have onsets.

Rhyming

Words that have the same ending sound.

Root

A bound morpheme, usually of Latin origin, that cannot stand alone but is used to form a family of words with related meanings.

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Instruction in which adults build upon what children already know and provide temporary support that allows children to perform more complex tasks. Scaffolding may be part of the instructional design, such as starting with simpler skills and building progressively to more difficult skills. Scaffolding is temporary and is used to maintain high levels of learning; it is not having students learning less content or doing easier work.

Schema

Refers to prior knowledge, the knowledge and experience that readers bring to the text.

Schwa

The vowel sound sometimes heard in an unstressed syllable and that most often sounds like /uh/ or the short /u/ sound. Example: the "a" in again or balloon. All English vowels have a schwa sound.

Scientifically Based Reading Research (SBRR)

Refers to empirical research that applies rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain valid knowledge. This includes research that: employs systematic, empirical methods that draw on observation or experiment; has been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal or approved by a panel of independent experts through a comparably rigorous, objective and scientific review; involves rigorous data analyses that are adequate to test the stated hypotheses and justify the general conclusions drawn; relies on measurements or observational methods that provide valid data across evaluators and observers and across multiple measurements and observations; and can be generalized.

Scope and sequence

A “roadmap” or “blueprint” for teachers that provides an overall picture of an instructional program and includes the range of teaching content and the order or sequence in which it is taught.

Screening

An informal inventory that provides the teacher a beginning indication of the student’s preparation for grade level reading instruction. It is a “first alert” that a child may need extra help to make adequate progress in reading during the year.

Segmenting

Separating the individual phonemes, or sounds, of a word into discrete units.

Self-monitoring

Self-monitoring is the mental act of knowing when one does and does not understand what one is reading. When students use self-monitoring strategies, they actively think about how they are learning or understanding the material, activities, or reading in which they are engaged.

Semantic feature analysis

Uses a grid to help explore how a set of things are related to one another. By analyzing the grid one can see connections, make predictions, and master important concepts.

Semantic organizers

A type of graphic organizer that looks like a spider web where lines connect a central concept to a variety of related ideas and events. Also called a semantic map.

Semantics

The way language conveys meaning.

Set for variability

A child’s ability to address the mismatch between the decoded form of a word (the oral language result of applying phonics rules to a word) and their stored word pronunication knowledge (how similarly spelled words are pronounced). A child’s set for variability is important for individual word-reading and overall reading ability.

Sight words

Words that a reader recognizes without having to sound them out. Some sight words are considered to irregular, or high-frequency words (e.g., the Dolch and Fry lists). However, any word that is recognized automatically is a sight word. These words may be phonetically regular or irregular.

Social English

Often referred to as "playground English" or "survival English", this is the basic language ability required for face-to-face communication, often accompanied by gestures and relying on context to aid understanding. Social English is much more easily and quickly acquired than academic English, but is not sufficient to meet the cognitive and linguistic demands of an academic classroom. Also referred to as Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS).

Sound to symbol

Phonics instruction that matches phoneme to grapheme.

Sound chaining or sound chains

A sound manipulation exercise where you change a single sound from one word to the next. Example: lip to sip to tip to tin to ten). Beginning readers should start with simple CVC words.

Speaking vocabulary

The words used when speaking.

Speech language pathologist

A speech language pathologist is an expert who can help children and adolescents who have language disorders to understand and give directions, ask and answer questions, convey ideas, and improve the language skills that lead to better academic performance. An SLP can also counsel individuals and families to understand and deal with speech and language disorders.

Speed

The rate at which a student reads.

Spelling patterns

Refers to digraphs, vowel pairs, word families, and vowel variant spellings.

Standard English*

In the Standards, the most widely accepted and understood form of expression in English in the United States; used in the Standards to refer to formal English writing and speaking; the particular focus of Language standards 1 and 2 (CCSS, pp. 26, 28, 52, 54).

State education agency (SEA)

A state education agency is the agency primarily responsible for the state supervision of public elementary and secondary schools.

Stop sounds

A stop sound can only be said for an instant, otherwise its sound will be distorted (i.e., / b/, /c/ /d/, /g/, /h/, /j/, /k/, /p/, /q/, /t/, /x/). Words beginning with stop sounds are more difficult for students to sound out than words beginning with a continuous sound.

Story elements

Characters, problem, solutions, themes, settings, and plot.

Story grammar

The general structure of stories that includes story elements.

Story maps

A strategy used to unlock the plot and important elements of a story. These elements can be represented visually through various graphic organizers showing the beginning, middle, and end of a story. Answering the questions of who, where, when, what, and how or why, and listing the main events is also part of story mapping. These elements are also referred to as story grammar.

Story structure

In story structure, a reader sees the way the content and events of a story are organized into a plot. Students learn to identify the categories of content (setting, characters, initiating events, internal reactions, goals, attempts, and outcomes) and how this content is organized into a plot. Often students recognize the way the story is organized by developing a story map. This strategy improves students' comprehension and memory of story content and meaning.

Strategic learners

Active learners. While reading these learners make predictions, organize information, and interact with the text. They think about what they are reading in terms of what they already know. They monitor their comprehension by employing strategies that facilitate their understanding.

Structural analysis

A procedure for teaching students to read words formed with prefixes, suffixes, or other meaningful word parts.

Student friendly explanation

An explanation of the word’s meaning rather than a definition.

  1. Characterizes the word and how it is typically used.
  2. Explains the meaning in everyday language.

Suffix

An affix attached to the end of a base, root, or stem that changes the meaning or grammatical function of the word, as “en” in oxen.

Summarizing

Reducing large selections of text to their bare essentials: the gist, the key ideas, the main points that are worth noting and remembering. Teaching students to summarize helps them generate main ideas, connect central ideas, eliminate redundant and unnecessary information, and remember what they read.

Supplemental instruction

Supplemental Instruction is instruction that goes beyond that provided by the comprehensive core program because the core program does not provide enough instruction or practice in a key area to meet the needs of the students in a particular classroom or school. For example, teachers in a school may observe that their comprehensive core program does not provide enough instruction in vocabulary, or in phonics, to adequately meet the needs of the majority of their students. They could then select a supplemental program in these areas to strengthen the initial instruction and practice provided to all students.

Supplemental services

Students from low-income families who are attending schools that have been identified as in need of improvement for two years will be eligible to receive outside tutoring or academic assistance. Parents can choose the appropriate services for their child from a list of approved providers. The school district will purchase the services.

Syllable

A syllable is a unit of pronunciation or word part that contains only one vowel sound (e-vent, news-pa-per).

Syllable types

There are six syllable types:

  • Closed: cat, cobweb
  • Open: he, silo
  • Vowel-consonant-e (VCE): like, milestone
  • Consonant-l-e: candle, juggle (second syllable)
  • R-controlled: star, corner
  • Vowel pairs: count, rainbow

Syllabication

Syllabication is the act of breaking words into syllables.

Symbol to sound

Matching grapheme to phoneme.

Synonym

Words that have similar meanings.

Syntax

The order or arrangement of words and phrases to form proper sentences. The most basic syntax follows this formula: subject + verb + direct object. For example, “Elena kicked the ball.” Syntax allows us to understand that we wouldn’t write “Kicked Elena the ball.”

Synthetic phonics

An approach to phonics instruction that emphasizes teaching the sounds of letters or groups of letters in isolation and how to blend or synthesize these separate sounds into pronunciations of the words. ‘R” sounds like r-r-r in rat. A-a-a is the middle sound in rat. T-t-t is the final sound of /t/ in rat.

Systematic instruction

A carefully planned sequence for instruction, similar to a builder’s blueprint for a house. Systematic instruction is carefully thought out, strategic, and designed before activities and lessons are planned. Lessons build on previously taught information, from simple to complex.

Systematic phonics instruction

Systematic phonics programs teach children an extensive, pre-specified set of letter-sound correspondences or phonograms. Systematic Review: A planned review of previously learned materials.

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Small groups of 3-7 students who are struggling with Tier instruction. Students receive additional instruction based on Core (Tier 1), and often includes reteaching, differentiated instruction, and more opportunities to practice. Progress monitoring occurs every 10-14 days to measure students’ progress.

Target words

Are specifically addressed, analyzed, and/or studied in curriculum lessons, exercises, and independent activities.

Text complexity*

The inherent difficulty of reading and comprehending a text combined with consideration of reader and task variables; in the Standards, a three-part assessment of text difficulty that pairs qualitative and quantitative measures with reader-task considerations (CCSS, pp. 31, 57; Reading, pp. 4–16).

Text comprehension

A range of text difficulty corresponding to grade spans within the Standards; specifically, the spans from grades 2–3, grades 4–5, grades 6–8, grades 9–10, and grades 11–CCR (college and career readiness).

Textual evidence

See evidence.

Text features

A component of concepts of print, includes knowledge of the features in a text or book, such as page numbers, table of contents, illustrations and photographs, chapter titles, headings, captions, labels, infographics, and diagrams.

Text structure

The various patterns of ideas that are embedded in the organization of text (e.g., cause-effect, comparison-contrast, story grammar).

Think-alouds

During shared read aloud, teachers reveal their thinking processes by verbalizing: connections, questions, inferences, and predictions.

Timed reading

Student reads appropriate text with a predetermined number of words to be read within a specific amount of time.

Trade book

A book intended for general reading that is not a textbook.

Train-the-trainer model

A capacity-building plan to develop master trainers who then deliver the program information to users.

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Words that might be unknown to the student, but critical to passage understanding and words that students are likely to encounter in the future.

Useful letter sounds

Letters that appear frequently in words. Beginning readers can decode more words when they know several useful letters. Knowing the sounds of /m/, /a/, /t/, and /i/ is more advantageous than the sounds /x/, /q/ /y/, and /z/. Other useful letter sounds are /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/, /b/, /c/, /d/, /f/, /g/, /h/, /k/, /l/, /n/, /p/, and /r/.

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Various corresponding spelling patterns for a specific sound or a variety of spelling patterns for one sound (e.g., long a spelled a, a_e, ai_, _ay).

Vocabulary

Knowledge of the meaning and pronunciation of words. Listening vocabulary refers to the words a person knows when hearing them in oral speech. Speaking vocabulary refers to the words we use when we speak. Reading vocabulary refers to the words a person knows when seeing them in print. Writing vocabulary refers to the words we use in writing.

Vowel digraph or vowel pair

Two vowels together that represent one phoneme, or sound (e.g., ea, ai, oa).

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See scaffolding.

Word attack

Word attack is an aspect of reading instruction that includes intentional strategies for learning to decode, sight read, and recognize written words.

Word family

Group of words that share a rime (a vowel plus the consonants that follow; e.g., -ame, -ick,-out).

Word learning strategies

Strategies students use to learn words such as: decoding, analyzing meaningful parts of words, using analogy, using context clues, using a dictionary (student friendly definitions), glossary, or other resources.

Word parts

Letters, onsets, rimes, syllables that, when combined, result in words. Word parts include affixes (prefixes and suffixes), base words, and word roots. The ability to recognize various word parts in multisyllabic words is beneficial in decoding unfamiliar words.

Word roots

Word roots are words from other languages that are the origin of many English words. About 60 percent of all English words have Latin or Greek origins.

Word study

Instruction that focuses on close investigation of words. Examples include learning to decode more complex words based on associated word meanings and identification of word parts (such as affixes and root words), vocabulary-building exercises, and spelling practice. Word study helps students learn about predictable patterns in English and read new words by applying word analysis and structural analysis skills. 

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