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A - D
accuracy: The ability to recognize words accurately.
affix: Word forms added to the beginning, middle, or end of another word that creates a derivative word or inflection (e.g., un- in unhappy or –ness in sadness).
argumentative writing: A genre of writing that aims to persuade a reader to accept a particular viewpoint or take action based on a clear thesis and support it with evidence.
articulate: To pronounce distinctly and carefully; enunciate.
automaticity: A general term that refers to any skilled and complex behavior that can be performed rather easily with little attention, effort, conscious awareness. Skills become automatic after extended periods of training. With practice and good instruction, students become automatic at word recognition, that is, retrieving words from memory, and are able to focus attention on constructing meaning from the text, rather than decoding.
base word: A word to which affixes may be added to change its meaning, tense, or part of speech. Base words can stand alone (e.g., depend is the base word in dependable and break is the base word in breaking). (See Root Word; Base Words and Root Words are different)
blend: Two or three consonants together, before or after a vowel, within a syllable (e.g., /c/ /l/ in close, /s/ /t/ /r/ in strap or /n/ /d/ in mend).
central idea/main idea: the overarching point or message that a piece of writing conveys to the reader.
claim: A statement that an author makes as an assertion of truth to support an argument or thesis. A main point or idea that the author aims to prove through evidence and reasoning.
complex sentence: A sentence that has one main (independent) clause, and one or more subordinate (dependent) clauses. (e.g., When times were bad, [dependent clause] John emailed his father for help (independent clause.)
compound sentence: A compound sentence has two or more main (independent) clauses and no subordinate (independent) clauses. (e.g., Most people praised the plans [first independent clause], yet some found them dull (second independent clause.)
compound-complex sentence: A compound-complex sentence has at least two coordinate independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses. (e.g., When the students came to their English class [dependent clause], they gave the teacher their homework [first independent clause], and she gave them their new assignment [second independent clause].
decoding: The ability to translate a word from print to speech (written words into vocal speech), usually by employing knowledge of sound-symbol correspondences, Also considered the act of deciphering a new word by sounding it out.
digraph: Combinations of two successive letters functioning as a unit and representing a single phoneme or speech sound (e.g., ph in phone; ch in such).
diphthong: a gliding monosyllabic speech sound that starts at or near the articulatory position for one vowel and moves to or toward the position of another (e.g., oi in oil, ou in out).
fluency: The ability to read a text accurately, quickly, and with proper expression (prosody) and comprehension. Because fluent readers do not have to concentrate on decoding words, they can focus their attention on what the text means. The ability to quickly and accurately speak, read, and write a language.
genre: A category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content.
grapheme: Any of a set of written symbols, letters, or combinations of letters that represent the same sound (e.g., f in fat, ph in photo, and gh in tough).
high frequency words: Words that are encountered frequently in the text and are important to know.
homograph: A word with the same spelling, but with different pronunciations, derivations, and meanings (e.g., wind, lead, and bow as verbs and nouns).
informational writing: a form of nonfiction that aims to inform the reader about a specific topic or subject. It focuses on conveying factual information, details, and explanations in a clear and organized manner.
irregular words: Words that do not follow typical letter-sound correspondence, usually found in the vowel sound(s), such as cough and there.
key details (Informational Text): Important pieces of information that support the main idea, clarify it, or provide evidence for the authorʻs point of view. The most important facts, examples, or explanations that help the reader understand the topic in depth.
key details (Literary Text): The most important pieces of information that support the main/central idea and help the reader understand the storyʻs theme, plot, characters, and setting.
lesson: A moral, message, or life-affirming truth the author conveys to the reader about life, humanity, or a specific situation. The insight or learning experience the story aims to impart.
main idea/central idea: the overarching point or message that a piece of writing conveys to the reader.
moral: A clear, concise statement about the right way to act or understand a situation, often found in fables and other didactic literature.
morpheme: The smallest meaningful part of a word (e.g., -ed, -s, -ing, pre-).
multisyllabic words: words containing more than one syllable
narrative writing: A type of writing that tells a story, whether factual or fictional. The act of presenting a series of events in an engaging way.
onset: The part of the syllable that precedes the rime (vowel of the syllable) (e.g., the onset of “pill” is /p/; the onset of “spill” is /sp/).
perspective: how an individual views and interprets what is occurring in a story based on their own personal experiences and background knowledge.
phoneme: The smallest units of sound within a word that distinguish one word from another (e.g., cat = /c/ /a/ /t/).
phonemic awareness: Awareness of the individual sounds that make up words and the ability to manipulate those sounds in words.
phonics: A teaching method that uses letter-sound correspondences in reading and spelling; study of relationships between letters and sounds they represent.
phonogram: A character or symbol representing a word or phoneme in speech.
phonological awareness: A global awareness of large chunks of speech, such as syllables, onset and rime, and the phoneme level. Typically includes ability to manipulate (blend or segment) at different levels of speech-sound system.
point of view: A literary element that refers to who is telling the story (first person, second person, third person).
prefix: A linguistic unit added to the beginning of a word that changes its meaning (e.g., re-, mis-, un-).
prosody: One of three necessary components or characteristics of a fluent reader. Prosody is the ability to read with good expression; includes the pitch, tone, volume, emphasis, and rhythm in speech in oral reading. The rhythm, cadence, accent patterns, and pitch of a language.
rate: Rate refers to the pace at which the reader moves through the text.
recount: The act of using precise langauge to describe the events of a story, including the important elements that contribute to the storyʻs understanding. Events are presenting in the order they happen.
retell: Oral recapitulation of narrative elements
rhyme vs. rime
Rhyme is a word agreeing with another in its final sound (e.g., find is a rhyme for mind and kind).
Rime is the part of a syllable (not a word) which consists of its vowel and any consonant sounds that come after it (e.g., the rime for “pill” would be /ill/; the rime for “spoil” is /oil/).
root word: The basic part of a word that usually carries meaning but cannot
stand alone. To become meaningful, it must add affixes (e.g., bio is the root word for biography).
schwa: The weak vowel sound in some syllables that is not emphasized, such as the first syllable of "about" and the second syllable of "given"
semantics: A field of linguistics, it is the study of word meanings.
sentence structure: Sentence structure refers to the physical nature of a sentence and how the elements of that sentence are presented. Just like word choice, writers should strive to vary their sentence structure to create rhythmic prose and keep their reader interested.
simple sentence: A simple sentence that describes something. (e.g., The cat is black.)
six syllable types: There are six types of syllables in the English language, each with its own unique characteristics (CLOVER: closed, -consonant -le, open, vowel team, vce, r-controlled)
stress: The emphasis is placed on a syllable in pronunciation so that it is longer, louder, more articulated, or jigger in pitch as in MEX-i-co or Al-a-BAM-a.
suffix: A linguistic unit added to the end of a base word which changes the word’s meaning or grammatical function (e.g.,-ed, -ly, -ness).
syllable: A part of a word that contains a single vowel sound and is pronounced as a unit.
syllable division: The way in which a word is broken down into its constituent syllables, which are the building blocks of spoken language.
syntax: The rules and conventions of grammar that govern the order of words in phrases, clauses, and sentences.
text structure: How information within a written text is organized. Some text structures could include chronological, cause and effect, problem and solution, compare and contrast, etc.
text type: Writing is done for a number of different purposes and for different audiences. These different forms of writing are often known as text types. Textual types refer to the following four basic aspects of writing: descriptive, narrative, expository, and argumentative.
theme: An underlying topic of a discussion or a recurring idea that may be stated or implied in a text.
visual aid: Any non-textual element that clarifies, complements, or expands upon the information presented in the written text (e.g., illustrations, diagrams, charts, graphs, maps, photos).
vocabulary: The words known or used by a person or group or a set of words compiled from written or oral sources. Contrast this definition to that of lexicon, which is all the words of a language.
Tier 1 - Conversational vocabulary of everyday interaction. This is also referred to as frequently occurring vocabulary or everyday vocabulary.
Tier 2 - General academic vocabulary that is found across text types, particularly in written texts, that provides more nuanced or sophisticated ways of expressing meaning than everyday language
Tier 3 - Domain-specific vocabulary that is specific to a particular discipline (field of study or domain).
word origin: The starting point of existence for a word.