FAQ

What do the following literacy terms mean?

Phonemic Awareness:  The ability to notice, think about, or manipulate the individual phonemes (sounds) in words; the ability to understand that sounds in spoken language work together to make words. This term is used to refer to the most sophisticated level of phonological awareness: awareness of individual phonemes in words.

Phonics: The study of the relationship between letters and the sounds they represent; also used to describe reading instruction that teaches sound-symbol correspondences.

Blending: The task of combining sounds (phonemes) or other sound units to form words.

Segmenting: Breaking spoken language into smaller units of sound.

Encoding: Spelling, or the ability to translate a word from speech to print.

Decoding: The process of translating a word from print to speech; sounding out.

Systematic Instruction: Teaching that is logically sequenced, builds on prior knowledge, and proceeds in manageable steps.

Explicit Instruction: Clear, direct, unambiguous teaching that includes frequent checks for understanding, active participation, and success for all students.