ELA and Math Commonly Used Terms

Conventions of standard English, 

spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar.

CVC words. 

C-V-C words are one syllable, three letter words that follow a consonant - vowel - consonant sound pattern. Examples of CVC words are cat, zip, bat, etc. CVC words are used to help pre-readers recognize that individual letter sounds (phoneme sounds) combine to make words.

Decoding (reading). 

(1) Using one or more strategies to identify a printed word and its meaning; (2) Using knowledge of the logic of the written symbol system (especially letter–sound relationships and patterns in alphabetic orthographies) to translate print into speech; encoding involves translating speech into print using this knowledge. 

Encoding (writing).

 Involves translating speech into print using the knowledge of the logic of the written symbol system (especially letter–sound relationships and patterns in alphabetic orthographies).  

High frequency words. 

High-frequency words are the most commonly used words in printed text. 

Phonemic awareness. 

The ability to detect and manipulate the smallest units (i.e., phonemes) of spoken language. For example, recognition that the word cat includes three distinct sounds or phonemes represents phonemic awareness. Individuals with phonemic awareness can blend phonemes to form spoken words, segment spoken words into their constituent phonemes, delete phonemes from spoken words, add phonemes, and substitute phonemes.

Phonics. 

The understanding that there is a pattern and relationship between the sounds (phonemes) of spoken language and the letters and spellings (graphemes) that represent those sounds in written text.

Phoneme. 

The smallest unit of sound in spoken language that makes a difference in communication. The spoken word nose consists of three phonemes: /n/-/o/-/z/.

Base Ten. 

A place value number system in which ten digits, 0 through 9, are used to represent a number and the value of each place is 10 times the value of the place to its right; the value represented by of any digit in the number is the product of that digit and its place value.

Cardinality. 

Denotes how many objects are in a set. For example, the set {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} has cardinality five which is more than the cardinality of {1, 2, 3} which is three.

Fluency (math). 

Computational fluency refers to having efficient and accurate methods for computing. Students exhibit computational fluency when they demonstrate flexibility in the computational methods they choose, understand and can explain these methods, and produce accurate answers efficiently. 

Non-standard unit of measurement. 

Any unit not part of a measurement system (customary or metric) that can be used to measure something. Examples:  paperclips, crayons

Operations. 

Procedures used to combine numbers, expressions, or polynomials into a single result. Examples:  addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponents

Standard unit of measurement. 

A standard unit used to express the size, amount, or degree of something using an instrument or device marked in standard units or by comparing it with an object of known size. Examples: ruler, scale, etc.