A GLOSSARY OF
LITERACY TERMS
AS USED IN CONTEMPORARY EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O |P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
A
 top
acronym 
 a word formed from the initial letters of words in a phrase, as in International Reading Association (IRA)
action research
 research by teachers about their own practice in the classroom (also known as teacher-as-researcher)
affixes

word parts that are "fixed to" either the beginnings of words (prefixes) or the ending of words (suffixes) and change the meaning or function of a root or stem to which it is attached. The word disrespectful has two affixes, a prefix (dis-) and a suffix (-ful).
after reading activities

activities that encourage reflection on ideas, themes, and issues encountered in the book; facilitate analysis and synthesis of ideas, promote personal responses and connections to ideas, themes, and issues encountered in the book; extend comprehension beyond the immediate text; and facilitate organization of information
age-equivalent scores

In a norm-referenced assessment, individual student's scores are reported relative to those of the norming population. This can be done in a variety of ways, but one way is to report the average age of people who received the same score as the individual child. Thus, an individual child's score is described as being the same as students that are younger, the same age, or older than that student (e.g. A 9-year old student may receive the same score that an average 13-year old student does, suggesting that this student is quite advanced).
alliteration

the repetition of initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables
alphabetic principle
 the concept that speech can be turned into print, print can be turned into speech, and letters represent sounds in language
analogy

a comparison of certain similarities between things that are otherwise unlike (e.g., educators commonly use analogies to introduce children to something new, comparing the new material to something known and understood to elicit associations)
analogy-based phonics

approach in which children are taught to use parts of words they have already learned to read and decode words they don't know. They apply this strategy when the words share similar parts in their spellings, for example, reading "screen" by analogy to "green." Children may be taught a large set of key words for use in reading new words
analysis
 a process of separating a whole into its component parts
analytic approach to teaching reading
 begins with a word, analyzes it by breaking it down into its parts. In this approach, children are taught to use parts of words they have already learned to read and decode words they don't know. They apply this strategy when the words share similar parts in their spellings, for example, reading "screen" by analogy to "green." Children may be taught a large set of key words for use in reading new words (e.g., a discussion may occur around how these wordsare alike: pat, park, push, pen)
anecdotal records
 brief notes recording observation of actual verbal and/or nonverbal behaviors. These may be notes of social, emotional, and /or intellectual behaviors as the child interacts with the learning environment. Focus on learners' achievements, progress, effort, and ongoing learning goals serve as reminders or notes to reflect on in order to plan instruction.
anticipation guide
 a prediction strategy used for before reading. The teacher provides a series of statements, some true, some false, from what will be read. Students discuss these prior to reading and decide whether they agree or disagree with the statements. Anticipation Guides provide a connection to prior knowledge, engage students with the topic, and encourage them to explore their own thoughts and opinions
approach

a way or method of teaching reading (e.g., analytic, eclectic, global, phonic, sight word, syllable, synthetic, etc.)
approximate spelling
 (aka. temporary spelling) an emergent writer's attempt to spell a word phonetically when the correct spelling is unknown; this type of spelling is directly related to the writer's knowledge and understanding of how words are spelled, also known as Invented Spelling or Temporary Spelling
articulation
 (in speech) the formation of speech sounds; the quality and clarity of speech sound production
assessment
 assessment the process of collecting information for the purposes of informing teacher and learner decision-making
assessment data
 information gathered through assessments in order to better understand strengths and needs of a student and guide instruction
at-risk
 a term used to describe children who have difficulties in learning because of one or more factors: language deficits, learning disabilities, or below-average intelligences
attention span
 the length of time an individual can concentrate on something without being distracted or losing interest
auditory discrimination
 recognizing likenesses and differences in speech sounds
auditory memory
 capacity to recall material (sounds, words, music) that one has heard
auditory processing
 the ability to use the ear and brain to make sense of what is heard
auditory sequential memory
 the ability to recall material that was heard in its correct order (a complete word, sentence or series of instructions
authentic assessment development and use of tests that reflect real learning goals and instructional practices; authentic reading and writing tasks in an assessment context engaging learners in contextualized and purposeful tasks replicating actual challenges facing readers and writers
author's chair

a special chair in which student's feel special to sit in while reading aloud or reading their own writing to others
author's craft

analysis of what an author does to make his/her writing effective (e.g., figurative language, dialogue, sentence variety, text forms, and features, plot, characterization, originality, surprises, etc.)
automaticity
a general term that refers to any skilled and complex behavior that can be performed rather easily with little attention, effort, or conscious awareness. These skills become automatic after extended periods of training. Examples of automatic skills include driving a car through traffic while listening to the radio, sight-reading music for the piano, and reading orally with comprehension. 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.
B
 top
background knowledge
 the knowledge the reader brings to the text through experience, instruction, or prior reading.
basal reading program
  a collection of student text, teacher's manuals, and supplemental materials for developmental reading and sometimes writing instruction.
baseline assessment
 an evaluation done before the commencement of a project so that learning growth can be accurately measured
basic print concepts
 knowledge of fundamental conventions about print (e.g., that printed words on a page are separated by spaces and that words are read from left to right)
basic skills
 a general term referring primarily to cognitive and language-related skills such as speaking, listening, reading, writing and mathematics, which are needed for many school learning tasks
before reading activities
 activate and build background knowledge on topics or concepts addressed in the book; arouse student's curiosity, motivating them to read; promote personal responses to text by students; provide a forum for eliciting students' feelings and reactions to ideas and issues suggested by a reading selection before interacting with those ideas in the text; and prompt students to examine their own beliefs
bilingual education

broad term denoting programs for students with limited or no proficiency in the language of instruction (English in the U.S.). Programs generally use students' home language for academic and language arts instruction while students are acquiring proficiency in English for academic purposes. In some programs, home language use is limited to 2 or 3 years and ultimately discontinued; in other programs, home language is used for extended periods with the goal of promoting proficiency in both languages
benchmark
 minimum acceptable criteria that measures student progress in literacy development and establishes a foundation for continuing success in the next level of learning
benchmark book
  a leveled book used for a reading running record assessment
best practices
 (a.k.a. promising practices) promotes active learning, high self-esteem and equal opportunity for all learners to be successful
blend
 to combine the sounds represented by two or more letters to pronounce a word (e.g., /c/ /a/ /t/ can be blended to form the word cat)
Bloom's Taxonomy
 six levels within the cognitive domain identified by Benjamin Bloom: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation
book talk
 a discussion of one or more books by a teacher, librarian, or student to introduce books and to entice others to read them
bottom-up reading model
 emphasizes the written or printed text; denotes that reading is driven by a process that results in meaning (reading is driven by text); and proceeds from part to whole) in instruction
brainstorm
 a learning technique involving open group discussion intended to expand the range of available ideas used to solve a problem or clarify a concept
C
 top
carousel
a questioning strategy used to generate ideas in response to different questions. Working in cooperative groups, each group is given a question. The group then generates responses in their groups. Students rotate from group to group, adding new responses after reading the existing ones from other groups. All ideas are shared at the end of the rotation.
checklist a list of activities, behaviors, or steps that an observer uses to guide the assessment of a student performance; the observer can be a teacher, the student (self-evaluation), or another student (peer evaluation)
chunk
 or word family is a group of words sharing a common phonic element, as /it/ spelled ite in bite, kite, despite
closed syllable
  a syllable ending with one or more consonants, as in cat, sand
closed vowel

 a vowel in a syllable or morpheme that precedes one or more consonants, as /a/ in cat, sand
cloze procedure
 a method of assessment or an instructional strategy to develop reading or listening comprehension wherein a word is eliminated from a passage (usually every 5th or 7th word) and the child's task is to use the context of the passage to fill in the blank with an appropriate word. Different cloze tasks focus on different skills; a cloze assessment or instructional strategy can be used to test or develop reading comprehension, language comprehension, vocabulary, syntax, and semantics. When the child is given options (multiple choice) from which to select the appropriate word for each blank, the assessment is typically described as a "modified cloze task."
cluster
 a linguistic sequence of sounds as the consonant cluster /sp/ in spell
cognition
 the process or result of recognizing, interpreting, judging, and reasoning: knowing
compound words
  a combination of two or more words that function as a single unit of meaning
comprehension
 accurately understanding what is written or said
comprehension strategies

conscious plans or sets of steps that good readers use to make sense of text.
comprehension strategy instruction
 the explicit teaching of techniques that are particularly effective for comprehension strategy instruction. The steps of explicit instruction include direct explanation, teacher modeling ("think aloud"), guided practice, and application: 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).
concept
 idea in a text
concepts about print (developed by Marie Clay, New Zealand educator) refers to what emergent readers need to understand about how printed language works and how it represents language. Successful beginning readers develop concepts about print at an early age, building on emergent literacy that starts before formal schooling:

Print carries a message. Even when a child "play reads" text using pictures and memory, the child demonstrates an understanding of this concept, even if she cannot read the words, or reads them backwards or front to back.

Books are organized, with a cover, title, and author, and reading in English flows in a particular and consistent direction, left to right and top to bottom. When young students successfully point to or otherwise track the print as someone reads aloud, they demonstrate their understanding of orientation and directionality.

Printed language consists of letters, words, and sentences. The emergent reader gradually learns to distinguish between these forms, learns the concepts of "beginning" and "end," and understands punctuation that marks text (e.g., period, comma, and question mark).

Recognition of matching or upper- and lower-case letters, as well as some common spelling sequences, are slightly more complex concepts of print mastered by more experienced beginning readers.

Concepts about print can be taught using shared reading of Big Books, enlarged charts and poems, or other kinds of engaging texts. It can also be taught through interactive writing, language experience dictations, or exploring print in the classroom environment.
concept map
 one example of a graphic organizer in which students graphically represent the main idea and the details of a reading selection. It involves organizing information into words or pictures and can be used to organize information before reading to bring out background knowledge, during reading to monitor comprehension, and after reading to recheck comprehension and text organization
considerate text 
 text that the writer has made easily comprehensible through clarity of organization, appropriate vocabulary, and supplemental explanatory features
consonant digraph
  a combination of two constant letters representing a single speech sound, as gn for /n/ in gnat or gh for /f/ in rough.
consonants
the speech sounds made by the following letters or blend of letters: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, z, sometimes y
consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC)
 one of the most common sequences of sounds in syllables, as in mat, bed, log
content reading
 reading for information
context
 the sounds, words, or phrases adjacent to a spoken or written language unit
context clues
 sources of information outside of words that readers may use to predict the identities and meanings of unknown words. Good readers use this strategy during reading to help them understand unfamiliar vocabulary. Students determine the meaning of the new word by looking at the words around it. Teachers can facilitate the process by introducing students to important new words before reading. Research shows that even a brief amount of vocabulary instruction greatly improves students' understanding of new words in context.
contraction
the shortening of a written or spoken expression by the omission of one or more letters or sounds, as can't for can not
conventional spelling
 standardized, accurate, and correct spelling
cooperative learning
 students work together on clearly defined tasks with positive interdependence, individual accountability, processing, and interpersonal skills is used successfully to teach comprehension strategies in content-areas (Johnson and Johnson)
criterion-referenced assessment
 a type of assessment in which a child's score is compared against a predetermined criterion score to determine if the child is performing acceptably or unacceptably. Rather than comparing the child's performance against the performance of her peers (as would be the case with a norm-referenced assessment), the criterion or "acceptable score" is set by the author of the assessment. Each child's score, then, is either above or below the criterion score.
critical literacy
 "the use of language in all of its forms, as thinking, solving problems, communicating" (Venezky, 1994)
cubing
a writing strategy that prompts students to "free write" about a given subject or object from six different perspectives. Students are seated in small groups, and each group has a cube with a different verb written on each face: describe, compare, associate, analyze, apply, and argue for or against. The teacher presents a specific idea or object as the focus and directs the groups to position the cube so that DESCRIBE is on top. All students then free write for a few minutes to describe the object. When the time is up, students read what they have written to each other. The same steps are followed for each perspective.
cueing system sources of information readers use when they read: meaning, syntax, and sound/letter relationships (phonological/visual)
D
 top
DEAR
 Drop Everything And Read time is a part of the classroom day used for independent reading
decodable texts
 (books and stories, digital text) containing a high proportion of word patterns that children have learned how to decode (they do not contain irregular words and are usually designed to reinforce certain "rules" that have previously been taught in phonics lessons)
decoding
 using knowledge of the conventions of spelling-sound relationships and knowledge about pronunciation of irregular words to derive a pronunciation of written words
diagnostic assessment
 results that provide an analysis of student strengths and areas of reading improvement that are used in developing intervention strategies
dialect

a variant of a language characterized by differences in pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary, relative to the standard form of the language
dialogue journals

a notebook kept between the teacher and student and/or family where constant communication is kept in writing
digraph

a group of two successive letters whose phonetic value is a single sound (e.g., EA in BREAD, CH in CHAT, or NG in SING)
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., oy in TOY or ou in OUT)
direct instruction
instruction in which a teacher clearly defines and teaches a concept, guides students through its application, and arranges for extended guided practice of that concept until mastery is achieved
DRTA
Directed Reading-Thinking Activity
 a strategy especially effective for nonfiction. The students identify problems or questions and predict answers. They adjust rate to appropriate level, read passage, and then check information against their predictions or hypotheses
direct vocabulary learning

when students learn vocabulary through explicit instruction in both the meanings of individual words and word-learning strategies
disaggregated data
test results are sorted into groups of students who are economically disadvantaged, from racial and ethnic minority groups, have disabilities, or have limited English fluency. This practice allows parents and teachers to see more than just the average score for their child's school by showing them how each student group is performing.
discourse
a conversation; the act or result of making a formal written or spoken presentation on a subject; in linguistics, any form of oral or written communication more extensive than a sentence
discrimination
the process of detecting differences among stimuli
diversity
differences among groups of people and individuals based on ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, gender, exceptionalities, language, religion, sexual orientation, and geographic area
dual language immersion
 two-way immersion bilingual programs for language majority and language minority students in the same classes. Provides language arts and academic instruction through the medium of each group's home language for at least 50% of the elementary grades and up to 90% during the primary grades. English is used for academic instruction for both groups of students for at least 50% of the time by the end of elementary school. Goals are bilingual proficiency and high academic achievement and cross-cultural understanding.
duet reading
 an activity where a skilled reader sits next to a learner and the two read a text simultaneously
"during reading" activities
 enhance the interactions between the students and the text; allow students to respond personally to works of literature and to explore and compare their responses to those of others; facilitate students' comprehension; focus students' attention on and reaction to particular themes, issues, ideas, events, and characters; call students' attention to effective uses of language; and allow students to identify what they find most meaningful in a reading selection
dynamic assessment

assessment related to diagnostic teaching; assessment and evaluation clearly linked to teaching and often occurring as part of the check-reflect-act cycle during teaching; informs, rather than drives teaching
dysfluent

reading reading characterized by hesitation, the opposite of fluency
dyslexia

a developmental reading disability, presumably congenital and hereditary that may vary in degree from mild to severe
E
 top
early literacy
the stage when readers are in full control of early reading strategies and can read appropriately selected texts independently once the teacher has introduced them. Teachers are concerned with helping readers more fully develop their ability to search, check, and use multiple sources of information
echo reading
a strategy to increase fluency, teach sight words, or improve phrasing and expression in which a skilled reader reads a text, a sentence, a paragraph, one line at a time as the learner tracks the words. The learner then echoes or imitates the skilled reader
ELL - English language learner
 student whose first language is not English and/or who either lacks proficiency in English or has beginning level proficiency in English
emergent literacy
a range of activities and behaviors related to written language including those undertaken by very young children who depend on the cooperation of others; reading and writing related activities and behavior that change over time culminating in conventional literacy during middle childhood. It includes awareness of print, relationship of print to speech, text structure, phonological awareness, and letter naming and writing (e.g., the child '"reads" a familiar book from memory, but does not read in the conventional sense; and the child "writes" a message using scribbles, pictures, or letter-like forms , but does not write in the conventional sense). Readers use pictures to support meaning and rely on language as a strong cueing system. With emergent literacy readers, teachers often move from shared to guided reading, focusing on helping children independently read texts that are easy for them and that they have read before.
encode
to change a message into symbols as encode oral language into the symbols of written language, as in writing
engagement
the emotional involvement of the reader in the process of responding to the content of reading, as occurs in a total absorption in a story or play
environmental print
print and other graphic symbols, in addition to books, that are found in the physical environment, such as street signs, billboards, TV commercials, building signs, etc.
evaluation
 examination and reflection of information gathered from assessment, leading to a judgment
explicit
 fully or clearly expressed, not merely implied; definite
expository
non-fiction text written to explain and convey information about a specific topic
expressive language skills
speaking and writing
extrinsic phonics
phonics taught as a supplemental learning aid rather than as an integral part of the program of reading instruction, often in separate workbooks during special time periods
F
 top
fable
a story that usually involves animals with human traits and teaches a moral
family literacy
the different ways in which family members initiate and use literacy in their daily lives. Family literacy programs generally emphasize adult literacy skills, early reading activities, parent-child activity times, and parenting skills.
fantasy
fiction that contains unrealistic or unworldly elements
fiction
imaginative narrative in any form of presentation that is designed to entertain, as distinguished from that which is designed primarily to explain, argue, or merely describe; specifically, a type of literature, especially prose, as novels and short stories, but also including plays and narrative poetry
final blends

blends of two- or three-letter consonants which make only one sound. These include -ng, -nk, -sh, -ch, and –tch
fix-up strategies
problem-solving ways that proficient readers use to monitor their comprehension and repair confusion when comprehension breaks down. They select appropriate strategies from language systems (e.g., semantic, syntactic, graphophonic) to best solve a given problem in a given reading situation (e.g., skip ahead or reread, stop and think about what has already been read, visualize)
fluency
the ability to read a text accurately, quickly, and with proper expression and comprehension. Because fluent readers do not have to concentrate on decoding words, they can focus their attention on what the text means
free write
a writing exercise used for brainstorming and to develop writing fluency. Students write non-stop for five to ten minutes, letting their ideas go without concern for revision or editing or controlling the words
frustration reading level
level at which a child's reading skills break down; fluency disappears, errors in word recognition are numerous, comprehension is faulty, recall is sketchy, and signs of emotional tension and discomfort become evident; the level at which reading material is too difficult for children to read and comprehend
G
 top
genre
a category used to classify literacy works, usually by form, technique, or content (e.g., poetry, biography, mystery, etc.)
grade equivalent scores
In a norm-referenced assessment, individual student's scores are reported relative to those of the norming population. This can be done in a variety of ways, but one way is to report the average grade of students who received the same score as the individual child. Thus, an individual child's score is described as being the same as students that are in higher, the same, or lower grades than that student (e.g. a student in 2nd grade may earn the same score that an average forth grade student does, suggesting that this student is quite advanced)
grammar
a set of statements saying how a language works
grapheme
a unit (a letter or letters) of a writing system that represents one phoneme (sound)
graphic awareness
 the ability to see letters and associate meaning with them
graphic organizers
visual representations for thinking and learning before, during, or after reading. They are effective for making abstract concepts more concrete, organizing and categorizing information, and depicting relationships among ideas, such as eliciting prior knowledge, demonstrating a sequence of events, and comparing and contrasting. Learners connect ideas and see relationships between different pieces of information, expanding their knowledge by understanding the material in their own way.
guided reading
the teacher guides small groups of students in reading short, carefully chosen texts in order to build independence, fluency, comprehension skills, and problem-solving strategies. The teacher often begins by introducing the text and modeling a particular strategy. Then students read to themselves in quiet voices as the teacher listens in, noting strategies and obstacles, and cueing individual students as needed. Students then discuss content, and share problem-solving strategies. Guided-reading materials usually become increasingly challenging and are often read more than once. The teacher regularly observes and assesses students' changing needs, and adjusts groupings accordingly. Guided reading allows a teacher to provide different levels of support, depending on the needs of the students
guided practice
the step in a lesson, preceding independent learning, in which the teacher observes children self-monitoring or during which the teacher monitors children's learning
H
 top
high-frequency word
a word that appears many more times than others in ordinary reading material (e.g., as, in, of, the); usually taught as a whole (sight) word and are effectively learned through writing
homonym
a word which is spelled and pronounced identically to another word, but which has a different meaning (e.g., a swimming POOL versus a POOL table)
I
 top
idiom
a phrase, construction, or expression that is understood in a given language. This expression has a meaning that differs from typical syntactic patterns or that differs from the literal meaning of its parts taken together. Some examples of idiomatic expressions would include, "to kick the bucket" means "to die," or "to throw in the towel" means "to give up" or "to stop"
independent reading level
the highest level at which a child can read easily and fluently, without assistance, and with few errors in word recognition, independently solving words while reading for meaning. Although criteria vary, 95% to 100% word-identification accuracy and 80% comprehension are typical standards for judging whether a student is reading at this level.
Informal Reading Inventory (IRI)
originally intended to be a quick check of whether a reading selection was too easy, too difficult, or appropriate for use with an individual student; has become more formalized to define a child's reading level and to justify placement decisions
instructional reading level
the level at which children read with some classroom instruction and teacher support, and approach new texts with some independence. Although criteria vary, 95% word-identification accuracy and 60% to 70% comprehension are typical standards for judging whether a student is reading at this level.
interview
a one-on-one meeting in which the teacher can ask a student questions in order to profile that student's strategies, metacognitive awareness, habits, likes, dislikes, and factors influencing his/her literacy behaviors
inventive spelling
children's use of their knowledge of letter-sound relationships, phonemic awareness, and understanding of the alphabetic principle to spell unknown words, even if the resulting word is not actually spelled correctly; sometimes called phonetic spelling, temporary spelling, or creative spelling
inventory
student interview or survey form used to guide the assessment and evaluation of student interests, attitudes, and background knowledge
J
 top
jigsaw
a strategy where text is divided among individual or paired readers. Each person or pair then reports the information learned from their section to the rest of the group
journals
There are many kinds of journals, which have different purposes for recording (e.g., writing notebooks for collecting writing ideas, personal journals for personal thoughts, reflective journals to reflect on learning or new ideas, response journals for responding to something that has been read or heard).
K top
key word strategy
can be used "before reading" to focus attention, activate prior knowledge, arouse curiosity, and set purposes for learning. From the text, the teacher or designated child selects several words or numbers that relate to the topic and that can be associated with one another in different ways. These are shown to the students and they are asked to speculate on how the words are related to the topic. Students form hypotheses, explain their reasoning, and justify their thinking, then read to inform, refute, or revise their hypotheses
KWL
a three-column chart. The first column is what is known, the second is what do you want to find out, and the third is what you have learned after the reading or investigation
L
 top
leveled books
a system of defining the reading level of a book determined by the number of words on a page, the length of the sentences, and the repetition of words
list-group-label
 strategy where students begin with an array or words or phrases. These are then placed into groups that have like-characteristics. Finally, a label is given to each group
listening comprehension
understanding speech. Listening comprehension, as with reading comprehension, can be described in "levels" -- lower levels of listening comprehension would include understanding only the facts explicitly stated in a spoken passage that has very simple syntax and uncomplicated vocabulary. Advanced levels of listening comprehension would include implicit understanding and drawing inferences from spoken passages that feature more complicated syntax and more advanced vocabulary.
listening vocabulary
the number of words a person understands when they are heard in speech
literacy
most dictionaries define literacy as the ability to read and write. Today the definition has been expanded. Many now consider literacy to be the ability to locate, evaluate, use, and communicate using a wide range of resources including text, visual, audio, and video sources.
literacy centers
places in the classroom where students engage in independent reading and writing activities
literature circles
an approach where small groups of students read different books frequently on the same topic or theme (similar to a book club)
long vowel
the vowel sounds in English that are also the names of the alphabet letters a, e, i, o, u, as /-/ in halo, /-/ in demon, /-/ in bind, / - / in told, / - / in unit
M
 top
mapping
instructional activities that are designed to show the relationships among ideas or topics in text
Matthew effect
borrowed from a line in the Bible's Book of Matthew -- the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. In reading, this describes the difference between good readers and poor readers -- while good readers gain new skills very rapidly, and quickly move from "learning to read" to "reading to learn," poor readers become increasingly frustrated with the act of reading, and try to avoid reading when possible. The gap is relatively narrow when children are young, but rapidly widens as children grow older.
metacognition
the awareness individuals have of their own mental processes and the subsequent ability to monitor, regulate, and direct themselves to a desired end. A student demonstrates metacognition if he/she can articulate what strategies he/she used to read and understand a text. Metacognition helps readers monitor and control their comprehension on an ongoing basis and adjust their reading strategies to maximize comprehension
metaphor
a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is used in place of a more literal description (e.g., rather than saying somebody is happy, one might say that person is "on cloud nine" or "walking on air")
miscue

coined by Ken Goodman in the mid 1960s, a miscue is any departure from the text when reading orally. Use of miscue instead of "error" suggests that mistakes are not random, but occur when the reader tries to use different strategies to make sense of text, and emphasizes that not all errors are equal -- some errors represent more highly developed reading skills than others. Miscues can be analyzed to suggest what strategies the reader is using or lacking, and what kinds of additional instruction might be helpful
monitoring and correcting

basic strategies that readers use to move through a text, picking up essential information in a smooth and fluent way (sustaining their reading). These basic strategies include ways to solve words, check on (monitor) and correct reading, maintain fluency, anticipate and locate information, and vary/adjust reading rate.
morpheme

the smallest meaningful unit of speech. A morpheme can be a free form (as in PIN) or a bound form ( -S in PINS), that contains no smaller meaningful parts. The morpheme is a sub-component of vocabulary; many words only have one morpheme, but some, such as compound words or words with affixes, have more than one.
morphology

an examination of the morphemic structure of words; an appreciation of the fact that words with common roots share common meanings, and that affixes change words in predictable and consistent ways.
miscue analysis
a way of closely observing, recording, and analyzing oral reading behaviors to assess how the reader is using specific cueing strategies, like the use of syntax, semantic information, and graphophonics. The teacher uses a specific code to record actual reading. Miscue analysis is usually done with an unfamiliar, long text, followed by a taped retelling. Scoring and analysis is more complex than with a running record, and is usually done at a later time. While running records are most often used with beginning readers, miscue analysis can be used for more advanced readers
N
 top
narrative text conveys a story, relates events or dialog. It is contrasted with expository text.
new literacies
of the Internet

include the skills, strategies, and dispositions necessary to successfully use and adapt to the rapidly changing information and communication technologies and contexts that continuously emerge in our world and influence all areas of our personal and professional lives. These new literacies allow us to use the Internet and other ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) to identify important questions, navigate to locate information, critically evaluate the usefulness of that information, synthesize information to solve problems, and communicate the solutions to others.

source: Leu, D.J., Leu, D.D. & Coiro, J., "Teaching with the Internet K-12: New Literacies for New Times". Downloaded May 20, 2005. >http://www.sp.uconn.edu/%7Edjleu/fourth/glossary.html<
nonfiction
prose designed primarily to explain, argue, or describe rather than to entertain; specifically, a type of prose other than fiction but including biography and autobiography
norm-referenced test
a type of assessment that allows an individual child's score to be compared against the scores of other children who have previously taken the same assessment. With a norm-referenced assessment/test, the child's raw score can be converted into a comparative score such as a percentile rank or a stanine. Norm-referenced tests are contrasted with criterion-referenced assessments and rely heavily on short passages and multiple-choice items.
O
 top
observation
 the act of carefully watching a child's literacy activities, often recording them for future instruction
observational assessment
a process during which the teacher systematically observes and records information about the child's level of development and/or knowledge, skills, and attitudes in order to make a determination about what has been learned, improve teaching, and support children's progress. A checklist or notes are often used to record what has been observed.
onomatopoeia
the formation of a word by imitating the natural sound associated with the object or action. (e.g., the "crack" of the bat, or the "twang" of the guitar strings)
onset and rime
most words and many syllables can be separated into onsets (the initial consonant sound such as /c/ in cat) and rimes or phonograms (the vowel and letters which follow, such as /-at/). Whole words can be separated into onsets and rimes, such as "/f/ /-or/," as can syllables, such as /"tr/ /-ans/ /f/ /-orm/. Some words and syllables have only rimes, such as "/on/" or "/-ing/".
on-the-run assessment
the everyday, quick assessment, within the context of teaching, a teacher makes during a check-reflect-act cycle in order to see whether or not students are making progress and to determine which instructional options to follow
open syllable
a syllable ending in a vowel sound rather than a consonant sound, as /ba/ and /be/ in baby
open vowel
a vowel sound made with relatively open lips and jaw and with the tongue away from the palate, as /a/ in hat, or /o/ in hot
orthography
a complete writing system for a language or languages. Orthographies include the representation of word boundaries, stops and pauses in speech, and tonal inflections. A deep orthography is a writing system that does not have consistent or one-to-one correspondence between the phonemes in speech and the written code. English is an example of a deep orthography -- no phoneme is consistently represented by the same letter in all words, and only one letter (the letter v) consistently corresponds to a specific phoneme. Examples of shallow orthographies (orthography which represents each phoneme with a unique grapheme or letter) would include Spanish and Finnish.
P
 top
paired reading
 collaborative "during reading" strategy where one student reads aloud and the other listens and then summarizes what he or she heard as the main ideas
paraeducators
school employees whose responsibilities are instructional or who deliver other services to students. Paraeducators work under the supervision of teachers or other professional personnel who have the ultimate responsibility for educational programs (paraprofessionals)
pedagogy
teaching; assisting students through interaction and activity in the ongoing academic and social events of the classroom
peer assessment
assessment in which one student assesses another's work and/or gives feedback
performance-based assessments
assessments that evaluate students' reading and writing abilities by requiring demonstration or exhibition of a concept or skill based on selected criteria to judge the quality of the performance. Students can demonstrate their abilities and understanding through writing, oral reports, dramatizing, simulations, products or projects, and behaviors.
phoneme
the smallest units of sound that change the meanings of spoken words. For example, if you change the first phoneme in bat from /b/ to /p/, the word bat changes to pat. English has about 41-44 phonemes. A few words, such as a or oh, have only one phoneme. Most words have more than one phoneme. The word if has two phonemes /i/ and /f/.
phoneme awareness
a subset of phonological awareness; the ability to notice, think about, and work with the individual sounds in spoken words, understanding that phonemes are rearranged and substituted to create new words. An example of how beginning readers show us they have phonemic awareness is combining or blending the separate sounds of a word to say the word ("/c/ /a/ /t/ - cat.")
phonics
a form of instruction to cultivate the understanding and use of the alphabetic principle, that there is a predictable relationship between phonemes (the sounds in spoken language) and graphemes, the letters that represent those sounds in written language and that this information can be used to read or decode words
phonological awareness
a range of understandings related to the sounds language (words and word parts, including identifying and manipulating larger parts of spoken language such as words, syllables, and onsets and rimes). It also includes phonemic awareness (see above) as well as other aspects of spoken language such as rhyming and syllabication.
phonology
the study of speech structure in language that includes both the patterns of basic speech units (phonemes) and the implied rules of pronunciation; it refers to the way sounds of the language operate
polyphone
 a word which is spelled the same as another word, but which sounds different when pronounced. (e.g., you can WIND a watch, and the WIND blows hard)
portfolio
 a process in which students select representative samples of their reading and writing and develop ongoing collections
predictable stories/books
 the quality of a narrative that enables the reader to foretell how it will develop and end; patterned stories; books written with repeated phrases (e.g., I see a cow. I see a chick)
prediction strategy
the person's use of knowledge about language and the context in which it occurs to anticipate what is coming in writing or speech, as if one reads prag- at the end of a line, one prediction strategy might to be expect the word pragmatic
prefix
syllable or group of syllables attached to the beginning of a word, root, or stem so as to alter or modify its meaning or to form a new word (e.g., re- in reprint)
pre-rereading
1. activities designed to develop needed attitudes and skills before formal instruction in reading. 2. activities engaged in immediately before the reading act, as giving the background of a story or having students identify purposes for reading.
pre-service
refers to students being educated to teach; teachers in training. Often used in the context of professional development: pre-service teacher training
previewing
"before reading" strategy that involves looking at text features: illustrations, titles, headings, tables, etc. to help understand the reading task and set a purpose for reading
primary language
the first language learned, generally the language spoken at home
print-rich environment
refers to classroom displays of written language -- both teacher-made, student-generated, and published materials -- like books, charts, students' work journals, and stories. A print rich-environment helps students acquire "concepts about print" as they learn how print is used. Students can "read the room." For example, the calendar, lunch menu, list of classroom jobs, or the morning message all emphasize that print carries meaning. Students can refer to print displays to help their reading and spelling