Reading Comprehension PRAXIS 5205 Flashcards
Structural / Morphemic Analysis
using meaningful word parts (morphemes) to study a word and determine its meaning
Vocabulary / Vocabulary Development
the ability to effectively know and use words in their listening, speaking, reading, and writing
Tier 2 Words
Academic words that students will encounter frequently and that are used in multiple content areas. Many of these are process words that commonly appear in assessment.
Glossary
a list of important words to know along with their meanings
Denotative Meaning
a literal, dictionary meaning of a word
Connotation
the implied meaning of a word; the feeling a word conveys
Describing a person as “shrewd” may make them feel negatively, even though the definition (sharp-witted, intelligent) is positive.
Suffix
A letter or letters at the end of a root word that changes its meaning
s, es, ed, ing, ly, er, or, ion, tion, able, and ible
Frayer Model
a popular form of semantic mapping which helps students to identify and define unfamiliar concepts and vocabulary
Students place the following information on a chart divided into four sections - the definition of a concept, its essential characteristics, examples and non-examples.
Academic Vocabulary
specialized vocabulary commonly found in an academic setting
Many academic vocabulary words, like “analyze,” “describe,” and “reflect”, are important and relevant across all content areas.
Domain-Specific Vocabulary
words primarily used in a specific content area
ELA: allusion, argumentative, citation, compound/complex
Science: hypothesis, controlled variable, chromosome, mutation
Tier 1 Words
Common words that are already familiar to students when they enter school. These words do not need to be taught in a classroom setting.
Utility (in vocabulary)
the frequency with which a word will be encountered
Vocabulary words with high utlity, are more likely to be remembered by students.
Tier 3 Words
Academic words that are specific to a particular content area or discipline. These are words that would appear, for example, in a subject-specific textbook or in the glossary of an informational text.
Inferential Comprehension
Understanding parts of the written text without it being stated explicitly such as determining cause and effect, drawing conclusions, and making predictions.
What was the cause of the children in the story being locked out of their house?
Analyze (Bloom’s Taxonomy)
Level 4. Connect different ideas
Differentiate, compare, contrast
Evaluate (Bloom’s Taxonomy)
Level 5. Justify a stance
Defend, support, critique
Literal Comprehension
Understanding of the facts in the written text such as stated main idea or specific details.
What were the names of the main character’s parents in the story we just read?
QAR
A reading strategy to complete after completing a text to promote comprehention
Create (Bloom’s Taxonomy)
Level 6. Produce original thoughts or work
Design, author, formulate
Bloom’s Taxonomy
a hierarchy of levels of knowledge; each level has associated verbs teachers can use to start questions
“identify” is at a lower level than “argue” because it requires a lower level of thinking
Organizational Structure
Text structure can include cause/effect, problem/solution, main idea/details, and/or sequence
Students often find problem/solution text structure as more interesting.
Evaluative Comprehension
The ability to analyze text by questioning whether it is fact or opinion, determining if there is faulty reasoning, and explaining how the characters are developed.
Explain why you think this story is factual or an opinion.
Rhetorical Devices
a technique a writer or speaker uses to persuade a reader or listener
alliteration, repetition, anaphora, analogy, emotional language, etc.
Metacognition
the ability to think about one’s own thought process
Schema (when reading)
Background knowledge a reader brings to a text.
Someone who plays baseball can use his experience to understand a biography of Babe Ruth.
Anticipation Guide
a series of statements used to preview and activate prior knowledge before reading a text
Norm-Referenced Tests
Tests that compare an individual’s performance/achievement to a group called the “norm group.”
An IQ test
Instructional Reading Level
A reading level that is challenging for the student but manageable with teacher support. They have difficulty with no more than one out of every ten words.
Reading Intervention
a strategy applied to assist a struggling reader
Reading Interventions can help children overcome reading difficulties and become proficient readers.
Differentiated Instruction
teaching that offers multiple options for learning the material based on different student needs and learning styles
Early Reader (Stage of Reading Development)
Early readers begin understanding that reading from the printed page needs to make sense – both from the pictures and from the print
Learning Objectives
the specific skill or knowledge that the student is expected to master in a lesson
The students will be able to appropriately use a question mark.
Universal Screener
An assessment administered to all students to gather data and form groups, such as intervention groups
Differentiation - Complexity
how difficult the vocabulary, sentence structure and organization is to understand within a text
When assessing the complexity of a task, a teacher should determine if the skill or content be broken down into more simple components.
Performance-Based Assessment
A kind of assessment that requires students to show mastery of specific skills by demonstrating, producing, or performing something
designing and performing experiments, building models, writing poems or shorts stories, and developing portfolios
Emergent Reader (Stage of Reading Development)
when children understand that written language has meaning and gives messages
Frustrational Reading Level
A reading level that is difficult for the student and would require extensive teacher support for student comprehension
Ongoing Assessment
an assessment that guides the pace and content of instruction
Ongoing assessments are used to determine student knowledge and dictate whether the class is prepared to move on to a new skill.
Scaffolding
a method of teaching that involves gradually removing aids when teaching new concepts
When teaching how identify adjectives, a teacher starts with explicit teaching. Then, she leads the class in guided instruction, and repeats or rephrases the necessary information. Next, she prompts the students with questions like “what kind?” and “which one?” Eventually, students identify adjectives independently.
Curriculum-Based Assessments
testing the curriculum being taught
Flexible Grouping
grouping students based on their learning needs or interests
After reviewing the student test results, a teacher can use flexible grouping to organize groups based on students’ areas of weakness.
Informal Reading Inventory
A multi-step reading assessment used to gauge a student’s oral and silent reading abilities
Progress Monitoring
periodic assessments to monitor student growth and evaluate the effectiveness of instruction
The teacher prepared a progress monitoring assessment to see how much each student had improved and learn if his new instructional approach was effective.
Early Fluent / Fluent / Proficient Reader (Stage of Reading Development)
readers recognize many words and can apply phonics and word analysis skills to figure out unfamiliar words
Differentiation - Pacing
how much content is presented and how fast the content is presented
Teachers may need to adjust pacing to allow students time to comprehend difficult text.
Sequential Order
An organizational approach following an orderly progression of events, ideas, or steps
Primary Purpose / Author’s Purpose
why the author wrote a text
Charlie wrote an OpEd for the paper to convince people to stop littering.
Oxymoron
Using contradictory terms in conjunction with each other.
Walking dead or disgustingly delicious
Personification
Giving human traits to inanimate, non-living objects
The stars seemed to dance in the glow of the moon.
Signal Words
words or phrases that show the connection between ideas
To teach text structures, a teacher can have students find signal words within the texts and examine topic sentences that clue the reader to a specific structure.
Idiom
a phrase or expression that does not mean the same as the literal words
“Break a leg” “back to the drawing board” “spill the beans”
Draw Conclusion
To make final comments/summation over what has been read or written.
Textual Evidence
Proof or support of the meaning of what is being read or has been read. This evidence can be a direct quote, transition words in time and space, a statement of purpose, and/or making an argument.
Students had to write down proof of their answer to the questions on the test over the story they just read.
Onomatopoeia
Using words that make the sound of what the text is describing.
The buzzing bee flew into the room.
Symbolism
When an item stands for an idea or larger meaning. Usually used throughout a piece of literature.
dove = peace, red rose = love and romance
Analogy
comparisons between two things, often to drive home a point.
“That’s as useful as rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic”
Simile
Making a comparison of two or more things including the use of the words “like” or “as.”
My brother was as strong as an ox.
Metaphor
a literary device that describes a person, object, or concept by asserting that it is something else, creating a figurative comparison between the two.
Her voice is music to my ears.
Literary Analysis
The careful examination of a text or one element of a text, including theme, plot, characters, or setting, in order to determine why and how the particular text was written.
Claim and Refutation
An organizational approach where the author argues against a statement, fact, or claim.
Order of Importance
An organizational approach where ideas are arranged with the most important claim at the top or bottom
Chronological Order
An organizational approach that follows an orderly progression of events based in time.
Figurative Language
A word or phrase that does not have its normal everyday, literal meaning
hyperbole: I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!
Alliteration
A sentence or phrase in which most of the beginning letters or sounds begin with the same consonant sound.
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Hyperbole
To exaggerate or overstate something that is being described.
Some of my clothes seem as old as the hills.
Moral
Lesson or message to be learned. Common in fables or children’s stories.
Spatial Order
An organizational approach where ideas are arranged related to physical space
Irony
an incongruity between what the reader expects the author to mean and what they actually mean
