STR Flashcards
Interest survey
a set of questions given by a teacher to determine what books the students are interested in
Retell
a comprehension strategy in which students retell what they read or listened to to demonstrate their comprehension of the most important parts
Genre
the different forms of texts, including folktales, poetry, historical fiction, memoirs, etc.
Independent reading
reading done independent of the teacher that can be either assigned or student choice
Phoneme
the smallest individual sounds in a word
Dysgraphia
is a language-based disorder in which students struggle with the mechanics of writing; results in impaired or illegible handwriting
messy handwriting, poor letter formation, improper size or spacing are the main signs of dysgraphia
Speed
the pace at which a reader reads, measuring in words per minute (WPM)
scaffolding
a method of teaching that involves gradually removing aids when teaching new concepts
Ex: start with explicit teacher, then lead class in guided instruction, repeating or rephrasing as necessary, then prompt students with questions, and then students work individually
Reading Comprehension
the ability to read a text and understand its meaning
Includes: fluency (accuracy, prosody, speed), vocabulary, background knowledge (schema) and skills (literal, evaluative, inferential)
Reading fluency
reading with appropriate speed, accuracy and prosody
Guided reading
reading done by students with teacher support; done within the framework of a lesson and often in small group
Print concepts
the general rules governing text such as reading front to back, top to bottom, left to right, etc.
Syllable Awareness
the ability to hear individual syllables of words; includes syllabication and syllable segmentation
Learning objectives
the specific skill or knowledge that the student sis expected to master in a lesson
Mentor text
Books or other pieces of literature that are revisited during the school year for different purposes in literacy instruction
Asset Approach (aka Strength-based approach)
an educational approach which builds learning around a student’s strengths and existing knowledge rather than focusing on the skills they lack
teachers have to know students’ academic assets to be able to build on those strengths
differentiated instruction
teaching that offers multiple options for learning material based on different student needs and learning styles
Syntax
rules that govern the construction of words in order to make phrases, clauses and sentences
Phonemic awareness
a subject of phonological awareness, it is the ability to hear, identify and re-create individual sounds in spoken words
awareness progresses from simple to complex:
isolation
blending
segmentation
addition
deletion
substitution
Phonological awareness
the understanding and ability to hear individual words, syllables and sounds in language
includes word identification, rhyming, alliterating; phonemic awareness, syllabication and onset-rime
Prosody
ability to convey expression using correct emphasis, punctuation and tone when reading aloud
Literature circles
strategy in which teacher organizes students into small groups to discuss common text
Morphology
the study of forms of words, including affixes, roots, stems and parts of speech
Ongoing assessment
used to determine student knowledge and guides the pace and content of instruction
Alphabetic knowledge
knowledge of the written letters and their names
Accuracy
ability to read and pronounce words correctly
autonomy
student’s ability to self-govern or self-motivate
Intrinsic motivation
drawing motivation from the learning process itself
Pacing differentiation
teachers may needs to adjust pacing to allow students time to comprehend difficult text
Dyslexia
disorder characterized by difficulty in learning to read, write or spell despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence and sociocultural opportunity
extrinsic motivation
motivation comes from outside the student
Orthography
spelling patterns of language
Reading intervention
a strategy applied to help a struggling reader to overcome reading difficulties and become proficient readers
competence
student’s desire to perform
relatedness
student’s connection to others
Alphabetic principle
understanding that there is a relationship between the sounds of spoken language and the written letters
Deficit-based approach
a traditional educational approach which focuses on strengthening a student’s weak areas; teachers try to identify problems and work to fix them
Background knowledge
aka schema; information or experience that student has prior to learning; when students connect their background knowledge to texts they read, it aids their comprehension
Complexity differentiation
breaking down a complex task into more simple components to make it more understandable to students
Flexible grouping
grouping students based on their learning needs or interests
Response to Intervention (RTI)
the process to monitor and measure student progress in the general education curriculum after instructional intervention is provided; looks like small group pull-out, tutoring
Reading fluency
Takes into account accuracy, prosody, and speed
Entry-level assessment
an assessment at the beginning of instruction to determine current skill level and allows teacher to adjust instruction accordingly
504 plan
the accommodations provided to a student who has an impairment that significantly impacts their life
Phonemic awareness
a part of phonological awareness that is the ability to hear the individual sounds in spoken words
moves from simple to complex: isolation, blending, segmentation, addition, deletion, substitution
Ongoing curriculum-based assessments
used to track student progress throughout instruction and to assess the effectiveness of an instructional plan
Miscue
incorrect guess of a word when reading
substitution-when the reader replaces the word with a different word
insertion-when the reader adds a word or group of words to the text
omission-when the reader skips over a word or group of words
pause-when the reader stops briefly either before or in the middle of a word
repetition-when the reader repeats a words or group of words in the text (student stumbles on words and goes back to the beginning to restart)
self-correction-when the reader recognizes and correct an error
assessment
a tool used to evaluate students growth and determine whether educational goals are being met
can be formal or informal; formative or summative
assessments should be congruent, valid and reliable
Phonics
aka graphophonemic principle; using the relationship between symbols (letters and words) and their corresponding sounds to read and write
curriculum modification
changes to the curriculum to allow a student to access material at their level (changes what they learn)
Accommodation (IEP)
conditions listed on student’s IEP that teachers must meet or a method they must use to hep a student succeed in the classroom
formative assessments
assessments for learning; assesses student progress and informs instruction; usually given mid-instruction
summative assessments
assessments of student learning; assessed what students do and don’t know; generally formal and include state assessments, district benchmarks, end-of-unit tests
Frustrational reading level
a reading level that is too difficult for the students and would require extensive teacher support for student comprehension
Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
a place created by a committee to provide a free and appropriate public education (FSPE) that is tailored to the student’s needs and goals
Code-based instruction
instructional model based on the belief that students need to learn phonics and phonemic concepts in order to decode words
students with higher levels of word recognition rely less on context and more on phonemic knowledge to decode words
Clarity of language
not containing ambiguous pronouns, too hard of vocabulary or slang terms
Informal reading inventory
a multi-step reading assessment used to gauge a student’s oral and silent reading abilities
Running record
a reading assessment given as a student reads aloud and a teacher listens; teachers record miscues, note strategies used, observe fluency and time for WPM to determine student’s level for guided reading
Independent reading level
a reading level in which a student can read and comprehend independently; they have difficulty with no ore than one out of every twenty words
diagnostic assessment
assessment used to diagnose a specific difficulty a student is having
instructional reading level
a reading level that is challenging for the student but manageable with teacher support; they have difficulty with no ore than one out of every ten words
Meaning-based instruction
instructional model based on the beliefs that readers need context to decode words
semiphonetic spelling
stage of spelling–students have some letter awareness but are unable to use all letters in the words (spell “play” p-a)
invented spelling
attempt to spell based on best judgment
phonetic spelling
students spell the way they hear the word pronounced (spell “made” m-a-d)
automatic stage
final state or word recognition in which a person decodes fluently and knows many strategies to identify new words
students in the automatic stage of word recognition are able to read fluently and with greater comprehension because their focus shifts more toward the meaning of the text as a whole and less on individual words
pragmatics
the study of language in use; aka the appropriate use of language
conventional spelling
final spelling stage when students know and use most basic spelling rules and spell most words correctly
Stages of Spelling
Precommunicative
semi phonetic
phonetic
Transitional
Conventional
Transitional spelling
spelling stage where students use some conventional spelling but still misspell many irregular words
pre communicative spelling
first spelling stage where students use scribble shapes and sometimes letter-like shapes for spelling words but are unable to make the forms
semantics
the study of word or symbol meaning
Consolidated alphabetic stage
stage of word recognition where students read by using memorized letter chunks, affixes and syllables to read words (not sounding out “reminder” by individual phonemes but rather by recognizable chunks “re-mind-er”)
oral language
the system that relates sounds to meanings through communicating by word of mouth
phonetics
the sounds of human speech
phonology
the systematic organization of sounds in languages
expressive language
the ability to express meaning through language
receptive language
the ability to understand meaning from language
Decoding
being able to sound out words by breaking them into simpler forms
in terms of comprehension, the understanding of how to read each letter or letter pattern in a word to determine the word’s meaning
orthography
spelling patterns of language
Early Reader stage
stage of reading development where really readers begin understanding that reading from the printed page needs to make sense
Language acquisition
the process by which individuals learn a language
morpheme
a combination of sounds that has meaning in speech or writing and cannot be divided into smaller grammatical parts; includes prefixes and suffixes
Ex: write, cat, laugh, box cannot be broken into smaller grammatical parts
cats has two morphemes–“cat” and “s”
Early Fluent reader
aka fluent reader or proficient reader; a stage of reading development where readers recognize many words and can apply phonics and word analysis skills to figure out unfamiliar words
Stages of word recognition
Pre-alphabetic stage
Partial Alphabetic stage
Full alphabetic stage
Consolidated Alphabetic stage
automatic stage
Partial Alphabetic stage
stage of word recognition where students combine their limited alphabetic knowledge with context clues to read
(when reading a book about vehicles, child sees a picture of a truck and locates a word on the page that starts with “t” and says “truck”)
full alphabetic stage
stage of word recognition in which students use their full working knowledge of letter-sound correspondence to decode unfamiliar words letter by letter
Stages of Reading Development
Emergent Reader
Early Reader
Fluent/Proficient Reader
Emergent Reader
stage of reading development where children understand that written language has meaning and gives messages
Pre-alphabetic stage
stage of word recognition where students have no working knowledge of the alphabetic system and “read” words base don memorizing what the look like (“reads” environmental print)
Teacher modeled reading
strategy where a teacher reads aloud to students to demonstrate fluency and prosody
Choral reading
strategy where students first listen to the teacher read aloud and then the class and teacher read it aloud together at the same time
Rereading familiar text
strategy where students reread a familiar text to increase rate, prosody and confidence
phrase-cued reading
inserting slashes into text to mark the ends of phrases or natural pauses
Partner reading
strategy where students read semi-independently in pairs or small groups
reader’s theater
strategy where teacher directs students in a dramatic enactment of a play or book
automaticity
ability to read words effortlessly
shared reading
reading strategy that allows a reader to model strong reading skills, such as fluency or decoding, while students have a clear view of the text
supervised oral reading
strategy where student reads aloud to a teacher or tutor
Stages of Language Acquisition
Pre-production
Early production
Emergent
Intermediate Fluency
Advanced Fluency
Advanced fluency
stage of L2 acquisition where learner has reached level of near-native proficiency; learner refines accuracy and continues to develop academic vocabulary
Intermediate fluency
stage of L2 acquisition where learner begins to communicate in more complex sentences; learner starts to think in the second language
modeling
instructional strategy where teacher demonstrates a concept or skill and students learn by observing
sentence stem
common sentence starters provided to students to use when generalizing, summarizing or transitioning between ideas
Open-ended questions
questions that require more than a simple yes or no response and promote whole class and small group discussion
Language experience approach (LEA)
promotes reading and writing through the use of personal experiences and oral language; materials are learner-generated
overgeneralization
application of a grammar rule in a place where it doesn’t apply (ex: adding -s to make everything plural)
Early productions
stage of L2 acquisition where learner is listening and absorbing new information and collecting new words; learner makes many errors
oral language assessment
listening to, analyzing and recording students’ oral language to assess needs, strengths, interest and next steps to support growth
Speech emergence
stage of L2 acquisition where the learner speaks more frequently using longer words and sentences; learner is still relying heavily on context clues and familiar topics
Cognates
words in two languages that share a similar meaning, spelling and pronunciation (ex: family-familia; bicycle-bicicleta)
Pre-production
aka silent period; stage of L2 acquisition where the learner takes in new language but doesn’t speak it; learner is silent
Rime
in a syllable, the vowel and everything after it
onset and rime production
the ability to hear and understand that the sounds before the vowel in a syllable is the onset, and the vowel and everything that comes after it in a syllable is the rime
onset
in a syllable, everything that comes before the vowel; can be a consonant, consonant blent or consonant digraph
word awareness
knowing that individual words make up a sentence
phoneme manipulation
ability to perform phoneme deletion, addition and substitution
rhyming
the ability to first hear words that rhyme and then be able to produce a rhyme
phoneme blending
the ability to blend two sounds to make a word
phoneme deletion
the ability to recognize and understand a word or sound that remains when a phoneme is removed
phoneme isolation
the ability to hear and recognize the individual sounds in words
phoneme substitution
the ability to substitute one phoneme for a different one
phoneme addition
the ability to make a new word by adding a phoneme to an existing word
word analysis
breaking sown words into morphemes (the smallest units of meaning); word analysis can be a useful decoding tool and can help determine word meaning
grapheme
a written letter or combination of letters that represents a single sound (“ph” makes a “f” sound)
positive language transfer
occurs when L1 knowledge facilitates the acquisition of L2; occurs when students use what they know in their native language to help them understand something in L2
Syllabic writing system
a writing system where each character represents a syllable (Japanese, ie)
Logographic writing system
a writing system where character represent words or phrases (Chinese, ie)
alphabetic writing system
a writing system where there is a symbol for each consonant and vowel (English, ie)
Language interference
differences between a learner’s native language and the language being learned which can cause confusion in the acquisition of L2; when a learner applies knowledge from L1 incorrectly to L2 resulting in word, syntax or pronunciation errors
alphabet
a set of basic written symbols (letters) that represent the phonemes of a language
letter recognition
the ability to name the letters in the alphabet and identify the characteristics of each letter; letter recognition requires direct instruction that connects the letter shape to the letter name
Analogy-based phonics approach
an approach to phonic instruction where students use knowledge of word patterns to decode new words
Ex: to decode the unknown word “zap,” students would think of the word “map”
Fry word list
100 most frequently occurring words in the English language; often used for sight word instruction
Synthetic phonics approach
an accelerated approach to phonics instruction that explicitly teaches how to convert letters into sounds (phonemes) and then blend the sounds to form words; a teacher first teaches the sounds of each letter and then focuses on how to blend the sounds together to pronounce whole words
Language transfer
process that occurs when students who are learning a new language transfer knowledge from L1 to L12
Inflectional Affix
an affix that changes the form of the root or base word (ex: adding -ed to a verb changes its tense)
Vowel digraph
two vowels that make a single vowel sound when together in a word; aka vowel teams
Ex: “ai” in paint, the “ee” in need, the “oa” in boat
Dolch word list
the 220 most frequently used words that are considered basic level to the reading of a first or second grader in English
Affix
a letter or letters that change a root word’s meaning; prefixes or suffixes
sight word
word that cannot be decoded because it doesn’t follow standard phonics rules and must be recognized by sight
Ex: of, was, the, would
graphophonic cue
use of letter sounds and spelling patterns to decipher new words
syntactic cue
use of a sentence of paragraph’s grammar to comprehend a text
Analytic phonics approach
a common approach to phonics instruction where students are taught to recognize whole words by sight and then to break down words into smaller units of sound; teaches students about spelling and letter patterns and their sounds
spelling-based phonics approach
an approach to phonics instruction that involves spelling rules and phonemes; students learn the sounds of each letter and put the sounds together to create a word
dipthong
one vowel sound made by the combination of two vowel sounds
Ex: the “ou” in south; the “au” in taught; the “oy” in oyster
semantic cue
use of word, symbol or speech meaning to comprehend a text
word families
a group of words with a shared ending letter group/sound
Ex: back, black, stack, shack, quack, lack, tack
structural analysis
aka morphemic analysis; using meaningful word parts (morphemes) to study a word and determine its meaning
consonant blend
two or more consonants that blend together when decoded, but each retains its own sound
Encode
using individual sounds to spell a word; to encode, a student must represent the sounds of a word with letters
Consonant digraph
two consonants that make a single consonant sound when together in a word
Ex: the “sh” in wish make a single sound
contextual analysis
use of surrounding information in a text to help determine a word
R-controlled vowel
a vowel followed by the letter r where there vowel doesn’t make its normal short or long sound
Embedded phonic approach
an approach to phonic instruction that involves implicitly teaching through reading or in context
Ex: a student learns to decode the word “snake” when reading a short story about a boy who goes hiking
Decodable word
words that follow common letter/sound correspondence rules and can be “sounded out”
whole word reading
reading a word by sight, without attempting to decode it; memorizing sight words helps support whole word reading
Prefix
a letter or letters at the beginning of a root word that changes its meaning
Ex: re-, de-, un-
Root
base words to which remixes, suffices, and syllables cam be added
suffix
letter or letters at the end of a root word that changes its meaning
Ex: -es, -ed, -ing, -ly, -er, -or, -tion, -able, -ion, -ible
R-controlled syllable
syllable that contains a vowel followed by the letter r; the r controls the vowel and changes the way the vowel is pronounced
tense
words that indicate if a statement is referring to past time, present time, or future time
Free morpheme
aka unbound morpheme; type of morpheme that can stand alone or can appear with other morphemes
Ex: simple words–the, run, on, etc.
compound words made up of two free morphemes, keyboard, greenhouse
Compound words
two complete words that have joined together to form one word with a new meaning
Derivational affix
an affix that changes the root or base word into a new word (usually changes the part of speech)
Ex: beauty + -ful = beautiful
Final stable syllable
a consonant + -le
occurs at the end of a word; if it is found next to an open syllable, then the vowel in the open syllable stays long; if it is next to a closed syllable, the vowel in the closed syllable stays short
Ex: bugle, candle, bubble, circle, trample
Word wall
an on-going bulletin board with terms used frequently in the classroom; words are often added as they are introduced
Homophones
words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings
Ex: sale/sail; carat/carrot; to/too/two
Bound morpheme
type of morpheme that can appear only as part of a larger word; cannot stand alone
Open syllable
syllable that ends in a vowel; the vowel has its long sound
Ex: va-cant; bru-tal; a-gent
Closed syllable
syllable that ends in a consonant; vowel has its short sound
Vowel-consonant-E syllable (VCe)
The VCe has a silent “e” and makes the vowel before it long; it is usually found at the end of a word
Etymology
the study of the origin and history of words
Think-pair-share
active learning activity where the teacher provides a prompt, the students consider it individually, then pair up and brainstorm responses or solutions, and then the students share their results with the class
Index
a catalogue list at the end of the text containing all of the topics discussed
Bloom’s taxonomy
a hierarchy of levels of knowledge; each level has associated verbs teachers can use to start questions
Lower-level thinking to higher-level:
Remember
Understand
Apply
Analyze
Evaluate
Create
Think-aloud
a teaching strategy where a teacher states their thoughts aloud to demonstrate how the students should go about solving a problem or understanding a text
Anticipation guide
a series of statements used to preview and activate prior knowledge before reading a text
Rhetorical devices
a technique a writer or speaker uses to persuade a reader or listener
Ex: alliteration, repetition, anaphora, analogy, emotional language, etc.
Glossary
a list of important words to know along with their meanings
Graphic organizer
a visual display of the relationships between facts and ideas
Ex: story maps, timelines, Venn diagrams, K-W-L charts
Venn diagram
a graphic organizer with two or more overlapping circles used to show similarities/differences between two subjects
Transition words
phrases and words used to link sentences, paragraphs and ideas together
Bloom’s Analyze
Level 4 on Bloom’s taxonomy of higher level thinking skills; connect different ideas
Words to look for:
differentiate
compare
contrast
Bloom’s Evaluate
Level 5 on Bloom’s taxonomy of higher level thinking skills; justify a stance
Words to look for:
defend
support
critique
Cause and effect
a writing method where the author explains reasons why something happened or the effects of something that has happened
Bloom’s Create
Highest level on Bloom’s Taxonomy; produce original thoughts or work
Words to look for:
design
author
formulate
Table of contents
a text feature found on a page before the start of a written work that lists chapter names or section titles along with their corresponding page numbers
Chronological order
an organizational approach that follows an orderly progression of events based in time
Metacognition
the ability to think about one’s own thought process
summarizing
writing or speaking a brief description of more extensive information by covering only the main/most important point, without details
Reading comprehension
the ability to read a text and understand its meaning
comprised of 4 components:
fluency
vocabulary
background knowledge
skills
organizational structure
test structure can include:
cause/effect
problem/solution
main idea/details
sequence
annotate
making notes in a text and questioning unfamiliar ideas while reading something new
paraphrase
putting something that was read, heard or viewed into your own words
Problem and solution
an organizational approach where the author presents a problem and possible solution
inferential comprehension
understanding parts of the written text without it being stated explicitly such as determining cause and effect, drawing conclusions and making predictions
draw conclusion
to make final comments/summation over what has been read or written
compare and contrast
an organizational approach where the author provides similarities and differences about two ideas
K-W-L Chart
a graphic organizer used throughout a unit that shows what students know, want to know, and learned
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
Literal comprehension
understanding of the facts in the written text such as stated main ideas or specific details
Speaking vocabulary
all the words known and used by a person in speech; students typically have a clear understanding of a word in order to use it in their speaking vocabulary
Homographs
words that have the same spelling but have different meanings
Ex: to tire/a tire
Semantic gradient
an array of related words placed on a continuum that helps distinguish between shades of meaning
Tier 3 words
academic words that are specific to a particular content area or discipline
Listening vocabulary
words listener can recognize when heard; people typically have a larger listening vocabulary than writing vocabulary
Tier 2 words
high-frequency academic words that students will encounter frequently and are used in multiple content areas (evaluate, analyze, etc.); many of these are process words that commonly appear in assessment
Reading vocabulary
words a reader can recognize while reading a text; people typically have a larger reading vocabulary than speaking vocabulary
Semantic mapping
a form of scaffolding which helps students to develop connections among words
Inference
a conclusion based on evidence, observation and reasoning
Limited vocabulary
smaller or more restricted bank of words than is typical
word consciousness
method of vocabulary instruction that encourages student interest in new and unfamiliar words; providing students with opportunities to share interesting words they come across in their reading is a strategy used to promote work consciousness
Lexicon
the collective vocabulary of a person or language
Connotation
the implied meaning of a word; the feeling a word conveys
Synonyms
words with the same or a similar meaning
analogies
are used to compare two things that are usually thought of as different but have something in common
antonyms
words with the opposite meanings
Tier 1 words
common words that are already familiar to students when they enter school; these words don’t need to be explicitly taught
Context clues
using the words before and after an unknown word to determine its meaning
Matthew Effect
the tendency for stronger readers to build exponentially on their strengths and weaker readers to continue to struggle; to prevent the Matthew Effect, teachers should provide individualized support to struggling readers when they notice a knowledge gap developing
Domain-specific vocabulary
words primarily used in specific content area
Frayer model
a popular form of semantic mapping which helps students to identify and define unfamiliar concepts and vocabulary; prompts students to provide the definition of a concept, essential characteristics, examples and on-examples
Academic vocabulary
specialized vocabulary commonly found in an academic setting
Denotation
literal, dictionary learning of a word
Vocabulary utility
the frequency with which a word will be encountered
writing vocabulary
all the words known and used by a person in writing; a student’s writing vocabulary is typically more formal than their speaking vocabulary
Vocabulary development
the ability to effectively know and use words in listening, speaking, reading and writing
Concept map
a form of scaffolding in which a new concept or vocab word is written in the center and pictures or descriptive words are written surrounding it
Quantitative measures of text
aspects of a text that are too hard for a reader to measure; typically measured by computer software
Ex: word length, frequency of difficult words, sentence length, text cohesion
Author’s purpose
the author’s intention for writing; could be persuasive, narrative, exposits or informative; organization and style choices should reflect for purpose for writing
Semantic Feature Analysis
a form of scaffolding which help students to compare features of words
Claim and refutation
an organizational approach where the author argues against a statement, fact or claim
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 an dhow the particular text was written
Qualitative Measures of Texts
aspects of a text that can only be measured by a reader
Reciprocal Teaching
a dialog between teachers and students regarding segments of text
there are 4 parts:
summarizing
question generating
clarifying
predicting
Narrative text
fictional stories, play, poems; usually contains some element of plot or conflict
Peotry
creative writing written in verse and often includes rhymes or heavy use of figurative language
spatial order
an organizational approach where ideas are arranged related to physical space
word web
a form of scaffolding which helps students to understand and retain new words and concepts; during reading, as students encounter each word, they write down around the word different words or phrases that will help them remember the meaning
Textual evidence
proof or support of the meaning of what is being read or had been read; this evidence can be a direct quote, transition words in time and space, a statement of purpose and/or making an argument
Author’s purpose
why the author wrote a text
Word sort
a form of scaffolding where students put words into categories
Gradual release
a teaching strategy in which students are gradually given less direct guidance
Story map
a graphic organizer where elements from a story (characters, setting, problem, solution, etc) are recorded to help with literary analysis
author’s point of view
an attitude or perspective toward the topic of what is being written or spoken by the author or narrator
Active reading
actively engaging with a text while reading
Compare and contrast
an organizational approach where the author provides similarities and differences about two ideas
Close reading
a teaching strategy where students carefully and purposefully read and reread a text
theme
the big idea or major message in a story which is often universal in that it goes beyond cultural boundaries
Anticipatory set
a form of scaffolding in which students make predictions prior to reading a text
universal theme
common ideas that appear in literature across all cultures
tone
the attitude of the author in writing and which might be comical, serious, frightening, joyful; sometimes called diction
Order of importance
An organizational approach where ideas are arranged with the most important claim at the top or bottom
Text frame
teachers can include text frames throughout a reading with questions designed to prompt students to think about relationships between key ideas, concepts and events in a text
Figurative language
a word or phrase that does not have its normal everyday, literal meaning
Ex: hyperbole, simile, metaphor, alliteration, illusions, onomatopoeia, idioms
Inference
a conclusion or opinion based on information that is given and that is sometimes called an educated guess
Moral
lesson or message to be learned; common in fables and children’s stories
Folktale
stores that are orally passed through generations
Drama
portrayal of human experience through the performance of dialog and stage direction
Informational text
text that provides factual information such as in newspapers, magazines, chapters in a textbook, how-to manuals or directions
