Unit 10: Teaching reading

Question 1

What’s phonemics about?

Answer 1

Phonemics is about studying the distinct sounds in a language and how they create meaning.

Question 2

What’s phonemic awareness?

Answer 2

Phonemic awareness is the ability to recognise the individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words.

Question 3

What’s decoding like?

Answer 3

Decoding is like translating - figuring out what a message means by understanding the information it contains.

Question 4

What does it mean to mount something?

Answer 4

To mount something means to fix or attach it securely to a surface, like hanging a picture on the wall.

Question 5

What does it mean to dismount?

Answer 5

To dismount means to carefully get off or remove oneself from something, like getting off a horse.

Question 6

What does innate mean?

Answer 6

Innate means something you’re born with, like the natural ability to understand language.

Question 7

What’s a subject matter?

Answer 7

A subject matter is what something, like a book or movie, is all about.

Question 8

What’s a top-down reading strategy like?

Answer 8

A top-down reading strategy is like looking at the whole picture, before diving into the details.

Question 9

What’s a bottom-up reading strategy?

Answer 9

A bottom-up reading strategy is breaking down a text bit by bit to understand the overall meaning.

Question 10

What does on horseback mean?

Answer 10

On horseback means riding a horse, sitting atop it as a means of transportation for leisure.

Question 11

What does for leisure mean?

Answer 11

For leisure means doing something for enjoyment or relaxation, rather than out of obligation.

Question 12

What’s a sense unit?

Answer 12

A sense unit is a group of words that convey a complete meaning in a sentence.

Question 13

What’s reformulation?

Answer 13

Reformulation is expressing something in a different way to clarify the original statement.

Question 14

What does illegible mean?

Answer 14

Illegible means that something is difficult to read because the writing is unclear.

Question 15

What’s an implication?

Answer 15

An implication is like a hidden suggestion that might not be immediately obvious.

Question 16

What does a means to an end refer to?

Answer 16

A means to an end refers to using a particular method to achieve a desired result.

Question 17

What does advisable mean?

Answer 17

Advisable means that something is recommended to do in a given situation.

Question 18

What’s a trial?

Answer 18

A trial is a test to see how something works.

Question 19

What does the global reading method involve?

Answer 19

The global reading method involves understanding a text by looking at the context and recognising familiar words, rather than focusing on individual sounds or letters.

Question 20

What’re uppercase letters?

Answer 20

Uppercase letters are the large letters, used at the beginning of sentences or for proper nouns.

Question 21

What’s a proper noun?

Answer 21

A proper noun is the name of a particular person, place or thing and is usually capitalised, like “John”, “Paris” or “Toyota”.

Question 22

What’re lowercase letters?

Answer 22

Lowercase letters are the small letters, used for most words and names that aren’t at the beginning of sentences or proper nouns.

Question 23

What’s a digraph?

Answer 23

A digraph is when two letters come together to make a single sound, like “sh” in “she” or “ch” in “chat”.

Question 24

What does sound-symbol correspondence refer to?

Answer 24

Sound-symbol correspondence refers to the relationship between a spoken language and the letters used to represent those sounds.

Question 25

What’s a cognate?

Answer 25

A cognate is a word that’s similar or identical to a word in another language because they share a common origin, like “hotel” in English and “hôtel” in French.

Question 26

What’s a sight vocabulary?

Answer 26

A sight vocabulary are words that a reader can recognise instantly by sight, without the need for decoding or sounding out individual letters.

Question 27

What does to sound out mean?

Answer 27

To sound out means to pronounce a word by saying each sound.

Question 28

What does insufficient mean?

Answer 28

Insufficient means there’s not enough of something, or that it isn’t adequate for a particular purpose.

Question 29

What does adequate mean?

Answer 29

Adequate means there’s enough of something, or that it’s satisfactory for a particular purpose.

Question 30

What’s to hypothesise?

Answer 30

To hypothesise is to make an educated guess based on what you know.

Question 31

What does it mean to vocalise?

Answer 31

To vocalise means to express yourself by speaking with the voice.

Question 32

What’s KWL?

Answer 32

KWL is a learning strategy that helps you understand what you “Know”, what you “Want” to learn and what you “Learned” about the topic.

Question 33

What’s SQ3R?

Answer 33

SQ3R is a reading strategy where you “Survey”, “Question”, “Read”, “Recite” and “Review” to better understand a text.

Question 34

What does to bear in mind mean?

Answer 34

To bear in mind means to remember or keep something in consideration.

Question 35

What does to sustain mean?

Answer 35

To sustain means to maintain something over time, ensuring its continuation or vitality.

Question 36

What does vitality refer to?

Answer 36

Vitality refers to the state of being full of life and energy.

Question 37

What does to necessitate mean?

Answer 37

To necessitate means to make something necessary. For example, “The heavy rain necessitated the use of umbrellas during the outdoor event.”

Question 38

What does to get on with mean?

Answer 38

To get on with means to proceed with something, often referring to tasks or activities.