Vocab Flashcards
Argumentative writing
A belief, position, or opinion the author wants to convince the reader to believe.
Blank verse
Unrhymed iambic pentameter
Iambic pentameter
The most common meter in English poetry.
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day”
A line of verse composed of ten syllables arranged in five metrical feet (iambs), each of which consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
Ballad
Follows rhyme scheme with subjects like love, death, and religion. Modern ones are put to music.
Elegies
Mourning poems written in 3 parts:
1. lament
2. praise of the deceased
3. solace for loss
Epigrams
Memorable rhymes with one or two lines.
Haiku
17-syllable poem
Sonnet
14 lines of iambic pentameter organized around a theme.
Fables
Short, didactic stories that typically feature imaginary creatures or talking animals.
(Morals and characters).
Legends
Stories that focus on one character and highlight their victory over the enemy or an obstacle. Heroes are the protagonists.
Rubric
Checklist used to evaluate what students have learned or accomplished.
Did they meet all the learning objectives?
Summative assessments
Evaluate what a student has learned at the end of a lesson/unit/course/term.
Formative assessments
Ongoing evaluations to demonstrate what a student is in the process of learning and what they have learned thus far.
Observational checklists
An informal assessment enable teachers to record behaviors a written test can’t.
A benefit is consistency and a deficit is inflexibility.
Running record
An informal assessment measure which identifies what students are able/unable to do.
An example is an assessment known as the reading continuum.
Scaffolding
Instructional practice where a teacher gradually removes guidance and support as students learn and become more competent.
Text coding
A way to annotate a text that makes sense to the students. Using underlining, circling, and symbols to highlight areas where students are confused or find information.
Denotation
The literal meaning or dictionary definition of a word.
Connotation
The feelings and thoughts associated with a word that are not included in its literal definition.
Science Fiction
A genre based on the exaggeration of real scientific discoveries. Speculative fiction.
Fantasy
Stories that feature imaginary creatures and supernatural abilities. Common themes include: personal growth, good vs evil, and the value of the journey.
Free verse
Poetry without rhyme or meter. Relies heavily on punctuation and structure to create emphasis. Uses lines and stanzas.
Enjambed lines
Lines in poetry that don’t end in punctuation. One sentence runs into the next.
Caesura
A pause mid-verse.
Villanelle
A 19-line poem composed of 5 tercets and one quatrain.
Tercets
Poetry that contains 3 lines. 3 line stanzas that are a flexible form of the stanza as they have no set rhyme scheme or meter.
Epic poetry
Used by Homer and Greco-Roman poets. Recount heroic deeds and adventures using dramatic, lyrical conventions.
Common nouns
Generic names for people, places, or things.
Collective nouns
Names for a group of people, places, or things. (eg. group, herd, class…)
Transitive verb
A verb that requires an object to receive the action. When the action of the verb passes from the subject to the direct object. The direct object usually comes immediately after the verb (e.g., “Karen is taking a photo”).
Intransitive verb
A verb that doesn’t need a direct object. Some examples are “live,” “cry,” “laugh,” “stand,” and “wait.”
Recursive writing process
To revisit steps in writing. Moving back and forth between planning, drafting, and revising.
Homophones
Words that sound alike but have different spellings and definitions. (e.g. too, two, to).
Articles
Adjectives that are used to distinguish nouns as definite or indefinite. (e.g. the, a, an).
Main idea
The most important point being made by the author.
Thesis statement
A statement that provides a specific perspective on an issue that the author supports with evidence.
Idioms
A common phrase which means something different from its literal meaning but can be understood because of their popular use. (e.g. “break a leg”).
Allusion
A recognizable reference to something else.
Simile
A figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid.
Metonymy
A figure of speech in which a word is substituted for another word that it is closely associated with. For example, “the White House” is often used as a metonymy for the presidential administration.
Semantic map
Also known as graphic organizers, these are maps or webs. The purpose of the map is to visually display the connections between words, phrases, or concepts. They help students identify, understand, and recall information when they read in a text.
Comma splice
When you use a comma to join two complete sentences without placing an appropriate joining word between them. The comma just isn’t strong enough to do the job of making one grammatical sentence out of two.
Split infinitive
One or more words separate the two parts of the infinitive: “to” and the base verb. “to quickly go” is an example because “to go” is divided by the word quickly. Generally considered to be bad grammar.
“To kindly stay” in your seats
Expository
A style of composition that exposes or explains a topic using facts.
Phonemes
The sounds represented by the letters in the alphabet.
Examples of Figurative Language
Does not use a words strict or realist meaning. (e.g., extended metaphor, imagery, hyperbole). The opposite is literal language.
Examples of literacy skills to support active reading
(e.g., text-to-self connection, prediction, summarizing)
Bandwagon
A fallacy that is the suggestion that one should join a cause
or adopt a behavior because of its popularity, not because of any reasoned argument for it.
Straw man
A weak or imaginary opposition (such as an argument or adversary) set up only to be easily confuted.
Ad hominem
It’s almost always used to describe a way of arguing or criticizing that ignores the larger issues at hand and just attacks someone’s character.
Post hoc
“After this, therefore because of this.” For example, I ate fish, and then I got sick to my stomach. Therefore, the fish made me sick. The argument is based solely on the sequence of events.
Morphemes
The smallest linguistic part of a word that can have a meaning. In other words, it is the smallest meaningful part of a word. A word that can’t be divided into smaller parts of a word.
Phonemes
A smallest unit of speech—A sound or a group of different sounds that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language.
Orthography
The art of writing words with the proper letters according to standard usage.
Writing Workshop
An organizational framework for teaching writing. The framework consists of three components: the mini-lesson, work time, and share time.
Literature circles
A small group of students that gathers to discuss a book.
Ode
Complex and lyrical; often written in praise of a person or object.
Ballad
A poem with musical quality. A poem narrating a story in short stanzas. Narrative in structure; often contains characters, plot, setting.
Complex sentence
Contains one independent clause and one dependent clause.
Jargon
Specialized words specific to a field.
Plain folks
Appealing to an audience of regular people.
Persuasive writing
Makes a claim based primarily on opinion; presents facts with bias.
Argumentative writing
Makes a claim based on a position, hypothesis, or theory. Includes formal elements of argumentation, such as warrants, backing, counterclaims and rebuttals; presents facts with bias.
Sustained silent reading
Proven ineffective for supporting struggling readers.
Simple sentence
A sentence that has only one verb. A sentence consisting of one independent clause only.
Compound sentence
Contains two or more independent clauses, but no dependent clauses.
“She needed to finish homework and chores, but adventure called.”
FANBOYS
for, and nor, but, or, yet, so
Complex sentence
One or more dependent clauses joined to an independent clause.
“after the movie ended, they went out for ice cream”
Compound-complex sentence
Two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.
“She wanted to be an astronaut, so she took extra classes in math and science while she worked a part-time job.”
Letter
Addressed to a specific audience.
Problem-solution graphic organizer
Instructional tool for supporting students in a writing task.
Semantic map
Used to brainstorm what students know about a topic. Helps activate background knowledge.
Expository writing
Used to teach and explain information in an objective way. Often 3rd person and in a chronological structure.
Differentiation
- Whole group
- Small group
- 1:1 conversations
Alliteration
Repetition of the same sound. Gives the writing a lyrical or emotive effect.
Alliteration
Repetition of the same sound. Gives the writing a lyrical or emotive effect.
Assonance
Assonance is the repetition of the vowel sound across words within the lines of the poem creating internal rhymes. Examples of assonance across words include: crying time; hop-scotch; great flakes; between trees; and, the kind knight rides by.
the similarity in sound between two syllables that are close together, created by the same vowels but different consonants.
Meter
the rhythm (or pattern of beats) in a line of poetry.
Rhythm
the beat and pace of a poem.
Expository writing
The author’s purpose is to inform or explain the subject to the reader. (Eg. a research report).
Expository writing
The author’s purpose is to inform or explain the subject to the reader. (Eg. a research report).
5 Steps of the writing process
- Plannning
- Drafting
- Revising
- Editing
- Publishing
Pathos
Makes the readers feel sympathy.
Pathos
Makes the readers feel sympathy.
Ethos
Atmosphere
Sentence fluency
The rhythm and flow of a sentence.
Phoneme
Basic unit of sound.
Fishbowl technique
Allows all students to engage in conversation. First one group, while other students listen and take notes. Then groups switch and those students have the opportunity to discuss while group one listens and takes notes.
Irony
A rhetorical device, literary technique or event in which what appears to be the case differs radically from what is actually the case.
Irony
A rhetorical device, literary technique or event in which what appears to be the case differs radically from what is actually the case.
Metaphor
A figure of speech that refers, for rhetorical effect, to one thing by mentioning another thing.
Meter
Regular patterns of beats in a poem.
Simile
A figure of speech that directly compares two things )like or as
Couplet
A pair of lines of meter in poetry.
Iamb
A metrical foot used in various poetry. It is two syllables which follow the pattern unstressed/stressed.
Harlem Renaissance
Cultural, social, artistic explosion in Harlem, NY in the 1920’s.
Theme
Central topic of a text.
Plot
Sequence of events in a story affecting other events through cause and effect.
Tone
Expresses the writer’s attitude towards or feelings about a subject and audience.
Rhetoric
The art of discourse. Writer strives to persuade or motivate audiences.
