Glossary

This glossary consists of terms that frequently occur in the TExES study guide or that occur frequently in the texts that have been reviewed for the construction of this study guide.

A

• Affix
  • Parts added before (prefix) or after (suffix) a word.
• Alliteration
  • When the same letter sound occurs at the beginning of a string of adjacent or closely connected words. Common tongue twisters are a prime example.
• Alphabetic Principle
  • This is composed of two parts:
    • ALPHABETIC UNDERSTANDING – that words are composed of letters that represent sounds.
    • PHONOLOGICAL RECODING- the use of systematic relationships between letters and phonemes to retrieve the pronunciation of an unknown printed string or to spell words.
• Alternative Testing
  • A nontraditional method of helping students construct responses to problem solving.
• Analogy
  • The comparison of two things meant to be used as an explanation for something or for clarification of an idea. For example: “The stressors packed into the span of 12 hours is similar to a shark feeding frenzy.
• Antonym
  • Words opposing in meaning to each other. For example: Up and Down.
• Authentic Testing
  • Real-life assessments that are relevant and meaningful in a student’s life.

B

• Bias
  • Occurs in testing when the information in the test or the information required to respond to the test is not available to the test takers who come from a different cultural, ethnic, linguistic, or socioeconomic background than the majority of the test takers.
• Bloom’s Taxonomy
  • A system of classifications used to distinguish the different levels of human understanding.
    • Create
    • Evaluate
    • Analyze
    • Apply
    • Understand
    • Remember

C

• Capitalization
  • proper names
  • places
  • things (political parties, structures, historical & cultural terms, calendar, and time designation)
  • religious terms
  • proper adjectives & titles when used with proper names (California gold rush, President John Adams, French fries, Homeric epic)
  • all man words in titles
• Closed Syllable
  • A syllable that ends in a consonant. For example: cat, hip, dig.
• Cognate
  • Words that look and mean the same in different languages. Definitions of words are best introduced contextually.
• Concepts of Print
  • How print works in books; front cover and back cover, the opening of a book, and that print is read from left to right-to to bottom.
• Connotation
  • Implied meaning.
• Contextual Analysis
  • To identify unknown words by the sense of the sentence or search for the meaning of an unknown word through an examination of its context.
• Convergent Questions
  • Questions with only one correct answer.
• Criterion-Referenced State Tests
  • In these types of tests, the teacher tries to measure each student’s skill against uniform objectives or criteria. For example: STAAR and TAKS tests.

D

• Decoding
  • Breaking down a word by sounding it out.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Begins with a generalization and supports that generalization with specifics; reasoning from a premise to reach a logical conclusion.
• Denotation
  • The Dictionary definition of a word.
• Derivational Morphemes
  • Represent consistent meanings. For example: Prefixes- pre, anti, sub. Can change the syntactic classification of a word.
• Descriptive Writing
  • Writing with clear explanations/descriptions of people, places, objects, or events using appropriate details.
• Diagnostic Testing
  • Is used to determine students’ skill levels and current knowledge.
• Dipthong
  • A sound formed by combining two vowels together. For example: -oi in noise and -ou in sour. Can also be referred to as a gliding vowel.
• Divergent Questions
  • Questions with more than one correct answer.
• Developmental Assessments
  • A measure of a child/student’s skill or performance compared to their peers/other children their age.

E

• Educational Media
  • Programs where the purpose is to instruct the viewer on a select topic or topics.
• Emergent Writing Stage
  • The stage in which students understand that speech can be written and that print goes from left to right-top to bottom. They begin to recognize that there is a connection between spoken word and written language by moving from writing mock letters to random letters or strings of capital letters.
• Encoding
  • Changing messages into symbols.
• English Language Learners (ELLs)
  • Students who require English Language instruction in addition to academic instruction as English is not their primary language. Most of their English acquisition occurs at school as their primary language may be what they use more at home. Can also be referred to as Non English Speaking Students.
• Entertainment Media
  • Media created for the purpose of audience enjoyment.
• Expository Writing
  • Writing that explains or informs. For example: textbooks

F

• Fables
  • Animals that act like humans in order to teach a lesson.
• Fine Motor Skills
  • Motion skills and movements requiring the use of smaller muscles such as fingers and toes. E.g. writing.
• The Five Finger Rule
  • This method is used to determine if a book is at the right level for independent reading. The student is to turn to a random page and read it-putting up one finger for each word that they don’t know.
    • 0-1 Finger: Too Easy
    • 2-3 Fingers: A Good Choice
    • 4 Fingers: Ok to try
    • 5: Too Difficult
• Five Types of Phonemic Awareness Tasks
  • Task 1: The ability to hear rhymes and alliterations
  • Task 2: The ability to do oddity tasks (recognize the member of a set that is different, or odd, among the group)
  • Task 3: The ability to orally blend words and split syllables
  • Task 4: The ability to orally segment words
  • Task 5: The ability to do phonics manipulation tasks
• Folktales/Fairytales
  • Adventures of animals/humans and the supernatural characterize these stories.
• Formal Assessments
  • Data based assessments that follow standardized measures. Percentile measurements are used for scoring. Typically used to measure progress.
• Formative Assessments
  • Assessments throughout the lesson or unit to gauge student learning and guide instruction.
• Frustration Reading Level
  • The level at which text comprehension is below 50% or in which less than 85% of the words in the selected text are recognized.

G

• Graphemes
  • Letters-The smallest meaningful unit of language.
• Graphophonemic Knowledge
  • How letters and sounds relate to written letters and words.
• Gross Motor Skills
  • Motion skills and movements requiring the use of bigger muscles such as the arm or the body. E.G lifting a ball .

H

• Heteronyms
  • 2 or more words that have the same spelling but different pronunciation and meaning. For example: present/present and polish/Polish.
• Homographs
  • 2 or more words that have the same spelling but different meanings. For example: Down can mean a direction of descent or the fluff on a bird or Bass which can mean a type of fish or a deep sound.
• Homonyms
  • Word forms that have 2 or more meanings. For example: Bat and Bat or Band and Band.
• Homophones
  • 2 or more words that have the same pronunciation but different meanings and spellings. For example: Fowl/Foul or Bare/Bear.

I

• Independent Reading Level
  • The level at which a reader can fluently read and comprehend the text on their own-See ‘The Five Finger Rule’.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Begin with particulars and reasons to a generality; evidence for the truth of the conclusion.
• Inflectional Morphemes
  • Can only happen in final position in a word, follow derivational morphemes in a word, and do not change the syntactic classification of the word.
• Informal Assessments
  • Daily used assessments that do not adhere to the standard testing format but are still used to measure a student’s progress. Typically used to drive instruction.
• Informational Media
  • Media created for the purpose of presenting factual information to the audience.
• Instructional Reading Level
  • The limit level at which a student can comprehend the text with some assistance from the teacher. Text at this level is used to build a student’s repertoire of vocabulary and comprehension skills.  Also can be referred to as a student’s reading level.

K

• K-W-L Chart
  • A type of graphic organizer used to show what students know (K), want to know (W), and have learned (L). This tends to be used during a unit to collect and display information.

L

• Learning Logs
  • Used to record ideas discussed in class.
• Legends
  • Are similar to myths, but deal with more recent events.
• Lexical Stress
  • Can change the meaning of a word by altering the stress patterns.
• Lexicon
  • The vocabulary of a language.
• Literacy Development
  • The process of growth of students’ oral language, reading, and writing skills. This growth tends to follow predictable stages starting with beginning and moving into proficient, however it is possible for variations to occur.
• Literacy Portfolios
  • Per student, a collection of:
    • -work samples
    • -records of independent reading/writing
    • -checklist & surveys
    • -self evaluation forms
    • -formal test results

M

• Media
  • Forms of spreading information.
• Metacognition
  • Awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes.
• Metacognitive Skills
  • Encouraging students to think about their thinking.
• Modern Fantasy
  • Stories start out based in reality, which makes it easier for the reader to suspend disbelief and enter worlds of unreality. These tales often appeal to children’s ideals of justice and good and evil.
• Morpheme
  • The smallest meaningful unit in a word. Prefixes and suffixes are some such examples.
• Morphemic Analysis
  • A strategy in which the meanings of words can be determined by examining their meaningful Parts ie. prefixes, suffixes, and roots.
• Morphology
  • The study of word structure.
• Myths
  • Stories about events from the earliest times, such as the origin of the world, are often considered true in the societies of their origin.

N

• Narrative Writing
  • Writing that tells a story.
• Norm-Referenced Tests
  • These types of tests are used to compare one individual’s score or performance to the score or performance of others in a similar group, typically by grade level in a bell curve format.

O

• Ongoing Assessments
  • These types of assessments should be occurring all of the time and be diverse.
• Onset
  • The initial consonant sound of a syllable – precedes the vowel.
• Onsets and Rimes
  • Parts of the spoken language that are smaller than syllables but larger than phonemes.
• Open Syllable
  • A syllable that ends in a vowel with the long vowel sound. For example: /ca/ in vacation or /de/ in defense.

P

• The Path of Phoneme Comprehension
  • Phonemic Isolation
    • Students can recognize individual sounds in words. For example: What is the first sound in ball? B
  • Phoneme Identity
    • Students can recognize the same sounds in different words. For example: Hat, Hop, Hope
  • Phoneme Categorization
    • Students can recognize the word in a set of 3 to 4 words that has the “odd” sound. For example: Which word doesn’t belong? Bug, Bus, Run
  • Phoneme Blending
    • Students listen to a sequence of separately spoken phonemes and then combine phonemes to form a word. They then write and read the word. For example: /c/ /a/ /t/
  • Phoneme Segmentation
    • Students can break a word into its separate sounds, saying each sound as they count it or tap/pat it out. They then write and read the word. For example: (b) (u) (s) (t) There are 4 sounds.
  • Phoneme Deletion
    • Students can recognize the word that remains when a phoneme is removed from another word. For example: mall – m = all
  • Phoneme Addition
    • Students make a new word by adding a phoneme to an existing word. For example: park + s = spark
  • Phoneme Substitution
    • Students can substitute one phoneme for another to make a new word. For example: cat – c + b = bat
• Personal Journal Writing
  • Self expression writing.
• Persuasive Media
  • Media created for the purpose of convincing the audience to think, feel, or believe specific messages and ideologies.
• Persuasive Writing
  • Writing that tries to convince readers to do something or think a certain way.
• Phonemes
  • The smallest part of spoken language that makes a difference in the meaning of words. There are 41 phonemes in the English language.
• Phonemic Analysis
  • Demonstrating sound-simple awareness that leads to being able to break down words into their basic phonemic parts.
• Phonemic Awareness
  • The ability to hear, identify, and manipulate the individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. This concept can be taught and learned. It is the foundation for spelling and word recognition skills.
• Phonemic Stress
  • Is taught through the use of nursery rhymes, short poems, rhythmic patterns. Location of stress can change meaning. Ex: present and present.
• Phonological Awareness
  • Listening to be able to identify distinctions in oral language. It includes the ability to hear distinct sounds, use alliteration and recognize rhyming words.
• Poems
  • Only requirement is rhythm.
• Points of view
  • First person is the -I/we- perspective.
  • Second person is the -you- perspective.
  • Third person is the -he/she/it/they/name- perspective
• Popcorn Reading
  • A round robin form of reading in which a student reads aloud for a short period of time before passing the opportunity off to another student by saying ‘popcorn’.
• Pragmatics
  • The difference between written meaning and literal meaning based on social context.
• Primary Research
  • Research done firsthand for the first time (survey, interviewing).
• Proficient Writing Stage
  • Students at this stage have increased control over their writing via spelling, grammar and vocabulary. The student also understands how to write for a specific purpose.
• Punctuation
  • Marks used in writing to clarify meanings in sentences. E.g. Period for statements or Question marks for questions and inquiries.

R

• Read Alouds
  • When the teacher reads out loud and the students listen. This can be used to teach students background knowledge, increase comprehension skills, and foster critical thinking.
• Reader’s Theatre
  • A form of dramatization in which the students read their lines from a book (instead of memorizing them) as a way to help students read with expression.
• Reading Rate
  • Measured in Words Per Minute (WPM), this is the rate of words that a student can read in a minute time-span. This changes based on grade and instructional level.
• Reliability
  • Is based on:
    • -the consistency of the test.
    • -is measured by whether the test indicates the same score for the child who takes it twice.
• Rime
  • The part of the syllable that contains the vowel and all that follows it.
• Running Records
  • A type of ongoing assessment designed to analyze the reading performance of early readers. The teacher calculates how many words the child read correctly to arrive at a percentage to determine whether the selection is at the student’s independent, instructional, or frustration level.

S

• Schema
  • The use of prior knowledge for understanding of a concept.
• Science of Teaching Reading (STR)
  • There are five parts or attributes that fuel this methodical approach to reading. The teacher is to understand these and integrate them for instruction. The order is as follows:
    • Phonemic Awareness-understanding that words are composed of sound.
    • Phonics-The process of breaking down a word into its individual sounds in order to identify, rearrange, and combine them to read and create words.
    • Fluency-Reading with accuracy, rapid speed,and full of confident expression. 
    • Vocabulary: The range of words a student can understand.
    • Reading Comprehension: The ability to determine the meaning and purpose of the text.
• Secondary Research
  • Past research which has already been performed and often already published (creating, evaluating).
• Semantics
  • The meaning expressed when words are arranged in a specific way.
• Sentence Stress
  • Used to highlight a segment of a sentence.
• Sight Words
  • Words that students can identify quickly, accurately, and effortlessly without hesitation. These words occur frequently in print. There are 220.
• Silent Sustained Reading (SSR)
  • Promotes reading comprehension by allowing students to utilize their skills while reading silently to oneself.
• Skimming
  • When readers quickly read while paying little attention to specific words and details; can be done as a preview or review of text.
• SQ4R
  • Aid in reading comprehension
    • Survey- readers examine the headings, illustrations, bold letters, & major components of the text to develop predictions and generate questions.
    • Question: Students devise some questions that the chapter will probably answer. Students establish a purpose for reading.
    • Read (R1): Read while looking for answers to their questions.
    • Write (R2): Monitor comprehension as they write a summary of the story or text.
    • Recite (R3): try to answer orally or in writing the student-developed questions.
    • Review (R4): Review the text to evaluate the accuracy of their answers.
• Stages of Spelling Development
  • Scribbling: Pretend writing. Awareness of difference between writing and drawing to communicate. Student purposely scribbles from left to right
  • Pseudo Letters: try to create forms that resemble letters; “invented spelling”. Creating the sound and the letters to create words. Consonants are used more than vowels
  • Phonetic: Represent all major sounds w/ letters. eg. Babes for babies
  • Transitional Spelling: Notice visual clues, and develop a knowledge of using morphological info, or word structure. Sight word training is important.
  • Conventional Spelling: Spells most words correctly.
• Style
  • The artful adaptation of language to meet various purposes.
• Stages of Writing
  • 1. Prewriting
  • 2. Drafting
  • 3. Revising/Editing
  • 4. Proofreading
  • 5. Publishing
• Structural Analysis
  • The process of using familiar word parts such as base words, prefixes, and suffixes, to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.
• Summative Assessments
  • Evaluative assessment that occurs at the end of a unit.
• Syllable
  • A word part that contains a vowel or, in spoken language, a vowel sound.
• Synonym
  • Two different words from the same language that mean the same thing. For example: hold and grasp
• Syntax
  • The rules or patterned relationships that correctly create phrases and sentences from words.

T

• Tall Tales
  • Purposely exaggerated accounts of individuals with superhuman strength.
• Text Features
  • Sections of a book, article, story, or passage that are not the main body of text. These features add meaningful information about the text within the main body. Such examples can include the Title, Table of Contents, Glossary, Headings and Subtitles, as well as Sidebars or Visuals.
• Tone
  • The attitude an author takes towards his or her subject.
• Traditional Literature
  • Opens up a world in which right wins over wrong (good v. evil).
• Traditional Testing
  • The variety of teacher assessments that either come with the textbooks or are created from the textbook.
• Transitional Writing Stage
  • Students at the early part of this stage may use single letters to represent words or write strings of random letters or scribbles. For example a student may write the letter C to represent their name. As they continue, they pay more attention to the beginning and ending sounds of words. Punctuation may also be used.

V

• Validity
  • How well a test measures what it is supposed to measure.
• Venn Diagram
  • A type of graphic organizer that has at least 2 overlapping circles used to examine differences and similarities between 2 or more subjects.
• Vocabulary Development
  • Before reading – encounter new concepts/words
  • After reading- help retain what was learned