Glossary

Question 1

Phonics

Answer 1

the relationships between the sounds of a language (phonemes) and the letter combinations used to represent those sounds (graphemes)

Question 2

Orthography

Answer 2

The spelling system of a language and the rules that govern that system

Question 3

Phoneme

Answer 3

Smallest unit of sound in a language, shown in slashes / /

Question 4

Graphemes

Answer 4

Written symbols that represent phonemes

Question 5

Phonological Awareness

Answer 5

awareness of units of speech - words, syllables, and phonemes

Question 6

Phonemic Awareness

Answer 6

The awareness of phonemes - the individual sounds that make up words.

Question 7

Phonemic Segmentation

Answer 7

Splitting a spoken word into its constituent phonemes in the order in which they are heard in the word. This skill is required for a child to invent full phonetic spellings.

Question 8

Phoneme Blending

Answer 8

Taking given phonemes and combining them to make a word - the opposite of segmentation; this is employed when decoding new words.

Question 9

Decode

Answer 9

To take written letters/words and translate them into sounds (phonemes) that make up words; to make meaning while decoding, the words must be recognized by the reader from their aural (listening) vocabulary. We use phonics to decode.

Question 10

Encode

Answer 10

To translate spoken language into written symbols, the opposite of decoding; writing, particularly invented spelling, is an act of encoding as the writer attempts to write letters that represent the sounds present in words. We use orthography to encode.

Question 11

Consonants

Answer 11

Phonemes where the flow of air is cut off partially or completely.
Voiced: the vocal cords vibrate in creating the sound.
Unvoiced: the vocal cords do not vibrate in creating the sound.

Question 12

Vowels

Answer 12

Phonemes where air flows through the mouth unobstructed. Vowels are always voiced.

Question 13

Short Vowels

Answer 13

Alligator
Elephant
Iguana
Octopus
Umbrella
Graphemes have smiley over letter.

Question 14

Long vowels

Answer 14

“Say the name” graphemes have line over letter.

Question 15

R-controlled vowel

Answer 15

A vowel followed by an “r” is always distorted. This makes these words difficult to spell.

Question 16

Diphthong

Answer 16

Phoneme where the mouth glides from one vowel sound directly into another. /oi/ /ou/ /oy/ /ow/

Question 17

Schwa

Answer 17

Vowel sound of an unaccented syllable. (A)lyss(a)

Question 18

Continuing consanant

Answer 18

A consonant that can be “stretched out” with a continuous sound. These are preferred as first letter sounds to learn, because they are more easily heard, particularly the voiced ones.

Question 19

Consonant digraph

Answer 19

Two graphemes that represent one phoneme: /sh/ /ch/ /ph/ /gh/

Question 20

Consonant blend

Answer 20

Sequence of 2-3 consonants, each of which can be heard: /st/ /ft/ /mp/

Question 21

Vowel digraph

Answer 21

Two graphemes that represent one vowel sound. /ea/ Consonants may also act as vowel digraphs: s/ay/

Question 22

Onset

Answer 22

The beginning consonant sound(s) before the vowel sound in a syllable. Not all words or syllables have onsets.

Question 23

Rime

Answer 23

The vowel sound and any others that follow in a syllable.

Question 24

Word families

Answer 24

Words that share an ending, called a rime. These letter combinations are sometimes called phonograms.

Question 25

Syllable

Answer 25

Phonemes that constitute a larger sound unit within a word. Ever syllable has a vowel sound (onset/rime)

Question 26

Open syllables

Answer 26

A syllable that ends in a vowel sound (usually long)

Question 27

Closed syllable

Answer 27

Ends in a consonant sound

Question 28

Vowel pair

Answer 28

A syllable with two vowel graphemes together

Question 29

VCe

Answer 29

Ends in a vowel-consonant-silent e pattern

Question 30

C+le

Answer 30

A consonant followed by an “le”; the vowel sound is typically a schwa

Question 31

Morphemes

Answer 31

Smallest unit of meaning in a written language.

Question 32

Whole-part-whole phonics instruction

Answer 32

Students are immersed in authentic texts and build off familiar words. Constructivist approach: known-to-new.
Authentic/analytic/implicit

Question 33

Part-to-whole phonics instruction

Answer 33

Students are taught letters, letter sounds, and patterns in isolation, proceeding to short words, then sentences, etc. concepts are presented in a pre-determined sequence. Behavioristic/transmissive approach.
Synthetic/explicit/systematic

Question 34

Ambiguity of vowels

Answer 34

This is a concept which describes the fact that any vowel (letter or digraph) may represent multiple phonemes.

Question 35

Alphabetic principle

Answer 35

The principle/rule that there is a 1:1 correspondence between graphemes and phonemes.

Question 35

Morphemic analysis

Answer 35

The process of segmenting a word into its morphemes and analyzing them to better understand the word.

Question 35

Word study

Answer 35

The process of studying words. This is an instructional approach for teaching learners how to read and spell. It is learner-centered and is based on their developmental stage.

Question 35

Spelling inventory

Answer 35

An assessment tool which asks students to spell a carefully-selected set of words that grow increasingly difficult. The set of words contains a range of orthographic features, which the students are tested on. The inventory is used to determine a student’s developmental stage in orthographic skills, based on what they “use but confuse”. Students are placed into instructional groups based on the inventory.

Question 36

Braid of literacy

Answer 36

A representation of literacy as a woven set of skills. Includes: reading, writing, orthography, vocabulary, oral literacy, and familiarity with authentic stories and informational texts.

Question 37

Affixes

Answer 37

A word part (suffixes, prefixes, inflectional endings) that is attached to a root word.
Prefixes/suffixes: change part of speech
Inflectional endings: change the tense or number

Question 38

Emergent stage

Answer 38

P-early 1
Learners experiment and imitate in this stage. They explore concepts of print and letter names. They are curious about written language. They have phonemic awareness and are refining it. They began to match phonemes to letters.

Question 38

Letter-name alphabetic stage

Answer 38

K-early 2
Learners are beginning to read and write in a conventional way. Their knowledge of letter names is solidified, and they often invent spellings based on letter name. They understand the concept of word in a text, and can finger point and read simple words with some fluency. Their consonant knowledge becomes stronger, but vowels are still tricky due to their ambiguity. They gain command over high frequency and sight words.

Question 39

Within-word pattern stage

Answer 39

Late 1-middle 4
Learners in this stage have a much former grasp of the phonemes they hear in words, and can encode many of them into familiar orthographic patterns. They are transitioning into a more fluent stage of oral reading. They read most single-syllable words correctly, and can spell many of them correctly too. To read multi-syllable words, they need contextual support, and their spellings are less accurate. Their grasp of patterns in words is stronger, and they able to cope with complex patterns.

Question 40

Syllables and affixes stage

Answer 40

3-6
Learners in this stage have been reading and spelling multi-syllable words already, but now solidly grasping generalizations/rules for how syllables are added on to a root and how the spellings change - how affixes are used. Students need to have strong word consciousness. They begin using morphemic analysis.

Question 41

Derivations relations stage

Answer 41

5+
Learners have a solid knowledge of spelling and vocabulary which is now growing through the process of derivation. Learners look at the etymology of a word and use morphemic analysis to understand meaning.