TERM | DESCRIPTION | |
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5 Star Sentences checklist | A post-writing checklist used to proofread written work; the following items are checked within each sentence:
1) Sentences and proper nouns start with a capital |
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addition strategies | 1) Counting up/Counting on Start with the bigger number and count up the amount of the smaller number2) Ten Partners/Ten Pairs Numbers that add to 10 (e.g. 9+1, 8+2, 7+3, 6+4, 5+5)3) Doubles The sum of a number added to itself; double facts must be memorized as other strategies build on these facts4) Doubles + 1 Used for questions that contain consecutive numbers (i.e. neighbours on the number line); double the lower number, and then add one more to the answer5) Doubles +2 Used for questions that contain numbers that are 2 apart on the number line; double the lower number then add 2 to the answer6) The 10 Trick When adding a single digit number to 10, the number added replaces the zero in the number 107) The 9 Trick Used for adding single digit numbers to 9; decrease the number added by one, and then put a one in front of it 8) The 8 Trick |
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affix | A spelling pattern added before (see: prefix) or after (see: suffix) a root word to modify its meaning | |
anchor chart | A student-created visual aid that facilitates long-term memory recall for letter sounds, spelling rules, strategies, etc. | |
auditory discrimination | The ability to detect differences in sounds (e.g. hearing the difference between /m/ and /n/) | |
automaticity | Reading without conscious effort or attention to decoding | |
Base Ten Blocks | Mathematical ‘manipulatives’ that represent single units and groups of ten, one hundred, and one thousand; used to teach and express concepts such as place value, addition, subtraction, number sense, and counting | |
blending | The process of smoothly combining all the sounds or parts of a word to read it as a whole | |
body paragraph/body section | A section of an essay that proves one sub-argument. Most essays have three body sections. These are sometimes referred to as body paragraphs; however one body section may include several paragraphs | |
Bossy E Rule | A spelling/reading pattern where the e at the end of a word (after a consonant) makes the vowel preceding the consonant a long vowel, whereby the vowel “says its name” (e.g. cake, time, mile) Tricky Bossy E rules • Sometimes an s followed by an e makes a /z/ sound as in fuse; • Sometimes a c followed by an e makes a /s/ sound as in face; • Sometimes a g followed by an e makes a /j/ sound as in cage. • No words in English ends in the letter “v”, so a silent e always follows a final /v/ sound; sometimes it is a Bossy E word as in save and five, but most of the time the vowel stays short as in have and give |
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Circle Method – long division |
A strategy to help students remember the process for solving long division questions. Following the four steps of division: divide, multiply, subtract, and bring down, the student visualizes or draws a large circle around the question and writes one of the letters at the top (D), left (M), bottom (S), and right (B) of the circle. These letters, as well as the circle itself, serve as visual cues for which step comes next in the cycle when completing long division questions | |
CK Rule | A spelling pattern where –ck is used to make the /k/ sound after a short vowel; mostly used at the end of words; can sometimes can be found in the middle of a word, but is never used at the beginning of a word | |
COPS | A post-writing checklist used to proofread written work: C is for Capitals, O is for Overall Presentation, P is for Punctuation, S is for Spelling | |
CVC Words | Single syllable words following the pattern of: consonant, vowel, consonant (e.g. cat, sit, ten) | |
CCVC Words | Single syllable words, often beginning with a digraph or consonant blend and following the pattern: consonant, consonant, vowel, consonant (e.g. this, slip, chat) | |
chunking | Breaking words, sentences, or even assignments, into smaller ‘chunks’ to make them more manageable | |
clicker | A reading tool that helps students notice and kinaesthetically mark punctuation, spelling patterns, or other details while reading | |
consonant | A letter of the alphabet whose sound is produced when the flow of air is obstructed; it can be combined with a vowel to form a syllable (e.g. b, c, d) | |
consonant blend | A combination of consecutive consonants whose sounds blend together, but each individual sound can still be heard
Types of blends: |
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consonant digraph | Two consonants that together produce only one sound (e.g. ch, sh, th, wh, ck) | |
contraction | A shortened form of two words, where the omitted letter (usually the vowel of the second word) is replaced with an apostrophe (e.g. did not didn’t) | |
decoding | The ability to recognize and interpret letter/sound relationships and spelling patterns within words in order to read them accurately | |
decodable readers | A type of text/story in which readers can decode words using the phonics skills they have previously learned, i.e. all of the words in the text follow the rules that students have already learned | |
DGE Rule | Words that end with a /j/ sound and have a short vowel are spelled with a –dge at the end (e.g. fudge); if the word ends with a /j/ sound but has a long vowel sound, it’s spelled with –ge at the end (e.g. cage). | |
dipthong | A variant vowel sound made by two consecutive vowels in a syllable, where the sound glides from one vowel to another (e.g. oy, oi, ow) | |
directional sentence | A sentence that comes immediately after a thesis statement in an essay introduction. It provides a roadmap of the route the essay will take by listing the sub-arguments in the order they will be made | |
Diver letters | In the Handwriting Without Tears program, letters that begin with a diving motion, starting at the top line and moving straight down to, or past, the bottom line. The Diver letters are: p, r, n, m, h, b | |
Dolch words | A list of frequently used English words found in children’s books, also known as sight words | |
Dragon Dictation | A speech-to-text iOS app that allows students to dictate their ideas to an iPad or iPhone and see it turned into text | |
Dragon Naturally Speaking |
A speech recognition software that captures what a student says and transcribes it into text that can also be read back to the student for editing purposes | |
elements of fiction/story elements | Literary elements that all narrative texts possess; these include: setting, characters, plot, conflict, narrational point of view, and theme | |
Elkonin boxes | Sometimes referred to as sound boxes or sound frames, Elkonin boxes can be drawn around sounds or syllables within a word in order to visually segment them. Alternatively, students may separate letter tiles or cards for the same purpose | |
encoding | The ability to use learned letter/sound relationships and word structures to spell words correctly | |
expository writing (Power Writing Level 2 only) |
A style of writing with the intent to inform, explain, describe, or define a subject | |
Fizzle rule (FFSSZZLL) |
A spelling rule where words with a short vowel that end in f, l, s, or z have the final letter doubled (e.g. sniff, fill, miss, buzz) | |
Frog Jump capitals | In the Handwriting Without Tears program, denotes capital letters where the student must start at the top line, draw a straight line down to the bottom, and then ‘Frog Jump’ their pencil back up to the top line to continue the letter. Frog Jump Capitals include: F, E, D, P, B, R, N, and M | |
graphic/thinking organizer (Power Writing Levels 1 & 2) | A diagram used to visually organize thoughts and represent ideas prior to writing a draft | |
Handwriting Without Tears | A structured program designed to teach printing or cursive handwriting through multi-sensory tools and strategies | |
Helicopter letters | In the Handwriting Without Tears program, letters that involve making a ‘Magic C’ and then moving from the bottom line to the top line, and back down like a helicopter taking off and landing. Helicopter letters include: d, a, g, and q | |
higher order thinking | Skills involving analysis, evaluation, and synthesis (creation of new knowledge), that require different learning and teaching methods than the learning of facts and concepts | |
homograph | Words that are spelled the same way, but have different meanings and pronunciations (e.g. desert can serve as a noun (i.e. the desert), or as a verb (i.e. to desert)) | |
homonym | A word that has multiple meanings, and can change its part of speech (e.g. “the spruce tree” (noun) vs. “to spruce up” (verb)) | |
homophone | Words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings (e.g. their/there/they’re or effect/affect) | |
inference | A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and deductive reasoning | |
JUMP Math | A research-based, curriculum aligned, numeracy program for Grades 1-8 that helps students develop mathematical skills through scaffolded, multi-sensory lessons | |
Kurzweil 3000 | An assistive technology program that provides text-to-speech translation, as well as other reading, writing, research, and study skill tools that make the curriculum accessible for all students | |
levelled readers | Numerically or alphabetically labelled books that increase in difficulty and are used to monitor a child’s progress in learning to read; books are matched to individual students’ reading levels so that they are challenging enough for the student to make progress, but not so difficult that they cause the student frustration | |
Magic C letters | A term used in the Handwriting Without Tears program to describe letters of the alphabet that are formed by beginning with the shape of a ‘c’. The Magic C letters are: o, g, a, d, and q | |
manipulatives | Physical items that support hands-on learning; used to reinforce knowledge and understanding | |
medial sound | A sound found in the middle of a word (e.g. /a/ in the word cat) | |
multiplication strategies | 1) Double the Double Used for the 4 times table; multiply the number by 2 first, then double the answer 2) The 5 Pattern An even number multiplied by five will always end in 0; an odd number multiplied by five will always end in a 5 3) Double the Triple Used for the 6 times table; multiply the number by 3 first, then double the answer 4) The Finger Trick Used for the 9 times table up to 9×10; starting with the pinky finger of the left hand as the number one, put down the finger number that is being multiplied by 9 – the number of fingers to the left of this finger represent the ten’s digit of the answer, and the fingers to the right represent the ones digit 5) The Ten Trick When multiplying a whole number by 10, add a zero to the end of the number |
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multisensory instruction | Teaching/learning that engages more than one sense modality at a time (e.g. seeing (visual), hearing (auditory), and touching (tactile)) | |
numeration | The process of naming, writing, and calculating numbers | |
onset | The initial or beginning sound of a word (e.g. /c/ in the word cat) | |
OO Rule | Sometimes oo sounds like a long /u/ sound as in choose and sometimes it makes a short sound as in book orlook | |
open-ended question | An unstructured question, usually beginning in “how”, “what”, “when”, “where”, and “why”, in which possible answers are not suggested, and the respondent must answer in his or her own words; these answers require additional information, opinions, evidence, explanations, etc. | |
operation | Any mathematical procedure, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication or division, in which one or more numbers or quantities are operated upon according to specific rules | |
parts of speech | Traditional grammar classifies words into categories based on their function. The 8 parts of speech are: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, interjections, and conjunctions | |
phoneme | An individual sound; the smallest unit that a word can be broken down into (e.g. /f/, /sh/, etc.) | |
phoneme deletion | The ability to identify how a word will sound if one phoneme is taken away (e.g. take away the /c/ in cat and you are left with at) | |
phoneme insertion | The action of adding a phoneme into a word that was not previously there. This can be done voluntarily, but may also be due to a decoding error (e.g. sipslip) | |
phoneme isolation | The ability to isolate a single sound in a word based on its position (e.g. the /a/ in cat is in the middle of the word, and the final sound is a /t/) | |
phoneme manipulation | The ability to add, substitute, or rearrange sounds in a word to create a new word or words | |
phoneme substitution | The action of replacing one phoneme in a word with a different phoneme to create a new word (e.g. replacing the /b/ in the word bat with /c/ to make a new word, cat) | |
phonemic awareness | The ability to hear, identify, sequence, and manipulate individual sounds within words; the most important predictor of success in learning to read and write | |
phonetic spelling of words | The action of spelling words using the phonemes that are heard, thereby generating a word that can be decoded but may not be spelled correctly | |
phonological awareness | The ability to recognize that words are made up of a variety of sound units | |
power (Power Writing Levels 1 & 2) |
A designation of the different components required to write a successful paragraph, each power having a different purpose | |
power 1 | The focus, main idea, topic sentence, or thesis statement | |
power 1 sentence | A sentence introducing the topic that begins a paragraph | |
power 1 conclusion | The final sentence of a paragraph that restates and rephrases the original power 1 sentence | |
power 2 | The major supporting ideas for the power 1 | |
power 2 sentence | A sentence that provides detail about the power 1 | |
power 3 (Level 2 only) |
The details, elaboration, or examples for each power 2 | |
power 3 sentence (Level 2 only) |
A sentence that provides additional information about the power 2 it follows | |
power 0 (zero) (Level 2 only) |
Additional information, sometimes referred to as a ‘hook’ that is added before the power 1, and after the power 1 conclusion to make the writing more interesting | |
power paragraph, Level 1 | A collection of sentences about one idea, including: a power 1 sentence, three or more power 2 sentences, and a power 1 conclusion sentence | |
power 1 paragraph, Level 2 | The first paragraph of a power essay that introduces the power 1, beginning with one or more general statements (power 0s) and ending with the power 1 sentence | |
power 2 paragraph, Level 2 | A paragraph elaborating the power 1 topic, beginning with a power 2 sentence and followed by power 3 sentences | |
power 1 conclusion paragraph | The final paragraph of a power essay that begins with a power 1 conclusion sentence and then adds power 0 sentences that become gradually broader in scope | |
power set, Level 1 | Groupings of the different powers that form the outline of the paragraph (power 1-2-2-2-1) | |
power set, Level 2 | Groupings of the different powers that form the outline of the paragraph (power 1-2-3-2-3-2-3-1) | |
power sentence set, Level 1 | The expansion of the power set into sentences | |
power sentence triangle/pyramid (Power Writing Levels 1 & 2) |
A graphic organizer used to build detailed and interesting sentences, focusing on developing and extending students’ use of the various parts of speech | |
prefix | A spelling pattern added to the beginning of a word that changes its meaning (e.g. by adding prefixes to the root word moral new meanings can be formed moral -> amoral, immoral) | |
Read&Write Gold | A customizable literacy support software containing reading, writing, research, and study skill tools that help all students access the curriculum. Applications of Read&Write are also available for tablets, Google Chrome, and Windows | |
Reading Mastery | A direct instruction reading program designed to foster phonemic and phonological awareness using a systematic, structured, and teacher-guided approach | |
reversals | Letters and/or numbers that are printed backwards (e.g. b and d) | |
rime | The string of letters that follow the onset in a word; usually a vowel followed by one or more consonants; this is the part of a word that will make it rhyme with words that have the same ending (e.g. at in the word cat) | |
root word | A word, usually of Latin origin, that may or may not stand alone, but can be combined with affixes to create families of words (e.g. act react, deactivate, active) | |
segmenting | The process of breaking down a word into the individual sounds/syllables that it is made up of | |
schwa | An unexpected or indistinct vowel sound where the vowel is reduced, sometimes sounding like short /i/ or short /u/; it occurs in an unstressed syllable (e.g. pilot, extra) | |
sight word | High frequency, commonly used words that do not follow spelling rules/decoding strategies and must be memorized as a whole and recognized by sight for automatic decoding within a text | |
signal words | A word or phrase, otherwise known as a transition word/phrase, that helps the reader follow the direction of the writer’s thoughts and varies according to the accompanying power or purpose of the writer | |
SMART goals | A strategy to help students set realistic goals, and create a detailed plan to achieve them. The acronym SMARTstands for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound | |
sound cards | Colour-coded flashcards used in the Wilson Reading Program displaying digraphs, trigraphs, welded sounds, consonants, short vowels, long vowels, open vowels, r-controlled vowels, vowel digraphs, diphthongs, and additional sounds (tion, sion, que, ti, ci, tu, ture) printed on one side, and keywords, pronunciation, and sub-step codes printed on the reverse | |
Soft C rule | A letter c in a word that sounds like /s/. This occurs when the c is followed by e, i, or y sounds (e.g. nice, circus, fancy) | |
Soft G rule | A letter g in a word that sounds like /j/. This occurs when the g followed by e, i, or y (e.g. George, giraffe, gym) | |
stretching words | The process of extending the sounds in a word by slowly stretching them out | |
subtraction strategies | 1) Counting Back Used to subtract 1, 2, or 3 from a number. Start with the larger number and count backwards2) Counting Up Start with the smaller number and count up to the larger one3) Doubles Subtraction Students can use their knowledge of addition doubles (e.g. 9+9=18) and use the inverse to answer subtraction questions (e.g. 18-9=9)4) 10 Partners Subtraction Students can use their knowledge of Ten Partners to complete subtraction questions (e.g. 2+8=10 so 10-8=2) |
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subvocalizing | Verbalizing words in your head while reading | |
suffix | A spelling pattern added to the end of a word that changes its meaning (e.g. pick -> picked, picking, picks) | |
syllable | A unit of pronunciation with only one vowel sound, which may or may not contain surrounding consonants, and that forms the whole or a part of a word; the syllables in picnic are “pic” and “nic” | |
syllable types | 1) Closed Syllable – ends with a consonant and only has one vowel that makes a ‘short’ sound; e.g. cup, sat, trip, met 2) Vowel-Consonant-E Syllable – has a vowel-consonant-e combination where the ‘e’ is silent and the first vowel makes a ‘long’ sound; e.g. tape, cone, side, cube 3) Open Syllable – ends with a single vowel (or the vowel may be the only letter in the syllable) and the vowel makes a long sound; e.g. I, be, shy 4) Consonant-le Syllable – contains a consonant-le at the end of the word, where the ‘e’ is silent and only the consonant and the ‘l’ are pronounced; e.g. ladle, little, trouble 5) R-Controlled Syllable – contains a vowel combined with an r (ar, er, ir, or, ur) where the vowel’s sound is neither long nor short; e.g. start, firm, torn, turn 6) Vowel Digraph/Diphthong “D” Syllable – contains a dipthong or vowel digraph; e.g. seat, feel, eight, new, town |
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syllable division | The process of dividing multisyllabic words into their individual syllable components, by applying the rules that govern each of the six syllable types | |
syllable exceptions | Syllables that look like a certain syllable type, but in fact do not follow the rule that governs that type of syllable | |
syllable exception types | 1) Closed Syllable exceptions – Closed syllable welded sounds where the vowel makes a long sound instead of a short sound (e.g. ild (wild), ind (kind), old (told), olt (bolt), ost (host))
2) Vowel-Consonant-E exception (VCE exception) – “ive”, normally the i would make a long sound, but since no English word ends in a v, many times the i stays short (e.g. give, live) 3) Open Syllable exception – a makes an /ŭ/ sound instead of /ā/ in an unstressed open syllable; e.g. when the ais placed at either the beginning or ending of a word like in Alaska; i says the short /ŭ/ or /ĭ/ sounds instead of the long /ī/ sound in an unstressed open syllable (e.g. when the i is placed in the middle of the word as in compliment) 4) Consonant -L-E Syllable Exception – When this syllable has an s, the t is silent with the e (e.g. –stle as in castle and whistle) 5) R-Controlled Syllable Exception – A vowel followed by a double r often changes its sound (e.g. Larry, ferry) 6) Vowel Digraph/Diphthong Syllable Exception – Two vowels together are not always a vowel digraph or diphthong (e.g. sometimes they are divided for syllabication as in violin, mosaic, create) |
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syllable scooping | A strategy to break multi-syllabic words into smaller units/syllables; similar to clapping syllables; however, this is done with a pencil and students mark syllable division by making a curved line under each syllable in the word (e.g. mistake) | |
tapping (sound tapping/tapping out words) |
The act of touching thumb to forefinger when saying the first sound of a word, touching thumb to the middle finger when saying the second sound, etc. When all of the sounds have been assigned to fingers, the thumb is swiped back over the fingers in one motion to say the entire word as a single unit. This is a tactile practice that helps students with sequencing letter sounds, and matching sounds to letters and/or groups of letters. As students progress through the Wilson Reading Program, single sounds are replaced by syllables to read multisyllabic words. | |
tracking | A reading process where beginner readers use a finger to signal their eyes to move left to right and keep their place while reading word by word; this kinesthetic behaviour will eventually become automatic as readers progress until they are able to track text using their eyes only | |
trigraph | A three-letter combination that makes only one sound (e.g. dge, tch) | |
The Essay Coach | A collection of essay-writing programs that guide students through the process of constructing a persuasive paper from start to finish. Programs under The Essay Coach umbrella include: The Opinion Essay program, The Literary Essay program, The Research Essay program, and the Application Essay program | |
thesis statement | A sentence or sentences providing the overall argument of an essay; usually found in the introduction of the paper | |
Typing Quick & Easy/Typing Instructor | A touch-typing software program designed to enhance typing skills through scaffolded lessons and games | |
vowel digraph | A combination of two vowels that together make one sound (e.g. au, ie, oa) | |
Wilson Reading System/Wilson Program | A comprehensive, direct instruction program that teaches the structure of language and words using a step-by-step, multisensory approach. The program addresses decoding, encoding, oral reading fluency, and comprehension. | |
welded sounds | Groups of letters that act as a singular sound since they cannot be easily divided into their individual sounds (e.g. am, an, ing, ang, all, ink, and onk) | |
word families | Words that have the same vowel and ending letters and rhyme with each other (e.g. the “at” family: cat, bat, fat, sat, etc.) | |
word cards | Wilson flashcards printed with single words that exemplify the learned skills in each sub-step; word cards for a given step may also include rules learned in previous sub-steps | |
Y as a vowel rule | At the end of a one-syllable word, y makes the long /i/ sound as in sky or try; at the end of a two or more syllable word, y usually makes the long /e/ sound as in story or ebony |