Literacy Glossary

Comprehension. A process of gaining meaning on three levels: 1) literal level of reading for explicit meaning, 2) interpretative level of reading for implicit meaning, 3) evaluative level of reading for critical insight.

Constructivist. Referring to an educational theory (constructivism) that posits that people construct personal understanding by modifying their existing concepts (or schema) in light of new evidence and experience in order to reduce discrepancies between past knowledge and new observations. This implies that students do not simply accept what has been taught, but rather shift their understanding in response to what has been taught.

Conventions. The “rules” of English grammar, punctuation, usage.

Cueing systems. Systems of reminders or prompters to read successfully.

Expressive. Those areas of language in which the communicator is conveying, rather than receiving, observations, thoughts, and/or feelings, i.e. speaking and writing.

Fluency (reading). The ability to read aloud quickly, accurately, and expressively (National Reading Panel 2000)

Grapho-Phonic Cues. Reading cues that appear through letter shape, sound, and phonics.

Inquiry-Based Learning. Instructional activities that are initiated through central questions or investigations. In inquiry-based learning students often determine the answers by collecting and synthesizing their own data.

Integrated, Interdisciplinary Instruction. Instruction that addresses standards from more than one content area. This can occur in a variety of forms: applied projects, thematic instruction, service learning projects, social-issue investigations, science-technology-society investigations, simulations, etc.

Interdisciplinary Curriculum. Topics and concepts tied together, i.e., thematic instruction.

Learning Styles. People tend to have preferences in their approach to learning tasks. Some prefer to make random associations. Others are more comfortable with structured interpretations. Some prefer abstract interactions with ideas, while others require a concrete experience to introduce a concept. Research suggests that most of us learn best when information is presented in a way that matches our preferred learning styles. Research also suggests that our learning style preferences can be broadened.

Multiple Intelligences. Howard Gardner proposes that all humans are endowed with seven forms of intelligence: mathematical/logical, linguistic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, spatial, and kinesthetic. Schools usually emphasize the linguistic and mathematical/logical intelligences.

Scaffolding. Instruction that is organized in a way that identifies the students’ prior knowledge about a topic and creates connections between past understandings or experiences and new knowledge.

Semantic Cues. Reading cues based on sense within the context of the piece, including previous text, pictures, the general meaning of the piece, etc.

Scientifically Based Reading Research. (A) Means the application of rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain valid knowledge relevant to reading development, reading instruction, and reading difficulties. (B) Shall include research that- 1. Employs systematic, empirical methods that draw on observation or experiment; 2. Involves rigorous data analyses that are adequate to test the stated hypotheses and justify the general conclusions drawn; 3. Relies on measurements or observational methods that provide valid data across evaluators and observers, and across multiple measurements and observations; and 4. Has been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal or approved by a panel of independent experts through a comparatively rigorous, objective, and scientific review." Defined by Reading Excellence Act, Section 2252 (5)

Syntactic Cues. Reading cues that sound right within language construction.

Syntax. The frame or grammatical structure of language and the arrangement and interrelationships of words, phrases, clauses in sentences and paragraphs.

Thematic Instruction. A specific form of integrated instruction in which students investigate many factors related to one topic or theme through many lenses.