Foundational Reading Skills Review

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to foundational reading skills, supporting comprehension and phonics instruction.

Phonemic Awareness

The ability to identify and manipulate the smallest units of sound (phonemes) in spoken words, which is crucial for developing reading and spelling skills.

Phoneme

The smallest distinct unit of sound in a word that can differentiate meaning, such as the difference between 'bat' and 'pat'.

Grapheme

The written representation of a phoneme, which can be a single letter or a combination of letters, such as 'sh' in the word 'ship'.

Elkonin Boxes

A phonemic awareness strategy designed to help students visualize sounds in words by placing tokens in boxes corresponding to each sound.

Phonics Instruction

A systematic approach in teaching reading that emphasizes the relationship between phonemes (sounds) and graphemes (letters), enabling students to decode written language.

High Frequency Words

Commonly encountered words in texts, such as 'the' and 'and', that students should recognize instantly to improve reading fluency, making up about 50% of all children's texts.

Orthographic Mapping

The cognitive process of connecting spoken sounds (phonemes) with their written counterparts (graphemes), helping to strengthen spelling and reading abilities.

Syllabication

The breakdown of words into syllables, which aids in word pronunciation and decoding, crucial for reading proficiency.

Morphemic Analysis

The analysis of words based on their smallest meaningful units (morphemes), such as prefixes and suffixes, for better understanding of vocabulary and word meanings.

Affixes

Morphemes added to the base of a word (includes prefixes like 'un-' or suffixes like '-ing') that alter the meaning of the original word.

Automaticity

The capacity to recognize words and sentences quickly without needing to sound them out, which contributes to overall reading fluency.

Reading Fluency

The ability to read a text smoothly, accurately, and expressively, which is essential for comprehension and overall reading proficiency.

Comprehension

The ability to understand and interpret the meaning of a text, involving both literal understanding and the ability to make inferences.

Inferential Comprehension

The skill of understanding information that is implied rather than explicitly stated in the text; it often requires the use of background knowledge to draw conclusions.

Evaluative Comprehension

The process through which readers form opinions and critique the content, quality, and effectiveness of the texts they read.

Engagement of Schema

The activation of prior knowledge and personal experiences that helps readers make connections to a text, enhancing understanding and retention.

Self-Monitoring

The use of strategies by readers to check their understanding of a text while reading, allowing them to adjust their approach if comprehension breaks down.

Comprehension Strategies

Specific techniques such as summarizing, questioning, and predicting that readers can employ to deepen their understanding of the text.

Text Analysis Skills

The abilities involved in breaking down and interpreting both literary and informational texts to uncover their meaning, purpose, and structure.