Literacy Instruction and Models of Reading Flashcards

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering key literacy components, reading models, brain processes, MTSS frameworks, and writing instruction as presented in the lecture notes.

Phonemic Awareness

Understanding that spoken words are made up of individual sounds (phonemes), including skills like blending, segmenting, and manipulating sounds.

Phonics

The relationship between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes) used to decode unfamiliar words.

Systematic Synthetic Phonics

An approach where students learn sounds first and then blend them to form words, which research shows is more effective than whole language approaches.

Fluency

The ability to read accurately, quickly, and with expression, encompassing accuracy, automaticity, and prosody.

Vocabulary

The words students know and understand, which can be taught indirectly through conversation or directly through explicit instruction of word meanings and morphology.

Comprehension

The ability to understand and interpret what is read, which depends on decoding and vocabulary skills.

The Alphabetic Principle

The insight that the symbols of writing represent the sounds of spoken language (e.g., the letter ‘m’ is represented by the sound $/m/$).

Deep Orthography

A complex spelling system like English where one sound can have multiple spelling patterns and one spelling pattern can represent more than one speech sound.

The Simple View of Reading

A model by Gough & Tunmer (1986) stating that reading comprehension is the product of decoding skills and language comprehension skills.

Phonological Awareness

The ability to perceive and manipulate the sound structure of language, from large units of speech to small units like phonemes.

Sight Recognition

The instant recognition of words and letter patterns stored in long-term memory without the need to sound them out.

Orthographic Mapping

The process where repeated exposure helps the brain store word spellings for fast recognition.

Visual Word Form Area (VWFA)

A region in the left occipito-temporal cortex that specializes in recognizing written words and connects visual processing to language areas.

Neural Recycling

The process where the brain repurposes existing visual and language circuits to process written symbols.

Ehri’s Phases of Word Reading

A four-phase developmental progression (Pre-alphabetic, Partial alphabetic, Full alphabetic, and Consolidated) for reading words automatically.

Syntax

The rules that govern word order when combining them to form phrases, clauses, and sentences.

Semantics

The system relating to the acquisition and correct use of word meanings, including multiple meanings and non-literal forms like idioms.

Pragmatics

The functional use of language in social contexts, including rules for turn-taking, interrupting, and expressions of disagreement.

Dialogic Reading

A shared storybook approach that encourages active engagement through the PEER sequence (a short interaction between child and adult).

Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)

An organizing framework that matches students with the right level of support (Tiers 1, 2, and 3) using evidence-based instruction and continuous monitoring.

Tier 2 Instruction

Small-group targeted instruction provided in addition to Tier 1 for students identified as ‘at risk’ through screening data.

Authorial Skills

The self-regulated thinking processes in writing, involving generating, constructing, sequencing, and expressing ideas.

Transcription Skills

Lower-order writing skills involving handwriting and spelling, also referred to as editorial skills.

Morphemic Knowledge

Knowledge of the meaningful units of words, including base words (unbound morphemes) and affixes (bound morphemes).

Curriculum Cycle

A writing instruction model by Derewianka (1990) consisting of preparation, modelling (think aloud), joint construction, and independent construction.

Metafictive Devices

Techniques used by authors/illustrators to construct alternative readings, such as contrasting discourses, different narrators, or intertextuality.

Modality

The level of realism in visual texts, achieved by manipulating features like colour, background detail, and sharpness.