Praxis 5156 - Pennsylvania Grades 4-8 Subject Concentration: English Language Arts

Personification

involves endowing abstractions, ideas, and inanimate objects with human characteristics and sensibilities

an affix

an additional element placed at the beginning or end of a root, stem, or word, or in the body of a word, to modify its meaning; affixes include prefixes, suffixes, combining forms and infixes

morphemes

affixes, combining forms, and roots of words

phonemic awareness

the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words

phoneme

any of the perceptually distinct units of sound in a specified language that distinguish one word from another, for example p, b, d, and t in the English words pad, pat, bad, and bat.

orthography

study that deals with letters and spelling

aphorism

a statement of truth revealed in a witty manner

gerund

a verb form functioning as a noun; example: Swimming is my favorite sport.

participle

a verb form that is used as an adjective; example: The crying baby drew a long breath.

connotation

an implied meaning

denotation

strict dictionary meaning of a word; denote=definition

comma splice

the use of a comma to join two independent clauses (similar to a run-on sentence). example: It is nearly half past five, we cannot reach town before dark.

parallelism

use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their construction, sound, meaning or meter. Examples: like father, like son; easy come, easy go; wanted dead or alive

hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. Examples: My grandmother is as old as the hills; suitcase weighs a ton; dying of shame

synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa. Examples: referring to a businessman as a "suit;" referring to all carbonated beverages as "Coke"

metonymy

a word to describe another that is closely linked to that particular thing, but is not a part of it. For example, "Crown" which means power or authority; "Washington" meaning the government

assonance

takes place when two or more words close to one another repeat the same vowel sound but start with different consonant sounds. Example: Go and mow the lawn; here, there and everywhere

slant rhyme

rhyme in which the stressed syllables of ending consonants match, however the preceding vowel sounds do not match. Example: If love is like a bridge

or maybe like a grudge,

fallacy

faulty reasoning; misleading or unsound argument.

bandwagon

encouraging people to think or act in some way simply because other people are doing so. Example: "All your neighbors are rushing down to Mistri Motors to take advantage of this year-end sale. You come, too!"

unreliable testimonial

having an unqualified person endorse a product, action, or opinion. Example: "Hi, I'm Bart Bearson. As a pro-football quarterback, I have to be concerned about my health. That's why I take Pro-Ball Vitamin Supplements."

emotional appeal

logical fallacy, whereby a debater attempts to win an argument by trying to get an emotional reaction from the opponent and audience.

circular arguments

often logically valid because if the premises are true, the conclusion must be true. Example: There isn't a problem with the rule, because if everyone obeyed it there wouldn't be a problem."

narrative nonfiction

information based on fact that is presented in a format which tells a story.

drama

genre of literature that's subject for compositions is dramatic art in the way it is represented. This genre is stories composed in verse or prose, usually for theatrical performance, where conflicts and emotion are expressed through dialogue and action.

fantasy

the forming of mental images with strange or other worldly settings or characters; fiction which invites suspension of reality.

fable

story about supernatural or extraordinary people Usually in the form of narration that demonstrates a useful truth. Animals often speak as humans that are legendary and supernatural tales.

fairy tale

a kind of folktale or fable. Sometimes the stories are about fairies or other magical creatures, usually for children.

science fiction

a story based on impact of potential science, either actual or imagined. One of the genres of literature that is set in the future or on other planets.

folklore

songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a person of "folk" that was handed down by word of mouth. A genre of literature that is widely held, but false and based on unsubstantiated beliefs.

tall tale

humorous story with blatant exaggerations, swaggering heroes who do the impossible with an heir of nonchalance.

legend

a story that is sometimes of a national or folk hero. It is based on fact but also includes imaginative material.

mystery

genre of fiction that deals with the solution of a crime or the unraveling of secrets. Anything that is kept secret or remains unexplained or unknown.

mythology

a type of legend or traditional narrative. This is often based in part on historical events, that reveals human behavior and natural phenomena by its symbolism; often pertaining to the actions of the gods. A body of myths, as that of a particular people or that relating to a particular person.

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