Praxis Study Guide: Literacy, Language, Grammar, Civics, and Geography

Vocabulary flashcards covering core concepts in reading instruction, grammar, U.S. government, history, and geography.

Mountain

A large, steep natural elevation of Earth's surface.

Hill

A raised area of land that is lower and usually less steep than a mountain.

Valley

A low area of land between hills or mountains, often with a river running through it.

Plain

A large area of mostly flat or gently rolling land.

Plateau

A raised area of land with a flat top.

Canyon

A deep, narrow valley with steep sides, often carved by a river.

Mesa

A raised area of land with a flat top and steep sides, generally smaller than a plateau.

Butte

A smaller, isolated, steep-sided landform with a flat top.

Peninsula

Land that is almost completely surrounded by water.

Island

Land that is completely surrounded by water.

Isthmus

A narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas.

Desert

A very dry region that receives little precipitation.

Dune

A hill or ridge of sand formed by wind.

Volcano

An opening in Earth's crust through which magma, ash, and gases can escape.

Delta

Land formed from sediment deposited where a river flows into a larger body of water.

Glacier

A large, slow-moving mass of ice formed from accumulated snow.

Cape

A point of land that extends into a body of water.

Fjord

A long, narrow, deep inlet of the sea surrounded by steep cliffs, formed by glaciers.

Mountain

A large, steep natural elevation of Earth's surface.

Hill

A raised area of land that is lower and usually less steep than a mountain.

Valley

A low area of land between hills or mountains, often with a river running through it.

Plain

A large area of mostly flat or gently rolling land.

Plateau

A raised area of land with a flat top.

Canyon

A deep, narrow valley with steep sides, often carved by a river.

Mesa

A raised area of land with a flat top and steep sides, generally smaller than a plateau.

Butte

A smaller, isolated, steep-sided landform with a flat top.

Peninsula

Land that is almost completely surrounded by water.

Island

Land that is completely surrounded by water.

Isthmus

A narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas.

Desert

A very dry region that receives little precipitation.

Dune

A hill or ridge of sand formed by wind.

Volcano

An opening in Earth's crust through which magma, ash, and gases can escape.

Delta

Land formed from sediment deposited where a river flows into a larger body of water.

Glacier

A large, slow-moving mass of ice formed from accumulated snow.

Cape

A point of land that extends into a body of water.

Fjord

A long, narrow, deep inlet of the sea surrounded by steep cliffs, formed by glaciers.

Open Syllable

A syllable that ends in a vowel, and the vowel usually makes its long sound. Examples: he, go, me, ba-by. Memory trick: Open = the vowel is “open” at the end.

Closed Syllable

A syllable that ends in a consonant, and the vowel usually makes its short sound. Examples: cat, bed, fish, nap-kin. Memory trick: Closed = consonant “closes” in the vowel.

Syntactic

Related to how words are arranged in a sentence. Example: “The dog chased the cat” follows normal English syntax. Think: syntax = sentence structure.

Semantic

Related to the meaning of words, phrases, or sentences. Example: Knowing that happy and joyful have similar meanings. Think: semantic = meaning.

Morphology

The study of the smallest meaningful parts of words and how words are formed. Example: un + help + ful. Think: morphology = word parts.

Phonology

The study of the sound system of a language and how sounds work together. Example: Understanding how /b/ and /p/ are different sounds.

Phonemic Awareness

The ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. Example: “What is the first sound in dog?” → /d/. Example: “Change the /m/ in map to /t/.” → tap. Important: It is auditory — no letters are required.

Phonological Awareness

The broader ability to recognize and manipulate sounds in spoken language including: Words, Syllables, Rhymes, Onsets/rimes, Phonemes. Phonemic awareness is a part of phonological awareness. Easy distinction: Phonological = BIG category, Phonemic = individual sounds.

Intonation

The rise and fall of your voice when speaking. A question may have rising intonation. A statement may have falling intonation.

Morphemes

The smallest units of meaning in a word. Examples: cat = 1 morpheme; cats = 2 morphemes → cat + s; unhappy = 2 morphemes → un + happy.

Stages of the Writing Process

The main stages are: Prewriting – brainstorm and plan; Drafting – write the first draft; Revising – improve ideas, organization, and clarity; Editing – fix grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc.; Publishing – share the final piece. Revising ≠ editing: Revising = ideas/content, Editing = grammar/mechanics.

Prosody

The rhythm, stress, phrasing, and expression used when reading aloud. A fluent reader reads with appropriate: Expression, Pace, Rhythm, Intonation.

Affix vs. Prefix

An affix is a word part added to a root/base word. A prefix is an affix added to the beginning of a word. Example: Prefix: un + happy → unhappy; Suffix: happy + ness → happiness. Prefix = beginning, Suffix = end, Affix = umbrella term for both.

Conventions / Rules of Decoding

Rules that help readers connect letters and letter patterns to sounds to read unfamiliar words. Examples: Letter-sound relationships, Digraphs, Blends, Vowel patterns, Syllable types, Inflectional endings.

Alphabetic Stages

A common progression describing how children develop word-reading skills: Pre-alphabetic: Uses visual clues or memorization rather than letter-sound relationships; Partial alphabetic: Knows some letter-sound relationships and uses some sounds to read words; Full alphabetic: Uses letter-sound relationships to accurately decode words; Consolidated alphabetic: Recognizes larger chunks/patterns automatically, such as syllables and word parts.

Alphabetic Principle

The understanding that letters and combinations of letters represent the sounds of spoken language. Example: knowing that m represents /m/.

Inflectional Ending

A suffix added to a word that changes its grammatical form, but generally does not create a new word. Examples: cat → cat s; jump → jump ed; run → run ning; fast → fast er. Common inflectional endings include -s, -es, -ed, -ing, -er, -est.

Adverb

A word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb. It often tells: How? quickly; When? yesterday; Where? here; To what extent? very. Example: “She ran quickly.”.

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

A pronoun must agree with the noun it refers to in number and gender/person when appropriate. Incorrect: Every student should bring their book. Correct: Every student should bring his or her book.

Text Features

Parts of a text that help readers find and understand information. Examples: Headings, Subheadings, Captions, Bold words, Glossary, Index, Table of contents, Charts, Diagrams, Maps.

Idioms

Expressions where the meaning is different from the literal words. Example: “It's raining cats and dogs.” Meaning: It's raining heavily.

Hyperbole

A deliberate exaggeration that isn't meant to be taken literally. Example: “I've told you a million times!”.

Point of View

The perspective from which a story is told. First person: Uses I, me, we. Second person: Uses you. Third person: Uses he, she, they.

The Constitution

The supreme law of the United States. It establishes the structure of the federal government and defines its powers and limits.

The Amendments

Changes or additions to the Constitution. There are currently 27 amendments. Important ones for the Praxis include: 1st: Religion, speech, press, assembly, petition; 2nd: Right to bear arms; 4th: Protection from unreasonable searches and seizures; 5th: Rights of people accused of crimes; due process; 6th: Rights of the accused, including a speedy/public trial; 13th: Abolished slavery; 14th: Citizenship, due process, equal protection; 15th: Voting rights regardless of race; 19th: Women's right to vote; 26th: Voting age lowered to 18.

Senate vs. House of Representatives

Senate: 100 members, 2 per state, 6-year terms, must be at least 30, represents states equally; House: 435 members, based on population, 2-year terms, must be at least 25, represents population. Memory trick: Senate = Same → every state gets 2; House = Population → bigger states get more representatives.

Sons of Liberty

A colonial group that opposed British taxation and policies before the American Revolution. They protested things such as the Stamp Act.

Articles of Confederation

The first governing document of the United States. The national government was intentionally very weak. Problems included: Could not effectively collect taxes, Weak central government, Difficult to enforce laws, No strong executive branch. The Constitution eventually replaced it.

Popular Sovereignty

The idea that government gets its power from the people.

Response to the Intolerable Acts

The colonies responded to the Intolerable Acts by calling the First Continental Congress in 1774.

First Continental Congress

A meeting of colonial representatives in 1774 to discuss how to respond to British actions, particularly the Intolerable Acts.

Latitude

Measures distance north or south of the Equator. Lines run east-west. Equator = 0° latitude. Memory: Latitude = ladder → horizontal lines look like ladder rungs.

Longitude

Measures distance east or west of the Prime Meridian. Lines run north-south. Prime Meridian = 0° longitude. Memory: Longitude = long lines running from pole to pole.

Land Features / Landforms

Natural physical features of Earth's surface. Examples: Mountains, Valleys, Plains, Plateaus, Hills, Canyons, Peninsulas, Islands, Deserts.

Colonization

Which nation first colonized most of the western United States? Spain. Spain explored and established settlements/missions across large portions of what is now the western and southwestern United States. Think: West/Southwest → Spain.

HIGH-PRIORITY CONFUSIONS TO KNOW

These are the ones I'd make sure you can answer without hesitation: Don't confuse Phonological vs. phonemic awareness (Phonological = broad sound awareness; Phonemic = individual phonemes); Morphology vs. phonology (Morphology = word parts; Phonology = sounds); Semantic vs. syntactic (Semantic = meaning; Syntactic = sentence structure); Morpheme vs. phoneme (Morpheme = smallest unit of meaning; Phoneme = smallest unit of sound); Prefix vs. affix (Prefix = beginning; Affix = prefix/suffix); Revising vs. editing (Revising = ideas; Editing = grammar/mechanics); Latitude vs. longitude (Latitude = north/south; Longitude = east/west); Senate vs. House (Senate = 2/state; House = population); Articles vs. Constitution (Articles = weak government; Constitution = stronger federal government); Popular sovereignty (Power comes from the people); Prosody (Expression, rhythm, stress, phrasing when reading).