Praxis 5001 (Language Arts)

Definition by Class

A "dictionary definition," constructed by first placing a term in the general class to which it belongs and then differentiating it from all other members of that class.

Summarization

A brief statement of the main points of something.

Fable

A brief story that leads to a moral, often using animals as characters.

Hasty Generalizations

A broad claim based on too few or unrepresentative examples.

Metaphor

A comparison that establishes a figurative identity between objects being compared.

Simile

A comparison using "like" or "as"

Direct Object

A direct object is a noun or pronoun that recieves the action of the verb.

Primary Source

A document or physical object which was written or created during the time under study.

Ad Hominem

A fallacy that attacks the person rather than dealing with the real issue in dispute.

Fallacy

A false or mistaken idea.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole (as hand for sailor), the whole for a part (as the law for police officer), the specific for the general (as cutthroat for assassin), the general for the specific (as thief for pickpocket), or the material for the thing made from it (as steel for sword).

Personification

A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it. For example, a news release that claims "the White House declared" rather than "the President declared".

Hyperbole

A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor

K-W-L Chart

A graphical organizer designed to help in learning. The letters KWL are an acronym, for what students, in the course of a lesson, already know, want to know, and ultimately learn. A KWL table is typically divided into three columns titled Know, Want and Learned.

Vocabulary

A group of words that a person knows or should know

Prepositonal Phrase

A group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun. Examples: Against the grain, across the bridge, below the horizon, etc.

Line Structure in Poems

A line of poetry can be any length and any metrical pattern. A line is determined by the physical portion of words on a page,. A line is simply a group of words on a single line.

Cause and Effect

A method of informing that shows the reason something happens and the result of it happening.

Noun

A person, place, thing, or idea.

Opinion

A personal view, attitude, or appraisal.

Preposition

A preposition relates a noun or pronoun following it to another word in the sentence. Examples: above, by for in, out, through, to.

Meter

A regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.

Declarative Sentence

A sentence that makes a statement.

Imperative Sentence

A sentence that requests or commands.

Topic Sentence

A sentence, most often appearing at the beginning of a paragraph, that announces the paragraph's idea and often unites it with the work's thesis.

Stanza Structure in Poems

A stanza is a group of lines. The grouping denotes a relationship among the lines. New stanzas often show change within the poem.

Short Story

A story with a fully developed theme but significantly shorter and less elaborate than a novel.

Trochaic Meter

A stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable.

Dactylic Meter

A stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables.

Vocabulary Development

A student's vocabulary can be developed by... 1) Calling upon a student's prior knowledge and making comparisons to that knowledge. 2) Defining a word and providing multiple examples of the use of a word in context. 3) Showing a student how to use context clues to discover the meaning of a word. 4) Providing instruction on prefixes, roots, and suffixes to help students break a word in to its parts and decipher its meaning. 5) Showing students how to use a dictionary and a thesaurus. 6) Asking students to practice new vocabulary by using the words in their own writing 7) Providing a print-rich environment with a word wall 8) Studying a group of words related to a single subject so that concept development is enhanced.

Tall Tale

A tale that is exaggerated and far-fetched (unbelievable).

Providing a print-rich enviroment

A teacher can provide a print-rich environment in a classroom in a number of ways such as... 1) Children's name in print or cursive 2) Children's written work 3) Newspapers and magazines 4)Instructional Charts 5) Written Schedules 6) Signs and Labels 7) Printed songs, poems, or rhymes

Graphic Organizer

A tool that helps to organize ideas and can be used to visually illustrate ideas

Inductive Reasoning

A type of logic in which generalizations are based on a large number of specific observations.

Gerund

A verb ending in 'ing' to serve as a noun - 'Stabbing (used as a noun) is what i do said the thief.'

Linking Verbs

A verb that connects a subject with a word that describes or identifies it. Example: is, am, were, was, are, be, being, been) (Jenna is happy)

Action Verbs

A verb that expresses a physical or mental action (-ing,-s,-ed).

Helping Verbs

A verb that helps the main verb express action or show time. Example: I was playing ( "was" is the Helping Verb)

Infinitive

A verbal that is formed using "to" plus the plain form of the verb. They can be used as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.

Context Clues

A vocabulary strategy in which the reader looks at the words around an unfamiliar word to find clues to its meaning.

Root Word

A word in its simplest form before any affixes are attached.

Object

A word or phrase that receives the action of a verb. Example: Joan served THE MEAL. (Object)

Adverb

A word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

Adjectives

A word used to modify or describe a noun or pronoun, such as "happy," "sad," or "pretty."

Tone

A writer's attitude toward his or her subject. (Ex. serious, humorous, satiric, surprised)

Capitalization

All proper names, all titles, positions, or indications of family relation when preceding a proper name or in place of a proper noun, days of the week, months, and holidays, names of organizations and membership designations, racial, religious, and political designations, specific addresses and geographic locations, sums of money written in legal or business documents, titles or headings of books, magazines, and newspapers.

Euphemism

An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant.

Iambic Meter

An unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

Prose

Any material that is not written in a regular meter like poetry.

Explanations

Are given close to the unknown word.

Examples

Are given to help the reader define the term.

Faulty Causations

Assuming there is a causal relationship between two variables when it could just be coincidence, correlation, etc.

Metacognition

Awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes.

Oral Language Development

Being involved in open-ended (whole group, small group, and one-on-one) discussions, read- alouds, echo reading, songs, nursery rhymes, storytelling, readers theater, close activities, poetry, role play and drama, fingerplays, etc.

Theme

Central idea of a work of literature

Flat Characters

Characters who are simple and one dimensional.

Dynamic Characters

Characters who change significantly.

Round Characters

Characters who have some or many different traits that form a complex personality.

Written Language Development

Children see and interact with print like books, magazines, grocery lists in everyday situations. Children begin to combine what they know about speaking and listening with what they know about print.

Teaching Phonological Awareness

Clapping sounds in words, saying blended phonemes, singing songs, nursery rhymes, reading patterned texts, environmental sounds, following directions, rhyming games, alliterative texts, grouping objects using beginning sounds, reordering words in a sentence to make silly phrases.

Indirect Object

Comes before the direct object. Tells to whom, for whom the action of the verb is done. (Claire threw JOSEPH the ball.)

Question Generation

Constantly ask questions about comprehension, vocabulary, personal knowledge or experiences, predictions.

Definition by Negation

Defining a term by noting what the term is not.

Role of Emotions in Poetry

Designed to appeal to the physical and emotional senses through word choice and style.

Bathos

Excessive or trivial sentimentality producing a laughable effect.

Illustrative Essay

Explains a general statement through the use of specific examples. The writer starts with a topic sentence that is followed by one or more examples that clearly relate to and support the topic.

Onomatopeia

Formation or use of words that imitate sounds of the actions they refer to. (Ex. Sizzling)

Prepositional Phrase Fragment

Fragments that begin with a preposition and are only a phrase, not a thought.

Static Characters

In longer works of fiction, main characters who often remains the same as the plot unfolds.

Secondary Source

Information gathered by someone who did not take part in or witness an event

Critical Comprehension

Involves prior knowledge and an understanding that written material is the author's version of the subject and not necessarily anyone one else's. It involves analysis of meaning, evaluation, validation, questioning, and the reasoning skills a reader uses to recognize... 1) Inference and conclusion 2) Purpose, tone, point of view, and themes 3) The organizational pattern of work 4) Explicit and implicit relationships between words , phrases, and sentences 5) Biased language, persuasive tactics, valid arguments, and the difference between fact and/or fiction.

Revising a Paper

Is the thesis clear? Do the body paragraphs logically flow and provide details that support the thesis? Is anything unnecessarily repeated? Is there something irrelevant in the work? Is the language understandable? Is it interesting?

Science Fiction Authors

Isaac Isamov, Ray Bradbury, and H.G. Wells

Repetition of Key Words

It helps the reader follow the progression of thought from one sentence to another if key words (which should be defined) are repeated to assure the reader that the writer is still on topic and the discussion still relates to the key word. (This form writing coherence)

Coordinating Conjunction

Join ideas that are similar; Example: Craig gets in trouble, BUT he usually gets out of it. (FANBOY - For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet)

Subordinating Conjunctions

Joins a subordinate clause and an independent clause and establishes a relationship between them. Example: We can play after Steve finishes his homework.

Juvenile Fiction Authors

Judy Blume and S.E. Hinton

Cognitive Approach

Language acquisition theory that states behavior is a result of information processing, such as perception, memory, thought, judgment, and decision making.

Linguistic Approach

Language acquisition theory that states language ability is innate and develops through natural human maturation as environmental stimuli trigger the acquisition of syntactical structures appropriate to exposure level.

Learning Approach

Language acquisition theory that states rules of language structure were learned and applied through imitation and reinforcement.

Sociocognitive Approach

Language acquisition theory that states that the different aspects of linguistic, cognitive, and social knowledge are interactive elements of total human development.

Figurative Language

Language that cannot be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect or feeling.

Big Books

Large "child-friendly" volumes that help children learn concepts of print and enjoy positive reading experiences.

Suffixes

Letters added at the end of a base word that alters the meaning

Prefixes

Letters added to the beginning of a word to alter its meaning

Classic Books

Lilies of the Field, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Pippi Longstocking, National Velvet, Call of the Wild, Anne of Green Gables, The Hobbit, The Member of the Wedding, and Tom Sawyer,

Preadolescent and Adolescent Literature

Literature that is mostly concerned with the "tween" issues of changing lives, relationships, and bodies. Adolescents seeking escape from their sometimes difficult lives enjoy fantasy and science fiction.

Climax

Most exciting moment of the story; The turning point.

Third Person

Narrator is not a character, but sees the world through only one character's eyes and thoughts

Affixes

Parts added to the beginning (prefix) or end (suffix) of a root word to create new words.

Subject-Verb Agreement

Plural subjects must have plural verbs. Singular subjects must have singular verbs.

Free Verse

Poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme.

Print and Book Awareness

Print and book awareness helps a child understand.... 1) There is a connection between print and messages contained on signs, labels, and other print forms in the child's environment. 2) Reading and writing are ways to obtain information and communicate ideas. 3) Print runs left to right/top to bottom. 4) A book has parts, such as a title, a cover, a title page, and a table of contents. 5) A book has an author and contains a story. 6) Illustrations carry a meaning. 7) Letters and words are different. 8) Words and sentences are separated by spaces and punctuation. 9) Different text forms are used for different functions. 10) Print represents spoken language. 11) How to hold a book.

Deductive Reasoning

Reasoning in which a conclusion is reached by stating a general principle and then applying that principle to a specific case (The sun rises every morning; therefore, the sun will rise on Tuesday morning.)

Literal Comprehension

Refers to the understanding of information that is explicitly stated in a written passage. (main idea, sequence of events, knowledge of vocabulary)

Assonance

Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity. (Ex. The quite bride cried)

Syntax

Sentence structure

Second Langauge Acquisition

Since some students may have a limited understanding of English, a teacher should employ the following practices to promote second language acquisition... 1) Make all instruction as understandable as possible and use simple and repeated terms. 2) Increase interactive activities and use gestures or non-verbal models when modeling. 3) Provide language and literacy development instruction in all curriculum areas. 4) Establish consistent routines that help children connect words with events. 5) Use a schedule so children know what will happen next and will not feel lost. 6) Integrate ESL students with non-ESL students 7) Appoint bilingual students to act as student translators.

Puppetry

Small-scale figures of human or other living beings often constructed with jointed limbs and moved usually on a small stage by a rod or by hand from below or by strings or wires from above. It generates ideas, encourages imagination, and foster language development.

Facts

Something that actually exists and can be proven true

Classification Paper

Sorts information. It opens with a topic sentence that identifies the group to be classified, and then breaks that group into categories. For example, a group might be baseball players, while a category might be positions they play. (Types of paragraphs or essays)

Fantasy and Horror Authors

Stephen King and Ursula LeGuin

Definition by Synonym

Substitution of a word having similar meaning for the word being defined.

Book Series

Sweet Valley High, Bluford High, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and The Little House on the Prairie

Developing Language Skills

Teaching new vocabulary, using questions and examples to extend descriptive language, provide response time, ask clarification, promote conversations, provide feedback

Literacy

The ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute, and use printed and written materials associated with varying contexts.

Phonological Awareness

The ability to recognize spoken language and how it can be pulled apart, blended, and manipulated.

Fluency

The ability to speak a language idiomatically and accurately, without undue pausing, without an intrusive accent, and in a manner appropriate to the context.

Metacognitive Skills

The ability to think about one's own learning. Leah recognizes that she is faced with a problem in learning and employs a practiced strategy to correct the problem and improve her understanding of the paragraph.

Style

The author's choices regarding language, sentence structure, voice, and tone in order to communicate with the reader.

Alphabetic Principle

The concept that written language is comprised of letters that represent sounds in spoken words.

Prior Knowledge

The knowledge you already have about a topic before you read a text.

Decoding

The method or strategy used to make sense of printed words and figure out how to correctly pronounce them. It does not require an understanding of the meaning of the word, only a knowledge of how to recognize and pronounce it.

First Person

The narrator is a character in the story who can reveal only personal thoughts and feelings and what he or she sees and is told by other characters. They can't tell us thoughts of other characters.

Second Person

The narrator tells a listener what he/she has done or said, using the personal pronoun "you." This point of view is rare.

Alliteration

The occurrence of the same letter or sound. (Ex. chirp chirp)

Point of View

The perspective from which a story is told. (Ex. 1st Person, 2nd Person, 3rd Person)

Bandwagon Effect

The phenomenon of a popular trend continuing to gain popularity.

Phonics

The process of learning how to read by learning how spoken language is represented by letters. Students learn to read phonetically by sounding out the phonemes in words and then blending them together to produce the correct sounds in a word.

Comprehension

The process of understanding speech or writing.

Malapropism

The unintentional misuse of a word by confusion with one that sounds similar

General Graphic Organizers

These can include KWL charts or weekly planners.

Language Arts Graphic Organizer

These can include alphabet organizers or charts showing the components of a five-paragraph essay.

Reading Graphic Organizer

These can include beginning, middle, end graphs or event maps

Science Graphic Organizers

These can include charts that show what animals need or how to classify living things.

Math Graphic Organizer

These can include horizontal bar graphs or timelines.

Relative Clause Fragments

These often start with who, whose, which, or that. An example is: "Who is always available to the students." This is a fragment because the "who" is not identified.

Substitution of Pronouns

This doesn't just refer to using single word pronouns such as I, they, us, etc., but also alternate descriptions of the subject. For example, if someone was writing about Benjamin Franklin, it gets boring to keep saying Franklin or he. Other terms that describe him, such as that notable American statesman, this printer, the inventor, and so forth can also be used.

Letters

To be appropriately prepared to learn to read and write, a child should learn... 1) Each letter is distinct in appearances. 2) What direction and shape must be used to make each letter. 3) Each letter has a name, which can be associated with the shape of the letter. 4) There are 26 letters in the English alphabet, and letters are grouped in a certain order. 5) Letters represent sounds of speech. 6) Words are composed of letters and have meaning. 7) One must be able to correspond letters and sounds to read.

Pyrrhic Meter

Two consecutive syllables that are equally unstressed.

Spondaic Meter

Two consecutive syllables that are stressed almost equally.

Comma Splice

Two sentences joined incorrectly with only a comma

Anapestic Meter

Two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable.

Blank Verse

Unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter.

Colons

Used to introduce a letter, a list, or an important point. It's also used between the numbers in time.

Semi Colons

Used to join related independent clauses (There were five major hurricanes this year; Two of them hit our city), join independent clauses joined by a conjunction (Popular books are often made into movies; however, that was wasn't), separate items in a series if commas would be too confusing.

Comma Usage

Used to separate two adjectives modifying the same word, three or more words in a list, phrases that are not needed to complete a sentence.

Improving Comprehension

When a teacher models comprehensive reading, the teacher reads aloud and stops periodically in order to make predictions, clarify meaning, make personal connections, and summarize.

Textual Marking

Where students interact with the text as they read to help them focus on the importance of small things and provice a reference point for review.

Transitional Words

Words or phrases used to connect one idea to another in writing. Examples: For example, furthermore, in addition, with that being said, etc.

Antonyms

Words that have opposite meanings

Synonyms

Words that have the same meaning

Conjunctions

Words used to join words, phrases, or clauses.

Parallelism

Words, phrases, or sentences of a similar construction/meaning placed side by side, balancing each other.

Beginning Stages of Writing

drawing pictures > scribble stage > names > letters and alphabet > words > phonetic with only some punctuation