Alliteration: Usually refers to the repetition of the beginning consonant sounds in two or more consecutive words or syllables. Alliteration sometimes appears in children's nursery rhymes as well in poems and other forms of literature. Examples: Simple Simon; Wee Willie Winkie; bright blue balloons; seven serious sailors.

Alphabetic principle: Words are represented in print generally at the level of phonemes. The sounds in words relate to the letters or graphemes that represent them. Example: bat = |b| |a| |t|.

At risk: Term used to denote those children who are likely to fail to learn to read by the end of 3rd grade or who will need special instruction to learn to read.

Automaticity: The ability to read words with no noticeable effort. When people are able to read words automatically, they can then devote their attention to understanding what they are reading.

Basal reading programs: Published comprehensive classroom reading programs that have daily plans for teaching reading including stories, comprehension questions, activities, teaching strategies, worksheets, tests, scope and sequence charts of reading skills, etc.

Blending: Orally combining the separate sound units of a word to produce the whole word. Example: |ssss| |aaaa| |t| = |ss| |aa| |t| = 'sat'

Comprehensive language arts program: Covering a broad scope; covering widely; covering completely. Example: A program that includes the teaching of decoding, vocabulary, different genres of literature, spelling, poems, listening, speaking, and written language.

Decoding: The ability to relate a sequence of letters in print to their corresponding sounds, allowing the reader to translate the sequence into a word.

Emergent literacy: The first stage of literacy development. This is the developmental process of literacy acquisition lasting from birth until letter-sound associations are used to sound out words. It involves oral language development and learning about the functions of print.

Explicit: Completely and clearly expressed without ambiguity or vagueness; fully developed. Example: Explicit instructions would leave no doubt in your mind about how you were to proceed. Every part would be 'spelled out.'

Expressive language: Speaking and writing, as opposed to receptive language, listening and reading.

Fluency: In the area of reading, the skill of reading with accuracy, speed, and ease.

Frustration reading level: The reading level at which reading skills fail: many word recognition errors are made, comprehension is inadequate, recall is weak, signs of tension and discomfort are apparent.

Independent reading level: The highest reading level at which reading can be done easily and fluently without help. At the independent reading level, word recognition and comprehension errors should be minimal.

Inference: A conclusion arrived at from facts and by reasoning. Example: If you arrived at a gathering of friends and one of them was sitting in front of a decorated cake and blowing out candles, you would make the inference that it was a birthday celebration and the person celebrating the birthday was the one blowing out the candles.

Instructional reading level: The level of reading at which a child is able to acquire new knowledge and new skills, with a teacher's or tutor's help. At this level the child reads approximately 95% of the words accurately and understands at least 75% of the material.

Intervention: In the context of this module, a plan or strategy used to promote student learning.

Linguistic: Relating to language or linguistics (the study of human speech and speech sounds).

Literacy: The ability to read and write in ways that enable communication, enhance understanding of ideas, and enrich lives.

Pattern or patterned books: Children's books that are easy to read because of a pattern of repeated words or phrases. Even if a child does not know all of the words in the book, the pattern enables the child to memorize parts and 'read' along. Pattern books provide success and motivation for young readers.

Perinatal: Having to do with the period of time just before, at the time of, or just after birth.

Phonemic awareness: 'An explicit understanding that words are composed of segments of sound smaller than a syllable, as well as knowledge, or awareness, of the distinctive features of individual phonemes themselves' (Torgesen, 1999, p. 129).

Phonological awareness: The broadest term used to refer to one's sensitivity to the sound structures of words. The ability to recognize and manipulate different sizes of sound units, including syllables, rhyming units, onset rime units and phonemes.

Postnatal: Having to do with the period of time after birth.

Predictable books: Children's books whose style involves rhymes, repetitions, and cumulative patterns. The structure of these books enables children to read them easily once they have heard them read aloud. The students understand the pattern and can then readily predict how the story will proceed.

Prenatal: Having to do with the period of time before birth.

Primary language: A person's first language; the language that he first heard and spoke, usually within the home.

Receptive language: Listening and reading, as opposed to expressive language, speaking and writing.

Scaffolded instruction or scaffolding: Instruction during which the teacher provides a student with just enough help to allow him to accomplish a task that he would be unable to accomplish without the help. As instruction continues, the student does more and more on his own until he can successfully accomplish the task without any help.

Segmenting: A sound analysis skill that involves separating a whole word into individual sound units; complementary to blending. Examples: The word 'met' can be segmented into the phonemes |m| |e| |t|; 'football' into |f| |oo| |t| |b| |a| |l|; and 'green' into |g| |r| |E| |n|. Words can be segmented into syllables, onset-rime units, or phonemes.

Story understanding: An understanding of the typical components of a story (the beginning, middle, end, setting, characters, problem, resolution, etc.) and how they relate to each other. Experience with hearing and reading stories enables children to have an implicit understanding of, or a set of expectations about, how a new story will unfold. At-risk students may need explicit instruction related to story understanding.

Systematic instruction: Instruction in which skills and knowledge are carefully based on a developmental sequence. Example: You first learn to add before you learn to multiply. You first learn to walk before you learn to run.