Affricates: Sounds made by forcing air between the teeth; also called "scratchers" or "scratching sounds." Examples: |ch|, |j|.

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 as 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|.

Assessment: Broad term for any type of test or procedure used to gain information about a student's level of skill, knowledge, ability, progress, achievement, etc. With regard to phonological awareness, assessments are often used to establish a baseline of what students already know and to identify children who may require additional instructional help. Assessments can also be used to monitor progress during ongoing phonological awareness instruction.

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 into an integrated whole; orally combining the separate sound units of a word to produce the whole word. Example: |ssss| |aaaa| |t|, |ss| |aa| |t|, "sat".

CCCVC words: Words with the following sequence of letters: consonant, consonant, consonant, vowel, consonant. Example: strum.

CCVCC words: Words with the following sequence of letters: consonant, consonant, vowel, consonant, consonant. Example: bland.

CVC words: Words with the following sequence of letters: consonant, vowel, consonant. Example: lad.

CVCC words: Words with the following sequence of letters: consonant, vowel, consonant, consonant. Example: land.

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.

Consonant blend: Two consecutive consonants in a word, each of which retains its own sound. Example: In ´green´, we hear both |g| and |r|.

Consonant cluster: Three consecutive consonants in a word, each of which retains its own sound. Example: In ´spring´, we hear |s|, |p|, and |r|.

Continuous sounds: Sounds that you can continue to say in the same way until you run out of breath. Examples: |f|, |l|, |m|, |n|, |ng|, |r|, |s|, |sh|, |th| as in thumb, |TH| as in this, |v|, |z|, |zh| as in measure.

Conventional spelling: Conventional, or standard, spelling is the correct spelling of a word. This is the spelling you will find in the dictionary.

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.

Dialect: Distinctive variety of language spoken in a particular region or by a particular group.

Diphthong: A single phoneme in which there is a glide from one vowel position to another. Examples: |oi|, |ow| |I|.

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, which includes listening and reading. In the area of reading, the skill of reading with accuracy, speed, and ease.

Fricatives: Phonemes made by forcing air through a very small opening, e.g., between the top teeth and the tongue or lip; also called "hissing" or "hisser sounds." Examples: |f|, |th| as in thumb, |s|, |sh|, |v|, |TH| as in this, |z|, |zh| as in measure. (|h| is sometimes considered to be in this category.)

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.

Glides: Phonemes that require the tongue, lips and teeth to glide into position to produce sound. Examples: |w|, |y|.

Grapheme: The alphabetic letter or letters that correspond to one particular phoneme. Examples: The grapheme ´t´ corresponds to the phoneme |t|; the graphemes ´acute;´ and ´s´ correspond to the phoneme |s|; the grapheme ´c´ also corresponds to the phoneme |k|; the grapheme ´ph´ corresponds to the phonemes /f/.

Hissing or hisser sounds: Another term for fricatives or hissing; sounds made by forcing air through a very small opening.

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.

Invented spelling: Children´s early attempts at spelling which usually reflect some knowledge about the sounds in words. There are multiple invented spellings for any one word. Examples: a child might write ´wuns´ for once, ´ppl´ for ´people,´ or ´kot´ for caught.

Letter-name knowledge: Knowing the names for each letter of the alphabet.

Letter-sound knowledge: Knowing the sound or sounds associated with each letter of the alphabet. Letter-sound associations are also referred to as symbol-sound or grapheme-phoneme relationships. Example: the sound for ´c´ can be either |k| or |s|.

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

Liquids: Sounds produced without friction. Examples: |l|, |r|.

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

Mnemonic device: Creative device used to assist or intended to assist memory. Example: HOMES gives us the beginning letters of the Great Lakes, Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior.

Nasals: Phonemes that are made when air is being forced out of the nose instead of the mouth, causing the nose to vibrate. Examples: |m|, |n|, |ng|.

Onset: The initial consonant sound or sounds that come before the vowel in a syllable; part of the onset rime unit. Examples: |f| is the onset in the word ´fine´; |gr| is the onset in the word ´green´.

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.

Phoneme: The smallest speech sounds that makes a difference in the meaning of a word. (There are 39-45 phonemes in the English language.) Example: Changing the phoneme |s| in ´sad´ to the phoneme |m| would change the word ´sad´ to the word ´mad´.

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).

Phonics: The systematic way that specific letters or graphemes are used to represent the different phonemes in spoken words.

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.

Phonology: The system or science of speech sounds in a language, focusing especially on the history and theory of sound changes.

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, which includes speaking and writing.

Rime: The ending portion of the onset-rime unit of a syllable. Whereas the onset of a syllable is the initial consonant, consonant blend or consonant cluster, the rime portion of the syllable consists of the vowel and consonants at the end of the syllable. Example: the onset of the syllable ´feet´ is ´f´ and the rime portion is ´eet´. When comparing spoken words, the same rime units sound the same (e.g., ´feet´ and ´seat´ would have the same phonemic rime |E| |t|). In written language, although the rime portion of two different words may sound the same, they are not the same unless they have the exact same spelling pattern. Example: in the written spellings the words ´seat´ and ´heat´ would have the same rime because they are both spelled ´eat´; however, the words ´feet´ and ´seat´ would not have the same rime because they are spelled differently, ´eet´ and ´eat´. Not to be confused with the word ´rhyme´ in which two words that sound the same at the end of the word are considered to ´rhyme´ regardless of the spelling patterns.

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.

Scratching or scratcher sounds: Another word for affricates; phonemes made by forcing air between the teeth.

Screening: A short, concise method to determine a child´s strengths and weaknesses in a given area or to determine if a child needs further testing.

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|.

Sound analysis: Sound analysis skills include segmenting, sound deletion and sound manipulation.

Sound comparison: Judgment about whether beginning, middle, or ending sounds of words are the same or different and production of words with specific beginning, middle, or ending sounds. Judgment about rhymes and production of them are also included in sound comparison. Judgments are easier than production. Examples of judgment: '´Fine´ and ´duck´ do not begin with the same sound; ´met´ does rhyme with ´net´. Examples of production: ´Slow´ is a word that rhymes with ´snow´; ´red´ is a word that ends with |d|.

Sound deletion: A sound analysis skill in which a particular sound is removed or deleted from a word, thus forming a new word. Example: Removing |r| from ´brake´ results in ´bake´.

Sound judgment: The easier level of sound comparison, i.e., the determination of whether sounds in words are the same or different. Example: ´hat´ and ´meet´ end with the same sound, |t|.

Sound manipulation: A sound analysis skill in which a particular sound is substituted for another sound or added to a word. Example: If we add |l| to the middle of the word ´met´, we have the word ´melt´.

Sound production: The more difficult level of sound comparison, i.e., coming up with rhyming sound units or sounds that match initial, middle or ending sounds of other words. Example: ´Red´ and ´pet´ have the same middle sound.

Sound synthesis: Creation of a whole word by blending together the separate sound units of that word. Sound synthesis includes blending. Complementary to the sound analysis task of sound segmenting.

Standard spelling: Standard, or conventional, spelling is the correct spelling of a word. This is the spelling you will find in the dictionary.

Stops and stop-like sounds: In contrast to continuous sound; sound is made by a sudden release of air after being blocked by the position of the lips or tongue. Examples: |b|, |ch|, |d|, |g|, |j|, |k|, |p|, |t|, |w|, |y|.

Story understanding: An understanding of the typical components of a story, such as beginning, middle, end, setting, characters, problem, and resolution, 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.

Unvoiced sounds: Whispered sounds that do not require vocal vibration. Examples: |ch|, |f|, |h|, |k|, |p|, |s|, |sh|, |t|, |th| as in ´thumb´.

VC words: Words with the following sequence of letters: vowel, consonant. Example: ´is´.

Voiced sounds: Sounds that require vibration of the vocal cords. Examples: |b|, |d|, |g|, |j|, |l|, |m|, |n|, |ng|, |r|, |v|, |w|, |y|, |z|, |zh|, as in ´measure´.

Voicing: Method of categorizing sounds with regard to presence or absence of vocal cord vibration. Sounds are either voiced or unvoiced.

Vowel circle map: Visual representation of each vowel phoneme according to placement of mouth, tongue, and lips. Includes |E|, |i|, |A|, |e|, |a|, |o|, |aw|, |O|, |oo|, |OO| |er|, |u|, |oi|, |I|, |ow|.

Word recognition: The ability to identify and read a word and understand its meaning.