CSET Multiple Subjects key terms

The ability to notice and work with the individual sounds in spoken words, such as blending /k/ /a/ /t/ into 'cat' or separating the first sound. It involves listening and speaking, not printed letters.

A way of teaching reading that connects printed letters and letter patterns to the sounds they stand for, so students can decode unfamiliar words. It builds on phonemic awareness and supports fluent reading.

Reading text accurately, at a sensible speed, and with expression that shows understanding. Fluent readers recognize most words automatically, leaving attention free for meaning.

The active process of building meaning from text by linking the words on the page to vocabulary knowledge, prior experience, and the reader's purpose.

An organized mental store of prior knowledge and experience that a reader brings to a text and uses to interpret, organize, and remember new information.

A diagnostic technique in which a teacher studies a student's oral reading errors to see which strategies the reader uses and what instruction is needed next.

An original record or object created during the period being studied, such as a diary, letter, photograph, artifact, or law. It provides firsthand evidence about the past.

A later work that interprets, analyzes, or summarizes primary evidence, such as a textbook, encyclopedia entry, or scholarly article. It is one step removed from the original event.

A leaning or preference that affects how information is chosen, emphasized, or presented. A biased source can be one-sided even when the facts it reports are accurate.

A system of government that divides power between a national government and state or regional governments, each with its own defined responsibilities and authority.

The division of governmental authority among legislative, executive, and judicial branches so that no single branch holds all the power.

Constitutional arrangements that allow each branch of government to limit the actions of the others, such as a presidential veto or a court ruling that a law is unconstitutional.

A testable, tentative explanation or prediction about a phenomenon. It must be stated so that observations or experiments could support or reject it.

An investigation in which the researcher changes one factor while keeping other conditions the same, so any observed effect can be attributed to that factor.

The factor that a researcher deliberately changes or manipulates in an experiment; it is the supposed cause whose effect is being measured.

The process by which green plants, algae, and some bacteria use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to make sugar and release oxygen.

The theory that Earth's outer shell is broken into large plates that slowly move, causing earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain building, and seafloor spreading where they interact.

The value a digit has because of its position in a number. In 352, the 5 stands for 5 tens, or 50, while the 3 stands for 300.

The rule that multiplying a number by a sum gives the same result as multiplying the number by each addend and adding the products: a(b + c) = ab + ac.

The idea that different fractions can name the same amount, such as 1/2, 2/4, and 3/6, because each describes the same portion of a whole.

A comparison of two quantities by division, often written as a to b, a:b, or a/b. It shows how much of one quantity there is relative to another.

An equation saying that two ratios are equal, such as 3/4 = 6/8. Missing values in a proportion can often be found by cross-multiplying.

A number between 0 and 1 that expresses how likely an event is. For equally likely outcomes, it equals favorable outcomes divided by all possible outcomes.

A movement that carries the body from one place to another, such as walking, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, or galloping.

The ability of the heart, lungs, and blood vessels to deliver oxygen during sustained physical activity. Regular aerobic exercise improves it.

The greatest force a muscle or muscle group can produce in one effort. It is often developed through resistance exercises such as lifting or pushing.

A framework for planning exercise that specifies frequency, intensity, time, and type of activity, helping people build fitness safely and effectively.

A young child's growing understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight. Piaget studied it in infants.

In Piaget's theory, the understanding that a quantity stays the same despite changes in how it looks or is arranged, such as pouring water into a taller glass.

Temporary support from a teacher or more capable peer that helps a learner complete a task just beyond current ability; the support is reduced as the learner gains skill.

Vygotsky's term for the range of tasks a learner can complete with guidance but not yet independently-the area where instruction is most productive.

The emotional bond that develops between an infant and caregivers, shaping feelings of security and influencing later social relationships.

The basic visual building blocks used to create artwork: line, shape, form, color, value, texture, and space. Artists combine these elements in different ways.

Guidelines for arranging the elements of art effectively, including balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, pattern, rhythm, and unity. They help artists organize a composition.

The quality of a sound that lets a listener tell one instrument or voice from another, even when they play the same pitch at the same volume.

In music, the pattern of sounds and silences in time. In visual art, it is the repetition of elements that creates a sense of visual movement.

A frozen, silent scene made by performers holding poses to represent a moment, idea, or story. It is often used in drama and movement lessons.