WB TET Primary key terms

A Piagetian concept: the understanding that the amount of a substance stays the same even when its appearance changes - for example, water poured into a taller, narrower glass still holds the same quantity.

Vygotsky's term for the gap between what a learner can do alone and what the learner can do with guidance from a more capable adult or peer. Instruction works best when it targets this gap.

Temporary support that a teacher or peer gives and then gradually withdraws, so a learner can complete a task just beyond independent reach. It may be hints, models, prompts or worked examples.

A theory holding that learners actively build understanding by linking new experience to prior knowledge rather than receiving facts passively. Teaching therefore begins with what children already know and provides active, hands-on experience.

An approach in which children with disabilities or from different languages and disadvantaged backgrounds learn in the same regular classroom, with curriculum, methods and support adjusted so every child can take part fully.

A school assessment scheme that judges learners regularly throughout the year and covers both scholastic subjects and co-scholastic areas such as attitudes, values and skills, using varied tools instead of only term-end examinations.

Assessment carried out while teaching is going on, to find out what learners understand and to adjust instruction immediately. It is frequent, low-stakes and feedback-focused, unlike summative testing at the end of a unit.

A persistent difficulty in one specific skill such as reading, writing or arithmetic that is not explained by low intelligence, poor teaching or sensory impairment. Dyslexia is the most common example in primary classrooms.

The drive to learn that comes from within the learner - curiosity, interest, a sense of competence or enjoyment of the activity itself - rather than from external rewards or punishments such as marks, stars or fear.

Howard Gardner's proposal that intelligence is not one score but several relatively separate abilities, such as linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinaesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalistic. Teachers use it to offer varied entry points to a topic.

Any consequence that follows a behaviour and makes that behaviour more likely to happen again. Praise, stars or extra play time are positive reinforcement; removing an unpleasant task can also reinforce behaviour.

The smallest unit of sound that can change meaning in a language, such as the difference between /p/ and /b/ in 'pat' and 'bat'. Children need phoneme awareness to learn letter-sound correspondence.

The smallest unit of language that carries meaning. 'Books' has two morphemes: 'book' and the plural '-s'. Free morphemes can stand alone; bound morphemes must attach to another morpheme.

The ability to notice and work with the sounds of spoken language - syllables, rhymes, beginning sounds and individual phonemes - apart from meaning. It strongly predicts early reading success and grows through rhymes, songs and sound games.

The ability to use two languages for communication, at any level from basic to fluent. In Indian classrooms it is an asset: the home language can explain concepts while the school language is still being learned.

A regional or social variety of a language with its own pronunciation, vocabulary and some grammar, still understandable to speakers of other varieties. A child's dialect is rule-governed, not wrong language, and should be respected in class.

Reading quickly to grasp the general idea or gist of a text without attending to every word. It is used to preview a chapter, decide whether a passage is useful, or answer questions about the main topic.

Reading a text quickly to locate specific information such as a name, date or figure while ignoring unrelated content. The eyes move over the page searching for keywords, unlike skimming, which targets overall meaning.

A passage with words removed at regular intervals which the learner must supply using grammar and meaning cues from the surrounding context. It assesses comprehension and overall proficiency rather than isolated vocabulary.

Dell Hymes's idea that knowing a language means more than making correct sentences: the speaker must also use language appropriately for the situation, purpose and listener. It combines grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse and strategic knowledge.

A method of teaching early reading that links letters and letter groups to their sounds, so children can decode unfamiliar words. It works best when taught systematically and alongside meaningful reading and writing.

The influence of the learner's first language on the second language, producing transfer errors in pronunciation, grammar or vocabulary - for example, dropping English articles when the mother tongue has none.

A language teaching method in which the teacher gives commands in the target language and learners respond with physical actions, as in 'Stand up' or 'Touch the door'. It links listening to movement and suits young beginners.

Extra, targeted teaching for learners who have fallen behind in a specific skill, given after diagnosing the exact difficulty. It re-teaches through different methods and materials rather than simply repeating the original lesson.

The value a digit has because of its position in a numeral: in 4,052 the 4 means four thousands and the 5 means five tens. Understanding place value underlies written calculation with regrouping.

A flexible, intuitive understanding of numbers - their size, order, relationships and how operations affect them - which lets a learner estimate and judge whether an answer is reasonable, not merely compute it.

Finding an answer close enough for a purpose by rounding or using benchmarks instead of exact calculation. Estimation helps children check the reasonableness of written answers and solve everyday problems quickly.

Teaching mathematics by moving from real objects to pictures or diagrams and only then to symbols and rules. Each stage should be secure before the next is introduced, so children understand rather than memorise.

A short real-life situation expressed in words that the learner must translate into a mathematical operation and solve. The main difficulty is usually comprehension and choosing the operation, not the calculation itself.

A property of a shape that can be divided into two matching halves by a line of symmetry, or that looks the same after turning about a point. Primary children explore it with paper folding and mirrors.

The systematic study of learners' mistakes to identify the pattern or misunderstanding behind them. Errors are treated as evidence of the child's thinking, so the teacher can plan targeted help instead of only marking answers wrong.

A community of living things - plants, animals and microbes - interacting with one another and with non-living parts such as soil, water and sunlight in a particular area. Pond, forest and field are examples.

The sequence in which energy and matter pass from one organism to another as each is eaten by the next: grass, grasshopper, frog, snake. Green plants are producers; animals are consumers.

A feature or behaviour that helps a living thing survive and reproduce in its particular habitat - for example, cactus spines that reduce water loss or gills that let a fish breathe in water.

Useful materials and energies found in nature, such as water, soil, air, forests, minerals and sunlight. Some are renewed within a human lifetime; others, like coal and petroleum, are not.

The addition of harmful substances or energy to air, water or soil in amounts that damage living things. Main causes include vehicles, industry, burning waste, sewage and excessive use of fertilisers and plastics.

The variety of living things in a place - different species, the genetic differences within them, and the range of ecosystems they form. High biodiversity usually makes an ecosystem more stable and resilient.

Using resources in a way that meets present needs without destroying the ability of future generations to meet theirs. Primary EVS teaches it through practices such as saving water, reducing waste and protecting trees.