MTLE key terms

The ability to notice, think about, and work with the individual sounds in spoken words, such as blending, segmenting, and deleting phonemes. It is an oral skill and does not involve printed letters.

Instruction in the relationships between letters or letter patterns and the sounds they represent, taught so students can decode unfamiliar words when reading and encode words when writing.

The mental process of linking a word's pronunciation and meaning to its exact letter sequence, which allows a reader to recognize that word instantly and automatically as a sight word.

Reading text accurately, at an appropriate rate, and with suitable expression. Fluent reading frees a student's attention to focus on meaning instead of on decoding individual words.

The study of the smallest meaningful units of language, including roots, prefixes, and suffixes, and how those units combine to form words and to change a word's meaning.

An individual oral-reading assessment in which the teacher records a student's errors, self-corrections, and reading behaviors on a copy of the text, then analyzes which reading strategies the student uses.

Careful, repeated reading of a short, complex text in which students examine specific words, sentences, and structures and answer text-dependent questions grounded in evidence from the passage.

A flexible, intuitive understanding of numbers, their magnitudes, and how they relate, along with the ability to use that understanding to estimate and to judge whether an answer is reasonable.

The principle that the value of a digit depends on its position within a number, so that each place represents a power of ten in our base-ten system.

The instant recognition of the number of items in a small set without counting them one by one; it supports early number sense and the development of counting.

Knowledge of why mathematical procedures work, including the meaning of operations and the connections among ideas, rather than only the ability to carry out steps correctly.

The ability to carry out mathematical procedures accurately, efficiently, and flexibly, and to choose an appropriate method for a given problem.

The effortful thinking students do when working on a task that is challenging but reachable, which builds persistence and deeper understanding rather than relying on being told the answer.

A sequenced instructional approach in which a concept is first explored with physical objects, then with drawings or diagrams, and finally with written symbols and procedures.

The behaviors scientists and engineers use as they work, such as asking questions, planning investigations, analyzing data, constructing explanations, and arguing from evidence; they describe what students should do, not only what they should know.

Themes that apply across all science disciplines, such as patterns, cause and effect, scale, systems, and energy flow, which help students connect ideas from different fields.

The central ideas of physical science, life science, earth and space science, and engineering that students should learn in depth and revisit at increasing levels of sophistication across the grades.

Teaching science by anchoring lessons in observable events or problems that students can investigate and explain, so that content learning grows out of making sense of something real.

A lesson sequence with five phases-engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate-that moves students from firsthand exploration toward a formal explanation and application of a science concept.

The practice of making a claim, supporting it with evidence, and using reasoning to connect the evidence to the claim, while responding to alternative explanations and criticism.

A document, object, image, or account created by someone who participated in or witnessed an event, such as a letter, photograph, or diary, used as direct evidence about the past.

The set of skills historians use to interpret the past, including sourcing, contextualizing, corroborating evidence, and judging how perspective shapes what a source says.

A historical thinking concept that asks students to identify what stayed the same and what changed over a period of time, and to evaluate how significant or rapid those changes were.

The knowledge and skills people need in order to participate responsibly in public life, including how government works, the rights and duties of citizens, and how to deliberate about public issues.

A four-stage framework for social studies investigation: developing questions, applying disciplinary tools and concepts, evaluating sources and using evidence, and communicating conclusions and taking action.

The point of view from which a person, group, or source describes or experiences events, shaped by time, place, culture, and interests; students compare perspectives to understand contested accounts.

The ongoing gathering of evidence about student learning during instruction, used to adjust teaching and give feedback while learning is still in progress rather than to assign a final grade.

An evaluation of student learning at the end of a unit, course, or period, used to measure achievement against standards and to report or certify what students have learned.

A planning approach that starts by identifying the desired learning outcomes and acceptable evidence of mastery, and only then designs activities and instruction aligned to those goals.

Temporary support a teacher provides-such as models, prompts, or structured steps-that lets a student succeed at a task slightly beyond current ability, with support gradually removed as competence grows.

The range of tasks a learner can complete with guidance from a more capable person but cannot yet do independently; instruction is most effective when aimed at this range.

Planning teaching so that content, process, or product is adjusted to students' readiness, interests, and learning profiles, while all students work toward the same essential standards.

A framework for planning instruction with multiple means of engagement, representation, and action and expression so that varied learners can access the same curriculum without after-the-fact accommodations.

Instruction that draws on students' cultural backgrounds, experiences, and community knowledge as resources for learning and that examines how school practices may advantage some students over others.