MTTC Elementary Education (103) flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Phonemic awareness

The ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words, such as blending or segmenting the sounds in 'cat'. It is oral and does not involve print.

Phonics

Instruction in the relationship between letters and the sounds they represent, enabling readers to decode unfamiliar printed words by applying sound-symbol correspondences.

Simple View of Reading

A model stating that reading comprehension equals decoding ability multiplied by language comprehension. A deficit in either factor produces weak overall comprehension.

Onset and rime

The onset is the initial consonant sound of a syllable and the rime is the vowel plus following consonants; 'cat' splits into /c/ and /at/.

Formative assessment

Ongoing checks during instruction, such as exit tickets or running records, used to adjust teaching while learning is still in progress rather than to assign a final grade.

Writing process stages

Prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Revising reshapes content and organization; editing corrects conventions such as spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Place value

The principle that a digit's value depends on its position; in 4,582 the 5 stands for 5 hundreds, or 500, and each place is ten times the place to its right.

Equivalent fractions

Fractions that name the same quantity, produced by multiplying numerator and denominator by the same nonzero number, as in 1/2 = 3/6.

Dividing by a fraction

Multiply by the reciprocal: a/b divided by c/d equals a/b times d/c. For example, 3/4 divided by 1/2 equals 3/4 times 2/1, or 3/2.

Triangle area formula

Area equals one-half times base times height, A = (1/2)bh, where the height is perpendicular to the chosen base.

Measures of center

Mean is the sum divided by the count, median is the middle ordered value, and mode is the most frequent value. Outliers shift the mean more than the median.

Prime and composite numbers

A prime has exactly two factors, one and itself; a composite has more than two. One is neither, and two is the only even prime.

Controlled experiment variables

The independent variable is deliberately changed, the dependent variable is measured as the outcome, and controlled variables are held constant to keep the comparison fair.

Photosynthesis inputs and outputs

Carbon dioxide and water, using light energy captured by chlorophyll, produce glucose and oxygen inside chloroplasts. It is the basis of most food chains.

Energy in food chains

Energy flows from producers to consumers to decomposers, and roughly ten percent transfers to each successive trophic level, so food chains rarely exceed four or five links.

Newton's second law

The net force on an object equals its mass times its acceleration, F = ma. A larger mass requires more force for the same acceleration.

Water cycle stages

Evaporation and transpiration lift water vapor, condensation forms clouds, precipitation returns water to the surface, and collection gathers it in bodies of water and soil.

Three rock types

Igneous rock forms from cooled magma or lava, sedimentary rock from compacted and cemented deposits, and metamorphic rock from existing rock altered by heat and pressure.

Physical versus chemical change

Physical changes such as melting or dissolving alter form but not chemical identity; chemical changes produce new substances, signaled by color change, gas, or heat.

Three branches of government

Congress legislates, the President executes and enforces laws, and the courts interpret laws and review their constitutionality. Each branch limits the others.

Checks and balances examples

The President may veto legislation, Congress may override a veto by a two-thirds vote, and courts may strike down laws through judicial review.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, protecting freedoms of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition along with rights of the accused and reserved powers.

Opportunity cost

The value of the next best alternative given up when a choice is made; scarcity forces every economic decision to carry one.

Latitude versus longitude

Latitude lines run east-west and measure distance north or south of the equator; longitude lines run north-south and measure distance east or west of the prime meridian.

Primary versus secondary sources

Primary sources are firsthand records such as diaries, letters, and artifacts; secondary sources, such as textbooks, interpret or analyze primary evidence.

Piaget's concrete operational stage

Roughly ages seven to eleven, when children master conservation, classification, and reversibility but still reason about concrete rather than abstract ideas.

Zone of proximal development

Vygotsky's term for the range between what a learner can do independently and what they can do with guidance from a more capable person.

Scaffolding

Temporary supports such as models, prompts, or partial examples that let a learner complete a task beyond independent reach, gradually removed as competence grows.

Piaget's preoperational stage

Roughly ages two to seven, marked by symbolic thought and language growth but limited by egocentrism and difficulty with conservation tasks.

Intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation comes from interest or satisfaction in the task itself; extrinsic motivation comes from outside rewards or pressures such as grades or praise.

Bloom's revised taxonomy

A hierarchy of cognitive processes: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create. Lower levels support, but do not automatically precede, higher ones.

Erikson's industry versus inferiority

The psychosocial stage of roughly ages six to twelve, when children seek competence through productive work and peer comparison; repeated failure can foster feelings of inferiority.