NYSTCE ELA (003) flashcards

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

Phonemic awareness

The oral ability to isolate, blend, segment, delete, and substitute individual phonemes in spoken words. It requires no print and is a strong predictor of later decoding success.

Phonics

Print-based instruction in the relationship between letters and the sounds they represent. Systematic, explicit phonics moves from simple to complex patterns and supports both decoding and spelling.

Alphabetic principle

The understanding that spoken words are made of phonemes and that letters represent those phonemes. It is the conceptual bridge from phonemic awareness to actual decoding of written words.

Simple View of Reading

A model stating reading comprehension equals decoding multiplied by language comprehension. A weakness in either factor limits overall comprehension, which guides diagnosis of reading difficulties.

Fluency dimensions

Fluency consists of accuracy, rate measured in correct words per minute, and prosody or expression. All three matter; a fast but expressionless reader is not fully fluent.

Repeated reading

An evidence-based fluency intervention in which a student rereads a short passage multiple times with modeling and feedback, improving accuracy, rate, and expression over successive readings.

Vocabulary tiers

Tier 1 is everyday conversational vocabulary; Tier 2 is high-frequency academic vocabulary used across domains; Tier 3 is low-frequency domain-specific terminology. Tier 2 words are the priority for direct instruction.

Text complexity dimensions

Text complexity is judged qualitatively (meaning, structure, language, knowledge demands), quantitatively (readability measures such as Lexile), and by reader-and-task considerations. No single measure determines placement.

Informational text structures

Common organizational patterns in expository text: description, sequence, compare-contrast, cause-effect, and problem-solution. Recognizing structure improves recall and is a frequent assessment target.

Story grammar

The elements of narrative structure: characters, setting, initiating event, internal response, attempt, consequence, and resolution. Teaching story grammar supports comprehension and retelling of fiction.

Dramatic irony

A literary device in which the audience or reader knows something a character does not. The gap between audience knowledge and character knowledge creates tension or humor.

Unreliable narrator

A first-person or limited narrator whose account is distorted by limited knowledge, bias, or deception. Readers must infer meaning beyond what the narrator explicitly states.

Theme versus topic

Topic is the subject a work is about; theme is the underlying insight or message about life. A theme is stated as a full idea, not a single word.

Figurative language types

Categories include simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, idiom, and symbolism. Distinguishing literal from figurative meaning is a core comprehension skill tested in ELA.

Six traits of writing

Ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions. Trait-based analytic rubrics yield more reliable scoring than a single holistic impression.

Writing process stages

Prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. The process is recursive rather than linear; revision addresses content and organization, while editing addresses conventions.

Argument versus persuasion

Argument writing requires a claim, logical reasons, credible evidence, and acknowledgment of counterclaims. Persuasion may rely on emotional appeals without requiring evidence or counterclaims.

Parallel structure

The use of the same grammatical form for items in a series or comparison. Faulty parallelism (e.g., 'hiking, swimming, and to run') is a common convention error on ELA tests.

Misplaced modifier

A modifier placed so that it appears to describe the wrong word, often creating ambiguity or humor. Correcting it requires moving the modifier next to the word it modifies.

Formative assessment

Ongoing assessment during instruction used to adjust teaching in real time. Examples include exit tickets, conferring notes, and running records, as opposed to end-of-unit summative tests.

Validity versus reliability

Validity means a test measures what it claims to measure; reliability means consistent results across occasions and raters. A valid test must be reliable, but a reliable test may be invalid.

Norm versus criterion referenced

Norm-referenced tests compare a student's performance to peers using percentile ranks. Criterion-referenced tests compare performance to a fixed standard or mastery level.

Response to Intervention tiers

Tier 1 is universal instruction, Tier 2 is targeted small-group intervention, and Tier 3 is intensive individualized intervention. Movement between tiers is driven by progress-monitoring data.

Miscue analysis

Analysis of oral reading deviations classified as semantic, syntactic, or graphophonic. The pattern of miscues reveals which cueing system a reader over-relies on during reading.

Running record

A recorded oral reading used to calculate accuracy rate and analyze errors. Accuracy percentages determine whether text is independent, instructional, or frustration level for a reader.

Instructional reading level

Text read with 90 to 94 percent accuracy, challenging enough to support growth with teacher support. Independent level is 95 to 100 percent; frustration level is below 90 percent.

Morphemic analysis

Using knowledge of roots, prefixes, and suffixes to determine the meaning of unfamiliar multisyllable words. It supports vocabulary, spelling, and decoding in academic text.

Syllable types

Closed, open, vowel-consonant-e, vowel team, r-controlled, and consonant-le. Recognizing syllable types helps readers decode unfamiliar multisyllable words by dividing them into manageable parts.

Orthographic patterns

Predictable spelling rules such as silent-e (cap/cape), consonant doubling (run/running), and y-to-i changes (happy/happily). Teaching patterns is more effective than isolated list memorization.

Sight word automaticity

Instant recognition of high-frequency words such as those on the Dolch and Fry lists. Automaticity frees working memory so readers can focus on constructing meaning.

Close reading routine

Repeated reading of a short complex text with text-dependent questions that move from literal to interpretive to analytical. Evidence must come from the text itself, not personal opinion.

Text-dependent questions

Questions answerable only by drawing evidence from the text rather than from personal experience or outside knowledge. They are a key design principle in standards-aligned ELA assessment.

Writing workshop conferring

A brief individual conference during independent writing in which the teacher gives specific, criterion-referenced feedback on one trait or next step. It is the main differentiated writing feedback structure.