NYSTCE Multi-Subject 5-9 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 in spoken words, such as blending or segmenting /c/ /a/ /t/. It is a subset of phonological awareness and a strong predictor of decoding success.

Simple View of Reading

A model stating that reading comprehension equals decoding ability multiplied by language comprehension. A weakness in either factor alone limits overall comprehension, so both need assessment.

Fluency dimensions

Fluency comprises accuracy, rate, and prosody. Teachers measure correct words per minute, listen for phrasing and expression, and use repeated reading with modeling and feedback to build all three.

Text complexity triangle

A framework for judging text difficulty using three dimensions: qualitative features like structure and knowledge demands, quantitative readability measures, and reader and task considerations.

Tier 2 academic words

Cross-content words such as analyze, contrast, and infer that appear across subjects and carry high instructional payoff for middle-grade readers. They differ from everyday Tier 1 and domain-specific Tier 3 words.

Informational text structures

Common organizational patterns in nonfiction: description, sequence, compare-contrast, cause-effect, and problem-solution. Explicitly teaching these patterns improves students' recall and comprehension of content-area reading.

Recursive writing process

Writing moves among planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing rather than in a single fixed sequence. Revision reshapes ideas and organization; editing corrects conventions such as spelling and punctuation.

Formative assessment

Ongoing assessment during instruction, such as exit tickets, questioning, or quick writes, used to adjust teaching in the moment rather than to assign a final grade.

Order of operations

Evaluate grouping symbols first, then exponents, then multiplication and division left to right, then addition and subtraction left to right. This sequence produces a single agreed value for an expression.

Dividing fractions

To divide by a fraction, multiply by its reciprocal: a/b divided by c/d equals a/b times d/c. A complex fraction can be simplified by multiplying numerator and denominator by the least common denominator.

Constant of proportionality

In a proportional relationship y = kx, the constant k equals y/x for every pair of values. Its graph is a straight line through the origin.

Percent change

Percent change equals the difference from the original divided by the original, times 100. Increases and decreases are asymmetric: a 20% rise followed by a 20% fall leaves 96% of the original amount.

Slope formula

Slope m equals (y2 - y1) divided by (x2 - x1), the vertical change over horizontal change. Parallel lines have equal slopes; perpendicular slopes are negative reciprocals multiplying to -1.

Trapezoid area

The area of a trapezoid equals one-half the sum of the parallel bases multiplied by the height: A = (1/2)(b1 + b2)h. The height is the perpendicular distance between the bases.

Cone and pyramid volume

Volume of a cone or pyramid equals one-third of the base area times the height: V = (1/3)Bh. A prism or cylinder with the same base and height holds three times as much.

Mean versus median

The mean is the sum divided by the count and shifts toward outliers. The median is the middle value of ordered data and resists outliers, making it better for skewed distributions.

Mean absolute deviation

The average distance between each data value and the mean. Compute each absolute deviation, sum them, and divide by the number of values to describe typical spread.

Independent event probability

For independent events, the probability that both occur equals the product of their individual probabilities. Coin flips and repeated spins are independent because earlier outcomes do not affect later ones.

Integer sign rules

The product or quotient of two numbers with the same sign is positive; with different signs it is negative. Subtracting a negative adds its absolute value, as in 5 - (-3) = 8.

Plate boundaries

Divergent boundaries pull plates apart and create new crust; convergent boundaries collide, forming mountains and volcanoes; transform boundaries slide past each other, producing earthquakes such as along the San Andreas Fault.

Water cycle

Evaporation and transpiration lift water vapor, condensation forms clouds, precipitation returns water to the surface, and runoff and infiltration move it across and into the ground. The sun supplies the energy.

Photosynthesis and respiration

Photosynthesis uses light in chloroplasts to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen. Cellular respiration in mitochondria breaks down glucose with oxygen to release energy, carbon dioxide, and water.

Trophic energy transfer

Only about 10% of energy at one trophic level passes to the next; the rest is lost as heat and through life processes. This loss limits food chains to roughly four or five links.

Newton's three laws

Objects at rest or in uniform motion stay so unless a net force acts; acceleration equals net force divided by mass; every action has an equal and opposite reaction on a different object.

Checks and balances

Each federal branch limits the others: the president vetoes legislation, Congress overrides vetoes and confirms appointments, and courts exercise judicial review over laws and executive actions.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791, protecting freedoms such as speech, religion, press, assembly, and rights of the accused.

River-valley civilizations

Early complex societies formed along rivers: Mesopotamia on the Tigris and Euphrates, Egypt on the Nile, the Indus civilization, and China on the Yellow River. Irrigation and agricultural surplus supported cities.

Elements of art

The building blocks of visual work: line, shape, form, color, value, texture, and space. Principles such as balance, contrast, emphasis, pattern, and unity organize these elements.

Least restrictive environment

The IDEA requirement that students with disabilities be educated alongside peers without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate, with removal only when supports in general education cannot meet their needs.

Section 504 accommodations

Section 504 protects students with impairments that substantially limit a major life activity. It provides accommodations such as extended time or preferential seating, but not specialized instruction or an IEP.

Response to Intervention tiers

A three-tier framework: Tier 1 is universal instruction for all, Tier 2 is targeted small-group support, and Tier 3 is intensive individualized intervention, with progress monitoring guiding movement between tiers.

WIDA proficiency levels

English language development levels from 1 Entering through 2 Emerging, 3 Developing, 4 Expanding, 5 Bridging, and 6 Reaching. Teachers scaffold content and language at the student's current level.