Glossary: Terms Starting with M
99 definitions with links to the lessons that teach each word.
main clause
English
a clause that makes sense on its own
Learn it in: Clauses (Grade 5), Complex sentences (Grade 6)
main idea
English
what a text is mostly about
Learn it in: Identifying important details (Grade 1), Main ideas (Grade 2), Topic sentences (Grade 2)
mass
Maths
How heavy something is.
Learn it in: Mass (Grade 2), Measuring mass (Grade 3), Standard units (Grade 4)
match
English
go together
Learn it in: Identifying rhyming words (Grade 1), Identifying beginning sounds (Grade 1), Identifying ending sounds (Grade 1)
mean
Maths
Total divided by number of values.
Learn it in: Interpreting data (Grade 5), Comparing datasets (Grade 5), Mean (Grade 6)
meaning
English
what a word tells us
Learn it in: Understanding spoken words (Grade 1), Reading decodable sentences (Grade 1), Multiple-meaning words (Grade 1)
measure
Maths
Find how long or tall something is.
Learn it in: Measuring using non-standard units (Grade 1), Estimating measurements (Grade 2)
measure
Science
to find how much, how long or how many
Learn it in: Asking investigable questions (Grade 2), Measuring using simple tools (Grade 2)
media
English
ways of sharing messages, such as TV, radio, posters and websites
Learn it in: Understanding media messages (Grade 2), Media messages (Grade 3), Media messages (Grade 4)
mental
Maths
Done in your head.
Learn it in: Mental addition strategies (Grade 2), Mental computation (Grade 4)
message
English
what we want people to know
Learn it in: Making simple posters (Grade 1), Comparing literary texts (Grade 2), Posters (Grade 2)
metaphor
English
a comparison saying one thing is another
Learn it in: Figurative language (Grade 4), Similes and metaphors (Grade 4), Figurative language (Grade 5)
metre (m)
Maths
A longer unit of length.
Learn it in: Centimetres and metres (Grade 2), Measuring length (Grade 3)
middle
English
between the start and end
Learn it in: Oral sound manipulation (Grade 1), Short vowel sounds (Grade 1), Beginning, middle, and end (Grade 1)
millilitre (ml)
Maths
A small unit for liquids.
Learn it in: Capacity (Grade 2), Measuring capacity (Grade 3)
million
Maths
1,000,000, one thousand thousands.
Learn it in: Numbers beyond 100,000 (Grade 4), Large whole numbers (Grade 5), Large whole numbers (Grade 6)
minor detail
English
a small fact that is interesting but not essential
Learn it in: Main ideas (Grade 5), Central ideas (Grade 6)
minuend
Maths
The number we start with.
Learn it in: Multidigit subtraction (Grade 3), Large-number subtraction (Grade 4), Subtracting decimals (Grade 5)
minute hand
Maths
The long hand that shows minutes.
Learn it in: Reading time to the hour (Grade 1), Reading time to the half-hour (Grade 1), Reading clocks (Grade 2)
minutes past
Maths
Minutes after the hour.
Learn it in: Time to five-minute intervals (Grade 2), Time to the nearest minute (Grade 3)
minutes to
Maths
Minutes before the next hour.
Learn it in: Time to five-minute intervals (Grade 2), Time to the nearest minute (Grade 3)
misinformation
English
false information shared without intent to harm
Learn it in: Misleading information (Grade 6)
misleading statistic
English
a number presented so it gives a false impression
Learn it in: Misleading information (Grade 6)
misplaced modifier
English
a modifier that seems to describe the wrong word
missing factor
Maths
A number to find in a multiplication.
Learn it in: Relationship between multiplication and division (Grade 3), Factor pairs (Grade 4)
missing number
Maths
A number we need to find.
Learn it in: Relationship between addition and subtraction (Grade 1)
missing side
Maths
A side we need to find.
Learn it in: Relationship between multiplication and area (Grade 3)
missing subject
English
no one or nothing is doing the action
Learn it in: Sentence fragments (Grade 3)
mistake
English
something not right
Learn it in: Repeated reading (Grade 1), Basic sentence correction (Grade 1)
mixed number
Maths
A whole number and a fraction.
Learn it in: Mixed numbers (Grade 4), Fractions greater than one (Grade 4), Writing decimals (Grade 4)
mode
Maths
Most frequent value.
Learn it in: Frequency tables (Grade 5), Line plots (Grade 5), Interpreting data (Grade 5)
model
Maths
A picture or objects that stand for a number.
Learn it in: Representing two-digit numbers (Grade 1), Mathematical modelling (Grade 6)
moderator
English
the person who guides the discussion
Learn it in: Structured discussions (Grade 4), Introductory debates (Grade 6)
modifier
English
a word or phrase that describes another word
modify
English
change or add to the meaning
Learn it in: Adverbs (Grade 2), Prepositional phrases (Grade 4)
monitor
English
to check how you are doing
Learn it in: Monitoring reading accuracy (Grade 3), Monitoring comprehension (Grade 4), Reading complex texts (Grade 5)
month
Maths
A part of a year, about 4 weeks.
Learn it in: Months of the year (Grade 1), Calendars (Grade 2)
mood
English
the feeling a story gives
Learn it in: Settings (Grade 3), Setting and atmosphere (Grade 4), Descriptive settings (Grade 4)
moral
English
the lesson of a story
Learn it in: Traditional tales (Grade 1), Fables (Grade 2), Main idea and theme (Grade 3)
more
Maths
A larger number of things.
Learn it in: Comparing numbers (Grade 1), Counting categories (Grade 1), Comparing data (Grade 2)
morpheme
English
the smallest part of a word that has meaning
Learn it in: Morphological analysis (Grade 4), Spelling and morphology (Grade 4), Morphology (Grade 5)
most
Maths
The biggest number.
Learn it in: Interpreting simple data (Grade 1), Reading graphs (Grade 2), Reading and interpreting graphs (Grade 3)
motivation
English
the reason a character acts
Learn it in: Character actions and motivations (Grade 2), Character motivations (Grade 3), Character development (Grade 4)
motive
English
the reason a character acts
Learn it in: Characterisation (Grade 5), Character interpretation (Grade 5)
move
Science
to go from one place to another
Learn it in: Animals as living organisms (Grade 1), What is movement (Grade 1)
multimedia
English
using text, images, sound and video together
Learn it in: Multimedia presentations (Grade 5), Multimedia messages (Grade 6)
multiple
Maths
A number you get by skip counting.
Learn it in: Skip counting (Grade 2), Multiplication tables (Grade 3), Understanding multiples (Grade 4)
multiple of ten
Maths
10, 20, 30 ...
Learn it in: Multiplying by multiples of ten (Grade 3), Multiplying by multiples of ten (Grade 4), Division using place value (Grade 4)
multiple-meaning word
English
a word with more than one meaning
Learn it in: Multiple-meaning words (Grade 3), Multiple-meaning words (Grade 4), Contextual vocabulary (Grade 5)
multiplier
Maths
Number you multiply by.
Learn it in: Finding percentages of quantities (Grade 6), Introductory percentage increase and decrease (Grade 6)
multiply
Maths
Find the total of equal groups.
Learn it in: Repeated addition (Grade 2), Relationship between multiplication and division (Grade 2), Multiplication as equal groups (Grade 3)
multistep
Maths
More than one step.
Learn it in: Multistep problems (Grade 4), Multistep problems (Grade 5), Measurement problem-solving (Grade 5)
multisyllabic
English
having more than one syllable
Learn it in: Multisyllabic word decoding (Grade 3), Multisyllabic decoding (Grade 4), Multisyllabic word analysis (Grade 5)