Foundational Reading Skills: Glossary
110 words, listed in the order you meet them in Courseversity lessons.
All words in this topic
Grade 1
sound
From Grade 1
something you hear
Learn it in: Recognising environmental sounds (Grade 1), Identifying beginning sounds (Grade 1), Identifying ending sounds (Grade 1)
end
From Grade 1
the last part
Learn it in: Identifying rhyming words (Grade 1), Consonant blends (Grade 1), Beginning, middle, and end (Grade 1)
match
From Grade 1
go together
Learn it in: Identifying rhyming words (Grade 1), Identifying beginning sounds (Grade 1), Identifying ending sounds (Grade 1)
pair
From Grade 1
two things that go together
Learn it in: Identifying rhyming words (Grade 1), Opposites (Grade 1)
rhyme
From Grade 1
words that end with the same sound
Learn it in: Identifying rhyming words (Grade 1), Nursery rhymes (Grade 1), Word families (Grade 2)
beat
From Grade 1
one part of a word
Learn it in: Recognising syllables (Grade 1), Nursery rhymes (Grade 1), Syllable division (Grade 2)
count
From Grade 1
say numbers in order
Learn it in: Recognising syllables (Grade 1), Segmenting spoken words (Grade 1)
syllable
From Grade 1
a beat in a word
Learn it in: Recognising syllables (Grade 1), Syllable division (Grade 2), Multisyllabic word decoding (Grade 3)
beginning
From Grade 1
the start
Learn it in: Identifying beginning sounds (Grade 1), Beginning, middle, and end (Grade 1), Story sequencing (Grade 2)
first
From Grade 1
before all others
Learn it in: Identifying beginning sounds (Grade 1), Understanding story events (Grade 1)
ending
From Grade 1
the last part
Learn it in: Identifying ending sounds (Grade 1), Inflectional endings (Grade 2), Decoding longer words (Grade 2)
last
From Grade 1
after all others
Learn it in: Identifying ending sounds (Grade 1), Understanding story events (Grade 1)
blend
From Grade 1
push sounds together
Learn it in: Blending spoken phonemes (Grade 1), Consonant–vowel–consonant words (Grade 1), Blending sounds into words (Grade 1)
middle
From Grade 1
between the start and end
Learn it in: Oral sound manipulation (Grade 1), Short vowel sounds (Grade 1), Beginning, middle, and end (Grade 1)
new word
From Grade 1
a different word
Learn it in: Oral sound manipulation (Grade 1), Using new words in sentences (Grade 1)
replace
From Grade 1
put another in its place
Learn it in: Oral sound manipulation (Grade 1), Pronouns (Grade 2)
alphabet
From Grade 1
all the letters in order
Learn it in: Uppercase and lowercase letters (Grade 1), Consonant sounds (Grade 1)
letter
From Grade 1
a mark that stands for a sound
Learn it in: Uppercase and lowercase letters (Grade 1), Segmenting words for spelling (Grade 1)
lowercase
From Grade 1
a small letter
Learn it in: Uppercase and lowercase letters (Grade 1), Lowercase letters (Grade 1)
uppercase
From Grade 1
a big, capital letter
Learn it in: Uppercase and lowercase letters (Grade 1), Uppercase letters (Grade 1)
begin
From Grade 1
start
Learn it in: Letter names and sounds (Grade 1), Consonant blends (Grade 1), Capital letters (Grade 1)
consonant
From Grade 1
a letter that is not a vowel
Learn it in: Consonant sounds (Grade 1), Reviewing consonant blends (Grade 2)
vowel
From Grade 1
a, e, i, o or u
Learn it in: Consonant sounds (Grade 1), Short vowel sounds (Grade 1), Syllable division (Grade 2)
short vowel
From Grade 1
the quick sound a vowel makes
Learn it in: Short vowel sounds (Grade 1), Long-vowel spelling patterns (Grade 2)
CVC word
From Grade 1
a word with consonant, vowel, consonant
Learn it in: Consonant–vowel–consonant words (Grade 1)
check
From Grade 1
look again
Learn it in: Blending sounds into words (Grade 1), Segmenting words for spelling (Grade 1), Making predictions (Grade 1)
decode
From Grade 1
read a word using letter sounds
Learn it in: Blending sounds into words (Grade 1), Decodable word reading (Grade 1), Decoding longer words (Grade 2)
sense
From Grade 1
meaning
Learn it in: Blending sounds into words (Grade 1), Multiple-meaning words (Grade 1), Multiple-meaning words (Grade 4)
spell
From Grade 1
write the letters in a word
Learn it in: Segmenting words for spelling (Grade 1), Spelling simple words (Grade 1), Common irregular words (Grade 2)
digraph
From Grade 1
two letters that make one sound
Learn it in: Consonant digraphs (Grade 1), Consonant blends (Grade 1), Reviewing consonant digraphs (Grade 2)
long vowel
From Grade 1
a vowel that says its name
Learn it in: Common long-vowel patterns (Grade 1), Long-vowel spelling patterns (Grade 2)
pattern
From Grade 1
a way letters repeat
Learn it in: Common long-vowel patterns (Grade 1), Long-vowel spelling patterns (Grade 2), Word families (Grade 2)
silent e
From Grade 1
an e at the end that you do not say
Learn it in: Common long-vowel patterns (Grade 1), Long-vowel spelling patterns (Grade 2)
vowel team
From Grade 1
two vowels that make one sound
Learn it in: Common long-vowel patterns (Grade 1), Vowel teams (Grade 2), Advanced phonics review (Grade 3)
fluent
From Grade 1
smooth and easy
Learn it in: Decodable word reading (Grade 1), Repeated reading (Grade 1), Accurate word recognition (Grade 2)
assessment
From Grade 1
a way to check what you know
Learn it in: Phonics review and assessment (Grade 1), Final Grade 6 literacy assessment (Grade 6)
review
From Grade 1
look at again
Learn it in: Phonics review and assessment (Grade 1), Literary response projects (Grade 5), Final Grade 6 literacy assessment (Grade 6)
Grade 2
beginning blend
From Grade 2
a blend at the start, like st in stop
Learn it in: Reviewing consonant blends (Grade 2)
ending blend
From Grade 2
a blend at the end, like nd in hand
Learn it in: Reviewing consonant blends (Grade 2)
diphthong
From Grade 2
a vowel sound that glides from one sound to another
Learn it in: Common diphthongs (Grade 2), Advanced phonics review (Grade 3)
base word
From Grade 2
a word before an ending is added
Learn it in: Inflectional endings (Grade 2), Common prefixes (Grade 2), Prefixes and suffixes (Grade 3)
plural
From Grade 2
more than one
Learn it in: Inflectional endings (Grade 2), Singular and plural nouns (Grade 2), Spelling conventions (Grade 3)
irregular
From Grade 2
not following the usual pattern
Learn it in: Common irregular words (Grade 2), Singular and plural nouns (Grade 2)
sight word
From Grade 2
a word you know without sounding it out
Learn it in: Common irregular words (Grade 2), Accurate word recognition (Grade 2)
prefix
From Grade 2
a word part added to the start
Learn it in: Decoding longer words (Grade 2), Common prefixes (Grade 2), Prefixes and suffixes (Grade 3)
Grade 3
r-controlled vowel
From Grade 3
a vowel changed by the letter r
Learn it in: Advanced phonics review (Grade 3)
multisyllabic
From Grade 3
having more than one syllable
Learn it in: Multisyllabic word decoding (Grade 3), Multisyllabic decoding (Grade 4), Multisyllabic word analysis (Grade 5)
closed syllable
From Grade 3
a syllable that ends in a consonant, with a short vowel
Learn it in: Syllable patterns (Grade 3)
open syllable
From Grade 3
a syllable that ends in a vowel, with a long vowel
Learn it in: Syllable patterns (Grade 3)
silent-e syllable
From Grade 3
a syllable with the vowel-consonant-e pattern
Learn it in: Syllable patterns (Grade 3)
affix
From Grade 3
a prefix or a suffix
Learn it in: Prefixes and suffixes (Grade 3), Morphology (Grade 5)
strategy
From Grade 3
a plan that helps you do something
Learn it in: Reading unfamiliar words (Grade 3), Academic vocabulary application (Grade 6)
accuracy
From Grade 3
reading words correctly
Learn it in: Reading fluently (Grade 3), Reading fluency (Grade 4)
exclamation mark
From Grade 3
the mark ! that shows strong feeling
Learn it in: Punctuation and expression (Grade 3)
accuracy rate
From Grade 3
the percentage of words read correctly
Learn it in: Monitoring reading accuracy (Grade 3)
monitor
From Grade 3
to check how you are doing
Learn it in: Monitoring reading accuracy (Grade 3), Monitoring comprehension (Grade 4), Reading complex texts (Grade 5)
Grade 4
Greek root
From Grade 4
a root that comes from ancient Greek
Learn it in: Greek and Latin roots (Grade 4)
morpheme
From Grade 4
the smallest part of a word that has meaning
Learn it in: Morphological analysis (Grade 4), Spelling and morphology (Grade 4), Morphology (Grade 5)
conclude
From Grade 4
to decide after thinking about the facts
Learn it in: Academic vocabulary (Grade 4), Advanced academic vocabulary (Grade 5)
fix-up strategy
From Grade 4
a way to repair understanding
Learn it in: Monitoring comprehension (Grade 4), Reading complex texts (Grade 5)
Grade 5
academic vocabulary
From Grade 5
words used often in school subjects
Learn it in: Academic vocabulary (Grade 5)
diagram
From Grade 5
a labelled drawing that explains something
Learn it in: Technical vocabulary (Grade 5)
technical term
From Grade 5
a special word used in one subject
Learn it in: Technical vocabulary (Grade 5), Technical vocabulary (Grade 6)
complex text
From Grade 5
a text with difficult ideas or language
Learn it in: Reading complex texts (Grade 5), Complex informational texts (Grade 6)