primary source
English
an original record from the time or an eyewitness
Learn it in: Primary and secondary sources (Grade 4), Comparing sources (Grade 5), Reliable sources (Grade 6)
Glossary: Terms Starting with P
176 definitions with links to the lessons that teach each word.
pace
English
how fast or slow you speak
Learn it in: Speaking clearly (Grade 1), Giving clear explanations (Grade 2), Reading short passages (Grade 2)
pair
English
two things that go together
Learn it in: Identifying rhyming words (Grade 1), Opposites (Grade 1)
paragraph
English
a group of sentences about one idea
Learn it in: Topic sentences (Grade 2), Short factual reports (Grade 2), Topic sentences (Grade 3)
paragraph unity
English
all sentences focused on one idea
Learn it in: Explanatory paragraphs (Grade 6)
parallel
Maths
Always the same distance apart.
Learn it in: Quadrilaterals (Grade 3), Properties of shapes (Grade 3), Parallel lines (Grade 4)
parallelogram
Maths
Opposite sides parallel.
Learn it in: Quadrilaterals (Grade 3), Quadrilaterals (Grade 5), Quadrilaterals (Grade 6)
paraphrase
English
to say it in your own words
Learn it in: Textual evidence (Grade 3), Summarising informational texts (Grade 3), Simple note-taking (Grade 3)
parentheses
Maths
Brackets that group.
Learn it in: Numerical expressions (Grade 5), Order of operations (Grade 5), Order of operations (Grade 5)
parenthetical
English
extra information in commas, dashes or brackets
Learn it in: Punctuation (Grade 6)
part
Maths
One of the numbers in a bond.
Learn it in: Number bonds to 10 (Grade 1), Equal parts (Grade 2), Ratio word problems (Grade 6)
part
Science
one piece of a whole thing
Learn it in: Identifying objects (Grade 1), What are plants? (Grade 1)
part of speech
English
a label like noun or verb
Learn it in: Dictionary skills (Grade 3), Dictionary and thesaurus skills (Grade 4)
partial product
Maths
A part of the product.
Learn it in: Two-digit multiplication (Grade 4), Multidigit multiplication (Grade 4), Multidigit multiplication (Grade 5)
partition
Maths
Break a number into parts.
Learn it in: Mental addition strategies (Grade 2), Addition within 100 (Grade 2), Partitioning shapes (Grade 2)
passage
English
a short piece of writing
Learn it in: Reading short passages (Grade 2), Informational passages (Grade 2)
past tense
English
happened before
Learn it in: Verbs and verb tenses (Grade 2), Verb tense consistency (Grade 4)
pattern
English
a way letters repeat
Learn it in: Common long-vowel patterns (Grade 1), Long-vowel spelling patterns (Grade 2), Word families (Grade 2)
pattern
Maths
Something that repeats in a way you can predict.
Learn it in: Numbers to 50 (Grade 1), Recognising patterns (Grade 1), Multiplication facts for 2, 5 and 10 (Grade 2)
pause
English
stop for a moment
Learn it in: Reading with phrasing (Grade 1), Full stops (Grade 1), Punctuation and phrasing (Grade 2)
pay
Maths
Give money for something.
Learn it in: Simple money problems (Grade 1), Making change in simple situations (Grade 2)
PEEL
English
Point, Evidence, Explanation, Link: a paragraph pattern
Learn it in: Structured essays (Grade 6)
peer feedback
English
comments from a classmate
Learn it in: Revision and editing (Grade 4), Revising arguments (Grade 6)
peer review
English
feedback from a classmate
Learn it in: Editing and revision (Grade 5), Revision and editing (Grade 6), Digital communication projects (Grade 6)
percent
Maths
Per hundred.
Learn it in: Meaning of percent (Grade 5), Percent as parts per hundred (Grade 5), Fractions and percentages (Grade 5)
perfect tense
English
shows an action completed or connected to another time
Learn it in: Verb forms (Grade 5), Verb forms and consistency (Grade 6)
perimeter
Maths
The distance around a shape.
Learn it in: Perimeter (Grade 3), Measurement word problems (Grade 3), Triangles (Grade 3)
period
Maths
A group of three digits.
Learn it in: Numbers to 100,000 (Grade 4), Large whole numbers (Grade 5), Large whole numbers (Grade 6)
permission
English
agreement that allows you to use something
Learn it in: Ethical information use (Grade 6)
perpendicular
Maths
Meeting at a right angle (90°).
Learn it in: Perpendicular lines (Grade 4), Points and lines (Grade 6)
personal
English
about you
Learn it in: Writing personal experiences (Grade 1), Personal narratives (Grade 2)
personal attack
English
attacking the person instead of the argument
Learn it in: Evaluating reasoning (Grade 6)
personification
English
giving human actions to a non-human thing
Learn it in: Figurative language (Grade 4), Personification (Grade 4), Figurative language (Grade 5)
perspective
English
the view from which a story is told
Learn it in: Narrative perspective (Grade 5), Cultural perspectives (Grade 5), Perspective and bias (Grade 6)
persuade
English
to convince someone
Learn it in: Posters (Grade 2), Supporting opinions with reasons (Grade 3), Media messages (Grade 3)
persuasive technique
English
a method used to influence what people think or buy
Learn it in: Persuasive techniques (Grade 6)
persuasive writing
English
writing meant to convince the reader
Learn it in: Opinion and persuasive writing (Grade 5)
pet
Science
an animal that people look after at home
Learn it in: Caring for living things (Grade 1), Common animals (Grade 1), Animal care (Grade 2)
petal
Science
one of the coloured parts of a flower
Learn it in: Flowers (Grade 1), Flowering plants (Grade 2)
phrase
English
a small group of words
Learn it in: Reading with phrasing (Grade 1), Reading connected sentences (Grade 2), Reading fluently (Grade 3)
picture
English
a drawing or photo
Learn it in: Writing about pictures (Grade 1), Listening to stories (Grade 1), Story settings (Grade 1)
picture
Maths
A drawing that shows something.
Learn it in: Addition using pictures (Grade 1), Subtraction using pictures (Grade 1), Multiplication using pictures (Grade 2)
picture graph
Maths
A graph that uses pictures.
Learn it in: Picture graphs (Grade 1), Picture graphs (Grade 2), Scaled picture graphs (Grade 3)
picture story
English
a story told with pictures and words
Learn it in: Creating picture stories (Grade 1)
place
Maths
The position of a digit in a number.
Learn it in: Tens and ones (Grade 1), Understanding ones (Grade 1), Numbers to 1,000 (Grade 2)
place value
Maths
The value of a digit because of where it is.
Learn it in: Understanding tens (Grade 1), Hundreds, tens and ones (Grade 2), Expanded form (Grade 2)
plagiarism
English
copying someone else’s words as your own
Learn it in: Note-taking (Grade 4), Avoiding plagiarism (Grade 5), Paraphrasing and summarising (Grade 6)
plan
English
think before you do
Learn it in: Creating oral stories (Grade 1), Story planning (Grade 3)
plan
Maths
Decide what to do first.
Learn it in: Multistep word problems (Grade 3), Multistep problems (Grade 5), Understanding mathematical problems (Grade 6)
plant
Science
a living thing that grows in soil, such as a bean or a tree
Learn it in: Science in everyday life (Grade 1), What are living things? (Grade 1), What are plants? (Grade 1)
platform
English
where a message is shared, such as TV or social media
Learn it in: Target audiences (Grade 6)
plot
English
what happens in a story
Learn it in: Story problems and solutions (Grade 2), Creative storytelling (Grade 2), Setting and plot (Grade 3)
plural
English
more than one
Learn it in: Inflectional endings (Grade 2), Singular and plural nouns (Grade 2), Spelling conventions (Grade 3)
poem
English
writing in lines that often rhymes
Learn it in: Simple poems (Grade 1), Poems and rhythm (Grade 2), Poetry (Grade 3)
point of view
English
who tells the story: I or he/she
Learn it in: Short fiction (Grade 3), Point of view (Grade 4), Point of view (Grade 6)
point-by-point
English
comparing both subjects on one point at a time
Learn it in: Compare-and-contrast writing (Grade 6)
polite
English
kind and respectful
Learn it in: Introducing oneself (Grade 1), Taking turns in conversations (Grade 1), Participating in discussions (Grade 2)
pollinate
Science
to carry pollen from flower to flower
Learn it in: Plants and animals in our environment (Grade 1)
pollution
Science
harmful things in air, water or land
Learn it in: Clean and dirty environments (Grade 1)
polygon
Maths
A flat shape with straight sides.
Learn it in: Sides and vertices (Grade 2), Polygons (Grade 3), Two-dimensional figures (Grade 5)
position
English
where something is
Learn it in: Describing pictures (Grade 1), Prepositions (Grade 3), Summarising discussions (Grade 5)
position
Maths
Where something is.
Learn it in: Position and direction (Grade 1), Spatial reasoning (Grade 2), Points (Grade 4)
positive
Maths
Greater than zero.
Learn it in: Introduction to integers (Grade 6), Positive and negative numbers (Grade 6)
possession
English
showing that something belongs to someone
Learn it in: Commas and apostrophes (Grade 2)
possessive pronoun
English
a pronoun showing ownership, like mine or hers
Learn it in: Pronoun usage (Grade 5)
poster
English
a large sign with a picture and words
Learn it in: Making simple posters (Grade 1), Posters (Grade 2), Informational posters (Grade 3)
precise
English
exact and clear
Learn it in: Synonyms and antonyms (Grade 3), Descriptive vocabulary (Grade 3), Synonyms and antonyms (Grade 4)
precise language
English
exact words that say clearly what you mean
Learn it in: Precise language (Grade 6)
predicate
English
what the subject does or is
Learn it in: Simple sentence construction (Grade 1), Subject and predicate (Grade 2), Simple sentences (Grade 3)
predict
English
guess what will happen next
Learn it in: Making predictions (Grade 1), Predictions (Grade 2), Academic vocabulary (Grade 2)
prediction
Science
a thoughtful guess about what will happen
Learn it in: Making simple predictions (Grade 2)
prefix
English
a word part added to the start
Learn it in: Decoding longer words (Grade 2), Common prefixes (Grade 2), Prefixes and suffixes (Grade 3)
preposition
English
a word that shows the position, direction or time of a noun
Learn it in: Prepositions (Grade 3), Prepositional phrases (Grade 4)
prepositional phrase
English
a preposition with its noun, such as under the table
Learn it in: Prepositions (Grade 3), Prepositional phrases (Grade 4)
present tense
English
something happening now or regularly
Learn it in: Verb tense consistency (Grade 4)
presentation
English
a short talk to an audience
Learn it in: Short presentations (Grade 2), Oral presentations (Grade 2), Presentations (Grade 3)
preview
English
to give a short look ahead
Learn it in: Introductions (Grade 4), Reading complex texts (Grade 5), Introductions (Grade 6)
price
Maths
What something costs.
Learn it in: Adding money amounts (Grade 2), Making change in simple situations (Grade 2), Money calculations (Grade 3)
prime number
Maths
Has exactly two factors: 1 and itself.
Learn it in: Prime numbers (Grade 4), Composite numbers (Grade 4)
privacy
English
keeping personal information safe
Learn it in: Responsible digital communication (Grade 6)
probing question
English
a question that digs deeper
Learn it in: Academic discussions (Grade 6), Critical thinking (Grade 6)
problem
English
something that needs fixing
Learn it in: Beginning, middle, and end (Grade 1), Retelling stories (Grade 1), Story problems and solutions (Grade 2)
problem and solution
English
describes a problem and ways to solve it
Learn it in: Text structure (Grade 6)
process
English
a series of steps
Learn it in: Simple explanations (Grade 2), Explaining information (Grade 3), Explaining processes (Grade 3)
product
Maths
The answer to a multiplication.
Learn it in: Repeated addition (Grade 2), Arrays (Grade 2), Multiplication using pictures (Grade 2)
progressive tense
English
shows an action in progress
Learn it in: Verb forms (Grade 5), Verb forms and consistency (Grade 6)
project
English
a piece of work you plan and finish
Learn it in: Creative-writing projects (Grade 2), Literary response projects (Grade 5), Digital communication projects (Grade 6)
project
Science
a piece of work planned and done together
Learn it in: Keeping our school clean (Grade 1)
pronoun
English
a word that takes the place of a noun
Learn it in: Pronouns (Grade 1), Pronouns (Grade 2), Nouns and pronouns (Grade 3)
proofread
English
read carefully to find mistakes
Learn it in: Basic sentence correction (Grade 1), Editing spelling and punctuation (Grade 2), Punctuation and editing (Grade 3)
proofreading
English
checking for small errors of spelling and punctuation
Learn it in: Editing for clarity and style (Grade 6)
proper noun
English
the special name of a person or place
Learn it in: Capital letters (Grade 1), Common and proper nouns (Grade 2), Capitalisation (Grade 2)
property
Maths
A feature of a shape.
Learn it in: Properties of shapes (Grade 3), Shape classification (Grade 3), Geometric reasoning (Grade 5)
property
Science
what a material is like, such as hard or soft
Learn it in: What are materials (Grade 1), Comparing objects (Grade 2)
prose
English
ordinary writing in sentences and paragraphs
Learn it in: Comparing literary genres (Grade 4)
protect
Science
to keep safe from harm
Learn it in: Caring for living things (Grade 1), Caring for plants (Grade 1), Caring for animals (Grade 1)
proverb
English
a short saying that teaches a lesson
Learn it in: Figurative expressions (Grade 4), Idiomatic expressions (Grade 5)
publish
English
to share finished work
Learn it in: Creative-writing projects (Grade 2), Revising narratives (Grade 3), Publishing creative writing (Grade 4)
punctuation
English
marks that help us read and write
Learn it in: Punctuation and phrasing (Grade 2), Punctuation and expression (Grade 3)
purpose
English
the reason for making something
Learn it in: Understanding media messages (Grade 2), Author’s purpose (Grade 5), Author’s purpose (Grade 6)