Building Blocks to Reading Glossary

Big books - Oversized books that make it possible to share the print and illustrations with a group of children in ways one might share a standard size book with one or two.

Bilingual families - Families in which the parents may speak a language that differs from that of the country in which the children grow up because they are immigrants, refugees, international employees, or visiting academics. In some families each parent has a different native language and together they choose to raise their children in a bilingual environment.

Emergent literacy - The continuous learning process of becoming a proficient communicator through oral language, reading, and writing, which begins at birth and continues into the early school years. This contemporary theory fits in well with the whole language programs and contemporary basal reading programs that are quite widely used in today's preschools and primary grades. (Hyperlink to glossary)

Emergent reading - Reading related activities that occur before a child becomes a fluent reader. This includes a child listening to a book read aloud and activities such as page turning, letter naming, responding to questions, describing pictures, as well as pretend reading.

Emergent writing - Writing related activities that occur before a child is able to write fluently. This includes dictation to another person, and activities such as scribbling, using letter-like-forms, invented spelling and pretend writing.

Invented spelling - A child's spelling system based on letter names or sounds.

Letter-like forms - A child's writing system in which the marks are not actual printing but resemble letters closely.

Leveled books - Those books that use everyday language in natural patterns but progress by level from simple words and pictures to expanded vocabulary and complicated pictures. Suggested reading levels are clearly marked and the methods for determining these levels are usually included in an introduction to the book.

Phonemic awareness - An awareness of the smallest sound units that combine to form syllables and words.

Phonics - A system of instruction that emphasizes how spelling is related to speech sounds through letter-sound correspondence.

Phonological awareness - The awareness that oral language has structure that is separate from meaning. For example, the word "leg" has only one syllable but has three phonemes or sounds. The word "egg" has one syllable and two phonemes.

Predictable books - Those books that have predictable elements which allow children to think ahead and figure out or predict what will happen next, thereby encouraging participation.

Whole language - An environment which encourages emergent reading and writing by surrounding children with print in meaningful words and phrases. It is based on the theory that children better relate the words and letters they see to the sounds they hear in a context that has meaning, (such as a repeating phrase from a popular song or book) than by the memorization of isolated rules or sounds. Learning to read and write then progresses from the whole to the parts of language. Grammatical and spelling rules and phonic tips serve as reinforcements for mastery of what has already been learned on a "need to know" basis.