Teaching and Learning Glossary – CEM

Here are some terms which you'll find in our new Teaching and Learning Guidance, along with their definitions. These are arranged by module.

Reading Module Glossary

Term	Definition
Aural comprehension	The ability to understand and process information that is heard, involving listening skills and the interpretation of spoken language. E.g. a student may listen to a story or passage read aloud by the teacher and then answer questions about it.
Choral reading	The class reads a text together.
Choral reading and echo reading	Choral reading: the class reads a text together. Echo reading: a teacher, or a fluent reader, reads a short segment of text aloud, and then the student repeats or "echoes" what they read.
Decoding	The recognition of patterns of letters and linking them to sounds (phonemes), then blending them to form words.
First person narrative perspective	Writing as yourself, describing your own actions and feelings, using 'I'.
Mind map	A way to capture and organise ideas under different groupings. Sometimes called a concept map or mental map.
Partner reading, choral reading and echo reading	Partner reading: pair students to read aloud to each other to encourage fluency and provide immediate feedback. Choral reading: the class reads a text together. Echo reading: a teacher, or a fluent reader, reads a short segment of text aloud, and then the student repeats or "echoes" what they read.
Persuasive texts	Non-fiction texts which aim to convince a reader of a certain point of view.
Reading fluency	Reading smoothly and accurately.
Story maps	A graphic representation of a story to support student understanding of narrative elements, including characters, setting, beginning, problem, rising action, climax and resolution.

Spelling Module Glossary

Term	Definition
CCVC words	Words with a phoneme (sound) pattern of consonant, consonant, vowel, consonant. Examples in English include: s-t-o-p, f-l-i-p and t-r-a-ck.
Consonant digraphs	Two consonants which form a single sound. Examples in English include: ll as in well, ss as in miss, ck as in back, nk as in think, ch as in cheese.
CVC words	Single syllable words with three-phonemes (sounds) that follow the pattern of consonant sound, vowel sound, consonant sound. Examples in English include dog, cat, bat, beep, night and light.
CVCC words	Words with a phoneme (sound) pattern of consonant, vowel, consonant, consonant. Examples in English include: p-a-n-s, m-u-s-t and b-e-n-ch.
Digraph	One sound represented by two letters.
Etymology	The origin and history of words, including how their meanings and forms have evolved over time. For example, the etymology of the word 'telephone' traces back to Greek roots 'tele,' meaning 'far,' and 'phone,' meaning 'sound' or 'voice.' An example task could involve providing students with a list of words and asking them to research and present on the origin and development of each word, including any changes in meaning or spelling over time.
Homophones	Two or more words with the same pronunciation but different spellings e.g. bored (to be lacking in patience because of disinterest in something) and board (a flat piece of wood or other hard material).
Irregular words	Words that do not follow phonics patterns or spelling rules. Examples in English include: said, because, mother, people.
Mnemonic	A technique, often using a pattern of letters, that helps individuals remember information more easily, though it could also be a rhyme, acronym, phrase, or visual image that links to the information being remembered. One example of a written mnemonic in English which helps children spell the word “because” is: big elephants cannot always understand small elephants.
Morphological awareness task	Activities that help students recognize and understand the structure of words, including their prefixes, suffixes, and root words. For instance, students might analyse words to identify their morphological components or practice adding prefixes or suffixes to create new words. An example task could be providing students with a list of base words and asking them to brainstorm and write down as many words as possible by adding different prefixes or suffixes.
Morphology, morphological	Relating to the shape or formation of words in a language, including their prefixes, suffixes, and root words. For instance, in the word 'unhappiness,' un-' is a prefix indicating 'not,' 'happi-' is the root meaning 'happy,' and '-ness' is a suffix representing a state or condition.
Orthography, orthographic	Relating to the spelling system of a language.
Phoneme frames	A phoneme frame separates a word into boxes or columns to match the number of sounds that can be heard in it. From looking at the frame, children will be able to see how many sounds they are listening out for and how many letters they need to write.
Phonemic awareness drill	A short instructional activity aimed at developing students' ability to recognise, manipulate, and understand the individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. These drills typically involve exercises such as segmenting words into their sounds, blending sounds to form words, or manipulating sounds to create new words.
Phonology, phonological	Relating to the sounds and structure of sounds in a language.
Syllabication	Sounding words out phonetically.
Tier 1, 2 and 3 words	Words can be categorised into tier 1: common, everyday language such as receipt, welcome, instruction; tier 2: school or academic language such as assess, method, describe, compare; and tier 3: subject-specific language such as metabolism, personification, photosynthesis, sphere.
Word families	Groups of words that share a common base or root word and have a similar pattern or structure. For example, the word family '-at' includes words like cat, bat, hat, and sat. A complex word family example is '-ain' in rain, refrain and stain.
Word study investigations	Activities designed to explore spelling patterns, word families, and word meanings in depth. For example, students might investigate a word family such as 'act,' exploring words like 'action,' 'active,' and react,' identifying common patterns and discussing how the meaning of the base word changes with different suffixes. They could also examine the origin and usage of words to deepen their understanding of vocabulary.

Mathematics Module Glossary

Term	Definition
Counting on	A strategy used when adding numbers together. Rather than combining sets of numbers, the first number (usually the largest) is held in a student's head and then the second number added. i.e. for 7 + 4 a student will think of the number 7 and then 'count on' saying 8, 9, 10, 11.
Equivalence	The concept of being equal in value, function, or meaning. In mathematics, equivalence means that two expressions represent the same quantity or value.
Exponents or roots	An exponent indicates the number of times a number needs to be multiplied by itself. E.g. 7² or 4³. The root of a number is a number that when multiplied by itself produces the original number.
Fraction manipulatives	Fraction manipulatives
Manipulatives	Manipulatives are any concrete objects that allow students to explore an idea in an active, hands-on approach. Examples are blocks, shapes, spinners or base 10 blocks.
Partitioning; partitioning method	Partitioning means dividing a quantity into parts e.g. 9 can be broken down into 3 and 6 or 24 can be broken down into 20 and 4 or 2 tens and 4 ones.
Probability boards	A probability board is a vertical board with a row of pegs. A ball is dropped down from above and at each junction there is an equal probability that the ball will go left or right.

Arithmetic Module Glosssary

Term	Definition
Array	An array in mathematics is an arrangement of objects, numbers or pictures in columns and rows.
Array grids	An array in mathematics is an arrangement of objects, numbers or pictures in columns and rows. An array grid is a grid of blank boxes, enabling easier separation and counting of the array items.
Blank number line	A blank number line helps to record or explain the steps in mental subtraction. It can be used in a variety of ways. For example to subtract 135 from 273 a student can start at 273, make a jump of 100 to take them to 173, then either a jump of 30 or 3 jumps of ten to take them to 143. The final step might be a jump of 3 and then a 2 or 5 jumps of 1 to get to the answer of 138.
Chunking	Breaking the dividend into smaller parts to simplify the division process.
Commutative	Both addition and multiplication are commutative in nature. This means that you get the same result whichever number comes first. i.e. 4 x 3 gives the same answer as 3 x 4.
Counting on	A strategy used when adding numbers together. Rather than combining sets of numbers, the first number (usually the largest) is held in a student's head and then the second number added. i.e. for 7 + 4 a student will think of the number 7 and then 'count on' saying 8, 9, 10, 11.
Inverse operation	An operation that results in the opposite effect to another. i.e. it reverses a calculation that has been completed by using an opposite operation. Addition is the inverse of subtraction and multiplication is the inverse of division. E.g. Multiplying 6 by 3 equals 18 If you next divide by 3 you return to the original value of 6.
Manipulatives	Manipulatives are any concrete objects that allow students to explore an idea in an active, hands-on approach. Examples are blocks, shapes, spinners or base 10 blocks.
Partitioning; partitioning method	Partitioning means dividing a quantity into parts e.g. 9 can be broken down into 3 and 6 or 24 can be broken down into 20 and 4 or 2 tens and 4 ones.
Remainders	The amount left over when a number cannot be evenly divided by another.
Tens-frame	A grid of two rows and five columns that students can place counters on. They are particularly useful when learning addition and subtraction and ways of making ten.

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