Vocabulary Resources

Vocabulary Resources

last updated 21 November 2024

• Parts of Speech
• noun - name of a person/place/thing/idea
• video
• verb - something you can do; an action word
• video
• adjective - describes a noun
• video
• adverb - describes a verb
• video
• video on homophones, homonyms, homographs
• homophones - words that sound the same but are spelled differently
• to/too/two
• hi/high
• homographs - words that are spelled the same but sound different
• I live in the house.
• I saw the concert live.
• homonyms - words that look the same, sound the same, and have multiple meanings
• produce
• verb - to create
• noun - food grown on a farm

• What is Vocabulary? (article from Reading Rockets)

• How to teach your child new words (Video from Britney Bale)

• Article from Reading Rockets
• includes MANY different activities to try and video demonstrations

• Point out words that you see around you
• Ask your child if they know what the word means and have a conversation about what it tells you
• In the car, what signs do you see? 
• Oh, that sign says "turn here"! What does that mean? Oh, I have to move the car to the right to stay on the road.
• at the grocery store, what words are on the containers?
• This can of soup says that it's "on sale". What does that mean? Oh, I can get it for less money!

Report Card/Testing Glossary

There are several words/phrases that are used in testing data reports and report cards that are not always explained on the document. Here are the definitions/explanations for some of these words:

Phonics/VALLS

• VALLS - Virginia Language and Literacy Screening)

• phoneme - the individual/single sounds that each letter or digraph makes
• example - In the word "dog", there are 3 phonemes - d, o, g. 

• digraph - when two or more letters combine into a single phoneme
• example - In the word "math", there are also 3 phonemes beacuse of the one digraph "th" - m, a, th.

• phonemic awareness - the knowledge of any given phoneme
• This is a skill that is taught directly to students. It is not a skill that they just pick up from reading. Your child is being explicitly taught different phonemes in class and once taught and practiced, should be able to use it when they are reading or writing.

• phoneme segmenting - the ability to sound out each phoneme in a given word
• example - If your child hears the word "broke", they should be able to sound out the 4 phonemes - b, r, o, k. They may not have learned about silent e, but you cannot hear it so they should only say 4 sounds.

• blending - the ability to take each phoneme and combine it into a single syllable or word
• example - If your child segments "m-a-th", they should be able to blend it into "math".

• encoding - the ability to break down a word while writing
• example - If your child hears "cat", they should be able to spell it out correctly using c, a, t in order.

• decoding - the ability to break down a word while reading
• example - If your child sees "hog" in a book, they should be able to sound it out "h", "o", "g" and blend it into "hog".
• You may also see "decodable". This means that the text that your child is reading only has words that are easily decodable at their grade level. They should have the phonemic awareness to read all the words.

• pseudoword decoding - the ability to use phonemic awareness to break down/read a word that is NOT real; this shows what phonemes that your child has mastered and can use anytime they are reading
• example - If your child sees "rog" (not real), they should still be able to read it because they know the "r" phoneme and that "og" is like "log".

Reading

• inferring/inferencing - the ability to look beyond the text and find information about a character or event in a fictional text
• example - If the text says, "It is sunny and the children are wearing shorts.", then your child should be able to infer that it is warm outside.
• This can also apply across all subjects. 
• A way we practice this skill is at recess, I tell the kids the temperature and they decide if they need a jacket.

• WPM (words per minute) - how many words your child is able to read in a timed minute from a decodeable text

• background knowledge - the facts and information that your child already knows about a given topic
• Every child has different amounts of knowledge about different topics.
• example - A child who helps count money at the grocery store check-out will know more about money and coins than a child who does not. That child could know more about what things you see at the park than the first child.
• This is why we do a focused topic during reading while learning reading skills. It helps fill out the background gaps so that each child has a base amount of knowledge that is the same so they can focus on the reading skill instead of thinking "I don't know anything about volcanoes! How will I answer questions about it??"

Writing

• letter formation - how your child writes each letter
• This is more than just considering if your child's writing can be read by other people. We are looking to see if they know what letters need to be tall, what letters are short, and what letters hang below the line.

UFLI Parent Resources

UFLI is our phonics program this year! It is intended to build phonemic awareness.

We do it every day, spending two days on each new phoneme (sound).

Here is the guide from UFLI that was sent home earlier this school year. It explains how to use the words that come home on the back of the homework packet cover each week.

There are also additional literacy resources here.

Lalilo Explanation

Lalilo

What: An online application that focuses on phonics, sight words, word families, and comprehension.

Why: It gives a more phonics-focused approach to words and reading. It really focuses in on words that kiddos are struggling on and is more personalized to each child.

When: The kids are using it during Puma Power on their technology day. They are also welcome to use it at home as they/you wish. It DOES NOT replace their RAZ kids time. It is additional optional practice.

How: Go to the website and log in OR have your child log into their LCPS Go! account and look for the above icon. The SCHOOL CODE is in their agenda.

The kids practiced with the program for the first time before Thanksgiving break. They all showed interest in it. They have practiced logging in before so they should be okay with it at home.

Reading Resources

Here are some resources to help your student practice their reading skills.

1. Read at Home
• Reading at home with your child is the best way to practice their reading skills! They also love reading with you!
• When reading chapter books, please remember to read these with your child. Most second graders still need help with these books.
• Have your student summarize each chapter before starting a new chapter.
• This helps with their memory and summarizing skills!
• Ask questions before, during, and after reading:
• Fiction:
• What do you think is going to happen in this story?
• What do you think will happen next? Why do you think that?
• What was your favorite part? Why? Can you tell me more about it?
• How do you think this character is feeling? How do you know that? Have you felt that way before? What advice would you give the character?
• Why do you think the author wrote this book? What was their purpose?
• Nonfiction:
• What is the book going to teach us?
• What is one fact you learned from this book?
• What is something you already knew about this topic?
2. Freckle
• Freckle has both math and reading skill practice and we do use both.
• It has different categories and can include assignments from the teacher. Students can use it anytime without needing an assignment.
• How to access:
• Go to https://student.freckle.com/login (also on our Schoology page under ELA)
• Use class code from your teacher
• Type in your first name and last initial
3. Gum Spring Library
• Library cards are free and the library has many resources available!