Literacy Acronyms and Terms ...
Abstract means that which comprises or concentrates in itself the essential qualities of a larger thing or of several things. Specifically: A summary or an epitome, as of a treatise or book, or of a statement; a brief.
Considered apart from any application to a particular object; separated from matter; existing in the mind only; as, abstract truth, abstract numbers. Hence: ideal; abstruse; difficult.
Expressing a particular property of an object viewed apart from the other properties which constitute it; -- opposed to concrete; as, honesty is an abstract word.
Resource: BrainyQuote. Retrieved 10.9.09 from www.brainyquote.com/words/ab/abstract126395.html
Academic Content Standards (ACS) are clearly defined statements and/or illustrations of what all students, teachers, schools and districts are expected to know and be able to do. Educators generally discuss three types of standards: Content, Performance, and Operating.
- Content Standards describe the knowledge and skills that students should attain, often called the "what" of "what students should know and be able to do." They indicate the ways of thinking, working, communicating, reasoning and investigating the important and enduring ideas, concepts, issues, dilemmas and knowledge essential to the discipline.
- Performance Standards are concrete statements of how well students must learn what is set out in the content standards, often called the "be able to do" of "what students should know and be able to do" Performance standards specify "how good is good enough." They are the indicators of quality that specify how adept or competent a student demonstration must be.
Resource: Ohio Department of Education (keyword: Academic Content Standards)
- Operating Standards describe the conditions for learning. These can include specific expectations and additional guidelines for school districts, communities and families to use in creating the best learning conditions for meeting student needs and achieving state and local educational goals and objectives.
AdLit is a section of the Ohio Resource Center that assists with resources for middle and high school students. AdLit stands for Advancing Adolescent Literacy Instruction Together.
The site offers instructional resources, best practices resources, resources on assessment and more.
Resource: AdLit
Adolescent literacy refers to the literacy development of students in Grades 4 through 12. Although literacy is often defined simply as the ability to read and write, educators know that it is much broader. It also incorporates the skills of listening and speaking as well as the abilities to think, analyze, synthesize, create and communicate across a variety of media, for a range of purposes and audiences.
Resource: Ohio Department of Education, Office of Literacy (not available)
Background Knowledge
A personal reservoir of information on a variety of topics; information retained in one's long-term memory.
For more clarification on the terms background knowledge, prior knowledge, and specific knowledge, the CAST Web site offers an article that includes definitions and information.
Resource: www.cast.org
Balanced Literacy
Balanced Literacy is a framework designed to help all students learn to read and write effectively. The program stands firmly on the premise that all students can learn to read and write. This balance between reading and writing allows students to receive the teaching needed in order to reach grade level status, while allowing students to work at a level that is not frustrating for them.
Resource: CD Archived. Retrieved 10.9.09 from www.csdarchives.com/
Cognition
The process of knowing by thinking, comprehending, analyzing, or evaluating. For example, students use cognition to gain meaning from spoken or written material by reasoning, making inferences, seeing relationships, etc.
"A term referring to the mental processes involved in gaining knowledge and comprehension, including thinking, knowing, remembering, judging, and problem solving. These are higher-level functions of the brain and encompass language, imagination, perception, and planning."1
Resource: Glossary of Reading Terms, Education Oasis: www.educationoasis.com.
1Resource: K. Van Wagner, "What is Cognition?," was retrieved 9.8.09 from About.com.
Comprehension is the complex cognitive process involving the intentional interaction between the reader and text to convey meaning.
Resource: Big Ideas in Beginning Reading, DIBELS: reading.uoregon.edu