GLOSSARY

This glossary is provided to help teachers better understand the terms used in the Vernacular Language Arts (VLA) curriculum standards. Some of the entries were recommended by teachers who participated in VLA workshops, others were chosen because they may not be widely known.

• Academic language: Words used in school to learn and explain things and learn subject content (e.g., describe, summarize, compare, contrast, calculate).
• Affix: A part added to a word to change its meaning (like a prefix at the start or a suffix at the end).
• Alliteration: Repeating the same sound at the beginning of words (e.g., “Sally sells seashells”).
• Characterization: How an author shows what a character is like, through actions, words, or thoughts.
• Climax: The most exciting part of a story.
• Collaborative rules for speaking and listening: Rules for talking and listening respectfully in a group.
• Communication: Sharing information through talking, writing, or gestures.
• Compare/contrast: Finding what is the same and what is different between two things.
• Complex plot: a story in which unexpected or surprising elements are added to a simple plot, making it more complex.
• Concept: An idea, thought, or principle.
• Concept of/about print: awareness of how print works to convey a message (e.g., knowing that print is read from left to right, top to bottom; that words are made up of letters; and that there are spaces between words).
• Conflict / Crisis: The problem or challenge in a story.
• Connotation: The feelings or ideas a word makes you think of, not just its dictionary meaning.
• Conventions of writing: The rules of writing correctly (capital letters, punctuation, grammar).
• Context clues: Hints in the text that help you understand new words.
• Cultural / Local literature: Stories, songs, dances, or dramas from a specific culture or community.
• Denotation: The literal or dictionary meaning of a word.
• Descriptive essay: Writing that describes a person, place, or thing with details.
• Dialogue: Talking between characters in a story.
• Draft: A first version of your writing.
• Editing and revising: Fixing mistakes and improving your writing.
• Expository / Informative essay: Writing that explains or gives information about a topic.
• Figurative language: Words used in a special way, not literal, to show meaning. It includes:
• • Simile: Compares two things using “like” or “as” (e.g., “fast as a cheetah”).
  • Metaphor: Compares two things without “like” or “as” (e.g., “Time is money”).
  • Alliteration, allusion, exaggeration, hyperbole, characterization (other figurative techniques).
• Finalizing: Completing your writing for sharing or submission.
• Genre: Type of story or writing (e.g., fiction, nonfiction, poem, song, play).
• Graphic organizer: A visual way to organize ideas (charts, maps, diagrams).
• Honorific language: Unique way of speaking using special words to show respect.
• Intonation: How your voice goes up and down when speaking.
• Literary elements: Parts that make up a story: plot, characters, setting, theme, dialogue.
• Literature: Written works like stories, poems, plays, or songs.
• Main idea: The most important idea in a text.
• Moral: The lesson you learn from a story.
• Narrative story: A story that tells events, either real or imagined.
• Oral text: Something spoken aloud like a story, song, or chant.
• Opinion piece: Writing that tells what you think and gives reasons.
• Persuasive essay: Writing to convince someone of your opinion.
• Plot: The events in a story: beginning, middle, climax, and ending.
• Prediction: Guessing what will happen next in a story.
• Problem-solution: A text that shows a problem and how it is solved.
• Reading fluency: Reading smoothly, with expression, and at a good speed.
• Resolution: How a story’s problem is solved.
• Root word: The main part of a word before adding anything.
• Semantic mapping / Concept mapping: Drawing connections between ideas or words.
• Sequencing: Putting events in the order they happen.
• Setting: When and where a story happens.
• Sight words: Words you can recognize instantly without sounding them out.
• Text: The main writing in a book or paper.
• Text evidence: Proof from the text that supports your answer.
• Text features: Parts of a text that help you understand it, like pictures, headings, captions, or bold words.
• Text structure: How a text is organized (e.g., sequence, cause/effect, compare/contrast, problem-solution).
• Transitional words/phrases: Words that connect ideas (e.g., however, therefore, next).
• Variety of text: Different kinds of writing (story, factual text, poem, play).
• Voice / Body gestures: Using your voice and movements to show meaning while reading or speaking.
• Writing process / Process of writing: Steps for writing: brainstorm → outline → draft → revise/edit → finalize.