RICA EXAM KEY TERMS 2025|2026 LATEST VERSION| REAL EXAM QUESTIONS| VERIFIED

affix a syllable added to the beginning (prefix) or end (suffix) of a word to change the word's meaning (e.g., il- in illiterate and al- in national). alphabetic principle The assumption underlying alphabetical language systems that each sound has corresponding graphic representation (or letter). antonyms applying words with opposite meanings (e.g., good-bad). the 5th stage of the reading process, in which readers go beyond the text to use what they have learned in another literacy experience, often by making aproject or reading another book. background knowledge a student's knowledge or previous experiences about a topic. aesthetic reading basal readers reading for pleasure reading textbooks that are leveled according to grade. basal reading program big books a collection of student textbooks, workbooks, teacher's manuals, and other materials and resources for reading instruction used in kindergarten through sixth grade. enlarged versions of picture books that teachers read with children, usually in the primary grades. blend to combine the sounds represented by letters to pronounce a word. bound morpheme a morphene that is not a word and cannot stand along (e.g., -s, tri-). closed syllable a syllable ending in a consonant sound (e.g. make, duck). They create a long vowel sound in the 1/ RICA EXAM Key Terms 2025 13 26/06/2025, 01:45 RICA EXAM Key Terms 2025 RICA EXAM Key Terms 2025 2/ 13 next syllable. cluster a spiderlike diagram used to collect and organize ideas after reading or before wiriting; also called a map or a web. comprehension the process of constructing meaning using both the author's text and th ereader's background knowledge for a specific purpose. There are three levels: literal, inferential and evaluative. concepts about print (CAP) basic understandings about the way print works, including the direction of print (return sweeping), spacing, punctuation, letters and words, print carries meaning, book orientation. Implicit teaching: reading aloud, shared book experience, big books, LEA, environmental print, print-rich environment. Explicit: letter recognition, associating names and things with letters, singing the alphabet, ABC books, upper and lower case letter writing, tactile and kinesthetic methods. consonant a speech sound characterized by friction or stoppage of the airflow as it passes through the vocal tract; usually any letter except a,e,i,o, and u. consonant digraph to adjacent consonants that represent a sound not represented by either consonant alone (e.g., th-this, ch-chin, sh-wash, ph-telephone). content-area reading reading in social studies, science, and other areas of the curriculum. context clue information from the words or sentences surrounding a word that helps to clarify the word's meaning. cueing systems the phonological, semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic information that students rely on as they read. decoding using word-identification strategies to pronounce and attach meaning to an unfamiliar word. (Taking a series of symbols--like the Matrix