Background knowledge: A personal reservoir of information on a variety of topics; information retained in one's long-term memory.

Cause-effect text: A type of expository text that gives reasons for why something happened.

Cohesive ties: Linguistic devices that link structures within or between sentences so that relationships among ideas are clear to the reader.

Considerate text: Text that is well-written and well-organized, thereby making it easy to understand.

Descriptive text: A type of expository text that tells what something is.

Enumeration: A type of text grammar where a list related to a topic is given.

Enumerative text: A type of expository text that gives a list related to a topic.

Expository text: A collection of written words that gives information, explains something, or seeks to persuade. Most classroom textbooks are expository - science, social studies, health, etc.

Genre: A type or kind of text. There can be broad categories, such as expository and narrative, or more specific categories, such as novels, poetry, fables, plays, etc.

Graphic organizer: Visual depiction of information organized to enhance comprehension of it.

Inconsiderate text: Text that is poorly written, poorly organized, or both, thereby making it difficult to understand.

Macrostructure: The overall organizational pattern of a text.

Metacognition: A person's reflection on his or her own thinking processes. By using metacognitive skills, readers are able to make judgements about whether or not they understand what they read.

Narrative text: A collection of written words that seeks to entertain, display knowledge or skill, teach, organize, and plan behavior, most frequently involving imaginative stories with a setting, character, and a plot. Examples of narrative writing: Little Women, A Tale of Two Cities.

Persuasive text: A type of expository text that takes a position on some issue and justifies it.

Problem-solution text: A type of expository text that states a problem and offers solutions.

Proficient readers: Individuals who effectively and independently use skills and strategies to construct meaning from print.

Reading comprehension: The process or result of gaining intended and personal meaning from written material.

Schema: The structure, frame, unit, or script into which knowledge is packed and organized.

Sequential text: A type of expository text that tells what happened or how to do something.

Signal words: Words that alert the reader to connections and relationships in sentences or paragraphs. Examples include "first," "then," "next," "because," "so," etc.

Signaling device: A text structure that clues the reader to the macrostructure and relationships among specific ideas. Visual cues, such as headings, and signal words are examples of signaling devices.

Story grammar: A schema or framework, for the components of a story. In Western cultures, story grammars have the following elements: setting (time, place and character introduction); plot (problem is identified); reaction of protagonist and attempts to solve the problem; and the resolution. Understanding the main character and his/her actions is integral to understanding the story's plot and theme.

Strategic instruction: An educational approach aimed at providing rules or guidelines to help individuals approach tasks more effectively, efficiently, and independently.

Structural cue: Cues in written material that clearly marks the organizational pattern of the text.

Survey routine: A routine designed to help students get ready to read a passage by quickly surveying it and analyzing its structure and key content.

Text structure: Characteristics of written material; the way ideas in a text are constructed and organized. Includes overall framework or macrostructure as well as the structure of smaller segments of text related to the macrostructure (e.g., visual cues, signal words, cohesive devices, and sentence level factors).

Visual cue: A signaling device or distinctive feature in text structure that helps the reader comprehend the material. Examples include introductory statements, headings and subheadings and signal words.

Visual depiction: Graphic structures used to organize information in a manner that makes the information easier to connect, learn and remember.