Drag each description on the right to the term on the left that it describes. (Note to touch screen users: You may need to tap the target category after you drop the data type onto it. If you have trouble, try opening the activity in its own window.)

Terms

Automaticity
The ability to respond or react without attention or conscious effort.
Decoding
Translating the alphabet letters into recognizable sounds (e.g., the letter f makes the /F/ sound).
Encoding
In spelling, a process by which students segment sounds of a word, translate each phoneme into its corresponding letter or letters, then spell the word.
Grapheme
A letter or letter cluster represending a single speech sound (e.g. i, igh).
Morphology
The study of the structure of words; the component of grammar which includes the rules of word formation, including derivation, inflection, and compounding.
Onset
The initial consonant sound of a word, e.g. /s/ in sun or /sl/ in slide.
Orthography
The writing system of language; specifically, the correct sequence of letters, characters, and/or symbols.
Phoneme
The smallest unit of speech that distinguishes one word from another (e.g. the t of tug or the r of rug).
Phonics
A teaching approach that gives attention to letter-sound correspondences in the teaching of reading and spelling.
Rime unit
The vowel and any following consonants within a syllable, e.g. -ag in tag.
Syllable
A unit of spoken language.