Educational Glossary

Addition means putting groups together to find out how many there are in all. We use the + sign for addition.

An attribute is something you can notice about an object, like its color or shape.

An array is a neat rectangle of objects in rows and columns.

Area tells how much space is inside a shape.

Absolute value tells how far a number is from zero.

The alphabet is all the letters we use to read and write.

Academic vocabulary includes important school words like compare, explain, and observe.

An antonym is a word that means the opposite of another word.

An annotation is a quick reading note that helps you remember what matters.

Audience means the readers or listeners the writer is trying to reach.

The author is the person who writes the words you read.

Author's purpose is why the writer made the text the way it is and what the writer wants readers to think, feel, or do.

An adaptation is something that helps a living thing live well where it lives.

Amplitude tells how big a wave is.

The atmosphere is the blanket of air around Earth.

An atom is a tiny building block that matter is made of.

Acceleration happens when something speeds up, slows down, or changes direction.

An archaeologist studies objects and remains from long ago.

An artifact is a thing left behind from long ago.

An alliance is when groups agree to help one another.

An authoritarian government gives most power to a leader or small group instead of many citizens.

A bar graph uses bars to show amounts so we can compare them.

A benchmark fraction is an easy fraction, like 1/2, that helps you think about another fraction.

A box plot is a quick graph that shows where the data starts, ends, and centers.

The base is the number that gets multiplied again and again.

Blend means to push sounds together so they become a whole word.

Bias means the writer leans toward one side or presents information in a slanted way.

Balanced forces are pushes or pulls that are equal, so motion does not change much in one direction.

Biodiversity means how many different kinds of living things are in a place.

A branch of government is one part of government that has its own job.

Counting means saying numbers in order (1, 2, 3...) while pointing to one thing at a time to find out how many there are.

A circle is a perfectly round shape — like a ball, a coin, or the moon!

Compare means to look at two things and decide which has more, less, or if they are the same.

A category is a group of things that go together.

A corner is the point where two sides meet.

A clock helps us know what time it is.

A coin is money like a penny, nickel, dime, or quarter.

A cent is a small money unit. One penny is worth 1 cent.

A column is a line of objects that goes up and down.

A common denominator is a denominator two or more fractions can share.

A cubic unit is one tiny cube used to measure space inside a solid.

A coordinate plane is a graph with an x-axis and a y-axis for locating points.

A coefficient is the number attached to a variable.

The constant of proportionality tells how much one quantity changes for each one unit of the other.

Complementary angles fit together to make a right angle.

A compound event is a probability event with more than one step.

Congruent figures match perfectly in size and shape.

A consonant is a letter like b, m, or t that is not a, e, i, o, or u.

A CVC word has three letters: consonant, vowel, consonant.

Comprehension means understanding what you read.

A character is someone in a story.

A caption is a small piece of text that tells about a picture.

A context clue is a hint nearby that helps you figure out what a word means.

The central message is the main lesson at the heart of a story.

Cause and effect shows what made something happen and what happened next because of it.

Compare and contrast means noticing what is the same and what is different.

A claim is the main point the writer wants the reader to believe.

A convention is a writing rule that helps make sentences correct and clear.

The central idea is the big point the author wants readers to understand from the whole text.

To cite means to show where your proof comes from in the reading.

Connotation is the extra feeling a word can give in addition to its basic meaning.

A counterclaim is the other side of the argument.

Capitalization means using big letters where they belong.

A credible source is one you can trust to give strong information.

A citation tells readers where your information or evidence came from.

Climate is what the weather is usually like in a place over many years.

A circuit is a path electricity can follow when all the parts are connected.

A conductor lets electricity move through it more easily.

Conservation means taking care of nature and using resources wisely.

Condensation happens when water in the air cools and turns back into tiny drops of liquid.

A chemical change happens when matter turns into something new.

A constraint is a rule or limit that affects how you solve a problem.

A consumer is a living thing that must eat other organisms to get what it needs.

A cell is the tiny living building block that makes up organisms.

A compound is a substance whose atoms are joined together in a set pattern.

The crust is the hard outer layer of Earth.

A convection current is a moving pattern caused when warmer material rises and cooler material sinks.

Conservation of mass means matter is not lost in a closed system during a reaction.

A chemical equation is a short way to show what starts and what is made in a reaction.

A community is a place where people live and help one another.

A citizen is a person who belongs to a place and helps follow its rules.

A compass rose is the part of a map that shows directions.

A consumer is someone who uses or buys things they need or want.

Culture includes the ways people share food, stories, music, language, art, and traditions.

A community helper is someone who works to keep people safe, healthy, informed, or supported.

A colony is a place ruled by a different country.

A constitution is a set of rules that explains how a government should work.

A continent is a very large land area on Earth.

A civilization is a large, organized society with systems for living and working together.

A city-state is a city that acts like its own small country.

Citizenship means being part of a place and helping take care of it.

Checks and balances help stop one part of government from having too much power.

Cultural diffusion happens when ideas, foods, music, or traditions spread between groups.

Civic participation means helping with community or government decisions in responsible ways.

A civic movement is when people work together to improve laws or public life.

A digit is one number symbol like 3 or 7.

The difference is the answer you get when you subtract.

Data is information we gather so we can count it, sort it, and learn from it.

A dollar is money worth 100 cents.

Division means sharing or grouping equally.

The denominator is the bottom number that tells how many equal parts make one whole.

A decimal is a number with a decimal point that can show parts smaller than one whole.

A distribution shows how a whole set of data is spread out.

A dot plot uses dots above numbers to show each piece of data.

A dilation makes a shape bigger or smaller by the same scale amount.

Decode means to figure out a word by sounding it out.

Denotation is a word’s plain, basic meaning.

A digraph is a pair of letters that joins to make one sound.

A decomposer breaks down dead plants, animals, and waste.

Diversity means people in a group are not all the same and can bring many experiences and ideas.

Diplomacy means using discussion and agreement instead of only fighting.

A democracy is a government where people help choose leaders and influence decisions.

Equal means the same amount.

Equal shares are pieces that are all the same amount.

Equal groups have the same amount in every group.

An estimate is a close answer, not the exact answer.

Equivalent fractions look different but show the same amount.

Equivalent ratios look different but compare quantities in the same way.

An expression is a math phrase that names a quantity.

An equation is a math sentence with an equals sign.

An edge is the line where two sides of a solid shape meet.

Experimental probability is what happened in the real experiment.

An exponent tells how many times you multiply the base by itself.

The elimination method adds or subtracts equations to make one variable disappear.

Expression means your voice matches the meaning of the words you read.

Evidence is the proof in a text that helps show your answer makes sense.

Edit means to fix mistakes in your writing so it is correct and easier to read.

An ecosystem is a place where plants, animals, water, soil, and air all interact.

Energy is what makes things happen, like lighting a bulb, warming a pan, or moving a fan.

Energy transfer happens when energy moves and causes a change somewhere else.

Erosion happens when water, wind, ice, or gravity carries soil or rock away.

An ecosystem change happens when a habitat and the things in it do not stay the same.

Evaporation happens when liquid water changes into a gas and rises into the air.

Engineering design is a step-by-step way to solve a problem by building and improving something.

An element is a substance made from just one kind of atom.

An economy is how people work and share goods and services.

An empire is a government that controls a large area with many groups of people.

Economic development means a place grows in jobs, services, and opportunities.

A fraction tells about equal parts of something whole, like halves or fourths.

Fourths are 4 same-size parts of one whole.

A factor is one of the numbers you multiply.

A face is one flat side of a 3D shape.

A function gives only one output for each input.

Fluency means reading in a smooth way that sounds natural.

Figurative language uses words in a creative way to paint a picture or express an idea.

Formal style means writing in a clear and serious way for the situation.

A forecast tells what the weather might be like soon.

A force is a push or pull that can make something move, stop, or turn.

Friction is a force that can slow things down when they touch and rub.

A food web shows many connected food chains in one ecosystem.

A fault is a crack in Earth’s crust where rocks can move.

Frequency tells how many times a wave repeats in a set time.

The fossil record is the pattern of fossils scientists find in different rock layers.

A family is a group of people who care for and help one another.

A graph shows information so it is easy to compare.

A gas can spread out to fill all the space in a container, like air in a balloon.

Gravity is the pull that brings things down toward Earth.

A gene is a piece of inherited information from parents.

Geologic time is the huge timeline scientists use to study Earth from long ago until today.

A greenhouse gas is a gas that helps keep some heat in Earth's atmosphere.

Government helps make rules and decisions so communities can work fairly and safely.

Goods are things you can touch and use, like shoes, food, or pencils.

Globalization means places around the world are more connected through trade, travel, and information.

Height means how tall something is.

The hour hand is the short clock hand that points to the hour.

Halves are two same-size parts of one whole.

Hundred-thousands are bundles of 100,000 ones.

A histogram sorts data into number ranges and shows how many values are in each range.

The hypotenuse is the longest side of a right triangle.

A heading tells what a section will mostly be about.

A habitat is the place where a plant or animal lives and gets what it needs.

Human impact means the ways people change the environment.

A historian learns about the past by asking questions and using evidence.

A hemisphere is one half of Earth.

Human geography studies how people live in, use, and change different places.

Human rights are basic freedoms and protections every person should have.

An inch is a small measuring unit you see on a ruler.

An improper fraction has enough parts to make one whole or more.

Integers are positive whole numbers, negative whole numbers, and zero.

An inequality shows that one amount is bigger or smaller than another.

An input is the starting value you use in a rule or function.

Informational text is nonfiction writing that teaches real facts.

An inference is a smart idea you figure out even when the text does not say it directly.

An idiom is a saying that means something different from the exact words.

Informative writing teaches the reader about something in a clear way.

The illustrator is the person who makes the pictures in a book.

Irony happens when what is said or expected is different from what is really meant or what really happens.

An inherited trait is a feature a young plant or animal gets from its parents.

An insulator helps block or slow electricity so things can be safer.

Inheritance is how living things get traits from their parents.

Inertia means an object wants to keep doing what it is already doing unless a force changes it.

Independence means having the freedom to rule yourself.

Interdependence means different people or places depend on one another.

An institution is an organized system or group that helps society work.

Infrastructure includes the roads, bridges, ports, and systems people use every day.

An international organization is a group of countries that cooperate on important issues.

A key detail is an important fact that helps you understand what you read.

Kinetic energy is the energy of motion.

Less means a smaller amount.

Length means how long something is.

A layer is one level in a stack.

A linear relationship keeps the same rate of change the whole time.

A linear function is a function that changes steadily and makes a straight-line graph.

A letter sound is the sound you hear when a letter is used in a word.

A long vowel says its own letter name, like a in cake.

A living thing is something alive, like a plant, animal, or person.

A life cycle is the pattern of changes a plant or animal goes through from beginning to adult.

A liquid can pour and changes shape to fit the cup, bowl, or bottle it is in.

A landform is a natural shape of the land, like a hill, valley, or mountain.

A leaf is the part of a plant that helps it use sunlight.

Light helps us see what is around us.

A leader is someone who helps a group work toward a goal.

A landform is a natural shape or feature on Earth.

A location is where something is.

A landmark is something easy to notice that helps people know where they are.

Latitude helps tell how far north or south a place is.

Longitude helps tell how far east or west a place is.

More means a bigger amount.

Minus means take away.

Measurement means finding out how big or long something is.

The minute hand is the long clock hand that points to the minutes.

Money is what people use to buy things.

Multiplication is a fast way to add equal groups.

A mixed number has a whole number and a fraction together.

The mean is the average value in a data set.

The median is the center number when the data is put in order.

The main idea is the big point the text wants you to understand.

A metaphor compares two things without using like or as.

Matter is anything you can touch or hold because it takes up room.

Motion means that something is moving.

A mixture is made when substances are put together.

Matter cycling means matter keeps moving through living things and the environment instead of disappearing.

A molecule is made when atoms join together.

The mantle is the large layer inside Earth below the crust.

A mutation is a change in inherited information.

A map helps us see where things are and how to get from one place to another.

Migration means people move from one place to another place.

A market is a place or system where people buy and sell things.

Media literacy means checking whether messages and sources are trustworthy and well supported.

Misinformation is wrong or misleading information people may believe or share.

A number is a special symbol (like 1, 2, 3, or 100) that tells us "how many" of something there are.

A number line is a line of numbers that helps you count forward or backward.

The numerator is the top number that tells how many fraction parts you have.

The nearest ten is the ten a number is closest to.

The nearest hundred is the hundred a number is closest to.

A numerical pattern is a set of numbers that grows or changes in a predictable way.

A negative number is below zero on the number line.

A net is a cut-and-fold pattern for building a solid shape.

The narrator is the voice that tells what is happening in a story.

A nonliving thing is not alive, like a rock, pencil, or puddle.

Net force is the total effect of all the pushes and pulls on something.

Natural selection means some inherited traits can become more common when they help organisms survive and reproduce.

Newton's First Law says motion only changes when an unbalanced force pushes or pulls on an object.

Newton's Second Law says bigger pushes make more change in motion, but more mass makes acceleration harder.

Newton's Third Law says forces come in pairs, so every push or pull is matched by an opposite push or pull.

A nation is a whole country and the people who belong to it.

A natural resource is something from nature that people use, like water, soil, or trees.

A neighborhood is the place around your home where people live, work, and visit places nearby.

A need is something people must have, like food or water.

Nationalism is a strong sense of belonging to and supporting a nation.

Ones are single things that have not been grouped into a ten.

An ordered pair tells a point's location using two numbers in the correct order.

An outlier is a value that stands out because it is much different from the rest.

Opposites are numbers equally far from zero in opposite directions.

An outcome is one thing that could happen in a probability situation.

An output is the answer a function gives for an input.

An opinion is what you think about something.

Organization means putting ideas in an order that makes sense.

An orbit is the route something takes as it travels around another object in space.

An organ is a body part made of tissues that has a job to do.

An organ system is a team of organs that work together.

An organism is one living thing, such as a plant, animal, or tiny microbe.

An observation is something you notice with your senses and describe.

Plus means add more together.

Place value tells us what a digit is worth because of where it is in the number.

A pattern is something that repeats in a way you can predict.

A polygon is a shape with straight sides that connect all the way around.

The product is the answer when you multiply.

Perimeter is the distance all the way around a shape.

A partial product is one smaller multiplication answer you add to get the full product.

A power of ten is a number like 10 or 100 that helps show place value patterns.

A prism is a 3D shape like a box with flat faces.

A positive number is above zero on the number line.

A proportional relationship keeps the same multiplier or unit rate every time.

A proportion says that two ratios represent the same relationship.

Percent means "out of 100."

Probability tells how likely something is to happen.

The Pythagorean Theorem links the three side lengths of a right triangle.

A phoneme is one small sound you hear in a word.

Phrasing means reading words in groups that make sense together.

The plot is what happens in a story from beginning to end.

A paragraph is a group of sentences that stay on one main idea.

Point of view is who is telling the story or information and from where.

Perspective is how a person thinks about or experiences something.

Paraphrase means saying the same idea in your own words without changing the meaning.

Punctuation is the set of marks that helps a reader know how a sentence ends or sounds.

Plagiarism means presenting someone else’s work as if it were your own.

A planet is a big space object that travels around a star.

Precipitation is water that falls from the sky.

A particle is a very tiny bit of matter.

A physical change happens when something looks different but is still the same substance.

A prototype is an early version you build so you can test your idea.

A producer is a living thing that can make its own food.

A push is when you use force to move something away from you.

A pull is when you use force to bring something toward you.

A population is a group of the same kind of living thing in one place.

A product is a new substance made in a reaction.

Potential energy is stored energy that can be used later.

The periodic table is a chart scientists use to organize all the elements.

A producer is someone who makes or grows things people use.

The past is what already happened.

The present is what is happening now or today.

A primary source is evidence made at the time, like an old photo, letter, or diary.

Public policy is a plan a government uses to solve a community problem.

Population density tells how crowded or spread out a place is.

Quantity means how many of something there are.

The quotient is the answer when you divide.

A quadrant is one of the four parts made by the x-axis and y-axis.

A quote is the exact words from the book or article.

A question asks something you want to know.

A rectangle is a shape with 4 sides and 4 corners. Two sides are long and two sides are short.

Round means shaped like a circle, with no pointy corners.

Regrouping means trading 10 ones for 1 ten, or 1 ten for 10 ones.

A row is a line of objects that goes across.

Rounding means changing a number to a close number like the nearest ten or hundred.

A remainder is the leftover part in a division problem.

A ratio shows how two amounts are related to each other.

A rate compares two kinds of measurements, like miles and hours.

A reciprocal flips a fraction upside down.

A rational number is a number that can be written as a fraction.

The range tells how far apart the smallest and largest data values are.

A random sample gives everyone a fair chance to be picked.

Rate of change tells how fast one quantity goes up or down compared with another.

A reflection makes a mirror image of a shape across a line.

A rotation spins a shape around a point.

A right triangle has one square corner called a right angle.

Words rhyme when their ending sounds match.

Retell means to say the important parts again in the right order.

A reason tells why you think something.

Revise means to make your writing better by improving what it says and how it is organized.

A rebuttal is the writer’s answer to the other side of the argument.

Reasoning explains why your evidence proves your point.

Relevant evidence fits the point you are trying to prove.

A resource is something useful from nature, like water, soil, sunlight, or trees.

Rotation means spinning around in place.

A root is the part of a plant that grows underground and helps it get water.

A reactant is a substance you start with in a reaction.

Reflection happens when a wave bounces back from a surface.

Refraction happens when a wave bends as it enters a different material.

A region is a place where many areas have something important in common.

A rule tells people what they should do so a group can work well together.

A responsibility is something you are supposed to do to help.

A representative is someone selected to help make decisions for a group.

Rule of law means power should follow laws, not just personal wishes.

Resource distribution describes where resources are found and where they are limited.

A revolution is a big change in government or society.

Reform means trying to improve a system step by step.

Subtraction means taking away from a group to find out how many are left. We use the − sign for subtraction.

A shape is what something looks like on the outside — like a circle (round), square (boxy), or triangle (pointy).

A square is a shape with 4 sides that are ALL the same size and 4 corners that are all the same.

Sort means to put things into groups that belong together.

The sum is the answer you get when you add.

A sphere is a round solid shape like a basketball.

A side is one straight part of a shape.

Skip counting means counting by 2s, 5s, 10s, or another equal jump.

Scaling means using multiplication to stretch or shrink an amount.

Surface area tells how much space covers the outside of a solid shape.

A statistical question is one that can have different answers from different people or trials.

A solution is an answer that works in the math statement.

A scale drawing is a bigger or smaller copy that keeps the same shape.

A scale factor tells how much every length changes in a scaled copy.

Supplementary angles fit together to make a straight angle.

The sample space is the complete list of things that could happen.

A simulation copies a chance situation so you can test it many times.

Scientific notation is a compact way to write very large or very small numbers.

Standard form is the regular way a number is usually written.

Slope tells how much one quantity changes when another quantity changes.

A system of equations is a pair or set of equations you solve together.

The substitution method uses one equation to replace a variable in another equation.

Similar figures look the same shape even if one is bigger or smaller.

A square root tells what number times itself equals the original number.

A sight word is a word you learn to read right away when you see it.

The setting is where a story happens.

A supporting detail is a smaller fact that helps prove the big idea.

A story element is one of the big parts that help build a story.

A synonym is a word that means almost the same thing as another word.

A summary is a short way to tell the most important parts of a text.

Sequence means putting steps or events in the order they happen.

A simile compares two things by saying one is like or as something else.

Sentence structure is how a sentence is built so it makes sense.

A sentence is a group of words that tells or asks something complete.

Source integration means using information from sources in a way that fits naturally into your own writing.

Synthesis means putting ideas from different sources together to build a stronger understanding.

A solid keeps its own shape, like a book or an ice cube.

A season is a time of year like winter, spring, summer, or fall.

Sediment is tiny bits of Earth material that water or wind can carry.

A signal is a message sent with a pattern, such as flashing light or sound.

The solar system is the sun and everything that travels around it.

A star is a bright space object that makes its own light.

Shelter is a safe place where an animal can rest or hide.

Sunlight is the light we get from the sun.

A stem helps hold a plant up and carries water through the plant.

Sound is what we hear with our ears.

A shadow is the dark shape that appears when something blocks light.

Speed tells how fast something is moving.

A sense is a way your body helps you notice the world.

A species is one kind of living thing.

Services are things people do for others, like teaching or fixing cars.

A state is one part of a country that has its own leaders and rules.

A secondary source is something made later to teach about what already happened.

A symbol is something that represents something else.

Separation of powers means different parts of government have different jobs.

Scarcity means there is not enough of something for every want, so choices are needed.

Specialization means doing a smaller set of jobs or products really well.

A triangle is a shape with exactly 3 sides and 3 corners. "Tri" means three!

Teen numbers are numbers like 11, 12, and 17. They are 10 and some more.

Total means how many there are altogether.

Take away means some things are removed from a group.

Tens are bundles made from 10 ones.

A tally mark is a quick line used for counting.

Thousands are bundles of 1,000 ones.

Ten-thousands are bundles of 10,000 ones.

Thousandths are very small parts of a whole, with 1,000 of them making one whole.

A term is one part of an expression.

Theoretical probability is what should happen according to the model.

A translation moves a shape from one place to another without changing it.

A text feature is something special in nonfiction that helps you find or understand information.

A theme is the big lesson a story wants you to learn.

A topic sentence tells what the whole paragraph will mostly be about.

Textual evidence is proof from the reading that helps show your answer makes sense.

Text structure is how the author arranges ideas so readers can follow them.

A transition is a connecting word or phrase that helps readers follow your ideas.

Tone is how the writing sounds or feels because of the word choices.

The title is the name of the book or story.

Temperature tells whether something feels hot, warm, cool, or cold.

A trait is something you can notice about a living thing, like color, shape, or pattern.

Tissue is a group of cells that work together in the same way.

A tectonic plate is a huge piece of Earth’s outer layer that moves very slowly.

Thermal energy is the energy that makes particles move and helps explain temperature.

A timeline helps us see what happened first, next, and later.

A tradition is something people do again and again because it matters to their family or group.

A tax is money people pay to a government.

A trade network is a system of places and routes used to exchange goods.

A unit fraction is one equal part of a whole, like 1/2 or 1/5.

A unit square is one little square used to measure area.

Unlike denominators mean the fractions are split into different-sized parts.

A unit rate tells how much there is for 1 unit, like 3 dollars for 1 notebook.

Unbalanced forces are pushes or pulls that are uneven, so something speeds up, slows down, stops, or turns.

Urbanization happens when cities grow because more people live there.

Volume tells how much space is inside a box or other solid shape.

A variable is a letter or symbol that can represent a number.

A vertex is a corner on a shape or solid figure.

Vertical angles are opposite angles made by crossing lines, and they have the same measure.

A vowel is one of the special letters a, e, i, o, or u.

A vowel team is a pair of vowels that join to make one sound.

A vibration is a fast shaking movement that can make sound or other waves.

Variation means individuals in a group can have different traits.

To vote means to choose between options in a fair way.

Weather is what it feels like outside, such as sunny, windy, rainy, or snowy.

A weather pattern is a weather trend that happens again and again.

Weathering happens when rock slowly breaks apart into smaller pieces.

A wave is a pattern that repeats, like ripples in water or sound moving through the air.

The water cycle is the journey water takes as it moves through air, land, and water on Earth.

Wavelength is the spacing between repeating parts of a wave.

Work in science means a force makes something move.

A want is something you would like to have, but you do not need it to live.

The x-axis is the line that goes across on a coordinate plane.

The y-axis is the line that goes up and down on a coordinate plane.

The y-intercept is the starting value of a linear relationship.