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This glossary is designed to clarify the learning outcomes of the Level 1 Learning Programme. Students can achieve learning outcomes at any of the progression pathways in a way that suits their individual learning journey. Appropriate levels of adult support for each task will be determined by the teacher, the student’s family and other professionals according to the individual needs of each student.
Action verb
Within the context of their individualised learning journey, students should be able to…
Accept
tolerate/allow an interaction or experience
Acknowledge
change behaviour in some way (gesture/eye gaze/vocalisation/speaking) to demonstrate an awareness of the presence of a person, object or stimulus
Anticipate
demonstrate an awareness of/predict what will happen next
Attend
direct attention (visual/tactile/auditory) to focus on a person, object or stimulus
Awareness
demonstrate understanding of a concept (e.g. object permanence—look for hidden object) or indicate the knowledge of the existence of a person, object or stimulus
Behave appropriately
act in a way that is expected in the surroundings/activity (e.g. sit with the class group at a table for snack while visiting a café). Teachers will determine what behaviour/role is appropriate for each student in different settings, considering their sensory, physical, emotional and cognitive processing strengths and needs.
Choose/Make choices
indicate a preference from given options using any text*
Communicate
adapt behaviour in a variety of ways including, but not limited to: vocalising, gesturing, moving eye gaze or use of text to convey a message
Co-operate
work with/willingly accept support from an adult or peers for a specific purpose
Create
be involved in the process of making something new
Demonstrate
behave in such a way as to display an awareness, skill or understanding
Differentiate
demonstrate an awareness of a difference between things/people (e.g. a student may behave differently when there is a new teacher in the room)
Discover
find/notice, something new, information about an object, stimulus, place or person
Engage
become involved in a task/process (through looking, touching, smelling, listening or tasting)
Exhibit
clearly display a behaviour/response
Experiment
trial or explore an activity/object in a variety of ways, with the potential of acquiring new learning
Explore
use the senses (in terms of touch, taste, sound, sight etc) to inquire into an item/concept/activity. The student may make new discoveries during this process.
Express
convey a feeling, opinion or message through any text*/reactive changes in behaviour
Follow
adhere to rules/conventions specific to an environment or activity (e.g. slowing down from a run to a walking pace in a supermarket in response to the teacher giving the instruction verbally and showing a ‘walking’ symbol)
Gather
be involved in any way with the process of collecting items
Handle
explore an item through touching/feeling it in some way. This may involve body parts other than the student’s hands (e.g. feeling fur rubbed on their arm/cheek) if necessary to support the student’s physical or sensory needs.
Identify
locate and/or specify who or what a person, object or stimulus is. This may be communicated using any text*.
Illustrate
display/show a response or behaviour as outlined in the learning outcome
Indicate
change behaviour in a way that identifies/communicates a response to an object, person, environment or stimulus using any text*. This may or may not be intentional communication (e.g. crying in response to a loud noise).
Initiate
start something. A student that initiates a communication/interaction with someone may do so in a wide variety of ways including seeking eye contact, reaching out to the person, vocalising or touching a familiar object of reference. The student may or may not have an awareness of joint attention in communication yet so may not look at the adult while behaving in these ways.
Interact
experience having an effect and/or being affected by an exchange with another person
Investigate
get to know more about an item, environment, person or stimulus through sensory exploration and examination (e.g. feeling/banging/listening to/smelling/squeezing)
Listen
focus auditory attention on the experience of sounds. Students may not always pay visual attention to the sound source.
Link
form an association between/connect two or more items, people, stimuli or actions
Look
visually attend to something. Some students may use their peripheral vision/an alternative area in their visual field to attend to an item.
Match
indicate an awareness of/identify a connection between items with common or identical features, meaning or qualities
Move
change position in space with or without support
Observe
show an awareness of and adhere to rules or visually notice/attend to a person, activity or stimulus
Participate
demonstrate any type of involvement in the learning activity
Play
perform/take part in a process, game or activity
Practise
repeatedly rehearse a skill or action. Students may show signs of improvement over a period of time.
Predict
indicate an awareness/knowledge of what will come next based on previous learning and experiences (e.g. when the teacher reaches into a bag of props at a certain point in a familiar story, the student reacts by screwing up and moving their face in anticipation of a water spray that is used at this point of the story).
Read
extract meaning from and demonstrate understanding of any form of text (e.g. looking at an object of reference for ‘snack’ then immediately turning head towards the snack cupboard expectantly)
Recall
show an awareness and recognition of past events (e.g. smiling when shown a video of an activity enjoyed that morning/identifying photographs of props used regularly to tell a familiar story)
Recognise
demonstrate understanding of/familiarity with a person, context, object or stimulus from previous experiences. The student may be able to use knowledge, gained from previous experiences, to identify a person, context, object or stimulus.
Request
use any text* to express a desire or need (e.g. pressing a BIGmack switch to request more bubbles to be blown)
Refine
clarify/improve a skill
Respond
change behaviour in some way (movement/shift in eye gaze/respond verbally/communicate through text/demonstrate emotions etc) in reaction to something or someone
Seek
search for/look out for something. This requires the student to focus their attention on the activity/task with intention and purpose.
Show
express awareness, understanding, knowledge or feelings through actions
Tolerate
allow/accept an experience. The student may still appear hesitant or unsure due to the challenges they face during such an experience (e.g. being sensitive to sounds in a noisy room) but they will allow for the experience to occur, even for a brief period.
Use
apply sensory awareness/skills/learning to a practical setting for a given function
Bíonn príomhchlásal agus fochlásal nó dhó in abairt chasta. Bíonn íochtarán in abairt chasta i gcónaí ar nós mar, toisc, de bhrí, tar éis, cé nó nuair nó forainm coibhneasta ar nós a, m.sh. Tá na daltaí ag staidéar toisc go mbeidh scrúdú acu amárach.
Bíonn dhá chlásal neamhspleácha in abairt chomhshuite, agus iad nasctha ag comhordaitheoir. Seo a leanas na comhordaitheoirí: toisc, agus, ná, ach, nó, fós, mar sin. Ach amháin i gcás abairtí gearra, cuirtear camóg roimh an gcomhordaitheoir i gcónaí chun dhá chlásal neamhspleácha a chur le chéile, m.sh. Bhí Peadar ag imirt peile, mar sin chuaigh Máire ag siopadóireacht.
Is éard atá i gceist le diminsean aeistéitiúil teanga, teanga a ionramháil go samhlaíoch, go cruthaitheach agus go healaíonta.
Comprehension strategies are strategies and processes used by readers to make meaning from texts. Key comprehension strategies include:
Book terminology is the vocabulary associated with books e.g. author, blurb, illustrator, contents page, glossary, chapter, publisher etc.
Is éard atá i gceist le brabhsáil sa chomhthéacs seo ábhar léitheoireachta ó réimse foinsí clóite agus ar líne a chur faoi chaibidil d’fhonn ábhar léitheoireachta atá oiriúnach dá gcuspóir léitheoireachta a roghnú.
Tagraíonn braistint ghutha d’fhorbairt ar ghuth agus ar fhéinléiriú an pháiste féin (gníomhú).
De réir mar atá páiste ag foghlaim teanga amháin, sealbhaíonn sé/sí scileanna meititheangeolaíocha ar féidir leis/léi tarraingt orthu nuair a bhíonn teanga eile á foghlaim.
Ceisteanna d’ord íseal is ea ceisteanna dúnta. Bíonn fócas cúng acu agus tugtar freagraí gearra, fíriciúla orthu, m.sh. cé, cad, cá háit agus cén uair. Úsáidtear iad chun eolas sonrach a fháil.
Ceisteanna d’ord níos airde is ea ceisteanna oscailte a éilíonn ar an bhfreagróir smaoineamh fúthu agus machnamh a dhéanamh orthu. Ní féidir freagra ‘is ea’ nó ‘ní hea’ a thabhairt ar na ceisteanna seo, is é a theastaíonn freagra níos forbartha a chuireann eolas agus/nó braistintí an fhreagróra san áireamh.
Focail a fhoghraítear mar a chéile ach nach ionann a mbrí, m.sh. cóir agus comhair, suí agus saoi, téigh agus téigh.
Is éard atá i gceist leis an gcomhaird cás ina ndíríonn beirt atá ag déanamh cumarsáide lena chéile ar an rud céanna. Tá níos mó i gceist leis ná breathnú ar an rud, tuigeann an bheirt go bhfuil siad ag díriú ar an rud céanna.
Comhchiallach is ea focal a bhfuil an chiall chéanna aige le focal eile, nó ciall atá cosúil leis, m.sh. áthasach, sona, sásta.
Tagraíonn comhréir do na rialacha ar faoina réir a gcuirtear focail in ord, a leagtar amach abairtí agus a socraítear an gaol idir fhocail. Is í an chomhréir a thugann le fios cé na leaganacha d’fhocail agus de fhrásaí atá inghlactha nó atá ceart de réir na gramadaí, agus cé na leaganacha nach bhfuil. Comhréir a thugtar ar na rialacha a chinneann foirm nó struchtúr abairte. Rialacha iad seo a chinneann ord na bhfocal, na bhfrásaí agus na gclásal; eagar na habairte; agus an gaol idir fhocail, aicmí focal, agus eilimintí eile den abairt.
As a child is learning one language, he/she acquires metalinguistic skills which he/she can draw upon when learning another language.
A complex sentence has an independent clause joined by one or more dependent clauses. A complex sentence always has a subordinator (also known as a subordinate conjunction) such as because, since, after, although, or when or a relative pronoun such as that, who, or which e.g. The students are studying because they have a test tomorrow.
A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinator (also known as a coordinating conjunction). The coordinators are as follows: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. Except for very short sentences, coordinators are always preceded by a comma when used to join two independent clauses e.g. Alex played football, so Mary went shopping.
to perform an activity
Connectives are words which link paragraphs and sentences to focus on time, cause and effect, comparison or addition. Connectives relate ideas to one another and help to show the logic of the information. Connectives are important resources for creating cohesion in texts. The purposes of connectives can be grouped as follows:
Conventions of print are accepted ways of presenting and organising written text so that this text is consistently and easily understood by all readers. The conventions include the following:
Digital conventions include:
Focal a roinnt ina fhóinéimí aonair chun é a litriú, m.sh. trí fhóinéim atá ag an bhfocal cat: /c/, /a/, /t/, agus trí fhóinéim atá ag an bhfocal grá: /g/, /r/, /á/.
Is léirithe físeacha ar eolas, coincheapa nó smaointe iad na heagraithe grafacha.
Extra linguistic skills include the ability to use:
Tagraíonn feasacht fóineolaíochta don fheasacht a bhíonn ag duine ar struchtúr fóineolaíochta, nó ar struchtúr fuaime, focal. Áirítear ann feasacht ar fhocail, rím, siollaí, túsfhoghar agus foghar deiridh agus fóinéimí.
Tagraíonn feasacht mheititheangeolaíoch don chumas le machnamh a dhéanamh ar theanga agus ar an gcaoi a n-úsáidtear í mar phróiseas agus mar dhéantán, agus a thuiscint gur féidir linn teanga a athrú ar bhealaí éagsúla. De réir mar a thagann forbairt ar fheasacht mheititheangeolaíoch páistí, tuigeann siad níos fearr, mar shampla, gur féidir brí liteartha agus brí intuigthe araon bheith le teanga.
Is éard atá i gceist le feidhmeanna sóisialta na teanga na feidhmeanna ina n-úsáidtear an teanga ar mhaithe le hidirghníomhú sóisialta laethúil amhail beannú, buíochas a chur in iúl, comhbhrón agus imní a chur in iúl, aiféala a chur in iúl agus fáilte a chur roimh chuairteoirí go muiníneach.
Focail a fheictear go minic i dtéacsanna, m.sh. agus, an, na, tá, siad, le, is, sa, is maith, chun, agus mar sin de.
Baineann an téarma ‘foghar’ nó ‘fuaim’ leis an bhfuaim a dhéanaimid nuair a deirimid litir nó focal, agus ní leis an bhfocal clóite. Is féidir le litreacha difriúla an foghar céanna a léiriú, ar nós an fhoghair /ɣ/ sna focail dhá agus ghoil. Is féidir foghar amháin a chur in iúl le breis is litir amháin, mar is amhlaidh i gcás an fhoghair /éa/ sna focail aon agus éan. Dhá fhoghar atá san fhocal bhí /bh/, /í/ ach trí litir atá ann, ‘b’, ‘h’, ‘í’. Ba chear t do mhúinteoirí na focail ‘foghar’ agus ‘litir’ a úsáid go cruinn ionas gur féidir le daltaí idirdhealú idir an dá fhocal.
An t-aonad foghair is lú i bhfocal. Tá dhá fhóinéim san fhocal is /i/ agus /s/.Trí fhóinéim atá san fhocal cat /c/, /a/ agus /t/.
Is éard atá i gceist le foirm formáidí foilsithe de sheánra áirithe m.sh. dán, gearrscéal, dráma, úrscéal, meamram, ríomhphost, scannán, srl.
Tagann forbairt ar stór focal ó bhéal agus ar stór focal léitheoireachta páistí agus iad ag éirí níos casta, ag dul ón rud nithiúil go dtí an rud teibí, i dtaca le cé chomh minic is a úsáidtear focail, cé chomh casta is atá an bhrí, cé chomh domhain is atá an t-eolas ar fhocail, agus na hathruithe a tharlaíonn de thoradh ar phróisis dhéanamh na bhfocal.
Frithchiallach is ea focal atá contrártha le focal eile, m.sh. maith agus olc.
Genres are types of multi-sentence oral or written text structures that have become conventionalised for particular purposes with expected organisational patterns, as well as language features related to register e.g., narrative, informational, persuasive, and multi-genre. Simply put, genre refers to a selection of writing forms in order to recount, explain, entertain, inform, give instructions, narrate, persuade and justify opinions.
Grapheme-phoneme correspondences are the relationships between written symbols and the sounds which they represent. Examples of grapheme-phoneme correspondences include to:
High frequency words are words that appear frequently in texts e.g. the, is, are, to, said, come etc.
Is é atá i homagraif focail a bhfuil an litriú céanna acu ach a bhfuil níos mó ná ciall amháin leo agus/nó fuaimniú difriúil m.sh. fonn, céad, cion.
Homographs are words of the same spelling but with more than one meaning, and/or a different pronunciation e.g. bow, record.
Homonyms are words that are pronounced but have different meanings e.g. to, too and two, heir and air, soot and suit.
Instructional-level text is a term for a text that is appropriately challengingfor a child. Instructional-level texts are appropriate for use in guided reading. With normal classroom instruction and appropriate support a child should be able to identify 90-95% of the words and comprehend 75-90% of the material in the text.
Invented or approximate spelling is a term used when a child uses his/her own combination of letters to make words when creating texts.
Joint attention is a situation where the individuals involved in a communicative act both focus on the same object. It is more than just looking at an object; the individuals understand that they are attending to the same thing—intentionality.
Statements in curriculum specifications to describe the knowledge, understanding, skills and values that students should be able to demonstrate after a period of learning.
Téarma is ea é don chineál téacs a d’fhéadfadh páiste a léamh go líofa agus ciall a bhaint as gan aon chabhair ón múinteoir. Ba cheart go mbeadh páiste in ann idir 95-100% de na focail a aithint, agus idir 90-100% den téacs a thuiscint.
Seo téarma ar théacs ag leibhéal cuí dúshláin, ach nach bhfuil thar chumas an pháiste.Tá téacsanna ag leibhéal teagaisc oiriúnach le húsáid i léitheoireacht threoraithe. Ba cheart go mbeadh páiste in ann idir 90-95% de na focail a aithint, agus idir 75-90% den téacs a thuiscint, le gnáth-threoracha agus tacaíocht ranga.
Is éard atá i gceist le leideanna comhréire noda maidir le brí focal a fhéadtar a bhaint de thátal as ord focal, as struchtúr abairtí agus as an ngaol idir focail.
Is éard atá i gceist le leideanna séimeantacha noda maidir le brí focal a fhéadtar a bhaint de thátal as noda sa phictiúr, sa téacs agus/nó eolas a bhí ag an bpáiste roimh ré.
Is é atá i gceist le líofacht léitheoireachta ó bhéal an cumas a bhíonn ag léitheoirí léamh ó bhéal le luas, cruinneas agus gnéithe oiriúnacha prósóide amhail mothúchán, béim, tuinairde agus cur i bhfocail oiriúnach.
Is téarma é litriú cumtha nó neaslitriú a úsáidtear nuair a úsáideann páistí a gcumasc féin litreacha chun focail a dhéanamh agus iad ag ceapadh téacsanna.
Is é an lucht léitheoireachta, féachana agus éisteachta an pobal léitheoirí, éisteoirí, amharcóirí a bhfuil an scríbhneoir, an dearthóir, an cainteoir ag díriú orthu.
An t-aonad céille nó gramadaí is lú i dteanga ar bith. Ní gá gur focal í gach moirféim. Moirféim amháin atá san fhocal ‘mála’, mar shampla, ach dhá mhoirféim atá san fhocal ‘málaí’: ‘mála’ is ea moirféim amháin agus moirféim eile a chuireann an uimhir iolra in iúl is ea ‘í’. Ach eolas ar mhoirféimí a bheith ag daltaí bíonn slí acu le focail a léamh agus a litriú.
Narrative texts are a type of oral or written discourse where the purpose is to tell a story or narrate an event or a sequence of events. Narrative text can be categorised as fiction or non-fiction.
This strand enables students to understand the dynamic relationship between the local, national and international economic situation. It develops students’ ability to identify and understand basic economic concepts as they relate to personal finance, enterprise and the Irish economy
Paralinguistic skills include:
This strand focuses on students developing a set of skills, knowledge and values that allows them to make informed decisions to effectively and responsibly manage their financial resources.
A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in a word. The word it has two phonemes /i/ and /t/. The word ship has three phonemes /sh/, /i/, /p/.
Aithníonn an prionsabal aibítre go n-úsáidtear litreacha agus teaglamaí (cnuasaigh) litreacha chun fuaimeanna teanga a chur in iúl atá bunaithe ar an ngaol idir litreacha scríofa, siombailí agus focail labhartha.
A root word is a form of a word after all affixes and grammatical inflections have been removed e.g. door, run, sad, build, hair. Many other words can be created using root words:
To split up a word into its individual phonemes in order to spell it, e.g. the word cat has three phonemes: /c/, /a/, /t/ and the word grew has three phonemes: /g/, /r/, /ew/.
Baineann séimeantaic le brí; cuirtear brí in iúl leis na gaolta idir focail.
Tagraíonn slabhra nó cnuasach do dhá litir nó níos mó a dhéanann dhá (nó trí) fhuaim, mar shampla tá na chéad trí litir in ‘strus’ ina slabhra consan.
The term ‘sound’ relates to the sound we make when we utter a letter or word, not to the letter in print. A letter may have more than one sound, such as the letter ‘a’ in was, a sound can be represented by more than one letter such as the sound /k/ in cat and walk. The word ship had three sounds /sh/, /i/, /p/, but has four letters ‘s’, ‘h’, ‘i’, ‘p’. Teachers should use the terms ‘sound’ and ‘letter’ accurately to help students clearly distinguish between the two items.
Phonetic and conventional spelling strategies can be used for unfamiliar words when creating texts. These strategies include:
Is éard atá i gceist le stóir phearsanta focal bailiúcháin de na focail a úsáideann scríbhneoir nó a theastaíonn uaidh atá bainteach lena chuid suimeanna pearsanta agus/nó a dhéanann sé a litriú go mícheart go rialta. Cuimsíonn an stór pearsanta focal, focail nach mbíonn ar taispeáint sa seomra ranga agus nach mbíonn sé éasca teacht orthu.
Struchtúr an téacs a thugtar ar an tslí ina n-eagraítear eolas i gcineálacha éagsúla téacs, mar shampla teidil caibidlí, fotheidil, clár na n-ábhar, innéacsanna agus gluaiseanna, foramhairc, ailt tosaigh agus ailt deiridh, seicheamhú, abairtí topaice, tacsanomaíochtaí, cúis agus éifeacht. Is iad na roghanna a dhéantar i dtaca le struchtúr téacs agus gnéithe teanga a chinneann cineál an téacs agus an bhrí atá leis.
A synonym is a word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word e.g. happy, joyful, elated.
Syntax refers to the organisational rules specifying word order, sentence organisation and word relationships. Syntax specifies which word combinations are acceptable or grammatical, and which are not. The form or structure of a sentence is governed by the rules of syntax. These rules specify word, phrase, and clause order; sentence organisation; and the relationships between words, word classes, and other sentence elements.
Moirféimí is ea táthmhíreanna a cheanglaítear de fhréamhfhocal chun focal nua a dhéanamh m.sh. tóg+álaí, mí+shona nó chun foirm eile d’fhocal a dhéanamh m.sh. múinteoir+í, rith+ dh.
Is féidir téacsanna a thabhairt ar gach toradh ar úsáid teanga—ó bhéal, geáitsíocht, comharthaí, scríofa, físiúil, úsáid a bhaint as Córas Cumarsáide Malartaithe Pictiúr, nithe tagartha, Braille, tadhlach, leictreonach, digiteach, agus/nó ilmhódach. I dtéacsanna ilmhódacha bíonn meascán de chineálacha éagsúla cumarsáide, m.sh. téacs clóite, téacs digiteach, íomhánna amhairc, fuaim (m.sh. taibhiú nó imeacht) agus an focal labhartha.
Cineál dioscúrsa ó bhéal nó i scríbhinn is ea téacsanna insinte a bhfuil sé mar aidhm acu scéal a insint nó imeacht nó sraith imeachtaí a reic. Féadtar téacsanna insinte a rangú mar fhicsean nó mar neamhfhicsean.
Cineál dioscúrsa ó bhéal nó i scríbhinn is ea téacs léiritheach a bhfuil sé mar aidhm aige rud éigin a mhíniú, eolas a thabhairt faoi rud éigin nó cur síos a dhéanamh ar rud éigin.
I measc na dtéamaí don Ghaeilge tá: mé féin, sa bhaile, an scoil, bia, an teilifís, siopadóireacht, caitheamh aimsire, éadaí, an aimsir agus ócáidí speisialta. Is féidir leis an múinteoir go leor topaicí a roghnú as na téamaí. D’fhéadfaí na topaicí seo a leathnú chun ábhar atá spéisiúil don pháiste a chur san áireamh freisin.
Tugtar sainmhíniú ar an teanga gan chomhthéacs mar theanga atá saor ó chomhthéacs. Níl sí bunaithe in aon chomhthéacs láithreach ama ná cúinse, agus níl sí spleách ar aon bhreathnú ná ar aon eispéireas siceach, láithreach. Tá úsáid na teanga gan chomhthéacs ríthábhachtach d’fhoghlaim páistí ar leibhéil éagsúla. Baintear úsáid aisti chun faisnéis nua a chruthú agus a chur in iúl do dhaoine eile nach bhfuil an fhaisnéis chúlra chéanna acu leis an gcainteoir. Tá na téarmaí ‘teanga gan chomhthéacs’ agus ‘stíl teanga liteartha’ cosúil lena chéile toisc go dtagraíonn siad araon do theanga atá eagraithe, follasach agus scoite amach.
Is é atá i dtéarmaíocht na leabhar an foclóir a bhaineann le leabhair, m.sh. údar, blurba, maisitheoir, clár na n-ábhar, gluais, caibidil, foilsitheoir, srl.
Text structure is the way that information is organised in different types of texts for example, chapter headings, sub-headings, table of contents, indexes and glossaries, overviews, introductory and concluding paragraphs, sequencing, topic sentences, taxonomies, cause and effect. Choices in text structures and language features together define a text type and shape its meaning. .
All products of language use—oral, gesture, sign, written, visual, using Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), objects of reference, Braille, tactile, electronic, digital and/or multimodal—can be described as texts. Multimodal texts include the combination of a variety of forms of communication such as print text, digital text, visual images, audio (e.g., a performance or event) and spoken word. In this definition, 'multimodal' is not synonymous with 'digital'.
Among the themes for Irish are; myself, at home, school, food, television, shopping, pastimes, clothes, the weather and special occasions. The teacher can select lots of topics from the themes. These topics could be extended to also include subjects that the child finds interesting.
Vocabulary strategies assist to determine or clarify the meaning of unknown words and phrases, including:
Word identification strategies allow children to read unknown words with increasing automaticity. These strategies include:
The writing process involves the teacher explicitly teaching children how to work and learn actively as writers. Steps in the writing process include: