Reading Skills
What is the main idea of a passage?
The most important point the author wants the reader to understand.
What do we call the main character in a story?
The protagonist
What are context clues?
Words or information surrounding an unfamiliar word that help reveal its meaning
In the sentence “The cheerful child waved,” what part of speech is cheerful?
What is a primary source?
An original, firsthand account or piece of evidence, such as a diary, interview, letter, or photograph from the event.
A character brings a jacket, checks the dark clouds, and hurries home. What can you infer?
The character expects rain or bad weather.
A character wants to join a team but is afraid of being rejected. What type of conflict is this?
Internal conflict (character vs. self)
What is an antonym for ancient?
Modern, new, or recent
Identify the direct object: “Liam kicked the ball.”
the ball
Is a modern textbook chapter explaining a historical event a primary or secondary source?
Secondary source
A passage explains that a drought caused crops to die and food prices to rise. What text structure is being used?
Cause and effect
A character keeps practicing after failing several times. What trait does this demonstrate?
Perseverance or determination
What does the prefix re- mean in rewrite?
Again
Is this sentence simple, compound, or complex? “Although it was cold, we played outside.”
Complex
Name two things you should check when deciding whether a website is reliable.
The author's expertise, evidence, publication date, publisher, or whether other trustworthy sources confirm the information. Any two.
A passage states that a town's population increased from 2,000 to 3,500 people in ten years. Is this a fact or an opinion?
A fact, assuming the figures are accurate
What is the difference between a topic and a theme?
A topic is what a story is about; a theme is the message or lesson about that topic.
Which word has a more positive connotation: persistent or stubborn?
Persistent
Which verb is intransitive in this sentence? “The baby slept while the mother folded laundry.”
Slept, it does not take a direct object.
What is the difference between paraphrasing and plagiarism?
Paraphrasing restates information in your own words and sentence structure while giving credit to the source; plagiarism presents someone else's work as your own.
An author describes a litter problem, explains its effects on wildlife, and suggests organizing a cleanup. What is the author's likely purpose?
To explain a problem and encourage readers to help solve it
A character admits to breaking a neighbor's window, even though no one saw it happen. What lesson could this story communicate?
Honesty and taking responsibility are important, even when there are no immediate consequences.
If a character is exhausted after running a race, what does exhausted mean?
Extremely tired
Correct the capitalization and punctuation: “on monday jake said i am ready”
On Monday, Jake said, “I am ready.”
A student copies a sentence and changes only two words. Is that an acceptable paraphrase? Why or why not?
No, the student needs to restate the idea in their own words and sentence structure and credit the source.