General Knowledge
This delicious acronym helps remind us what the three different types of author's purposes are. (It's missing an A for Argument, though...)
What is PIE?
This method of plotting out the different elements of a story has two common names - a mountain, and a rollercoaster.
What is Plot Mountain/Plot Rollercoaster?
The wording for this pretty important concept about an entire text changed from 4th grade - we no longer use the word "main" when talking about it.
What is Central Idea?
I'm a fan! These seven words are what you put in between two independent clauses, with a comma before them, of course.
What are Conjunctions/FANBOYS?
If I'm not sure which answer choice is correct, I'll get rid of the ones that I know are incorrect first.
What is the process of elimination?
This means making an educated guess - using text evidence to come to a conclusion that isn't said explicitly in the text.
What is infer/to make an inference?
This is a type of figurative language, often used in poetry or fiction texts but can be used anywhere, that compares two unlike things WITHOUT using 'like' or 'as'.
What is a metaphor?
It's the three (or more!) scoops on our ice cream cone graphic organizer!
What are key details of a text that support the central idea?
These two acronyms apply to the writing process of revising and editing. One might be able to give you a hand, while the other might give you a drink.
What are ARMS and CUPS?
The revising and editing questions are often the easiest and quickest to answer on the test. This is where they are located in every STAAR test.
What is at the end/the last few passages?
If a story is told from within the mind of the narrator, and we don't know anyone else's thoughts, this is the kind of POV that it is.
What is First Person Point of View?
This is the main lesson to be learned from the story.
What is theme?
This kind of text requires a claim to be made, which needs to be supported with evidence.
What is an argumentative text?
There is an error somewhere in this answer. Find the error and, fix the error. There will not be more than one error.
What is the comma being in the wrong spot?
Move the comma from after "and" to before "and".
For paired passages, this is the strategy I'll use so that I can use my time and focus wisely.
What is (1) first passage, first passage questions, (2) second passage, second passage questions, and (3) paired passage questions?
When a question is asked that has a list of various dictionary definitions for a word in the text, this is what to do to see which option is best.
What is, plug in the definition into the sentence to see if it makes sense?
To make a story particularly interesting, the author might include this kind of language so that there are vivid details and descriptions of important things.
What is sensory language (using the five senses)?
Like cause and effect, problem and solution, description, order of importance, and chronological order.
What is text structure/organizational pattern?
When a question has this as an option, the question will say "What change, if any, is needed?". However, you should make sure that the other options are incorrect before picking this one.
What is "No change needed"?
These are the sentence stems that I'm going to use for my ECR.
What are:
A: (Restate the question)...
1: I know this because...
2: This means that...
3: I also know this because...
4: This means that...
5: In conclusion/So, my answer is...
This is the wording that is used on STAAR that means that, while there may be more than one option that is technically correct, there is only one option that you should actually pick.
What is "MOST effective" or "BEST explains"?
A regularly written story is told with __(1)__, which group together into __(2)__.
A poem is written with __(3)__, which group together into __(4)__.
A play is written with __(5)__, which group together into __(6)__.
(1) - full sentences
(2) - paragraphs
(3) - lines
(4) - stanzas
(5) - character tags and lines
(6) - scenes and acts
The author might include one of these things in an informational text to help clarify their meaning or draw attention to something specific and important in the text.
This is the revision or editing error that is asked about the most on the STAAR test.
What is punctuation?
Before I begin the STAAR test, this is the score I am expecting to get.
What is 100%?