Literary Text: Key Ideas
This is the main message or lesson of a story; it's often an idea the author wants readers to learn.
What is the theme?
This tells the main idea of a paragraph or short informational text.
What is the main idea?
The author writes like this when words mean something different than their literal meaning, for example: “as busy as a bee.”
What is figurative language or a simile?
Two words that mean the same or nearly the same are called:
What synonyms?
Words like “first,” “next,” and “finally” show this organizational pattern.
What is sequence or chronological order?
When you find lines in a story that tell what a character thinks and feels, you are identifying these.
What are character traits or character feelings?
When you restate a passage's important details using your own words, you are doing this.
What is summarizing or paraphrasing?
When a narrator tells the story from "I" and shares personal thoughts, this point of view is called:
What is first person point of view?
A word that means the opposite of another word is called:
What are antonyms?
When an author uses headings, subheadings, and bullet points to show organization, these are called:
What are text structures or organizational features?
Name the strategy: Read two parts of a story and explain how one event causes another event later.
What is cause and effect?
Name two types of text features that help readers find information quickly in an informational text.
What are headings and captions? (Also accept table of contents, index, glossaries, charts, etc.)
Explain how a character changes from the beginning to the end of a story.
Answer May Vary
A word with more than one meaning (like "bat"—an animal or sports equipment) is called:
What is a homograph or multiple-meaning word?
Explain why a source might be more reliable than another.
What is a source is more reliable when it is written by an expert author because they have knowledge on the topic and example: an encyclopedia?
A short phrase that tells where and when a story happens is called its:
What is the setting?
Plants need sunlight to survive. They use sunlight to make their own food through a process called photosynthesis. During this process, plants also use water and air to create energy that helps them grow. If a plant does not get enough sunlight, it may grow slowly or become weak. Leaves might turn yellow, and the plant may not produce flowers or fruit. This is why most plants grow best in sunny areas. Sunlight is essential for healthy plant growth and helps plants stay strong.
Identify one explicit fact and one inference drawn from the text.
What is the explicit fact that plants use sunlight to make their own food through photosynthesis, and what can be inferred about plants kept indoors without enough sunlight based on the text’s explanation that they may grow slowly or become weak?
The loud thunder was so deafening that it hurt my ears.
What is deafening means extremely loud because the sentence says it hurt my ears?
Using the sentence: “The student scanned the passage for clues,” explain whether "scanned" means read quickly or looked over carefully, and which context clue helps you decide.
What is scanned means read quickly because the phrase “for clues” shows the student is searching for specific information rather than reading every word carefully?
This tells readers where the writer got facts or quotes (it can be a list at the end).
What are citations or a bibliography?
Jordan’s heart pounded as the storm grew louder outside. The power went out, and the house fell into darkness. From upstairs, Jordan heard his little sister crying. Even though he was scared, he grabbed a flashlight and slowly climbed the creaky stairs. When he reached her room, he stayed calm and helped her out of bed. Together, they made their way safely back downstairs, where Jordan comforted her until the storm passed.
What are two pieces of evidence that show Jordan is brave?
Answers May Vary
Given a short article with two authors’ accounts of the same event (teacher provides), identify one important similarity and one important difference in their points of view and cite evidence.
What is [similarity + evidence] and [difference + evidence]?
I don’t care how long it takes—I’m going to make the team,” Jordan said, gripping the basketball tightly. Every afternoon after school, he stayed late on the court, practicing his shots while his friends went home. Even when he missed over and over again, he kept going until the sun began to set.
The author uses dialogue, description, and action to develop characters. Give an example of how one of these shows a character’s motivation in a short text
What is Jordan’s motivation to make the team is shown through his actions because he stays after school every day to practice and keeps trying even when he misses?
Give the meaning for this figurative phrase from a poem or story. Then replace it with a literal phrase that means the same thing.
The wind whispered through the trees.
What is the wind was blowing softly and the wind made a quiet sound through the trees?
How does the information in the text support the author’s main point? Use two pieces of evidence.
Reading every day can help students improve their vocabulary and comprehension skills. Teachers encourage students to spend time reading both in school and at home. Many students who read regularly begin to perform better on tests and feel more confident in their (Average Weekly Reading Time):
What is the information shows that students who read daily spend more time reading, which supports the author’s main point that regular reading improves skills because daily readers read 140 minutes compared to 45 minutes and students who read more perform better on tests?