Reading Skills
the obstacle the character(s) must overcome in a piece of writing; no story can exist without this
What is conflict?
The four kinds of author's purpose.
What is to persuade, inform, entertain, or express?
The people inside the huge building heard the long last of the whistle. Quickly they stopped their machines. They got up from their chairs and went to their lockers. Carrying paper bags, they walked to the sunny park to eat.
You can tell the people...
A. are workers on their lunch hour
B. are putting together television sets.
C. are athletes about to play a game
A. are workers on their lunch hour
Forest rangers sometimes intentionally start an avalanche with explosives. They have a reason. If an avalanche of ice or snow is about to occur, rangers say (1) ______ one is better than one without any (2) ________.
1. mild, suitable, planned, trail
2. materials, injury, noise, warning
1. planned
2. warning
Identify the author's purpose: Join the basketball team! It's good exercise, a way to make friends, time spent wisely, and most of all, fun!
What is to persuade?
If you look under your kitchen sink, you will see some drain pipes. One pipe is U-shaped. It is called a trap. Harmful gases develop in a sewer line. The curved [art of the trap holds a small amount of water. The water clsoes off the pipe. The trap keeps you safe because harmful gases can't enter your hourse.
The trap...
A. is a straight pipe
B. lets harmful gases enter your house
C. has a very useful purpose
C. has a very useful purpose
Your nervous system carries messages at (1) _______ speed. If you burn your finger, the message is (2) _______ to the brain, where it is acknowledged and interpreted. Then, another message is sent to your finger to pull it away. The total time elapses is only 1/25 of a second.
1. gradual, ordinary, reduced, incredible
2. intercepted, adopted, transmitted, attracted
1. incredible
2. transmitted
Identify the author's purpose: "Going out" is a phrase referring to having a boyfriend or girlfriend. Quite often, couples never "go out" anywhere, but hang out together.
What is to inform?
You have probably seen a lightening flash. But often you don't hear the sound of thunder until a few seconds later. You can use a simple formula to learn how far from you the lightening struck.
You can tell from the paragraph that...
A. sound travels faster than light
B. thunder always comes before lightening
C. light travels faster than sound
C. Light travels faster than sound
There are more fossils of water animals than of land animals. This is because animals that died on land (1) ________ or were eaten by other animals. Water animals were often buried in the soft mud of rivers or lakes and became (2) _______.
1. bellowed, decayed, tramped, exploded
2. mechanized, satisfied, fossilized, civilized
1. decayed
2. fossilized
the person or group to which a piece of writing is directed toward
What is audience?
The character or person that is telling the story.
What is a narrator?
Idenitfy the author's purpose: The score was tied 32 to 32. Mike dribbled the ball down the court, took a shot, blinked his eyes, and opened them to the screaming cheers. He made it.
What is to entertain?
Henry Cisneros longed to serve the public. He lived in San Antonio. In 1981, he ran for mayor. He won the race with ease. He gained almost two-thirds of the vote. By winning, Cisneros became the first Hispanic mayor of the city since 1842.
From the paragraph, you can tell that...
A. Cisneros did not become mayor
B. His election was an honor for other Hispanic people
C. Cisneros was a lawyer
B. His election was an honor for other Hispanic people
On hot summer days in the past, people not only fanned themselves to keep (1) _______. They also developed a fan language. Twirling the fan in the left hand warned, "We are being watched." Covering the left ear with an open fan meant, "Do not (2) _______ our secret."
1. cool, busy, fit, happy
2. betray, forgive, borrow, punish
1. cool
2. betray
List the five parts of the plot diagram in order.
What is Exposition, Rising action, Climax, Falling Action, Conclusion?
Idenitfy the author's purpose: Coach John played a father role in my life. He didn't even know it, but I looked up to him like a saint. I wanted to please him, so I tried my best everyday.
What is to express?
The man wriggled his toes in the sand and then returned to the towel on the ground. He picked up a pair of binoculars by the towel and looked through them. The ship in the distance didn't have an American flag, but he couldn't tell what country's flag the ship was flying.
You can tell that the man...
A. is a spy for a foreign country
B. is standing on a beach looking out on the ocean
C. doesn't have very much money
A. is a spy for a foreign country
A baby lets adults know that things are not quite right by the way it cries. Each of its cries meas something--hunger, pain, discomfort, fright, or fear of falling. Parents soon get ot know this language of (1) ______ and (2) ______.
1. remarks, tears, words, comments
2. wails, women, laughs, silence
1. tears
2. wails