Language
What is literal language?
This means exactly what the words say, with no exaggeration.
What is the central idea?
This is the main message or most important point of a text.
What is how the narrator thinks or feels about what’s happening.
How to identify it:
Fiction:
Notice who is telling the story and their feelings.
Ask: Is the narrator scared, excited, or worried?
Non‑fiction:
Look at the author’s attitude or opinion.
Ask: Does the author sound excited, serious, or confident about the topic?
Point of View
What are the steps of the process of elimination?
1) Read each question carefully
2) Slash and trash/ cross out answers that make no sense
3) Put a ? mark on possible answer choices.
4)Go back to the text to make sure your answer is correct!
If given a question like below, How many pieces of evidence do you need from each text?
This question is worth 4 credits.
What is a theme that is shared by Marvels in the Muck and “Blueflags”? How is the shared theme developed in the article and the poem? Use details from both the article and the poem to support your response.
In your response, be sure to
-state a theme that is shared by both the article and the poem
-explain how the shared theme is developed in the article and the poem
-use details from both the article and the poem to support your response
Two from Marvels in the Muck
Two from Blueflags
What is figurative language?
This type of language uses words to suggest ideas, feelings, or comparisons. or
Authors use this type of language to make writing more fun and exciting.
or
This type of language helps readers picture the story and feel emotions instead of just reading plain words.
How do you find the gist/main idea or central idea of a text?
To find the central idea, you look for what repeats most in the text. Look at the title, or first and last paragraph.
Ask yourself:
Who or what is the text mostly about? (The main person, animal, group, or topic)
What important thing happens or what important information is given? (The key event in fiction or the key facts in nonfiction)
Why does it matter? (The lesson, message, or the main point the author wants you to understand)
What am I doing by asking these questions?
How does the character feel at the beginning?
How do they feel at the end?
What caused the change?
Tracking Character Change
What does RAFT-IT stand for and when should you use it?
R-Restate
A-Answer
F-For example, (evidence 1)
T-This shows (explain evidence 1)
I-In addition, (evidence 2)
T-This shows (explain evidence 2)
What part of the question will you use as your introduction?
This question is worth 4 credits.
What is a theme that is shared by Marvels in the Muck and “Blueflags”? How is the shared theme developed in the article and the poem? Use details from both the article and the poem to support your response.
In your response, be sure to
-state a theme that is shared by both the article and the poem
-explain how the shared theme is developed in the article and the poem
-use details from both the article and the poem to support your response
What is a theme that is shared by Marvels in the Muck and “Blueflags”? How is the shared themedeveloped in the article and the poem? Use details from both the article and the poem to support your response.
What is a synonym?
A word that means the same or almost the same as another word.
Advance the plot” or “drive the plot forward” means?
Something happens in the story that moves it along.
It helps the story go to the next part instead of staying the same.
How can you identify
Character Development
What it is:
How a character changes, grows, or is revealed in a text.
How to identify it:
Fiction:
Look at how the character acts, feels, or learns from the beginning to the end.
Ask: What did the character learn or how did they change?
Non‑fiction:
Look at how a real person’s actions or experiences are explained.
Ask: What does the text show about who the person is or what they did?
What should you write on your scrap paper for every short response question to make sure you are organizing or structuring your response?
R-Restate
A-Answer
F-For example, (evidence 1)
T-This shows (explain evidence 1)
I-In addition, (evidence 2)
T-This shows (explain evidence 2)
If given a question like below, what part of the response will you answer in your body 1 and which text will you pull evidence from to support your response? (Marvels in the Muck and “Blueflags")
This question is worth 4 credits.
What is a theme that is shared by Marvels in the Muck and “Blueflags”? How is the shared theme developed in the article and the poem? Use details from both the article and the poem to support your response.
In your response, be sure to
-state a theme that is shared by both the article and the poem
-explain how the shared theme is developed in the article and the poem
-use details from both the article and the poem to support your response
-state a theme that is shared by both the article and the poem
one piece of evidence from both text (Marvels in the Muck and “Blueflags")
What is an antonym?
A word that means the opposite of another word.
Theme is a lesson that applies to...?
real life
The author's purpose is the reason an author writes a text. What are those main purposes?
The main purposes are:
To inform – to give facts or explain something
To persuade – to convince the reader to think or act a certain way
To entertain – to amuse or tell a story
To explain/teach – to show how something works
How would you answer this question?
28) This question is worth 2 credits.
In New York: Local Legacies, how does paragraph 6 help develop a central idea of the article? Use two details from the article to support your response.
1) Break down the question to know what it is asking me.
2) Use RAFT-IT to structure my response:
Restate the question and answer (in my own words)
Go back to the text to find two pieces of evidence to support my response
If given a question like below, what part of the response will you answer in your body 2 and which text will you pull evidence from to support your response? (Marvels in the Muck and “Blueflags")
This question is worth 4 credits.
What is a theme that is shared by Marvels in the Muck and “Blueflags”? How is the shared theme developed in the article and the poem? Use details from both the article and the poem to support your response.
In your response, be sure to
-state a theme that is shared by both the article and the poem
-explain how the shared theme is developed in the article and the poem
-use details from both the article and the poem to support your response
-explain how the shared theme is developed in the article and the poem
one piece of evidence from both text (Marvels in the Muck and “Blueflags")
What are context clues?
These help readers figure out the meaning of a tricky word.
or
Looking for examples, descriptions, or actions helps you use these.
or
clues are the words around a word that help you figure out its meaning.
What is tone?
How the author feels about what they are writing.
It’s the mood or attitude of the story.
A happy tone sounds cheerful and fun
A scary tone feels spooky or tense
A sad tone feels serious or emotional
What should you look for in the text to find the theme in fiction Vs. non-fiction?
Fiction:
How to find it:
Think about what the characters learn
Ask: What did this story teach me?
Non-fiction
How to find it:
Look for repeated ideas
Ask: What does the author want me to know or believe?
What does “shift the tone” mean in this question?
How does the speaker’s word choice in lines 19 through 30 of “Blueflags” shift the tone of the poem? Use two details from the poem to support your response.
This phrase means the author’s word choices change how the poem feels from one part to another.
Where should you use RAFT-IT in the response below and how many times?
What part of the question will you use as your introduction?
This question is worth 4 credits.
What is a theme that is shared by Marvels in the Muck and “Blueflags”? How is the shared theme developed in the article and the poem? Use details from both the article and the poem to support your response.
In your response, be sure to
-state a theme that is shared by both the article and the poem
-explain how the shared theme is developed in the article and the poem
-use details from both the article and the poem to support your response
Twice in the two body paragraphs:
-state a theme that is shared by both the article and the poem
-explain how the shared theme is developed in the article and the poem