STAAR Test
Texts
Word Meanings
Irony
Literary Devices
100
What two types of readings will you be asked to read on the STAAR test?
literary and expository
100
What is the name for a "type" of text? List some examples.
Genre; mystery, folktale, personal narrative, science fiction, etc.
100
What does diction mean?
"word choice"
100
Identify the three types of irony
verbal, situational, dramatic
100
What are some examples of figurative language?
Simile, metaphor, personification, sensory details, imagery, etc.
200
What are some ways to read actively?
Focusing, asking questions, taking notes, making connections
200
What are some ideas that should be included when summarizing an expository text?
Author of the text Title of the text Controlling idea Main supporting details
200
Explain the difference between "denotation" and "connotation"
Denotation - dictionary definition Connotation - associated meanings/connection to emotions
200
What is situational irony?
When what happens is the opposite of what you expected
200
What is the difference between a simile and a metaphor?
Simile - a comparison between two things using like or as Metaphor - a comparison between two things without using like or as
300
What are the steps to answering a short answer question?
* Read and analyze the question (look at question words - i.e. Why? How?) 1. Restate the question as a statement and give your answer (THESIS) 2. Introduce and give quote (EVIDENCE) * Who said it? What is happening? 3.Explain how the quote connects to answer (ANALYSIS) * Explain quote + restate answer
300
Identify and explain 2 out of the 4 types of point of view.
First person - told by a character in the story (uses pronouns: I, me, my, we) Third person omniscient - told by an outside “storyteller” who knows the thoughts and emotions of the characters Third person limited - told by an outside “storyteller” who know the thoughts and emotions of only one/some characters Third person objective - told by an outside “storyteller” who does not know the thoughts and emotions of the characters
300
What is etymology?
Word meaning/origin
300
What type irony occurs when the reader/audience knows something the characters in the story don’t know?
dramatic
300
Read the following line taken from "Fall" by Jimmy Baca: "Autumn chants my visions to sleep, and travels me back into a night." What literary device is found in these lines?
personification
400
What is the difference between a response to a short answer question and your response to a "crossover" short answer question?
A "crossover" short answer response should include a quote from each text (and the introductions to the quotes should specify from which text they came)
400
Read this paragraph: “The term ‘volunteer’ is defined as a person who freely offers to take part in an enterprise or undertake a task. The very definition makes it clear that volunteerism must be done freely, without control of another. Volunteerism cannot be compulsory or dictated by someone else. When it is, it can no longer be called volunteer service. Students required to do the service are not volunteering; ipso facto, they are meeting a requirement for graduation. The main point in this paragraph is that: A. young people shouldn’t volunteer when it is required B. a person isn’t volunteering if the act is required or mandated C. it is not necessary to require students to volunteer D. young people will not want to volunteer if it is required
B. a person isn't volunteering if the act is required or mandated
400
Read the following paragraph: “The term ‘volunteer’ is defined as a person who freely offers to take part in an enterprise or undertake a task. The very definition makes it clear that volunteerism must be done freely, without control of another. Volunteerism cannot be compulsory or dictated by someone else. When it is, it can no longer be called volunteer service. Students required to do the service are not volunteering; ipso facto, they are meeting a requirement for graduation. Why does the author include the definition of the word volunteer in paragraph 2? A. To refute a counterargument B. To suggest different ways of looking at volunteerism C. To help readers understand the meaning of the word D. To clarify the idea that volunteerism is valued
C. To help readers understand the meaning of the word
400
What is verbal irony?
When what someone says is different from what they mean (similar to sarcasm)
400
Read the following paragraph: “Yes, the sky was now a devastating, home-cooked red. The small German town had been flung apart one more time. (a) Snowflakes of ash fell so lovelily you were tempted to stretch out your tongue to catch them, taste them. They would have cooked your mouth.” What is the literary device found in sentence (a)? What is its effect on the meaning of the sentence?
metaphor; comparing ash to snowflakes makes them seem delicate and not harmful
500
What does it mean to make an inference?
Making an assumption based on evidence
500
Read the following paragraph: "The crawler ground to a halt. Alan scrambled into his space suit the moment the hazard warning horn screamed ‘trouble ahead.’ He grabbed his flight wings and stepped into the airlock. Feeling the increase of pressure on his ears as the suit pumped up to match the pressure outside, he swallowed to equalize it. The airlock door swung open, and he stepped out of the crawler into the gloom of a midsummer day on Titan.” Through which point of view is this story being told?
third-person limited
500
Read the following paragraph: “We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization - black people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed…” The word polarization means - A. the effects of magnetism B. division into opposing groups C. direction D. relating to the North and South Poles
B. division into opposing groups
500
Read this poem: One Perfect Rose Dorothy Parker A single flow'r he sent me, since we met. All tenderly his messenger he chose; Deep-hearted, pure, with scented dew still wet - One perfect rose. I knew the language of the floweret; 'My fragile leaves,' it said, 'his heart enclose.' Love long has taken for his amulet One perfect rose. Why is it no one ever sent me yet One perfect limousine, do you suppose? Ah no, it's always just my luck to get One perfect rose. What type of irony is expressed in this poem?
Verbal
500
Read the following paragraph: “Within minutes, mounds of concrete and earth were stacked and piled. The streets were ruptured veins. Blood streamed till it was dried on the road, and the bodies were stuck there, like driftwood after the flood.” What literary device is found in this paragraph?
metaphor
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