Theme
This term refers to the central message, lesson, or moral that the author wants the reader to learn from a story.
What is Theme?
"The desert air was arid, meaning it was extremely dry and lacked any moisture." Identify the word in the sentence that acts as a definition clue for arid.
What is "dry" (or "lacked moisture")?
"The move was mandatory; every student was required to participate, no exceptions." Based on the sentence, what does mandatory mean?
What is required (or moved by law/rule)?
This term refers to the literal, "dictionary definition" of a word, without any emotional association.
What is Denotation?
On the SBAC, if a prompt asks you to "Cite Evidence," you must include this in your answer.
What is a quote (or direct detail) from the text?
True or False: "Football" or "Friendship" are examples of themes.
What is False? (Those are topics; a theme must be a complete statement, like "Friendship requires sacrifice.")
When you encounter a word you don't know, this is the first thing you should do: look at the words and sentences ________ it.
What is "surrounding" (or around the word)?
Hints found within a sentence, paragraph, or passage that a reader can use to understand the meanings of new or unfamiliar words.
What are context clues?
Between the words "curious" and "nosy," this word has a negative connotation used to describe someone prying into business that isn't theirs.
What is nosy?
If a question asks for the "central idea" of a paragraph, you should look at this specific sentence, which is often found at the very beginning.
What is the topic sentence?
In a fable where a bird loses its meal because it was bragging, this would be a likely theme.
What is "Pride comes before a fall" (or "Vanity can lead to loss")?
To find the meaning of a word using "Substitution," you should replace the unknown word with a ________ and see if the sentence still makes sense.
What is a synonym?
"The cake was scrumptious, unlike the bitter and dry cookies we had yesterday." Identify the type of context clue used here to define scrumptious.
What is a contrast (or antonym) clue?
While both mean "to cost little," a person would rather buy a car described as "inexpensive" than one described as this "C-word," which implies it is poorly made.
What is cheap?
This strategy involves breaking a long word into smaller, recognizable chunks to determine its meaning.
What is structural (or word) analysis?
This type of theme is never stated directly by the author; instead, the reader must use clues from the text to figure it out.
What is an Implicit (or inferred) theme?
In a "Compare and Contrast" essay, these are the two things you are looking for between two different texts.
What are similarities and differences?
"The peculiar child wore a winter coat in the middle of July and carried an empty birdcage." Based on the clues, what does peculiar mean?
What is strange, odd, or unusual?
Read these three words: reinvigorated, awake, hyper. Identify the word that has the most positive connotation.
What is reinvigorated?
An author replaces the word "determined" with "stubborn" in a story’s objective summary. Identify the specific term for this shift in "word feeling," and explain how it changes the reader’s perception of the character.
What is Connotation?
explain:The change makes the character seem difficult or unreasonable instead of hard-working/persistent.
A student fails a test because they didn't study. Instead of blaming the teacher, they spend the next week in the library and get an A on the re-test. What is the theme?
What is "Hard work leads to success" (or "Accountability/Persistence")?
In an argumentative essay, a writer uses the phrase "On the other hand" or "Conversely." What specific purpose do these transitions serve, and what is the writer likely about to introduce?
What is to show contrast (or a difference), and they are likely introducing a counter-argument (or the opposing side)?
"After the long hike, Sarah felt lethargic; she had no energy and just wanted to sleep for a week." What does lethargic mean?
What is tired, weary, or lacking energy?
Authors use this to create "mood." It is the emotional weight or "feeling" (positive, negative, or neutral) that a word carries beyond its definition.
What is Connotation?
"The thunder grumbled like an old man." This is an example of what type of figurative language?
What is a simile (or personification)?