Decoding Words
Which of these words makes the long "e" sound? Head, Bread, or Read
Read (present tense)
This story element includes where and when the story takes place and often plays a major role in shaping the conflict and characters’ decisions.
The setting
This organizational structure presents a problem and then explains how it is solved, helping the reader understand the author’s message or solution.
Problem and solution
This type of figurative language gives human qualities to objects or ideas and can help the reader connect emotionally with the text.
Personification
These words and phrases—like “suddenly,” “after that,” and “in the end”—help guide the reader through the events of a story in the correct order.
Transitional words and phrases
When researching, it’s important to use these types of sources—such as academic journals, government websites, and expert interviews—because they are accurate and trustworthy.
Reliable and valid sources
If you don’t know a word in a sentence, you can often figure it out by using the words and clues around it.
Context clues
Divide the word "fantastic" into syllables
Fan - tas - tic
This is what you call the message or lesson—either clearly stated or implied—that grows stronger as characters face challenges and events unfold.
The theme
These pieces of information in a nonfiction text help explain, prove, or clarify the central idea. Without them, the main point would be unclear.
Supporting details
In a poem, the line “Her voice was music to his ears” is an example of this type of figurative language, which compares two things without using “like” or “as” to create a deeper emotional effect.
Metaphor
This is the statement at the beginning of an argument that clearly shows the writer’s opinion and sets up what they will prove with reasons and evidence.
A claim
Adding visuals like charts, images, or audio clips to a presentation is an example of using these elements to make your message clearer and more engaging.
Multimedia elements
In the sentence “She has a heart of gold,” this type of figurative language is used to describe someone’s kind personality.
A metaphor
Which word includes a prefix that means "before"? Rewind, Preview, or Subway
Preview
An author uses a character’s thoughts, dialogue, and actions to shape this important element of storytelling, which reveals how the character sees the world.
Character's perspective
This is what we call the reason an author writes a text—whether to inform, persuade, entertain, or express an opinion—and it shapes the tone and details the author includes.
Author's purpose
When writing a summary of a story, you should include the most important events and this overall message or lesson the author wants to share.
Theme
This type of writing explains or informs about a topic using facts, details, and a clear structure—often using headings, transitions, and evidence from multiple sources.
Expository text
This type of online tool, such as Google Docs or Microsoft Word, allows multiple people to write and edit a document at the same time.
Collaborative writing tool
The word “bark” can mean the sound a dog makes or the outside of a tree. This makes it an example of what kind of word?
A multiple-meaning word
In the sentence "The children were unprepared for the surprise quiz," which two word parts help you understand the meaning of the word "unprepared"?
Prefix "un" means "not"
"Prepared" means "ready"
This poetic device compares two things using “like” or “as” and helps create vivid images in the reader’s mind.
A simile
This is the author’s main position or opinion in an argumentative text. Everything else in the argument is built to support it.
The claim
A good summary of an informational text should include this main point the author is making, along with the most important supporting details.
The central idea
This stage of the writing process comes after drafting and involves improving your ideas, organization, and word choice—often with help from teachers or classmates.
Revising
Using words like “analyze,” “evidence,” and “infer” in your essays and discussions shows you are doing this with your language.
If you don’t know the meaning of a word like “photosynthesis,” this type of reference book can help you find a clear definition.
A dictionary
Which of the following words is correctly divided into syllables? Hop-ing, Plan-et, Runn-ing
Plan-et
In poetry, this is how figurative language, imagery, and sound devices work together to express emotion and support the theme.
The poem's meaning or message
These two parts of an argument work together to make it convincing—one provides facts or examples, and the other explains how those facts support the claim.
Evidence and reasoning
This type of source comes directly from someone who experienced the event, such as a diary, photograph, or interview.
Primary source
This punctuation mark is used to show strong emotion at the end of a sentence, like in “Watch out!”
An exclamation mark
If you know that “bio” means life and “logy” means the study of, you can figure out that this word means “the study of life.”
Biology
Understanding that “joy” and “delight” are synonyms and “joy” and “sadness” are antonyms helps you figure out word meanings using this kind of connection.
Word relationships