Main Idea & Theme
The most important message or central point the author wants the reader to understand.
What is the main idea of a story?
The cast of characters.
What do you call the list at the beginning of a play that tells who is in the story?
Answer: A letter or group of letters added to the beginning of a root word to change its meaning (e.g., un- in unhappy).
What is a prefix?
What type of figurative language makes a comparison between two unlike things using the words "like" or "as"?
Answer: A simile.
If you don't know a word, what should you look at for clues to its meaning?
Answer: The context clues (the words and sentences around it).
A life lesson, message, or moral about human nature that can be applied to your own life.
What is the theme of a story?
Answer: The dialogue.
What is the term for the words that characters speak aloud to each other in a play?
Answer: A letter or group of letters added to the end of a root word to change its meaning (e.g., -less in blameless).
What is a suffix?
What type of figurative language gives human qualities or actions to nonhuman things?
Answer: Personification.
What part of the plot happens right after the climax (the most exciting part) and leads to the ending?
Answer: The falling action.
The main idea is what the text is about (e.g., training for the Olympics), but the theme is the lesson it teaches (e.g., hard work pays off).
How is the main idea different from the theme?
Answer: The stage directions.
In a play, what is the term for the words, often in parentheses or italics, that tell actors where to move or how to say their lines?
Answer: Without (meaning "without blame" or "without fault").
What does the suffix -less mean, as in blameless?
What is a bold exaggeration or over-the-top claim, such as "I had a million homework problems tonight"?
Answer: A hyperbole.
What is the meaning of the word victor or victors?
Answer: A winner or champion.
What is the term for a sentence that summarizes the main point of a paragraph?
The topic sentence.
Answer: The conflict.
What term describes the major problem or struggle that characters face in a story or play?
Answer: Too much or excessively (meaning "too happy" or "very happy").
The word overjoyed has the prefix over-. What is the meaning of this prefix in this context?
What type of figurative language makes a direct comparison between two unlike things without using "like" or "as" (e.g., "The moon was a white balloon")?
Answer: A metaphor.
When an author uses one thing to stand for or represent another (like a wreath representing honor instead of money), what literary device are they using?
Answer: Symbolism (or implied value/meaning).
An author writes a story about a kitten who tries to climb a tall tree, falls down every time, but finally reaches the top. What is the universal theme this story most likely teaches?.
Answer: The theme is Perseverance (or Never give up / Keep trying even when things are hard)
In a play, an actor says their line followed by the stage direction: (in a measured voice). What does this stage direction reveal about the character's tone or emotion?
Answer: The tone is Calm, Thoughtful, Controlled, or Serious (not angry, hurried, or excited).
If the word disagreeable is formed from the prefix dis- and the suffix -able, what is the likely meaning of the root word that connects them?
Answer: The root word is Agree, which means to be of the same opinion or to say yes to something.
I am a type of figurative language where an object or idea is spoken of as if it were something else, without using like or as, and often creates an image in the reader's mind. What am I?
Answer: A Metaphor.
When authors use words or phrases that refer to something later in the story, such as a character mentioning a "deal" that will cause problems later, what literary device is being used to build suspense in the plot?
Answer: Foreshadowing.