Story Elements &
Text Features
Reading Comprehension
Main Idea
Plot Mountain
Poetry & Figurative Language
100

These two characters are (1) the main character of a story who grows and changes and (2) the character or environmental feature that stands in the way of the main character getting what they want or accomplishing their goal.

Who / What are the protagonist and antagonist?

100

The word "damage" as it is used in passage 1, paragraph 4 means this.

What is "to cause harm to"?

100
The fable in Passage 1 teaches this lesson.

What is "If you help a friend in need, that friend might help you one day"?

100

This is another word for the start of a story that establishes the original normal, everyday lives of the characters, as well as the story's setting.

What is the introduction?

What is the exposition?

100

This is the term for language choices that evoke the 5 senses, and show as opposed to tell, bringing stories and poems alive for readers.

What is sensory language?

200

These are little titles before paragraphs within a passage, usually used for non-fiction.

What are headings?

200

In paragraph 7 of Passage 1, this is the meaning of: 

"A friend in need is a friend indeed."

What is "someone who helps you when you're in need is a true friend."

200

This sentence from Passage 1 best supports the lesson of the fable:

A) “Even though he was very proud, Maple Tree called to his animal friends, ‘Please help me!’”

B) “‘I could claw at your bark with my long, sharp claws, but that would hurt you.’”

C) “The following spring, there was not enough rain for all the animals to drink.”

D) “He was delighted to help the friend who had helped him in his own time of need.”


What is D?

200

This is the biggest, most exciting part of the story, the biggest conflict: it is also the story's turning point.

What is the climax?

200

This is the word for the type of figurative language that the following sentence displays:

Her fingers trembled like the tiniest twigs of a windswept tree.

What is a simile?

300

This is the name for where and when a story takes place?

What is the setting?

300

The list below shows the steps in making maple syrup, based on Passage 2.

Number the steps 1–5 in correct order.

a) Sap flows through tubes into a big tub. 

b) Sap is boiled in an evaporator. 

c) Taps are placed in maple trees. 

d) Syrup is heated and bottled or canned. 

e) Syrup is poured through a filter.

What is:

1 = c

2 = a

3 = b

4 = e

5 = d ?


300

Which detail is in both “The Maple Tree with an Itch” and “Hard Work, but Worth It”?

A) Maple sap contains water.

B) Insects can damage maple trees.

C) Maple syrup comes in three grades.

D) Woodpeckers have sharp, thin beaks.


What is A?

300

These are the TWO parts of the story that lead to and from the climax, usually involving smaller conflicts along the way.

What are the rising action and falling action?

300

This is a type of figurative language that purposely exaggerates to make a point.

What is hyperbole?

400

This is a piece of information that is added by the picture after Passage 1.

What is HOW woodpeckers drink maple sap? They stick their beaks far inside trees they have pecked holes into in order to drink the maple sap.

400
"Purify" as it is used in paragraph 5 of Passage 2 means this.

What is "make free from harmful elements"?

400

Passage 1 and Passage 2 are different in this way:


A) Passage 1 is a fable; Passage 2 is an informational article about a real-world process.

B) Passage 1 tells about events in time order; Passage 2 does not.

C) Passage 1 is a true story; Passage 2 is make-believe.

D) Passage 1 is about maple trees; Passage 2 is about birds.


What is A?

400

This is the end of a story in which the protagonist establishes a new normal, usually after returning home.

What is the conclusion?

What is the resolution?

400

I never saw a Purple Cow,
I never hope to see one;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I’d rather see than be one! 

The rhythm in this poem is called this.

What is the meter?

500

This is the name for a text feature that is like a mini dictionary to help explain challenging or very specific words within a passage, book, or magazine.

What is a glossary?

500

In Passage 2, after the maple syrup is bottled or canned, this happens.

What is labels are placed on the bottles and cans?

500

How does the picture after Passage 2 add to the reader's understanding of the maple syrup making process?

It shows that "sugar makers" like Tom and William often use snow as a natural "refrigerator" to keep sap cool during the collection and early storage phase.

500

This is The Big Thing That Happens Right Away at the beginning of a story right after establishing the normal that sets the protagonist off on their journey.

What is the inciting incident?

500

I never saw a Purple Cow,
I never hope to see one;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I’d rather see than be one! 

The sound pattern in this poem is called this.

What is the rhyme scheme?

M
e
n
u