Literary Elements
This is the central message or lesson a story communicates.
What is theme?
The main point an author wants readers to understand about a topic is called the ______.
What is the central idea?
If a person is described as "generous," the word most likely means ______.
What is giving or willing to share?
Identify the noun in this sentence: "The student completed her assignment."
What is student?
This is the sentence that tells the reader the main point of an essay or paragraph.
What is a topic sentence or thesis statement?
When a character faces a problem or struggle, this is called the story's ______.
What is conflict?
An author writes, "Students should have 30 minutes of reading every night." This statement is an example of a ______.
What is a claim?
"The abandoned house was dilapidated, with broken windows and a collapsing roof." The context clues suggest that dilapidated means ______.
What is run-down or falling apart?
Choose the correct word: "The students ______ going to the library."
What is are?
If you make the statement "School uniforms are beneficial," you need ______ to prove that your claim is valid.
What is evidence?
A narrator who uses "I," "me," and "we" is usually telling the story from this point of view.
What is first person?
A newspaper article explains that a drought caused crops to die. The relationship between the drought and dying crops is an example of ______.
What is cause and effect?
The prefix un- in the word unpredictable most likely means ______.
What is not?
Correct this sentence: "After school we went to the library and we studied for the test."
What is "After school, we went to the library, and we studied for the test"?
A student writes a paragraph arguing that students should have less homework and supports the claim with facts and examples. This type of writing is called ______ writing.
What is argumentative writing?
A character says, "I'm fine," while tears are running down her face. The difference between her words and her behavior is an example of this.
What is irony?
An author argues that school gardens benefit students and gives statistics, expert opinions, and examples to support the argument. These details are called ______.
What is evidence?
In the sentence "The athlete's resilience allowed her to recover after several difficult losses," the word resilience most likely means ______.
What is the ability to recover or bounce back from difficulty?
Identify the type of sentence: "Although it was raining, we continued playing soccer."
What is a complex sentence?
A student writes, "The character is courageous." She then explains that the character risks her own safety to save another person. The second sentence functions as ______ for the first statement.
What is textual evidence?
A character begins a story afraid to speak in public but eventually gives a speech in front of hundreds of people. This change is an example of ______, which readers can analyze using the character's actions, dialogue, and experiences.
What is character development?
Two articles discuss school uniforms. One author argues that uniforms reduce distractions, while the other argues that uniforms limit student expression. Comparing these different positions requires analyzing the authors' ______.
What are claims, reasons, and evidence?
If a writer describes a character as "assertive" in one paragraph and "aggressive" in another, the words have related meanings but different ______, or shades of meaning.
What are connotations?
Correct the punctuation: "Maria wanted to go to the game however she had too much homework."
What is "Maria wanted to go to the game; however, she had too much homework"?
A student writes: "The author develops the theme that courage requires action. When Maya returns to the burning building to save her brother, her actions demonstrate that she values others' safety above her own." This response combines a claim, evidence, and explanation. This structure is commonly called ______.
What is CER—Claim, Evidence, Reasoning?