Reading
The reading strategy we use for STAAR and what each letter stands for.
What is P.R.E.R.E.P.?
Predict
Read
Evaluate
Reread
Eliminate
Prove
Identify the figurative language:
Paul carried his science project to school like he was transporting explosive glass.
What is simile
The central message or life lesson of a literary text.
What is Theme
Find the main idea of the passage:
Nikola Tesla was an inventor and physicist who is best remembered for his contributions to the AC power system and radio, but he may have also built a death ray. At a 1937 luncheon in his honor, Tesla claimed to have created a weapon that could shoot a concentrated beam of energy capable of bringing down fleets of airplanes. He further claimed to have built, demonstrated, and used this weapon. When Tesla entered negotiations with the U.S., the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to sell his device, Tesla claimed that one of these parties had sent people to break into his room and steal his invention, but that this theft was impossible since the blueprint for the weapon was entirely in his mind. Unfortunately, Tesla died with the blueprint in his mind before anyone could get one. On second thought, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
What is Tesla may have built a death ray but he died before it could be completed..
Infer the location of the narrator based on the text:
The water felt amazing on my burning feet. The walk to the water had been torture, but it will remind me to bring my shoes next time. Note to self: sand gets HOT!
Where is the beach?
The reason why we annotate while we read.
What is to recall or remember what you read.
Identify the figurative language:
Jacob could not sleep with the steady drip-drop of water coming from the sink.
What is Onomatopoeia
The character who works against the antagonist in the story
What is protagonist
Find the theme:
A monkey put his hand into a jar of cookies. He grasped as many as he could possibly hold, but when he tried to pull out his hand, he was prevented from doing so by the neck of the cookie jar. Unwilling to lose the cookies, and yet unable to withdraw his hand, he burst into tears and bitterly lamented his disappointment.
What is don't be greedy.
There are many different ways of going to school. Some children go to school by radio. The teacher talks to the children over the radio. The children are able to talk back to the teacher. In some desert countries, children go to school in tents. These people move across the desert, carrying the tent school with them. In some hot countries, children go to school outside all year long. They do not sit in buildings. The sit on the grass.
Why do children in hot countries go to school outside all year long?
What is "It would be too hot to have school inside a building so they sit on the cool grass"?
An educated guess based on the reader's background knowledge and clues provided in the text.
What is making an inference
Most pianos have pretty good manners but Stephan can make them sound rude.
What is personification
The graphic organizer used to map out the events in a story, AND the five parts of it, IN ORDER.
What is a plot diagram, and exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
Find the main idea of the passage:
As young Americans mature into adults, they are tempted by the allure of easy credit. Credit card companies attempt to ensnare young people by giving away "free" headphones or sports towels in return for completing credit applications. Many of these young people go on to accumulate debt through undisciplined spending. They pay much more than the original loan because they are charged a high rate of interest and it takes them years to repay their debts. It is best to avoid this debt prison altogether.
What is how certain young people can become burdened with debt.
Ted glared at Mary from across the room. How dare she stand there grinning at me, he thought, like she didn't just take over my spot as Student of the Year! Ted left the room before he said anything he could not take back.
How does Ted feel about Mary? Why?
What is he's angry/jealous she took his spot as Student of the Year?
The reason why an author writes text.
What is author's purpose?
How the author feels while they are writing a piece of text.
What is tone
The 4 different perspectives a story can be told from.
What is 1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person limited, and 3rd person omniscient.
Find the theme:
In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest. "Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling in that way?" "I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and recommend you to do the same." "Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; we have got plenty of food at present." But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil. When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew.
What is hard work pays off in the end.
Read the passage:
Close at hand is a bridge over the River Thames, an admirable vantage ground for us to make a survey. The river flows beneath; barges pass, laden with timber, bursting with corn; there on one side are the domes and spires of the city; on the other, Westminster and the Houses of Parliament. It is a place to stand on by the hour, dreaming. But not now. Now we are pressed for time. Now we are here to consider facts; now we must fix our eyes upon the procession — the procession of the sons of educated men.
According to the passage, the author chooses the setting of the bridge because it
A) is conducive to a mood of fanciful reflection.
B) provides a good view of the procession of the sons of educated men.
C) is within sight of historic episodes to which she alludes.
D) is symbolic of the legacy of past and present sons of educated men.
What is B
The formula for determining author's purpose.
What is:
PIEED Verb + Main Idea
Identify the point of view:
King Lenny surveyed his court. He liked what he saw. The court was lined with his loyal followers, all of them hanging on his every word. "The king is the thing today, Jeoffrey," King Lenny said to his servant. Jeoffrey chuckled and said, "Today and every day, sire." King Lenny laughed and took off his gloves. He hated wearing gloves when he was holding court. All of the complaining and the tight gloves made his palms too sweaty. "Bring in the first petitioner," said King Lenny. He wanted to finish the boring part of his day.
What is third person limited POV
Infer the main idea of this passage:
Marie Curie not only the first woman to have won a Nobel Prize, she is also the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two different sciences. Most notably, however, Marie Curie discovered radiation. She was also the first person to use radiation to treat tumors. Curie experimented extensively with radioactivity during her scientific career. Unfortunately the damaging effects of radiation were not known then. Her exposure to radiation most likely was the cause of her blindness and early death. Still today her scientific papers are considered too dangerous to handle without protective equipment. These documents are stored in lead-lined boxes. Even her cookbook is radioactive. She must have made some really hot food in her lifetime.
What is Marie Curie discovered radiation, which was the most likely cause of her death.
Find the main idea:
Sometime in December of 1891, Dr. James Naismith was teaching gym at the YMCA College in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was raining, and Dr. Naismith was trying to keep his students active. He wanted them playing a vigorous game that would keep them moving. He rejected a few ideas that were too rough. Then Naismith had his breakthrough. He wrote out the rules for a game with peach baskets fixed to ten-foot elevated tracks. Naismith's students played against one another, passing the ball around and shooting it into the peach baskets. Dribbling wasn't a part of the original game. Also it took a while to realize that the game would run more smoothly if the bottoms of the baskets were removed. But this game grew to be one of the most popular sports in America today. Can you guess which one?
What is the invention of basketball.
Read the text below:
On a bad day, have you ever been irritable? Have you ever used a harsh tone or even been verbally disrespectful to your parents or teachers? Everyone has a short temper from time to time, but current statistics indicate that between 16% and 20% of a school's population suffers from a psychological condition known as oppositional defiant disorder, or ODD.
Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 1?
A. Most children who speak harshly to their parents have ODD.
B. Most people exhibit symptoms of ODD occasionally.
C. Between 16% and 20% of the school population has been abused.
D. A short temper is a symptom of obsessive compulsive disorder.
What is B?