Vocabulary
Poetry & Drama
Main Idea
Infer
Cause and Effect
100
Identify the meaning of the word that’s CAPITALIZED. American girls are shooting pucks and scoring goals all over the U.S. They are skating their way into a sport once thought to be just for boys. Since 1992, the number of American girls playing in organized ice-hockey leagues has INCREASED from 5,500 to more than 20,000
What is raised? (or any synonym)
100
A group of lines in a poem, similar to a paragraph.
What is a stanza?
100
Identify the MAIN IDEA of the passage. A dolphin is a sea animal. However, it is not a fish and cannot breathe in water. It is a type of whale. It must come up to the surface to breathe air. Dolphins travel through the sea in large groups.
What is how a dolphin isn't a fish.
100
Read the passage and INFER what's happening. Anna collected shells. Then she went for a swim in the cool, salty water. INFER where Anna is.
What is at the beach?
100
Identify the CAUSE and EFFECT in the following passage. Amelia was on her way to the office. Her teacher had asked her to bring some papers to the secretary. A boy accidentally bumped into her. Amelia dropped all of the papers on the floor. The boy apologized and helped her to clean them up.
What is CAUSE - A boy accidentally bumped into her. EFFECT - Amelia dropped her papers on the floor.
200
Identify the meaning of the word that’s CAPITALIZED. People in the United States love their ice cream. The average American eats about 47 pints each year. That’s almost two hundred scoops of the frozen stuff! There’s no doubt about it. We’re the biggest ice cream eaters in the world! Who’s next? Believe it or not, New Zealand. New Zealanders CONSUME about 40 pints a year. Australians are in third place at 32 pints each.
What is eat?
200
This changes whenever the setting changes in a drama.
What is the scene?
200
Identify the MAIN IDEA of the passage. Firefighters risk their lives to save others. When an alarm sounds, these brave workers rush to the scene of a fire. They put out the flames by shooting water from long hoses. They crawl into burning buildings to save trapped people. They even cut through roofs and walls to get at the fire.
What is how firefighters do their job?
200
Read the passage and INFER what's happening. “Ouch!” Lucy had fallen again! She shivered and picked herself back up from the ice. Then she spotted her older sister Sarah, gliding backwards. She was so graceful. Sarah made everything look easy. What is Lucy doing?
What is ice skating?
200
Identify the CAUSE and EFFECT of the passage. Monica was baking cookies. She had just put a batch in the oven when the phone rang. It was her friend, Phoebe. After awhile, Monica smelled something burning. “Oh no, the cookies!” she said, and quickly hung up the phone. The cookies were black. Monica sighed and threw them in the garbage.
What is CAUSE - Monica talking on phone to Phoebe EFFECT - the cookies burned.
300
Identify the meaning of the word that’s CAPITALIZED. The disease clogs tiny vessels, or tubes, inside the pumpkins. These tubes carry water and nutrients. When the vessels are blocked, pumpkins can’t get the NOURISHMENT they need. So they starve. Infected pumpkins lose their bright-orange color and eventually rot.
What are nutrients? (or any synonym)
300
These are the words that tell what the characters should be doing while on stage. These words are usually in (parenthesis).
What are stage directions?
300
Identify the MAIN IDEA of the passage. Imagine drinking 500 cups of water at once. Believe it or not, that’s what camels do! In the desert, water is hard to find. When a camel finds water, it drinks as much as it can. Because a camel has a big stomach, it can gulp down 30 gallons. That’s nearly 500 cups. Then it can go for 10 months without another drink.
What is how camels drink water.
300
Read the passage and INFER what's happening. It was 8:30 on Thursday night. Emily stared at the large, empty poster board on her bed. Then she looked at the stack of books about Abraham Lincoln on her desk. Emily began to cry. INFER why Emily is crying.
What is because Emily has a project due the next day and she hasn't started.
300
Identify the CAUSE and EFFECT of the passage. Mario looked at the clock. The bus would be here in a few minutes! He threw his sandwich into his lunch bag and then tossed in an apple and a juice box. He made it to the bus in time, but at lunch time, he found his sandwich was a squishy mess! Mario decided to buy hot lunch instead.
What is CAUSE - threw his apple and juice box on top of his sandwich. EFFECT - his sandwich was a squishy mess.
400
Identify the meaning of the word that’s CAPITALIZED. Dr. Henry Heimlich, an Ohio surgeon, developed the Heimlich maneuver 25 years ago. It dislodges food that gets stuck in the throat and blocks breathing and speaking. Pressing the stomach forces air out of the lungs. This creates an ARTIFICIAL cough. The rush of air from the cough pushes out the food.
What is fake?
400
This separates stanzas in a poem.
What is white space?
400
Identify the MAIN IDEA of the passage. Venus is sometimes called Earth’s “sister” or “twin.” That’s because it is the planet nearest to Earth. It’s also about the same size as Earth. But Venus is different from Earth in many ways. Venus is much hotter than Earth. It is about 850 degrees on Venus’s surface! The air, or atmosphere, around Venus is thick and heavy. It’s so thick you can’t even see through it. This air traps the sun’s heat.
What is compare and contrast Venus and Earth
400
Read the following passage and INFER what's happening. The scout leader looked at the sky and muttered something under his breath. Then he looked at the map. “Let’s get moving.” He called to the group of tired boys. “The faster the better.” Infer what was the scout leader feeling?
What is worried?
400
Identify the CAUSE and EFFECT of the passage. Ethan was reading a really good book! He started reading at 9:00 and couldn’t make himself stop. By the time he finished the book, it was after midnight. Ethan slept through his alarm the next morning and was late for school.
What is CAUSE - Ethan stayed up late reading a book. EFFECT - Ethan slept through his alarm.
500
Identify the meaning of the word that’s CAPITALIZED. Are you letting too much water go down the drain in your house? We all know that it’s important not to waste water. But most of us use a lot more water than we think. Try these two simple ways to cut your water CONSUMPTION. First, try taking a shower instead of a bath. Showers use a lot less water. You should also turn off the tap while you brush your teeth. Turn it on again to rinse.
What is use?
500
The name of where you can find all of the characters in a drama. It can be found at the beginning of the drama.
What is the cast of characters?
500
Identify the MAIN IDEA of the passage. Do your feet stink after you exercise? The bad smell comes from microbes, or living things that grow on your skin. Microbes are very small. You can only see them with a microscope. But they have big names. One is called corybacteria. Microbes are all over your body. But they grow best on skin that is sweaty and warm. That why feet smell after you exercise.
What is why your feet smell?
500
Read the passage and infer what is happening. Splat! “Oh, rats!” thought Katie as she stooped to clean up the mess. “I hope we have another one.” She looked in the fridge and pulled out the carton. One left! Breakfast wasn’t ruined after all. Infer what Katie cleaned up.
What is an egg?
500
Identify the CAUSE and EFFECT of the passage. Tanner and his father were stopped at a red light in the middle of town. Just as the light turned green, his father heard the fire truck’s siren and saw the flashing lights behind them. Tanner’s father quickly pulled over to the side of the road so the fire truck could pass.
What is CAUSE - Tanner's dad heard the sirens EFFECT - Tanner's dad pulled over