Main Idea & Summary
What is the main idea of a passage?
The most important idea the author wants you to understand.
What strategy helps you figure out the meaning of an unknown word?
Context Clues
What does it mean to make an inference?
We take what we already know and what we have read to infer an answer.
What does it mean to compare two things?
To tell how two or more things are alike.
What point of view uses “I, me, my”?
First person.
After reading a story about a boy learning to play guitar, what would be the main idea?
A boy learning to play the guitar.
In the sentence, “The bright, luminous moon lit up the night sky,” what does luminous mean?
Shining or glowing.
If a character is shivering and putting on a coat, what can you infer?
It is cold.
What does it mean to contrast two things?
To tell how two or more things are different.
What point of view uses “he, she, they, their”?
Third Person
What helps support the main idea?
Key or supporting details
In the sentence, “The bear devoured the food quickly,” what does devoured mean?
Ate quickly.
Why is it important to find text evidence?
It proves your answer is correct.
You read two passages: about wolves and one about dogs. Both explain how these animals live in packs, but the wolf passage focuses on hunting in the wild, while the dog passage describes living with humans.
What is one similarity and one difference between the two?
Similarity: Both live in packs and are social animals.
Difference: Wolves hunt in the wild; dogs live with humans.
Which type of figurative language is in: “The leaves danced in the wind”?
Personification.
If a passage describes three different animals’ habitats, what is the main idea?
Animals habitats
Which type of context clue is used when the author provides a synonym?
Synonym Context Clue
Read this: “Marcus slammed the door and stomped to his room.” What can you infer?
Marcus is angry or upset.
An article compares volcanoes and earthquakes.
If the author explains how both change Earth’s surface but also how they happen differently, what text structure is the author using?
Compare and Contrast text structure.
Read this sentence: “Her smile was as bright as the sun.”
What kind of figurative language is this, and what does it mean?
It’s a simile, because it uses “as” to compare her smile to the sun.
It means her smile was very bright and cheerful.
What's the difference between the main idea and supporting details?
The main idea is what it is mostly about or the "big" picture. The supporting details support the main idea.
What are the "IDEAS" of context clues?
Inference, Definition, Example, Antonym, and Synonym
The author describes a girl staring at a test with her hands shaking. What can you infer and what evidence supports it?
She is nervous; evidence = “hands shaking” and “staring at the test.”
Compare and contrast is called a...
Text structure
Read this sentence: “The classroom was a zoo during free time.”
What kind of figurative language is this, and what does it mean?
It’s a metaphor, comparing the classroom to a zoo without using like or as.
It means the classroom was very noisy and chaotic.