Helpful things to study when reviewing for Writing and Reading Benchmarks as well as TAKS/STARRS
Writing
1.Pronouns
2. Adjectives
3. Adverbs
4. Prepositions/ Prespositional phrases
5. Captialization
6. Verb tenses - past, present, future
7. FANBOYS - for, and, not, but, or, yet, so
8. Compound and complex sentences
9. Homonyms - words that sound the same but have different meanings
Reading
1. Purposes for reading (inform, entertain or persuade)
2. Inferences (reading and being able to understand and gather information that is not specifically stated in the text but known.)
3. Fact vs. Opinion
4. Analogies
5. Plot – sequence of events in the story (the order in which things take place)
6. Setting – where things take place in the story
7. Mood/tone – either positive or negative; the overall feeling of a story or text
8. Theme – overall big picture of the story; what life lesson/s are learned from reading the story
9. Progression of ideas – cause and effect, chronology or compare and contrast
10. Literary elements – flashback (going back to something previous that happened in the story), foreshadowing (the author giving an indication of something that is about to happen in the story), symbolism (an object that relates to a specific concept or idea; ex. Heart = love, doves = peace)
The 12 Power Words are critical to comprehension, we will use these words almost everyday in my classroom. Please help your child get familiar with these words.
 trace |
list in steps |
| analyze |
break apart |
| infer |
read between the lines |
| evaluate |
judge |
| formulate |
create |
| describe |
tell all about |
| support |
back up with details |
| explain |
tell how |
| summarize |
give me the short version |
| compare |
all the ways they are alike |
| contrast |
all the ways they are different |
| predict |
what will happen next |