Main idea-what the paragraph is mainly about Supporting details-more information to support the main idea (Remember the table top and legs example!) Summary-the short version Summarize-tell the most important ideas in your own words Paraphrase-put in your own words Genres Poetry-writing that is filled with emotion, may or may not rhyme Fiction-made up stories Realistic Fiction-made up stories with events that could really happen (ex. Shiloh) Historical Fiction-made up stories that include people that really lived or events that really happened Fantasy-made up story with magic, talking animals, etc. Fairy tales- Once upon a time stories passed down over time Fable-short story that teaches a lesson, often use animals in place of humans Folktales-simple stories set in the past which have animal, human, or supernatural characters ex. Babe, the Blue Ox Legend-a story that has some true and some untrue parts ex. Johnny Appleseed Myth-a story that explains the world by using madeup events and characters ex. Zeus Drama-a play; they can be acted out or just read aloud; characters have lines to speak (dialogue) and there are stage directions Nonfiction-It is not made up; it is based on facts. It contains information about real-life people, events, or subjects. Also known as informational text. Autobiography-a story written by a person about his or her own life. Biography-the story of another person s real life Informational Books-Books you read to gain information (school textbooks, nonfiction books in the library) Story Elements Setting-where and when the story takes place Theme- the deeper meaning or message behind a story ex. Good always wins over evil Friendship Hard work pays off in the end Characters-the beings in a story whether they are people, animals, or non-human things. Character traits-tell the reader what kind of person the character is (nice, bossy, serious, selfish, creative, snobby, etc.) Look at the character s thoughts, words, and actions. Protagonist-the hero or heroine of the story; the good guy Antagonist-the opponent, rival, or obstacle to the protagonist; the bad guy Plot-the sequence of events in a story from beginning to end Conflict-the problem Climax-the most exciting part of the story when the characters face the conflict Resolution-the end of the story where the conflict has been resolved Author s Purpose (PIE)-the author s reason for writing Persuade-to convince the reader to feel a certain way or to do something Inform-to present facts; to teach the reader Entertain-to offer enjoyment Synonyms-same (kind/nice) Antonyms-opposite (kind/mean) Fact-Information that is true and can be proven. Opinion-May be true, but cannot be proven. It is usually how a person feels about something. Look for words like: feel, believe, best, worst, favorite, etc
Homographs, Homophones, Homonyms Homographs-words that are spelled the same but are pronounced differently bow-the girl has a bow in her hair. bow-the actors will bow after their performance. tear-please do not tear the paper. tear-a tear fell from her face when she heard the bad news. Homophones-words that are pronounced the same but are spelled differently eight-they have eight children in their family. ate-we ate dinner late last night. hole-there is a hole in the bucket. whole-i served the whole peach pie! Homonyms-words that are spelled the same and pronounced the same but have different meanings bat-the baseball player swung the bat. bat-the bat lives in the cave. wave-the wave crashed into me on the beach. wave-i will wave to my friends! Narrator-the person telling the story Point of View-the narrator s role in the story 1 st Person-a character within the story tells their own experiences (I, me, my, mine, we, our) 3 rd Person-The story is told by someone not involved in the story s action. (she, he, they, them) Suffixes-a word part added to the end of a word to make a new word. able, ible -can be done (workable) er-one who takes part in (farmer) er-that which (sharpener) ist-one who is or practices (violinist) less-without (motionless) ly-characteristic of (friendly) ness-quality of being (happiness) ology-study of (biology) en-made of (wooden) Prefixes-a group of letters added in front of a root word to make a new word. bio-life (biography) chron-time (synchronize) cred-believe (credible) dem-people (democracy) dict-speak (dictate) equ-equal (equate) geo-earth (geography) graph-writing (autograph) meter-measure (perimeter) naut-sea (nautical) ped-foot (pedestrian) phon-sound (microphone) rupt-break (erupt) scrib-write (scribble) auto-self (autograph) anti-against bi-two (binoculars) dis-not (disagree) il-not (illegal) im-not (impatient) mis-without (mistrust) multi-many (multiple) pre-before (pretest) re-again (reread) tele-distant (telescope) trans-across (transport) tri-three (triangle) uni-one (unicycle) over-too much (overspend) under-too little (underpay)
Figurative Language Simile-a comparison of two things using the words like or as Ex. The sun sparkled like jewels. Ex. My daughter is as sweet as pie. Metaphor-a comparison without the words like or as. Saying that one thing is something else. Ex. The man was a raging bull! Ex. You are a treasure! Personification-when an animal or object is described as if it were human or had human qualities Ex. The sun kissed my face when I went outside. Ex. The coyote sang a song in the night. Onomatopoeia-sound words Ex. The bacon sizzled in the pan on the stove. Ex. The car honked as it went by. Hyperbole-an exaggeration Ex. I had a million things to do! Ex. My purse weighs a ton! Text Structures Description-Is something being described? Problem and Solution-Is the story telling about a problem and giving solutions on how to fix it? Compare and Contrast-Is the story explaining how things are alike and different? Sequence-Is information being presented in chronological order like a timeline or step by step directions like a recipe? Cause and Effect-Is an event being described along with the reasons (causes) that it happened? Infer-Using what you already know plus evidence from the text to figure out what the author is saying. Reading between the lines! Ex. I inferred that my students were sleeping because it was 1:00 in the morning on a school night. (No one had to tell me directly. I inferred by using my own past experiences that students go to bed at a decent time on school nights to come to a conclusion.) Idiom-an expression that doesn t mean what the words say Ex. It s raining cats and dogs outside! Ex. She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Imagery-words used by the author that appeal to the five senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, or taste. The words create a picture in the reader s mind. Ex. The sharp aroma of pine needles filled the air. Ex. One bite of the sour lemon caused my lips to pucker! Symbolism-a person, place, thing, or action that stands for something else Ex. heart-love American flag-freedom Tone-the attitude or feeling
Grammar Nouns- names a person, place, thing, or idea (Sara, house, book, love) Pronouns-a word used in place of a noun (I, you, he, she, it, they, them, we, us) Adjectives-modify or describe a noun or pronoun What kind? How many? Which one? Ex. Two, red cars went down that street. adj. comparative superlative (2) (more than 2) tall taller tallest funny funnier funniest good better the best bad worse the worst Adverbs-modify or describe a verb, an adjective, or another adverb When? Where? How? How often? Ex. I slowly walked to the store that I often visit. adv. comparative superlative (2) (more than 2) high higher highest carefully more carefully most carefully generously more generously most generously Prepositions-Words that give the reader information about location, period of time, and general information about a person, animal, or object. Ex. about, across, under, over, behind Prepositional Phrases-a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun. They can be taken out of the sentence and it will still make sense! Ex. on a table, near a wall, across the street, under the table, over the hill, behind the door The mouse ran (under the table)( by the window). The mouse ran. Irregular Nouns-not regular You must change the spelling of the noun to make it plural. Singular child goose woman man Plural children geese women men Irregular Possessive Nouns-irregular nouns showing ownership Singular child s goose s woman s man s Plural children s geese s women s men s Conjunctions-words used to connect Brian and Kelly are friends. Coffee or tea is available. It was neither good nor bad. Using commas and quotation marks in dialogue- I saw the plane, he said. He said, I saw the plane. Capitalize family names unless they are with a possessive pronoun Possessive pronouns show ownershipmy, our, his, her, their, your She spoke to Mother, but not to her father. I received a gift from Uncle George, but not from my other uncle. Capitalize proper adjectives-(adjectives formed from proper nouns) Christmas tree American flag French food Native American music
Four Kinds of Sentences- Declarative- telling (.) I am going to the party with my friends. Interrogative-question (?) Have you seen my phone anywhere? Imperative-command (. or!) Clean your room! Exclamatory-strong feeling (!) The house is on fire! Simple Sentence-has a subject and a verb; it is ok on its own Joe bought a vanilla ice cream cone. Compound Sentence-contains 2 independent clauses. Join them together with a semicolon (;) or with a conjunction. (fanboys-for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) Dad drives a truck; Mom drives a car. Or Dad drives a truck, and Mom drives a car. (Put a comma in front of the conjunction!) Dad drives a truck, but Mom drives a car. Sentence with an Understood Subject-An understood subject is where the subject of the sentence is not actually in the sentence. It is usually with commands. The implied subject is you! Turn in your books to page 82. Clean your room! Complex sentence-contains an independent clause (complete thought) and a dependent clause (incomplete thought) Take out the cake when it is brown. Or When the cake is brown, take it out of the oven. (Don t forget the comma when the dependent clause is mentioned first!) Be on the lookout for subordinating conjunctions such as: because, since, after, although, when Fragment-an incomplete thought The big dog (missing the verb) Called me yesterday (missing the subject) Complete sentence- The big dog barked all night long! Kris and Sylvie called me yesterday. Run-on Sentence-Two or more sentences put together without punctuation to separate them. Mandy ran the race she absolutely loved it.