Reading Comprehension

Fable

A brief story/poem, usually with animal characters, that teach a lesson/moral is called:

symbolism

A device in literature where an object represents an idea.

thesis statement

A statement or sentence that states the purpose of a paper or essay.

Folk tale

A story composed orally and passed down by word of mouth is called a(n):

topic

A topic is a general subject (such as 'friendship') What the text is about. The topic is not the same as the main idea.

myth

Ancient Greek story that explains natural occurrences/happenings in the world is:

Text Features

Pictures, side bars, bold print, graphs, charts and captions

generalization

a broad statement that applies to principles, ideas, people, places and events. key words are: all, few, none, some, or usually. Valid examples are supported by sufficient and credible facts.

supporting details

details that give more information about the main idea

tone

is related to the author's style. It may use emotion, authority, casual, formal, positive or negative feel.

context clues

making informed guesses about the meanings of unfamiliar words by examining the surrounding details in a sentence or paragraph

drawing conclusions

making judgments based on information provided in the text from inferences

cause and effect

noting a relationship between actions or events such that one or more are the result of the other or others-cause is the event or condition that makes something happen. An effect is what happens.

compare and contrast

pertaining to a written exercise about the similarities and differences between two or more people, places, or things. To compare means to look for ways in which two or more things are similar; contrast means to look for things that are different.

main idea

the most important point of the passage

sequence

the order of events. Key words are: first, next, later, after and finally that identify the order in which the events or steps take place.

point of view

the position of the author in relation to the written text, as indicated by the author's outlook from which the events are depicted and by the attitude toward the characters. Each person has a point of view, the writer will make his/her point of view either very clear or neutral.

style

the way writing is dressed up (or down) to fit the specific context, purpose, or audience. Word choice, sentence fluency, and the writer's voice — all contribute to the style of a piece of writing.

summarize

to briefly highlight the main points and important details of a text

categorize

to organize different types of objects or ideas; to group information by main ideas

making inference

using clues from the story to figure out something that the author doesn't tell you. You use them to figure out what the author wants to communicate. Combined with your prior knowledge, author's suggestions, clues, facts, language and tone.

connotations

words that have meaning that go beyond their definitions. May be positive or negative.