TEAS= Reading

summarize/summary

A brief statement of the main points of something

opinion

A personal view, attitude, or appraisal.

Conflict

A struggle between two opposing forces

adjective

A word that describes a noun

adverb

A word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb

pronoun

A word that takes the place of a noun

verb

An action word

B

An authors POV is a(n): A. lack of purpose B. general outlook C. rhetorical strategy D. appeal to the emotions

fact

Can be proven true

Passage #10 - What Happened to the Dinosaurs? There are many theories about why the dinosaurs vanished from the planet. One theory that many people believe is that a gigantic meteorite smashed into the Earth. Scientists believe that the meteorite was very big and that the impact may have produced a large dust cloud that covered the Earth for many years. The dust cloud may have caused plants to not receive sunlight and the large plant eaters, or herbivores, may have died off, followed by the large meat eaters, or carnivores. This theory may or may not be true, but it is one explanation as to why these giant reptiles no longer inhabit the Earth.

Cause and Effect

Passage #18 Fire needs three things to burn: oxygen, fuel, and heat. Fuels can be wood, tinder, coal, or any other substance that will easily oxidize. Therefore, a fire can be stopped in three different ways, by removing any of the three things it needs to burn. • The fuel can be removed. If a fire burns through all of its fuel and extra nearby fuel is removed, the fire will stop burning. • The oxygen can be removed. This is called smothering" a fire. Fires cannot burn in a vacuum or if they are covered in carbon dioxide. • The heat can be removed. The most common way to remove heat is to use water to absorb that heat, putting the fire out.

Cause and Effect

Passage #23 Avalanches (when a lot of snow falls from a mountain) may bury people under them. If the people are not found rapidly enough by rescue teams they will die of suffocation (not getting enough air) or of hypothermia (freezing cold). The chance of surviving an avalanche is as follows: • 92% if found within 15 minutes • 30% if found within 35 minutes (victims die of suffocation) • nearly zero after two hours (victims die of injuries and hypothermia)

Cause and Effect

Passage #13 The surface of the Earth is divided into pieces called "tectonic plates." These plates move. When the plates rub against each other, they do not move smoothly. When the plates do not move smoothly, earthquakes result. Some parts of the world get more earthquakes than other parts. The parts of the earth that get most earthquakes are near the edges of these plates.

Cause and effect

Passage #5 - The Great Recession Many people are confused about why our economy went to shambles in 2008. The crisis was actually the result of a combination of many complex factors. First, easy credit conditions allowed people who were high-risk or unworthy of credit to borrow, and even people who had no income were eligible for large loans. Second, banks would bundle these toxic loans and sell them as packages on the financial market. Third, large insurance firms backed these packages, misrepresenting these high-risk loans as safe investments. Fourth, because of the ease of acquiring credit and the rapid growth in the housing market, people were buying two or three houses, intending to sell them for more than they paid. All of these factors created bubbles of speculation. These bubbles burst, sending the whole market into a downward spiral, causing employers to lose capital and lay off employees. Consumer spending then plummeted and most businesses suffered. The economy is like a big boat, and once it gets moving quickly in the wrong direction, it's hard to turn it around.

Cause and effect

persuasive writing

Change opinions or attitudes on a topic

Passage #17 Hurricane Katrina began as Tropical Depression Twelve over the southeastern Bahamas on August 23, 2005. The depression later strengthened into a tropical storm on the morning of August 24 where the storm was also named Katrina. Katrina continued to move into Florida, and became a Category 1 hurricane only two hours before it made landfall around Hallandale Beach on the morning of August 25. The storm weakened over land, but became a hurricane again while entering the Gulf of Mexico.

Chronological

Passage #3 - Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer was born in Chicago but unlocked the secrets of chess in a Brooklyn apartment right above a candy store. At the age of six he taught himself to play by following the instruction booklet that came with his chess board. After spending much of his childhood in chess clubs, Fischer said that, "One day, I just got good." That may be a bit of an understatement. At the age of 13 he won the U.S. Junior Chess Championship, becoming the youngest Junior champion ever. At the age of 14 he won the U.S. championship and became the youngest U.S. champion in history. Fischer would go on to become the World champion of chess, but he would also grow to become his own worst enemy. Instead of defending the title, he forfeited it to the next challenger without even making a move, and the rise of a chess superstar ended with a fizzle.

Chronological Order

Passage #7 - The Age of the Dinosaurs Dinosaurs existed about 250 million years ago to 65 million years ago. This era is broken up into three periods known as the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The Triassic Period lasted for 35 million years from 250-205 million years ago. Planet Earth was a very different place back then. All the continents were united to form one huge land mass known as Pangaea. The Jurassic Period was the second phase. The continents began shifting apart. The time scale for this famous period is from 205 to 138 million years ago. The Cretaceous Period was the last period of the dinosaurs. It spanned a time from 138 million to about 65 million years ago. In this period the continents fully separated. However, Australia and Antarctica were still united.

Chronological Order

Passage #12 - Dino the Dinosaur One day Dino the Dinosaur decided to go for a walk to the watering hole. It was a sunny day and the sky was blue and clear. Dino was thinking about his girlfriend Dina when he saw a pack of wild lizards and animals running through the plains in a frenzy. Dino tried to ask the critters why they were running, but they just kept running. Dino scratched his dinosaur head and continued walking toward the watering hole. Soon after, Dino heard a loud thumping noise like the slow beat of a drum. The earth shook and fruit fell from the trees, but Dino was so deep in thought over his girl Dina that he didn't even notice. The thumping grew louder and louder as Timmy the Tyrannosaurs Rex approached Dino. Dino kept thinking about his girl Dina until the moment Timmy ate him.

Chronological order

Passage #2 - The Best PB & J Ever When I got home from school after a long boring day, I took out the peanut butter, jelly, and bread. After taking the lid off of the jars, I spread the peanut butter on one side of the bread and the jelly on the other, and then I put the two pieces of bread together. After that, I enjoyed it while watching "Cops" on the TV. I swear, that was the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich I ever ate.

Chronological order

Passage #16 A hurricane is a large storm with heavy winds and rain that begins in the ocean and builds up strength as it moves across the water. While some of the damage caused by hurricanes is from high winds, most of it is usually from tidal surge, flooding entire cities, and killing large numbers of people. A tornado is a storm that develops on land, with no warning, and moves in a circular motion with heavy winds with a funnel shape, picking up and carrying dirt, dust, and even objects. The damage caused by tornadoes is from the high velocity winds, which are extremely destructive and deadly. They can demolish entire neighborhoods in a matter of a few seconds to a few minutes. Tornadoes can form when hurricanes make landfall, as their winds at ground level slow down, while the winds near the top keep their momentum, but a hurricane cannot be created by a tornado.

Compare and Contrast

Passage #1: Chemical and Physical Changes All matter, all things can be changed in two ways: chemically and physically. Both chemical and physical changes affect the state of matter. Physical changes are those that do not change the make-up or identity of the matter. For example, clay will bend or flatten if squeezed, but it will still be clay. Changing the shape of clay is a physical change, and does not change the matter's identity. Chemical changes turn the matter into a new kind of matter with different properties. For example, when paper is burnt, it becomes ash and will never be paper again. The difference between them is that physical changes are temporary or only last for a little while, and chemical changes are permanent, which means they last forever. Physical and chemical changes both affect the state of matter.

Compare and Contrast

Passage #21 Lightning and thunder are related events. Lightning is a sudden, violent flash of electricity that occurs between a cloud and the ground or between two clouds in the sky. A lightning bolt can be several miles long and can be straight or forked. It is very hot, with an average temperature of 34 000 degrees Celsius. This causes the air around the electric bolt to expand, producing lots of sound energy. It is this sound energy that we hear as thunder. So, lightning and thunder are caused by the same event, but lightning is light energy, or electromagnetic energy, whereas thunder is sound energy. Thus, we see lightning and hear thunder.

Compare and Contrast

Passage #8 - Vicious Predators The Cretaceous Period was filled with dangerous predators, but two of the most feared hunters were the tyrannosaurs rex and the velociraptor. The tyrannosaurs rex was one of the largest carnivores to ever walk the Earth. He was 20 feet tall and weighed seven tons. His jaws could crush down with 3,000 lbs. of force, enough to smash the bones of his prey. The velociraptor was very small compared to rex. Raptors only stood three feet tall and were seven feet long, weighing merely 35 pounds. But the velociraptor was fast. Scientists think that raptors could run 24 miles per hour and turn on a dime. Both dinosaurs used their jaws to kill prey, but the raptor had a secret weapon: a retractable toe claw that he pulled out like a knife to slash at his prey. Both dinosaurs had eyes on the front of their heads, which helped them track prey. If these two dinosaurs had fought, it would be difficult to say which would win; however since raptors died over ten million years before the first tyrannosaurs was born, scientists don't believe such a fight ever occurred.

Compare and Contrast

supporting details

Details that support the main idea

Resolution

End of story (outcome)

falling action

Events after the climax, leading to the resolution

rising action

Events leading up to the climax

Connotation

Implied meaning of a word or phrase

Technical Writing

Includes steps, charts, graphs, data and statistics

Exposition

Introduction to the characters and setting

Main Idea/Central Idea

Is the most important idea about the topic that a writer or speaker conveys. It can be the central idea of an entire work or of just a paragraph. Often the main idea of a paragraph is expressed in a topic sentence

implied main idea

Key point that is not directly stated

Denotation

Literal definition of word or phrase

Climax

Most exciting moment of the story; turning point

Formats of writing

Narrative, Expository, Technical and Persuasive

Authors Purpose

Persuade? Inform? Entertain? Express Feelings?

Passage #11 - Fossil Mishap It's important to think critically about the information that you receive, or else you may be led astray. For example, the brontosaurus is a type of dinosaur that never really existed. Many people still believe in the brontosaurus today, but the "brontosaurus" is actually the body of an apatosaurus with the head of a camarasaurus. This concocted creature was made from two mismatched fossils. Had more people thought critically about these findings, analyzing the components that were presented, entire generations of school children may not have been misinformed; therefore, think critically about the information that people tell you, even if it's information you find on a book or in a worksheet. Keep these problems in mind when conducting your studies.

Problem and Solution

Passage #14 Some countries, such as Japan, or parts of a country, like California in the United States, have a lot of earthquakes. In these places it is a good practice to build houses and other buildings so they will not collapse when there is an earthquake. This is called seismic design or "earthquake-proofing".

Problem and Solution

Passage #4 - Save the Tigers Dr. Miller doesn't want the tigers to vanish. These majestic beasts are disappearing at an alarming rate. Dr. Miller thinks that we should write to our congress people. If we let them know that we demand the preservation of this species, maybe we can make a difference. Dr. Miller also thinks that we should donate to Save the Tigers. Our donations will help to support and empower those who are fighting the hardest to preserve the tigers. We owe it to our grandchildren to do something.

Problem and Solution

Passage #20 When a river receives a lot of extra water it may flood. During a flood there is plenty of water, and most people wouldn't think that dehydration was a serious risk, but flood waters are mostly polluted and not safe to drink. People who drink the contaminated water may suffer from illnesses or diseases such as typhoid. You can prepare for flooding by filling many containers with fresh clean drinking water. You can also use sandbags to protect your house and to soak up the water. Be prepared and be safe.

Problem and solution

Passage #15 The ability of a building to withstand the stress of an earthquake depends upon its type of construction, shape, mass distribution, and rigidity. Different combinations are used. To reduce stress, first, the building's ground floor must be flexible. One method is to support the ground floor with extremely rigid, hollow columns, while the rest of the building is supported by flexible columns located inside the hollow columns. A different method is to use rollers or rubber pads to separate the base columns from the ground, allowing the columns to shake parallel during an earthquake. Next, the outdoor walls should be made with stronger and more reinforced materials such as steel or reinforced concrete. Then, to help prevent collapsing, the roof should be made out of light-weight materials.

Sequence

Passage #22 Tsunamis are very long waves in the ocean, sometimes hundreds of miles long. Tsunamis usually start suddenly. They may begin as normal waves and change to big waves very quickly. After this change, tsunami waves will travel at great speed across the ocean with little energy loss. Just before they hit land, the water will draw back off of the coast. If the slope of the coast is shallow, the water may pull back for many hundreds of feet. People who are unaware of the danger may be drawn by this strange site and remain on the shore. When the tsunami finally hits, it may remove sand from beaches, destroy trees, damage houses and even destroy whole towns. Tsunamis are tremendously powerful.

Sequence

Passage #6 - Screen Protector Before applying the screen protector, clean the surface of your phone's screen with a soft cloth. Once the surface of your screen is clean, remove the paper backing on the screen protector. Evenly apply the sticky side of the screen protector to your phone's screen. Smooth out any air bubble trapped on between the protector and the phone screen. Enjoy the added protection.

Sequence

Passage #9 - Creating a Dinosaur Sculpture Materials: pipe cleaners, clay, non-toxic paint Wouldn't you like a scary dinosaur model on your desk to protect your pencils and textbooks? You can easily make one by following these simple directions. First, bend your pipe cleaner to make the frame of your dinosaur. I suggest you create a tyrannosaurus frame by using one long pipe cleaner as his neck, spine, and tail, and then bend another into a u-shape to make his feet. Wrap the feet around the spine piece. Next, roll out clay to wrap around the pipe cleaners. Let the clay dry overnight. The next day you may want to paint your dinosaur using non-toxic paint. His eyes should be white, but feel free to color your dinosaur as you wish. Nobody really knows how dinosaurs were colored, so don't let anyone tell you that your dinosaur can't be pink. Lastly, put him on your desk and watch as he or she scares away bullies and pencil thieves.

Sequence

Passage #19 Have you ever wondered what the inside of a volcano looks like? Deep underground is a magma chamber. The magma chamber is under the bedrock of the earth's crust. The conduit or pipe runs from the magma chamber to the top of the volcano. The conduit connects the magma chamber to the surface. Most volcanoes also have a crater at the top. Volcanoes are quite a sight, and you can enjoy this site all over the universe. Volcanoes are found on planets other than Earth, like the Olympus Mons on Mars.

Spatial/Descriptive

topic

Subject of the text

biases and stereotypes

Viewpoints based on opinion

D

What is a text feature? A. a movie adaption of a book B. an unwritten summary of a text C. a group of contiguous paragraphs D. an element that stands out from a text

D

Which phrase describes the set of techniques an author uses to support an argument or develop a main idea? A. point of view B. logical fallacies C. statistical analyses D. rhetorical strategies

C

Which term refers to the feelings a text creates in the reader? A. tone B. irony C. mood D. theme

addition or emphasis

___ or ___ transitions let readers know the author is building on an established line of thought. Many place extra stress on an important idea. ex: moreover, also, likewise, furthermore

causation

___ transitions indicate a cause and effect relationship ex: as a result, consequently, thus

contrast

___ transitions indicate a difference between ideas. ex: nevertheless, despite, in contrast, however

example

___ transitions introduce ideas that illustrate a point. ex: for example, for instance, to illustrate

persuasive

___ writing argues a point and, as the label suggests, is meant to persuade

narrative

___ writing tells a story and is usually meant to entertain

time and sequence

____ and ____ transitions orient the reader within a text. They can also help show when events happened in time. ex: first, second, next, now, then

technical

____ writing explains a mechanism or process and is usually meant to inform

expository

____ writing explains an idea and is usually meant to inform

flowchart

a ___ shows a sequence of actions or decisions involved in a complex process. It usually begins with an oval-shaped box that asks a yes-no question or gives an instruction.

bar graph

a ___ uses bars of different sizes to represent numbers.

main idea

a complete sentence that states the topic and explains what an author wants to say about it

tone

a general feeling or attitude of a text

source

a text on a specific subject area or topic

print source

a text on a specific subject area or topic that is in print form such as a book or magazine

digital source

a text on a specific subject area or topic that is located on a computer website provided in an electronic format

cause-effect

a text organization that tells about events and explains why they happen

genre

a type of writing such as poems, mysteries, realistic fiction, historical texts, or technical texts

topic

a word or phrase that describes roughly what a text is about

reason

an explanation for why an idea might be true

theme

an important message or lesson that an author wants to share

faulty reasoning

any claim that is not supported by sufficient evidence is an example of ___ ____.

beauty

beautiful

supporting details

develop the main idea, contribute further information, or provide examples

-a book about a historical event -an essay describing the social impacts of a new technology -a description of changing gender roles in marriages

examples of expository writing include

-autobiography -memoir -short story -novel

examples of narrative writing include

-recipes -instructions -user manuals -process descriptions

examples of technical writing include

evidence

facts, details, quotes, or other pieces of information used to support a claim, point, or an idea

points

ideas that authors present to convince readers that something is true

sequence

in ___ text, an author explains what happened first, second, third, and so on.

overgeneralizations

making a broad claim based on too little evidence ex: all elderly people have negative stereotypes of teenagers.

visual elements

pictures that appear with a text

either/or fallacy

presenting an issue as if it involves only two choices when in fact it is not so simple ex: women should focus on motherhood, not careers.

graphic elements

provide information to back up an argument, illustrate factual information or instructions, or present key facts and statistics

circular reasoning

restating the argument in different words instead of providing evidence ex. baseball is the best game in the world because it is more fun than any other game

tone

the author's attitude toward the subject

topic

the general subject of a text

explicit main idea

the main idea has been directly stated

comparison

the process of showing how two or more things are alike and ifferent

analyze

to closely and carefully examine a piece of text

contrast

to describe how two or more things are different

compare

to describe how two or more things are similar

integrate

to put together or combine information on a topic from more than one source

pie chart

useful for representing all of something

meaning

what something represents

context clues

words phrases and sentences around an unknown word or phase in a text that help to determine the word's meaning

Academic words

words that are commonly used in written texts but are not generally part of everyday speech

expository writing

writing that explains or informs

narrative writing

writing that tells a story