STAAR Review

1. STAAR Review The Important Thing about STAAR… is that I do my BEST!

2. What do you know aboutSTAAR?

4. Poetry Review • Written in lines and stanzas • May or may not rhyme (rhyme = words that have the same ending sound) • Look for the “real” meaning of the poem • What is it REALLY about? • Look for symbolism: Ex: sun shining my represent “hope” • Questions may be about specific literary techniques used (simile, metaphor, etc.) or just about the “real” meaning • Review your Poetry notes in your spiral

5. Back to School Are the teachers fair? Will they understand That the work I do Is the best I can? Will the kids like me? Will they think I’m smart? Will I find some friends From the very start? Will the days be hard? Will the marks be tough? Can I see things through, When the work gets rough? If you want the truth, About how I feel, I have to admit That my fear is real. - Greta B. Lipson

6. Figurative Language • Simile • Metaphor • Personification • Hyperbole • Idiom

7. Similes • a comparison of two different things or ideas through the use of the words LIKE or AS • Example: She is as slow as a turtle. • Comparing “she” to a “turtle”

8. Metaphor • a comparison of two unlike things NOT using like or as • Example: The snow was a white blanket over the town. • Comparing “snow” to a “white blanket”

9. Hyperbole • A deliberate, extravagant, and often outrageous exaggeration • May be used for either serious or comic effect Examples: • This book weighs a ton. • A million bees had stung him. • I’m so hungry I can eat a horse. • I will die if he asks me to dance. • I have a million things to do.

10. Personification • Writing that gives human qualities to things that are not human • Example: The ocean crashed angrily during the storm. • People can be angry, but NOT the ocean. • PERSONification • Used in writing to help readers visualize and connect to the topic

11. Idioms • Idioms are phrases or expressions in which the words do not mean exactly what they say. • Ex: “My little brother drives me up the wall!” Jason complained to his friend. • Jason’s brother does not literally drive him anywhere. • “drives me up the wall” means “annoys me”

12. Sound Devices • Rhyme • Rhythm • Repetition • Alliteration • Onomatopoeia

13. Rhyme • The repetition of sounds at the ends of words • pool, rule, and fool.

14. Rhythm • The beat created by the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables: The cat sat on the mat.

15. Repetition • The use of any element of language – a sound, word, phrase, clause, or sentence – more than once. Isabel, Isabel didn’t worry. Isabel didn’t scream or scurry.

16. Alliteration • The repetition of consonant sounds in the beginning of words Examples: • lovely lonely lights • Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout

17. Onomatopoeia • The use of words that imitate sounds Examples: • Crash • Bang • Hiss • Splat Haiku An old silent pond… A frog jumps into the pond, Splash! Silence again. - Matsuo Basho

18. Sensory Language/Imagery • Sensory language is when the author uses words and details that appeal to a reader's senses. • Senses include sight, touch, taste, hearing, smell, and emotion.

19. Sensory Language/Imagery • The taste of that first defeat was bitter indeed. • The eerie silence was shattered by her scream. • The crimson liquid spilled from the neck of the white dove, staining and matting its pure, white feathers. • After that first sale, his cash register never stopped ringing. • The sky looked like the untouched canvas of an artist. • The spongy soufflé was a pleasure to squeeze. • Her blue eyes were as bright as the Sun, blue as the sky, but soft as silk. • He could never escape from the iron grip of desire. • The word spread like leaves in a storm. • The lake was left shivering by the touch of morning wind. • He could hear the footsteps of doom nearing. • The ants began their daily marching drill.

20. Drama • Written to be performed • When read, imagine you see and hear the action of the performance • Includes elements of fiction such as setting, plot, characters, conflict, climax, resolution, and theme

21. Elements of Drama • Actsare units of the action in a drama. Acts are often divided up into scenes. (Act 1 Scene 2) • Dialogueis the term given when characters talk. Quotation marks are not used in a script. Instead, the words of each character appear next to the character’s name. • Stage Directionsare sets of bracketed information that tell what the stage looks like and how the characters should move and speak. • Setis the construction on the stage that creates the setting. • Propsare movable items – objects like a book, a suitcase, or a flashlight – that the actors use to make their actions look real.

22. Types of Drama • Dramaisoften about a serious subject. • Comedyhas a happy ending; funny. • Tragedyhas an unhappy ending; main character usually dies/some bad ending • Screenplaysarewritten to be a movie. • Teleplaysare written for television. • Radio Playsare written for the radio.

23. Word Meaning • Word Parts (prefixes, root words, and suffixes) • Context Clues • Analogies • Multiple-Meaning Words • Foreign Words and Phrases In paragraph 8, what does the word _____ mean? Read the following dictionary entry. Which definition best matches the meaning of the word _____ as used in paragraph 6? Which words from paragraph 3 help the reader to understand the meaning of the word _____?

24. Word Meaning: Word Parts • Words are broken into parts • Root – the main part of the word • Affix – a letter or group of letters added to a root word; has a meaning of its own • Prefix – added to the beginning of a root word • Suffix – added to the end of a root word • Look at notes in Vocabulary section • Review common roots, prefixes and suffixes

25. Context Clues • Clues in the writing to help you understand what a word means. My ziglers hurt from walking so much. I could not wait to take my shoes off. • Even though “ziglers” is a made up word, you can use context clues to understand its meaning.

26. Word Meaning: Context Clues • Context clues are clues in the writing to help you figure out the meaning of an unfamiliar word • Clues can be in the sentence before or after (keep reading) • Clues may be the same (synonym) or opposite (antonym) • Read to figure out who? what? when? where? why? and how? Put these answers together to help you figure out what the unfamiliar word means

27. Types of Context Clues • Fill in the blank/synonym • After the word “or” • After a comma • Before or after the word “called” • In the sentence before • In the sentence after • Antonym • Prefix • Title

28. Multiple-Meaning Words • Words that are spelled the same but have more than one meaning. • In order to understand which meaning the author intends, you need to look at how the word is used in the sentence. • Use your context clues to help you figure out the correct meaning. • Test questions will give a dictionary entry and you have to pick the correct definition for how it is used in the passage.

29. Multiple-Meaning Word Question Read this dictionary entry for the word trick. trick (trik): 1) a crafty practice meant to deceive 2) a prank 3) a feat designed to amuse 4) to deceive 5) likely to give way unexpectedly Which definition represents the meaning of trick in paragraph 3? A. definition 1 B. definition 2 C. definition 3 D. definition 4

30. Word Meanings: Analogies • An analogy is a comparison between things that are alike in one way, but different in other ways. • In an analogy, the first set of items must have the same type of relationship as the second set of items. • Ex: hot is to cold as up is to down • Ex: hot : cold : : up : down • For STAAR, you may need to complete an analogy (effort : success :: pneumonia: _____) • Review your notes in your Vocabulary section

31. Word Meaning: Denotation and Connotation • Denotation = dictionary definition • Connotation = implied meaning; feelings, images, and memories that are attached to the word (positive, negative, or neutral) • Writers will choose specific words that will influence how readers feel, that will help set the mood (scary/suspenseful), or that will be more descriptive

32. Foreign Words • We often use words that are borrowed from other languages. • You do not have to speak the foreign language to know what the word means. • When necessary, use the context clues in the text to help you figure out the meaning of the foreign word. • Examples include R.S.V.P. and deja vu

33. Main Idea • Main Idea is: The most important information about the topic, the paragraph, or the selection. • Main Idea is NOT: Too Broad Too Narrow A Single Detail Contradicted… the opposite Irrelevant… not mentioned What is paragraph 4 mostly about? Which detail supports the idea that_____?

34. Main Idea and Details • Main idea = the most important thing • Details will support the main idea • Remember 5 types of wrong answer choices: Too Broad, Too Narrow, Single Detail, Irrelevant, and Opposite

35. Summary Middle • Summary : Retells the story or article in order. • A summary is Beginning + Middle + End. • A summary is NOT: • B M __ • B __ E • __ M E • Which of the following is the best summary of the selection?

36. Summary • A summary is a retelling of a piece of writing in a much shorter way. • A summary includes all the important information from the beginning, middle, and ending. • A summary does not include opinions. • A summary is paraphrased (use your own words). • Make sure the correct answer has all the important information from the B+M+E. • If it is missing a part, it is a wrong answer.

37. Fiction: Story Elements • Setting – time, place, and weather • Character – people or animals in the story • Plot – sequence of events; the order the events happen • Conflict - problem • Climax – turning point • Resolution – solution to the problem • Theme – life-lesson; moral of the story • Plot Diagram: Review notes in Reading section

38. Freytag’s Pyramid: Plot Diagram CLIMAX Turning Point RISING ACTION Includes all events leading up to the climax and the conflict FALLING ACTION/ RESOLUTION THEME Life Lesson EXPOSITION Setting Characters Background Information Solution to the Problem and Final Events 6

39. Setting • Time, place, and weather • Why is paragraph 1 and 2 important to the story? • The setting of ______ is important because -

40. Character • People or animals in the story • Questions about character traits, character motivation, character change • Character Trait: Read this sentence from the paragraph 11 of the story. “She was not going to allow emotion to interfere with her mission.” This sentence shows Sybil’s - • Character Motivation: Siniwai knows he must hunt with the wolves in order to - • Character Change: How does Alan’s attitude change by the end of this story?

41. Plot • Sequence of events • What happens first, second, third, all the way to the end of the story • Paragraphs 4 through 8 are important to the story because they – • Siniwai angers the wolf leader when he -

42. Conflict • Problem in the story • What is Sybil’s biggest conflict in the story?

43. Climax • Turning point • All events lead up to this moment, and then there is a turn • Characters must often make a decision • Questions on climax often are in a graphic organizer

44. Resolution • Solution to the problem • How the problem is solved • The resolutions in both of these stories occur when Terun and Siniwai -

45. Theme • Life lesson • Moral of the story • Lesson the reader learns from the story that he/she can apply to life • What is the theme of this story? • An idea presented in both stories is -

46. Flashback and Foreshadowing • Flashback tells readers about something that happened in the past. “As Bill looked at the murky water he shuddered. He remembered the flooding last year when he had almost drowned in the quickly moving river. He hesitated for only a moment, then set out to cross to the other side. The family there needed his help.” • Foreshadowing is a hint about something that will happen later in the story. “Mim walked carefully along the path toward the old mine. There were signs everywhere warning trespassers of the possible dangers. She noted the large hole near the entrance to the mine, but continued on in pursuit of her missing cat.”

47. PAST Flashback • A flashback tells readers about something that happened in the past. • The purpose of a flashback is to give readers some insight into a character, relationship, or situation in the story.

48. PAST Flashback • As Bill looked at the murky water he shuddered. He remembered the flooding last year when he had almost drowned in the quickly moving river. He hesitated for only a moment, then set out to cross to the other side. The family there needed his help. The author uses flashback in the story to -. • The reader understands why Bill fears the water today and why fighting his fear makes him heroic.

49. Foreshadowing • Foreshadowing is a hint about something that will happen later in the story. • Mim walked carefully along the path toward the old mine. There were signs everywhere warning trespassers of possible dangers. She noted the large holenear the entrance to the mine, but continued on in pursuit of her missing cat. • The purpose of foreshadowing is to set up future events in a story. • A reader does not know why the author mentions that hole until later in the story when Mim falls through the hole and gets trapped in the mine.

50. Symbolism • A symbol is something that represents, or stands for, something else. • Authors often use symbols in their texts. • Almost anything can be used as a symbol, but it has to make sense. • Sometimes you have to decide how an object in a story is used as a symbol. Think about the qualities of that object and how the object relates to the story.