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predicting When reading, using what you know to logically
guess what will happen in the future is predicting.
connecting Thinking of similarities between what is described
in the selection you are reading and what you have experienced,
heard, or read about is connecting.
evaluating When you form your own opinions, both during and after
reading, the active reading strategy being used is
evaluating.
questioning Good readers ask themselves questions to understand
characters and events while they read. This active reading strategy
is called questioning.
reviewing The process of pausing while reading to think about
previous events and check understanding is called
reviewing.
inferring A logical guess or conclusion based on facts, or
reading between the lines, is inferring.
visualizing The process of forming a mental picture from a
written description is called visualizing.
character A character is one of the people or
animals in a story.
antagonist The antagonist is the “bad guy” in
a story.
protagonist The hero/heroine of the story is called the
protagonist.
setting The setting in a story includes both time and
place.
plot The sequence of events in the story is the plot.
It has five basic parts: exposition, rising action, climax,
falling action, and resolution.
exposition The exposition is the beginning part of
a story in which the characters, setting, and conflict are usually
introduced.
rising action The rising actions (complications) are the
central part of the story during which various problems arise leading
to the climax.
climax The climax is the highest point
of interest or turning point in the story.
falling action The falling action is where the action
and dialogue following the climax leads the reader to the
story’s end. (This is often closely related to the
resolution.)
resolution The resolution brings a story to a natural,
surprising, or thought-provoking conclusion.
theme The theme is the message or central idea
in a piece of writing.
moral The moral is the lesson an author is
trying to teach in his/her story.
conflict Conflict is the problem in the story which
triggers the action. There are two types of conflict internal
and external.
external conflict External conflict is
when a character struggles against some outside person or force.
internal conflict Internal conflict is when the
struggle is within a character. For example, emotional or mental
problems.
point of view The perspective or angle from which a story is told is
called the point of view. (Who is telling the
story?)
first person First person point of view means that one
of the characters is telling the story. (I always thought...)
third person Third person point of view means that
someone outside the story is telling the story. (She always
thought...)
mood The mood , or atmosphere, is the feeling
created in the reader by a literary work.
tone A writer’s attitude toward his or her subject
is called tone. Examples include, angry, amused,
tragic, etc.
metaphor Metaphor is a figure of speech
comparing two opposite things (without) using like or as...
simile Simile is a figure of speech comparing
two opposite things using like or as.
context clues Sometimes you can look at the surrounding words
and pick up hints (or clues) that help you figure out the meaning of
a difficult word. This is called using context
clues.
root A root is a word or word base from which other
words are made by adding a prefix or suffix.
suffix A suffix is a word part that is added to the end
of a word. Some common examples are ly, ful, sion, meant.
prefix A prefix is a word part that is added to the
front of a word. It often changes the meaning of the word it is added
to. For example, when un is added to the word fair, it becomes
unfair.
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genre Genre is a particular type or category of
literature.
fiction Writing that comes from an author’s imagination is
fiction.
non-fiction Writing about real people, places, and events is
non-fiction.
poetry Poetry is a concentrated form of writing which is
imaginative, emotional, and thought-provoking
drama Drama is the form of literature commonly
known as plays.
autobiography Autobiography is
the writer's story of his or her own life.
biography Biography is a story a writer
tell about another person's life.
classics Classic books are known for their
excellence over a period of time; or literature from ancient Greece
or Rome.
fables/folklore Fables/Folklore literature is
the traditional beliefs and legends of a particular people.
myth Myth is traditional story that tries to
explain a certain belief, especially a belief about nature or
religion.
fantasy Fantasy stories take place in a time and
setting where magic and/or supernatural usually exist.
science fiction Science Fiction stories are ones that
speculate on a world or the future often including advanced, unknown
technology.
historical fiction Historical Fiction books are true
life events with fictional characters.
mystery Mystery books are suspense-filled stories that
provide the reader with clues to solve the riddle of “who did
it?”
essay An essay is piece of factual writing in
which ideas on a single topic are presented, explained, and/or
argued.
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pre-write A pre-write has two parts; the
brainstorm and the plan.
brainstorm To brainstorm means to jot down all your
ideas into a web or list without concern for organization.
plan A plan is written to organize your brainstorming
ideas into a formal or informal outline, box organizers, or
categories.
draft The draft is the first attempt at writing your
paper. It is the “sloppy copy” that you write concentrating
on developing your ideas into paragraphs.
revising Revising is when you improve your writing in:
word choice, sentence fluency, organization, voice, and developed
ideas. Ways to do this are: adding, rearranging, removing, and
replacing. (ARRR)
editing During the editing phase you check your revised
writing for punctuation, spelling, grammar, and usage errors.
publishing Publishing (final copy) is a piece that is
either word processed or written neatly in ink. It is your best
work.
paragraph A paragraph is a group of related sentences
that work together to develop a main idea.
topic sentence The topic sentence tells the reader what
the paragraph is about.
introductory paragraph An introductory
paragraph is the paragraph that introduces the content of a
piece of writing.
body The body, or the main part of the paragraph, gives
the reader all of the information he/she needs to understand the
subject.
concluding paragraphA concluding
paragraph is the paragraph that brings an end to a piece of
writing.
summary A summary is a short piece of writing that
restates the main ideas from the beginning, middle and end of
something you have read.
compare A compare and contrast paragraph tells how
things are
and contrast alike (compare) and how they are different
(contrast).
transitions Words or phrases that connect ideas are called
transitions.
elaboration Elaboration refers to the
supporting details that you include to tell more about your main
ideas,
cause & effect Writers often
explain why things happen with the use of cause and effect. The
events or situations that happen first are the causes. The
events that happen as a result are the effects.
anecdote A brief story used to make a point is called
an anecdote.
TAPF Topic, Audience, Purpose (explain, convince, describe,
etc.), Form (letter, essay, etc.)
stanza A stanza is a division in a poem
named for the number of lines it contains.
epic An epic is a long story poem which
describes the adventures of a hero. ("The Odyssey" / "The Iliad")
dialogue Dialogue refers to the talking that goes on
between characters in a story.
fact A fact is something that actually exists or has
occurred.
opinion An opinion is an estimation or judgment given
based on a strong feeling.
plagiarism Plagiarism is copying someone else's writing
or ideas and then using them as if they were your own.
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ideas & content
The trait of ideas and content focuses on
writing that is clear, well-supported or developed, and includes the
kind of detail that keeps the readers’ attention and
interest.
organization The trait of organization focuses on
writing in which the order, presentation, or structure of the piece
guides the reader through the text.
word choice The trait of word choice focuses on
precise, vivid, natural language that paints a strong, clear, and
complete picture in the reader’s mind.
sentence fluency The trait of sentence
fluency has an easy flow, rhythm, and variety of sentences
that makes the text a delight to read aloud.
voice The trait of voice focuses on the writer’s
energy and passion for the subject shown in the writing, making the
text lively, expressive, and engaging.
conventions The trait of conventions focuses on the
writer’s ability to show control over a wide range of standard
writing mechanics - spelling, punctuation, grammar, and usage.
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noun A noun is a word that names a person, place,
thing, or idea. Examples include: student, Cleveland,
cooperation.
pronoun A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun or
another pronoun. Examples include: he, she, it, we, they.
verb A verb is a word that expresses an action(borrow,
snicker, invent, run...) or a state of being( is, are...)
adjective An adjective is a word that modifies or
describes a noun or pronoun. It tells which one, how many, what kind,
or how much. Examples include: silly, purple, strong, shiny, few.
adverb An adverb is a word that modifies or describes a
verb, an adjective, or another adverb. It tells where (here), when
(never/always), how (quietly), or to what extent (very).
preposition A preposition is word that show
position or direction. (into, over, above, between, with, without,
within...)
conjunction A conjunction is a word that connects words
or groups of words. Examples include: and, or, but, yet, because,
although...
interjection An interjection is a word or group of
words that shows strong or sudden emotion. It can stand by itself.
Examples include: gee, oh, oops, look out, wow...
subject A subject tells who or what the sentence is
about.
predicate A predicate tells something about the
subject.
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expository Expository writing is writing that
tells or informs.
persuasive In persuasive writing, the writer works to
convince the reader to think or act in a certain way.
narrative In narrative writing, the writer tells a
story or event usually from his or her own life.
descriptive Descriptive writing is about people, objects or
feelings. Writers go into great detail and sensory language is
used.
cite To cite means to use a quote, passage,
example, or other text to support your response.
explain To explain means to make clear and
understandable, to tell the meaning, or give the reason or reasons
for.
defend To defend means to support or uphold by
argument. When a prompt indicates to defend , you are
asked to give evidence or examples which support a particular point
of view.
define To define is to give a clear, concise meaning
for a term. Generally, a define question is answered by
identifying the class to which the term belongs, and then explaining
how it differs from other “things” in that class.
describe To describe means to give a word picture of
something; to tell a story in detail. The word describe
directs the answer of the question to be organized either spatially
or chronologically.
discuss Discuss means to talk or write in detail
about an issue from all aspects.
evaluate Similar to criticize, to evaluate means
to give a judgment of value.
identify To identify means to name, to make known, to
bring out.
interpret To interpret means to clarify, to
expound, or explain the significance of something. It also means to
translate the meaning of something. It is often used with famous
quotations.Ke
prove Similar to justify, prove means give evidence,
present fact; argue so as to convince.
Bolded words are new to 7th Grade updated 7/10/02 #