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Linda Detwiler

Welcome to Mrs. Detwiler's and Faith’s class!

 

 

7th Grade Reading Assessment Notes

 

Please study these periodically until State Assessments.

You’ll be glad you did!

 

Plot: is the sequence of events in a story.

Conflict: is a struggle between opposing sides or forces.

Climax: is the point at which the conflict is the greatest.

Resolution: is the outcome of the conflict.

Internal conflict: a conflict which occurs within a person. (EX: making a choice between right and wrong; when you can’t decide what to wear to school, etc).

External conflict: a struggle between two characters or a character and a force of nature or a character and an animal. (EX: two people fighting; being stranded in a blizzard, etc).

Suspense: is the quality of the story that makes you want to keep reading.

Point of View: refers to the angle or position from which the story is told.

                  1st person: one of the characters is telling the story like he/she is actively involved.

                  3rd person: action is observed through the eyes of only one character.

                  Omniscient: the all knowing vantage point.

Character traits: are the qualities that make people individuals or different from one another. (REMEMBER: these are the qualities that can’t be seen such as neat freaks, slobs, laziness, courageous, etc).

Motivation: the reason behind the actions.

Setting: is the time and place of a story.

Theme: is the truth about life revealed through literature. Also, the lesson in life the author is conveying. (REMEMBER: this must be expressed in at least one sentence—not in one word). (EX: the grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the fence; don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today; never give up, etc).

Foreshadowing: clues that hint at what will happen later in the story.

Inference: is an educated guess, a conclusion that makes sense because it’s supported by evidence/facts.

Symbols: in literature are persons, places, or things that function as themselves but that can also stand for a larger idea such as love, glory, and honor.

Metaphor: a comparison of two different things by saying one is the other. (REMEMBER: metaphors do NOT use the words “like” or “as”). (EX: the hose is a serpent with its tail in the flower garden).

Onomatopoeia: the use of words whose sounds echo their meaning. (EX: quack, tlot-tlot, boom, etc).

Similes: the comparison of two unlike things using the words “like” or “as”. (EX: the bright light is like the sun burning against my closed eye lids.)

Cause: makes something happen. (Goes hand-in-hand with effect.) (EX: lots of rain caused flooding).

Effect: what happens as a result of some event. (Goes hand-in-hand with cause). (EX: an effect of the flooding was roads were washed away, houses/basements filled with water, people couldn’t get in or out of their homes, etc).

Figure of speech: a word or phrase that describes one thing in terms of something else and is not literally true. (EX: referring to a garden hose as being a snake.)

Personification: giving human or living qualities to nonhuman or nonliving things. (EX: animals talking in the movie “Homeward Bound”, “Beauty and the Beast” movie where dressers, candlesticks, brooms, tea pots and cups talk, walk, etc.).

Alliteration: is the repetition of  consonant sounds in words that are close together. (EX: Silly Sally sat stupidly slurping soda).

Analogies: is a point-by-point comparison made between two things to show how they are alike. (EX: creeping is to slow as zooming is to fast).

Idioms: an expression that can not be translated literally. (EX: “by the skin of your teeth” means your barely did or achieved something and NOT that your teeth has skin; “don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched” means don’t count on having something before you actually have it).

Hyperbole: is an exaggeration, which often is meant to add humor. (EX: I’m so hungry I could eat a horse; He’s 900 years old!; I’ve told you a million time to stop exaggerating!”).

Compare: looking for ways that things are similar. (Goes hand-in-hand with contrast).

Contrast: looking for ways that things are different. (Goes hand-in-hand with compare).

Main idea: the most important point or focus of a story/passage.

Narrative reading/writing: is simply the telling of a story. 

Expository reading/writing: is to inform, to give facts, to give directions, to explain, or to define.

Persuasive reading/writing: is getting other people to see things your way.

Technical reading/writing: is following or writing instructions. (EX: how to bake a cake, how to build a computer desk, how to play a video game, etc.).

Author’s purpose: the reason(s) an author has for writing a particular work. Is it to entertain, inform, persuade.

 

 PREFIXES, SUFFIXES, AND ROOT WORDS 

PREFIXES:

1.     a – not; without

2.     be – thoroughly

3.     mid – middle

4.     post – after

5.     semi – half

6.     super – above

 

SUFFIXES:

7) ant/ent – one who does something

8. ess – female

9. ism – the belief in something

10. ist – one who believes in something

 

ROOT WORDS:

11. aero – air; atmosphere                                    20. meter – measure

12. aqua – water                                                   21. Micro – small

13. biblio – book                                                  22. Migr – to move; travel

14. bio – life                                                         23. Mim – copy; imitate

15. chron – time                                                   24. Mort – death

16. dem – people                                                  25. Phon – sound

17. geo – earth                                                      26. Photo – light

18. graph – write                                                  27. Script/scrib – to write

19. hemi – half                                                     28. Tele – distance; from afar

                                                                             29. test – to witness; affirm

 

 

Linda Detwiler's Class

Upcoming Events

1st day of school Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Contact Linda Detwiler

Classroom Number:
104
School Phone:
785-448-3115 ext 120
Conference Time:
7th hour - 1:25 - 2:15 daily