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8th Grade Reading STAAR Review

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  • meter
    a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry, gives a rhythm or beat
  • assertion
    an accepted and respected belief (dogs are man's best friend)
  • rhyme scheme
    the pattern of rhyme formed by the end rhyme in a stanza or a poem
  • infer
    read between the lines
  • conflict
    the problem facing the main character or characters in a story
  • idiom
    an expression that means something different from what its individual words mean
  • narrator
    the person who tells a story
  • personification
    giving human qualities to an object or idea
  • summary
    a shortened version of a longer work, containing the main idea/theme of a text
  • irony
    a contrast between the way things seem and the way they really are, or between what is expected and what actually happens
  • cause and effect organization
    the author describes an events cause and the events that follow (effect)
  • 1st person point of view
    the narrator is a main character in the story, uses pronouns such as I, me, and we
  • speech
    a public address or talk, in most cases the speaker tries to influence the audience's behavior, beliefs, and attitudes
  • stanza
    a group of lines forming a unit in a poem
  • problem and solution organization
    the author gives information about a problem and explains one or more solutions
  • suffix
    a group of letters added to the end of a word that changes the word's meaning
  • prose
    everyday writing (not drama or poetry)
  • line
    the basic unit of poetry. a line consists of a word or row of words
  • rising action
    events that happen after the conflict but before the climax in a story
  • contrast
    to show how things are different
  • loaded language
    using words that cannot be proven but sound important (example: the hottest new sneakers)
  • prefix
    a group of letters added to the beginning of a word that changes the word's meaning
  • paraphrase
    to restate in your own words
  • narrative poetry
    poetry that tells as story and has a plot
  • simile
    a comparison of two things using like or as
  • static character
    a character that shows little to no change throughout the story
  • tone
    the author's attitude toward a subject as well as his or her attitude toward the reader
  • juxtaposition
    figurative language device in which contrasting ideas, characters, or objects side-by-side to highlight their differences or similarities
  • point of view
    the standpoint from which a story is told
  • allusion
    a reference to an important piece of literature
  • flat character
    a character that we see only on side to his/her personality
  • climax
    the turning point of the story
  • rhyme
    when words have the same sound at the end (example: height, site, bite)
  • cause
    the reason something happens
  • stage directions
    instructions written by a playwright to describe the appearance and actions of characters, as well as the sets, props, costumes, sound effects, and li...
  • rhetorical questions
    asking questions with obivious answers to lead readers to agree with an argument
  • sequence
    the order in which information is arranged, from start to finish
  • antagonist
    a person or force in society or nature that opposes the protagonist, or main character
  • supporting details
    the facts, examples, or descriptions that explain or back up the main idea of a text
  • mood
    the way the story makes the reader feel
  • foreshadow
    when an author gives the reader a hint that something will happen later in the story
  • articulate
    to speak it out
  • flashback
    when the author interrupts the usual sequence to tell the readers about something that happened in the past.
  • alliteration
    the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or syllables such as "towering, trembling trees"
  • author's purpose
    an author's reason for writing: to entertain, inform, explain, or persuade
  • main idea
    who or what the article, essay, or story is mostly about
  • dynamic character
    a character who changes in personality or attitude by the end of the story
  • support
    back it up
  • extended metaphor
    a metaphor that compares two unlike things in various ways throughout a paragraph, stanza, or an entire work
  • theme
    the central message of a work of literature, often expressed as a general statement about life
  • compare and contrast organization
    the author discusses similarities and differences between people, things, concepts, or ideas
  • author's point of view
    an author's opinion on a subject
  • scene
    a subdivision of an act in a play. each scene takes place in a specific setting and time
  • plot
    the sequence of events in a story
  • evaluate
    to judge
  • setting
    the time and place where a story takes place
  • monologue
    a long speech by a single character, normally in a drama
  • speaker
    the voice speaking in a poem; similar to a narrator in a story
  • drama
    a story written to be performed on a stage in front of an audience
  • conclusion
    an overall decision you make after reading
  • repetition
    the recurrence of sounds, words, phrases, lines, or stanzas in a speech or literary work
  • protagonist
    the central or main character in a story, the action revolves around the protagonist
  • analyze
    to break it down
  • act
    a major unit of a drama or play
  • nonfiction
    writing that is about real people, places, and events
  • lyric poetry
    poetry that expresses strong personal feelings about an object, person, or event. usually short and musical
  • free verse
    poetry that has no fixed pattern of meter, rhyme, or rhythm
  • distinguish
    to separate
  • round character
    a character that shows different sides to his/her personality
  • analogy
    two sets of words that are related in the same way
  • falling action
    the part of the story that ties up the loose ends and leads to the resolution
  • dialogue
    words the characters say to each other
  • effect
    the result of the cause
  • connotation
    the suggested or implied meaning associated with a word, beyond its dictionary meaning
  • context clues
    information from the words and sentences around an unfamiliar word that helps you figure out its meaning
  • myth
    a traditional story of unknown authorship, often involving goddesses, god, heroes, and supernatural forces that attempts to explain why or how somethi...
  • chronological organization
    the author presents the material in time order
  • cite
    to mention
  • metaphor
    a figure of speech that compares two seemingly unlike things directly, without using like or as
  • imagery
    descriptive language that appeals to one or more of the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell
  • 3rd person point of view
    the narrator is outside of the action of the story, uses pronouns such as he, she, it, they. can be limited or omniscient
  • demonstrate
    to clearly show
  • integrate
    to unite
  • fiction
    a literature in which situations and characters are invented by the writer
  • poetry
    a form of literature that differs from traditional literature in that it is written in lines and stanzas
  • synthesize
    to combine
  • fact
    a statement that can be proved to be true
  • predict
    think about the future
  • opinion
    what someone believes or feels, cannot be proven to be true
  • interpret
    to explain
  • figurative language
    language that does not mean what it says literally
  • resolution
    how the conflict of the story is ultimately solved
  • root
    the main part of a word and a clue to the word's meaning
  • exposition
    part of the plot that introduces the setting, conflict, characters
  • inference
    a guess you make based on information you read
  • bandwagon
    a persuasive device that makes you believe that everybody else has or likes the product ) example: "Everybody loves Freddie's Burgers")
  • hyperbole
    a figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor
  • persuasion
    a type of speech or writing, usually nonfiction, that attempts to convince audience members to think or act in a particular way
  • identify
    to single it out
  • symbol
    an object, living thing, or situation that stands for or represents an idea or feeling
  • onomatopoeia
    a word or phrase that imitates or suggests the sound of what it describes, such as hiss or crack
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