click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
PSSA terms
Question | Answer |
---|---|
Alliteration | the repitition of begginning consonant sounds in words in a sentence. |
Antonym | a word that is the opposite of the other word |
Antagonist | main character in opposition to the protagonist. |
Author's purpose | the authors reason or intention for writing the selection.always ask yourself, is the purpose to entertain, inform, or persuade? Determine the purpose before you read the selection. |
Autobiography | the story of a person's life written by that person |
Biography | the story of a persons life written by a different person. |
Characterization | the method an author uses to communicate information about the characters. |
Compare and Contrast | compare means to show similarities and contrast means to show differences. |
Climax | the moment when the action of the story comes to the highest point. Usually occurs right before the resolution. |
Conclusion | the end of a reading selection |
Conflict | struggle between opposing forces in literature |
Character vs. character | a conflict between characters such as a family conflict, trouble with a bully or difficulties in romance.( External) |
Character vs. Nature | a conflict between a character and a force in nature such as a tornado, avalanche, or a natural disaster. ( External) |
Character vs. Self | this is an internal conflict becuase the struggle takes place in a characters mind.Ex: decide about fellings or what is right or wrong. |
Connections | text to self; world;or text. The reader can relate to what he has read to something else |
Context clues | information within the reading selection that helps the reader figure out the meanings of challenging words. |
dialogue | the actual words that the character says to another character. |
Evaluate | to examine and judge; to say if something is good or bad; if you like it or not. |
Exposition | the backround information that the author provides about the setting, plot, characters,or other essential story elements. |
Expository text | text written to explain information about a specific topic. |
Fable | a narrative intended to convey a moral or lesson to the reader. |
Fact vs. Opinion | fact is something that can be proven to be true, and opinion is it just someone else's point of view. |
Falling Action | the part of the story following the climax where there is a sharp dicline of in the dramatic tension; this occurs just before the resolution. |
Fiction | any story that is the product of imagination rather than fact. |
Figurative language | language that cannot be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect. |
Flashback | technique in which the author interrupts the plot of the story to recreate an inncident of an earlier time. |
foreshadowing | technique in which the author provides the reader with clues about the events that will happen later in the story. |
generalization | when you make assumptions about different events and/or characters and apply them to a new situation. |
genre | catogories of literature such as biography, mystery, historical, sports, and romance. |
graphic organizer | an organizational picture, such as a venn diagram or webbing, that helps the learner identify the important elements |
homophone/homonym | two or more words that are pronounced alike but have different meanings.EX: too, to, two |
hyperbole | an exaggerated statement used to make a strong effect. |
Imagery | words or phrases used specifically to help the reader to imagine each of the senses. |
inference | reading between the lines, taking what the author wrote and adding it to what you already know to make an assumption |
irony | a difference between what is expected and what actually happens. Dramatic irony, situational irony are the 2 types. |
Dramatic irony | occurs when an event is the dirct opposite of what the reader and characters thought would happen. |
Situaltional irony | occurs when there is a contradiction between what the character thinks and what the reader knows to be true. |
metaphor | a comparison between two unlike things without using like or as. |
mood | the overall feeling created by the author |
Narrator | the speaker of the story |
Nonfiction | wrting that is true and the purpose is to inform communicates knowledge about events real people, events, or situations |
onomatopoeia | words whose sounds express their meaning |
oxymoron | putting two contradictory words together |
paraphrase | restate in your own words. a retelling of the reading selection that includes more then just the main ideas. |
plot | the events that occur in the beginning of the story with the setting and ending with the resolution |
point of view | perspective from which the story is being told. |
limited point of view | the story is told from the point of view of a character, as a result the reader is only exposed to what that character experiences |
omniscient point of view | all knowing, instead of being a character i n the story, the narrator is outside the story so the thoughts of the characters are presented |
Prediction | making an educated guess to what will happen next |
Prefix | letters added to the beginning of words to change its meaning |
protagonist | the central character in the story that is the "good guy". |
personification | giving lifelike charcateristics to inanimate objects |
resolution | occurs at the end of a story and includes the story's actions after the climax |
rising action | the part of the story, including the exposition, which builds to the climax |
root word | a word in which prefixes and suffixes are added |
sequential order | order in which the events in the story are presented to the reader |
setting | the environment time and place of where the action of a story occurs |
simile | a comparison between two unlike things using like or as. |
suffix | letters placed at the end of a word to change its meaning |
summary | a concise explanation of the reading selection. contains only the main ideas |
supporting details | details that support or back up the main idea of the passage |
symbol | an image, object, character, or action that stands for an idea beyond its literal meaning |
synonym | two or more words that have highly similar meaning |
theme | the underlying message of the selection that the author is trying to convey or communicate to the reader. the lesson or moral of the story |
tone | the clues of the story that suggests the writers own attitude toward elements in the story |
visualization | the ability to "see" what you are reading |
voice | the author's style,the quality that makes his or her writing unique |