English / Language Arts Review of Commonly Tested Skills

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English / Language Arts Review of Commonly Tested
Skills

• Education Access Network (EAN)
• Linda Coleman Kristie English
• Website http//www.EducationAccessNetwork.org

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What will we talk about?

• Reading Comprehension
• Listening
• Inferential Thinking
• Vocabulary
• Grammar
• Literature
• Poetry

• Functional Texts
• Graphic Organizers
• Nonfiction
• Comparing Contrasting
• Writing Process
• Essay Writing

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Reading Comprehension Why is it important?

• Academic Subjects Math, Science, History, Social
  Studies, and English classes all require us to
  read well.
• Testing PSAT, SAT I, ACT, WASL, etc.
• Writing Reading helps writing. College
  Admissions Personal Statement Essay

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Reading Comprehension
Main Idea
Authors Purpose
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Main IdeaWhat is the author saying about the
topic?
TOPIC
FREEDOM
Freedom always comes with a price.
MAIN IDEA
Freedom is a recurring theme in American
literature.
Freedom is the most precious gift of all.
2 Ws Who Subject What Action
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Authors Purpose(Fiction)Why? Questions
?

• Why was he/she chosen to be the main character?
• Why does he/she act and speak this way?
• Why here? (setting chosen)
• Why now? (time period chosen)

Investigate!
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Authors Purpose(Nonfiction)Questions to Ask

• What does the author want me to know about this
  topic?
• Why is it important that I know this?
• What does the author want me to do with
  this knowledge?

• Possible Purposes
• To Inform
• To Persuade
• To Change Your Opinion

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The Message

• Fiction (implicit)
• Does the main character change in some important
  way?
• Does s/he learn anything important?
• How would I explain this story to another
  person?

• Nonfiction (explicit)
• What has the author demonstrated or proved?
• Often this is located at the end of the writing
  piece.

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Important Details!Showing, not Telling
Nonfiction

• Nonfiction Details SUPPORT the main idea
• Fiction Details ILLUSTRATE or bring to LIFE the
  main idea
• Unimportant Details May be interesting, but
  dont provide examples or offer proof.
• Add Interest and Color to the Story

Fiction
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Summarizing

• Identify the main idea.
• Include details that support the main idea.
• Use your own words.
• Keep it short and to the point.

Writing Summaries Tips to Remember
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Listening

• Active Listening helps you take notes in class.
• Why is it so difficult to listen actively?
• Visual Reliance (T.V., video games, etc.)
• Continuous Attention Span Required
• Society is used to multi-tasking, switching from
  one idea to the next, quickly and frequently
• Big Picture is lost in the Details

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When is Listening Critical?

• Communicating with Friends

• Listening Tips
• Listen for SEQUENCE
• Cant reread for clarification
• Order of Events, Mental Outline
• Note Actual Chronology (time), not Order of
  Narration (as told)
• Listen for DETAILS
• Important details may not always be interesting
  to you.

• Taking Notes in Class

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Thought Focus Questions

• What am I listening to?
• Lecture? Joke? Directions?
• Why am I listening to it?
• Collect facts? Follow an argument?
• Follow a character through a storys plot?
• What am I supposed to do with it?

Hmmm
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Inferential Thinking

• Definition Educated guesses or assumptions
  based on evidence Reading between the lines of
  text
• Types of Inferences
• General Inference (figure out whats left unsaid
  or undone)
• Prediction (what will happen next)
• Conclusion (figure out larger meaning of what
  weve read)
• Cause and Effect (why certain events happen)

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General Inferences (4 Types)

• 1) Tone
• Clue Its feeling or mood. Use descriptions of
  sights, sounds, smells, and other
  sense images.
• 2) Point of View
• Clue Voice of story. Personal point of view
  (I) is called first person.
• 3) What is NOT Said
• Clue What does the character want to say, but
  does not say?
• 4) What is NOT Done
• Clue What does the character want to do, but
  does not do?

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Predicting

• Fictional Story Clues Know the character!
  How do they typically act?
• Nonfiction Passage Clues Facts and arguments.
  Imagine the effect of some condition,
  action, or trend.

• Often used in persuasive writing, editorial
  columns

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Conclusion

• What message can be drawn from the storys
  events?
• If Fictional What lesson or moral was
  learned?
• If Essay or Article What is the final argument
  or position on the issue?

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Cause and Effect
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VOCABULARY
Dont dread it. Use it to your advantage!
VOCABULARY
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Vocabulary

• Word Parts (prefix, suffix, root)
• Context (positive, negative, angry, happy, etc.)
• Multiple Meanings of Words (Which one is
  appropriate for this situation?)

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Derivations / The Words HistoryDictionary
Tender (1st meaning)

• tender 1  Pronunciation () adj. tenderer,
  tenderest
• 1)
• a) Easily crushed or bruised fragile a tender
  petal.
• b) Easily chewed or cut tender beef.
• 2) Young and vulnerable of tender age.
• 3) Frail delicate.
• 4) Sensitive to frost or severe cold not hardy
  tender green shoots.
• 5)
• a) Easily hurt sensitive tender skin.
• b) Painful sore a tender tooth.
• 6)
• a) Considerate and protective solicitous a
  tender mother his tender concern.
• b) Characterized by or expressing gentle
  emotions loving a tender glance a
  tender ballad.
• c) Given to sympathy or sentimentality soft a
  tender heart.
• 7) Nautical. Likely to heel easily under sail
  crank.

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Dictionary Tender (2nd meaning)

• tender 2   pronunciation ()
• 1) A formal offer, as
• a) Law. An offer of money or service in payment
  of an obligation.
• b) A written offer to contract goods or services
  at a specified cost or rate a bid.
• 2) Something, especially money, offered in
  payment.
• tr.v. tendered, tendering, tenders
• To offer formally tender a letter of
  resignation. See Synonyms at offer.
• From French tendre, to offer, from Old French,
  from Latin tendere, to hold forth, extend. See
  ten- in Indo-European Roots.

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Dictionary Tender (3rd meaning)

• tender 3  Pronunciation ( ) n.
• 1) One who tends something a lathe tender.
• 2) Nautical. A vessel attendant on other
  vessels, especially one that ferries supplies
  between ship and shore.
• 3) A railroad car attached to the rear of a
  locomotive and designed to carry fuel and water.

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Grammar Writing Mechanics

• Parts of Speech
• Subject Verb Agreement
• Fragments and Run-Ons
• Capitalization and Punctuation

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Literary Texts Types of Stories

• Folktales (types)
• Myths
• Answer How and Why ?s
• Legends
• Exaggerated stories about, real, historical
  figures
• Fairy Tales
• Heroic adventures
• Fables
• Teach moral lessons

• Fiction (several genres or categories)
• Historical Fiction
• Biographical Fiction
• Science Fiction
• Mystery
• Romance
• Tragedy
• Comedy
• Satire

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Literary Devices

• Setting Tone
• Voice
• Symbolism
• Other Devices
• Foreshadowing
• Flashbacks

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Authors Purpose Forms of Literature

• Short Story
• Evoke emotional response. Snapshot, slice of
  life.
• Novel
• Create rich, detailed characters and complex,
  fictional world.
• Drama
• Rich, expressive dialogue.

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How Storys Work The Basic Structure
CLIMAX
COMPLICATIONS
RESOLUTION
SUSPENSE (RISING ACTION)
THEME
EXPOSITION
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Poetic Texts

• What makes Poetry different from Prose
  (non-poetry)?
• Written in verse, sets the rhythm (similar to
  song lyrics)
• May be written in
• Classical Metered Verse
• Blank Verse
• Free Verse

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Poetry Devices

• Metaphor
• Simile
• Metonymy
• Onomatopoeia
• Personification
• Hyperbole
• Alliteration

• Think About
• Why doesnt the poet use more direct language?
• Poetry communicates a series of sensory
  associations or feelings, not so much facts and
  dates.

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Structure Poetry

• In poetry, the STRUCTURE is as essential as the
  texts meaning
• Poets consider meanings of words and sounds and
  rhythms.
• Types of Poetry / Styles
• Sonnets
• Odes
• Villanelles
• Haiku
• Epic Poems
• Lyric Poems
• Limericks

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Functional Texts

• Advertisements
• Outlines (table of contents, indexes)
• Instructions
• Maps

• Charts Graphs
• Glossaries
• Recipes
• Phone Books
• Application Forms

Provide efficient facts, info, or
instructions.Tend to use bullet points,
subheadings, and graphics
Types
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Graphic Organizers

• Venn Diagrams
• Sequence Charts
• Webs

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Venn Diagram Compare Contrast
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Sequence Charts Cause Effect
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Webs Brainstorming
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Nonfiction

• Categories / Types of Nonfiction
• Informational
• Biographical Autobiographical
• Editorial
• Oral (speeches)

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Basic Writing

• 1) Know Your Audience
• 2) Find Your Rhythm
• 3) Support Your
• Arguments
• 4) Maintain Your Focus

• Address Your Audience
• What Do They Already Know?
• Make Writing Flow (Transitions)
• Enough Support, and Too Much
• Arrange Details by
• - Importance
• - Time
• - Location

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Essay WritingEssay Topic Categories help
determine the papers organization, info to
include, and how to effectively use that info.

• Definition
• Description
• Narration
• Compare
• Contrast
• Process
• Classification
• Cause
• Effect
• Persuasion

• Provide an explanation
• Illustrate a scene or idea
• Tell a story
• Find similarities or differences
• Explain how task is completed
• Place items into categories
• Link events to their causes or explain effects of
  event
• Argue position or point of view