The guide to doing your best on the them e 3 test
Information and Study Skills
Element
What it is?
Primary Source
Account or period or event is history from someone who was
there at t he time.
Articles, textbooks, essay written about a period or event in
history by a person who was not a firsthand witness. They were
not there.
What is the source trying to inform reader about. What
information is important to know.
Secondary
Source
Purpose of
source
Author’s Viewpoint:
• The way the author thinks or feels
about their subject.
• Think of language author uses & purpose
for writing.
• Look at facts and opinions in the
selection.
Make sure you remember how to tell facts and
options apart.
Subjec t verb agreement:
• A present tense verb and its subject must
agree in number.
o Add –s or –es to most verbs if the
subject is singular (one)
o Do not add –s or –es if the subject is
plural (more than one), You, or I
Ex. Anna waits for a train
Anna and Carl wait for a train.
• A past tense verb and its subject must
agree in number.
o Add –d or –ed to most verbs if the
subject is singular (one)
o Irregular verbs have special form – do
not add –d oe –ed.
Ex. Anna waited for a train.
Anna and Carl saw a bird.
Fact Vs. O pinion
1. Can you prove it?
a. Can you see it?
b. Can you test it?
c. Can you look it up?
2. Does this tell a thought or
feeling?
3. Is it always true?
4. Do you see a clue word?
These are opinion clue words. If you see
these, they clue us into knowing this
statement is an opinion. feel, believe,
think, suppose, assume, sense,
consider, doubt, always, never, none,
most, least, thought, probably, all,
sh ould . . .
Look for feeling words: difficult, exciting,
worst, best, nice. . .
Look for descriptor words: beautiful,
pretty, ugly, gross,
Look for comparison clue words: nicer,
better, faster . . .
Fact: Mrs. Hennessey is a fifth
grade teacher.
Opinion: Mrs. Hennessey is the best
teacher ever!
The guide to doing your best on the them e 3 test
Cause and Effect:
Cause
Effect
Other notes
Why something happened.
What happened.
Ex. My alarm was
unplugged.
Ex. I was late for school/
Make sure not to mix them
up. Think “what caused this
event to happen? What
happened as a result?”
Check: I was late for school because my alarm clock was unplugged (makes sense)
My alarm clock was unplugged because I was late for school (no – being late to
school did not cause your alarm clock to get unplugged.
Synonyms and Ant onyms
• Synonym – means the same.
Ø Happy & Joyful
• Antonym – means the opposite
Ø Happy & Sad
Possessive vs. contraction.
Prefix – sub & -sur
-sur – over, above, or additional.
* Surplus – additional inventory
Anna’s
Horses’
-sub – under, down, or beneath
* submarine – beneath the
water
Adjectives & Proper Adjectives
Adjective= describes a noun or pronoun,
Tells what kind or how many.
Possessive – ‘s signals possession in
singular subjects. Just add ‘ when it is
already plural.
Contraction – uses ‘ to combine two
words. You place the apostrophe
where the missing word is.
Rules for Following directions
• read all directions carefully. Use numbers or
order words (first, then, last) to figure out
correct order.
• Gather any materials necessary
• Follow each step in order, finish each one before
doing the next.
• If you come to a step you do not understand,
reread – look at any pictures, diagrams.
Articles = special adjectives
• A, an and the.
• A & an refer to any item, the
refers to specific item.
•
Demonstrative adjectives = tell which one
Ex. This, that, these, those.
• This & these refer to nearby objects, that & those refer to item far away.
• This & that used with singular, these & those with plural
Proper adj ecti ve = adjective formed by a proper noun
• always capitalize a proper noun.
• Ex. Canada is Proper nouns – Canadian border is proper adjective