Name: _______________________________________________ Date: _________________________________ Core: ____
Language Arts Study Guide
FORMATIVE VS SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS
_____% of a student’s grade in language arts class comes from formative assessments
(homework, classwork, bellwork).
_____% of a student’s grade in language arts class comes from summative assessments (tests,
papers, projects).
GOOD FIT BOOKS
In language arts class, we consider an independent reading book to be a good-fit if it is at your
reading __________________________________.
The book you choose to read in class should have a ___________________________________
measure ranging from 100 points below to 50 points above the score you received on the SRI
test.
QAR (Question Answer Relationships)
The answer is in one place or sentence in the text.
Right There
Think and Search
Author and Me
On My Own
The answer is in more than one sentence in the text.
Right There
Think and Search
Author and Me
On My Own
In order to answer this type of question, you need to think about what you already know
(your background knowledge), the information presented in the text, and how these fit
together.
Right There
Think and Search
Author and Me
On My Own
You could answer this type of question based on your own experience, without having
reading the text.
Right There
Think and Search
Author and Me
On My Own
QAR – “The Circus”
The circus is full of excitement. There are huge lions roaring and growling with their tamer.
There are strong and beautiful people in sparkling costumes flying overhead on high trapezes.
There are horses prancing around the ring with riders standing on them and performing tricks.
But my favorite part of all is the silly clowns. They spray water from flowers, get shot from
cannon, and stuff themselves into a very small car. They wear bright colored costumes with big
red noses and extra-large shoes.
Which of the following is a Think and Search question based on this story?
Why do horses prance?
What do clowns do in a circus?
What is a circus full of?
Do you like going to the circus?
TEXT-TAKING STRATEGIES
What test-taking strategy requires students to write a few words in the margin describing
what they read in a paragraph?
QAR
Box and Summarize
Plot Diagram
Story Map
Which test-taking strategy will help you to answer the easy questions first, so you can
spend more time answering the hard questions?
QAR
Box and Summarize
Plot Diagram
Story Map
Which test-taking strategy will help you when you need to go back and find information in
a text more quickly?
QAR
Box and Summarize
Plot Diagram
Story Map
TEXT STRUCTURES
This type of writing explains how to do something or how something happens. Information
is listed step-by-step. Steps are described in the order they occur. These steps do not take
place at any specific point in time.
Chronological
Compare and Contrast
Sequence
In this type of writing, information is organized in order of time.
Chronological
Compare and Contrast
Sequence
This type of writing shows what two items have in common and what is different.
Chronological
Compare and Contrast
Sequence
ANALOGIES
Analogies are comparisons that show the _________________________ between word
pairs.
Rewrite the following sentence analogy using colons.
Up is related to down in the same way that back is related to front.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Circle the answer that completes the following analogy.
Small is to tiny as big is to _____.
Little
Huge
Strong
Wide
CHARACTERIZATION
When you describe a character’s traits, you are describing that person’s _________________.
The main character in a story, usually considered the good guy (the reader is “rooting” for
him/her)
Antagonist
Fabulist
Protagonist
Supercalifragilist
The character that opposes the main character, usually considered the bad guy (often the
source of conflict)
Antagonist
Fabulist
Protagonist
Supercalifragilist
CONFLICT
What is the resolution in the following story?
Tim’s brothers won’t let him play basketball. Tim makes a deal with his brothers. Tim makes
five free throws in a row. Tim’s brothers let him play.
_____________________________________________________________________________
What is the conflict in the following story?
Luke paddled more quickly. He did not like the look of the dark clouds ahead. He reached the
shore just as the first raindrops fell. “What will I do if my gear gets soaked?” he wondered.
Luke pulled the canoe onto the rocks, quickly unpacked his gear and turned the canoe upside
down on top of it. “I may get wet, but my gear won’t,” he thought.
_____________________________________________________________________________
LITERARY TERMS
Draw a line connecting each question on the left with a literary term on the right that
answers the question. Some terms may be used more than once.
Questions
Who is in the story?
What happens during the story?
When does the story occur?
Where does the story take place?
Why are people arguing during the story?
How does the problem end?
Literary Terms
Characters
Conflict
Plot
Resolution
Setting
What literary device does the following paragraph use to highlight specific sounds in the
text?
Every food has a particular taste, and popsicles taste sweet. In my formative years, I preferred
frozen melon pops the most. The package contained red watermelon and orange cantaloupe
popsicles, but my favorite flavor was green honeydew. Each mouthful started out as a smooth,
solid cylinder, which melted soon into scrumptious, slushy morsels.
SEQUENCING
Gold is heavier than silver. Lead is heavier than gold. Aluminum is lighter than silver.
Directions: Using four sequencing boxes, write the metals in order from lightest to
heaviest.
PERSPECTIVE (POINT OF VIEW)
Directions: Identify the narrative perspective (POV) used in the following passages.
She went to her best friend’s house to study. When she got there, she started to wonder
how big her best friend’s dog Jasper had gotten. They went outside and rode their bikes
for 20 minutes, went back to the house to study, ate dinner, and then she went back home.
First-Person
Second-Person
Third-Person
Fourth-Person
First, you will need to wash your hands and gather all of your materials. Once you’ve
done that, follow all of the directions in your cookbook. Put your crispy teats in your oven
and cook for 30-35. While your treats cook you might want to clean your working place.
When you take the treats out of the oven, pour the honey and lemon sauce on immediately.
Once the treats are cooled, you and your friends can enjoy.
First-Person
Second-Person
Third-Person
Fourth-Person
When I went to the store, I witnessed a girl crying on the street and I took a closer look
and saw it was my friend. I walked to where she was and asked her what was wrong. She
said, “Family problems.” Being a good friend, I told her to call me later if she wanted to
talk about it.
First-Person
Second-Person
Third-Person
Fourth-Person
“Do you love candy?” I asked my friend Roxis. I always make friends with other people.
First-Person
Second-Person
Third-Person
Fourth-Person
GRAMMAR—NOUNS
Nouns can be persons, places, things, or ideas. What is an example of a noun that is an
idea?
_____________________________________________________________________________
PERSPECTIVE (POINT OF VIEW)
Which type of narrative perspective (point of view) uses the pronouns I, me, we, us, mine,
our, and ours?
First-Person
Second-Person
Third-Person
Fourth-Person
Which type of narrative perspective (point of view) uses the pronouns you, your, and
yours?
First-Person
Second-Person
Third-Person
Fourth-Person
Which type of narrative perspective (point of view) uses the pronouns she, he, it, they, her,
him, them, hers, his, its, their, and theirs?
First-Person
Second-Person
Third-Person
Fourth-Person
TYPES OF CONFLICT
Directions: Match each conflict type with its definition.
Type of Conflict
Definition
The struggle or opposition is within the character--making a tough
decision or overcoming guilt, for example. A character struggling to
overcome fear, sadness or a personal issue is struggling with internal
conflict.
The struggle is between two or more characters in the story.
A character battles against an element of government or culture. This type
of conflict could also include a struggle with technology or machines.
This type of conflict pits a story's main character or characters against a
natural force such as a flood, fire, blizzard, or disease epidemic.
Refers to a conflict between a character and typically unbelievable or
supernatural phenomena, such as vampires, aliens, ghosts, etc.
A character struggles between his or her own destiny or predetermined
fate.
Types of Conflict
Character vs. Self
Character vs. Character
Character vs. Society
Character vs. Nature
Character vs. Supernatural
Character vs. Destiny
Directions: Circle the correct answer.
Which type of conflict takes place inside of the body/mind.
Internal
External
Which type of conflict takes place outside of the body.
Internal
External
ELEMENTS OF PLOT
The __________________________ is the series of events that happen in a story.
The __________________________ occurs at the beginning of a story. The characters, the
setting, and the main conflict are introduced.
__________________________ is where the conflict is developed and suspense builds.
__________________________ is the struggle between opposing forces in a story or the main
problem that the characters have to solve.
__________________________ is the turning point of the story where the conflict reaches its
highest point.
__________________________ is when the conflict begins to be resolved. The characters have
figured out a solution and apply it to the problem.
The __________________________ is where the conflict is resolved and the plot ends.
WORD BANK (ELEMENTS OF PLOT)
Climax
Conflict
Exposition
Falling Action
Plot
Resolution
Rising Action
Label the plot diagram.
C
B
D
A
E
A________________________________
D______________________________
B________________________________
E______________________________
C________________________________