Hints for FCAT Reading Mrs. Marrero

Basic Test Taking Skills Only Positive Attitudes!! Read the title Always read the directions Sometimes they tell you what the story is about. Look at text features They are clues-pictures, graphs, captions, charts, footnotes Read the questions first (optional)

Time to Read Read!!! must underline new or important events visualize as much as possible Circle names, places, dates Ready to answer questions Read the question carefully Go back and verify! Read ALL choices Eliminate poor choices (Yes, No, Maybe) From Title: Means it is a part of a “real” story (excerpt)

Main Idea You have to read the whole story There are clues in the 1st or last sentence/paragraph. Facts and Details Easiest kind of question You can usually find the answer in one sentence Always verify.

Cause and Effect Example: She went to get an ice-cream because she was hungry. Cause: She was hungry. Effect: she went to get an ice cream. What happens = effect Why it happens = cause Sometimes the answer must be found in a few places-not just one sentence as in the example above.

Key words Effect Words Therefore So/So That As a result Then… Cause Words Because Since Due to If…

Compare and Contrast compare= similarities, same, synonyms, similar, things in common contrast=differences, opposites, antonyms if there are 2 articles  read article 1 then answer questions about article 1 only Then read article 2 and answer the remaining questions.

Keywords Compare Words Both In common Alike Similar/similarly Same Contrast Words Different Instead Unlike Contrary However But Whereas

Context Clues Read the sentence and paragraph that the word is in. and usually means two or more words are the same (synonym) but usually means two or more words are opposite in meaning (antonym) Example: She is kind and sweet. She is kind but strict. Study roots/ prefixes/ suffixes

Text Features Help readers by giving clues Pictures: Help you visualize the story Italicized and BOLD words : put emphasis on the word (important or shows emotion). Footnotes: found on the bottom of a page (provide additional information, definition, or important fact). Quotation marks: Show when a character is speaking- helps you hear voice. Charts/Graphs:  These show statistics  There is usually a question based on these if they are in a story.

Author’s purpose  Must read the entire passage.  You have to figure out what the author is trying to tell you.  Why did he write this?  What might the author think about another idea? (includes inference)

Types of author’s purpose Entertain Explain Persuade/Convince Describe The passage tells a humorous story or teaches a lesson. The passage gives facts about something or tells you how to do something. The passage tries to get you to do or buy something. The passage mostly gives details about a person, place, or thing.

Inference Infer = conclude Inference = conclusion Figure out something that is not directly stated. What you read + what you know = Inference.

Figurative Language Simile: Compare two or more using LIKE or AS.  Examples: She is LIKE a breath of fresh air. He is AS slow AS a turtle. Metaphor: compares two or more things-saying one thing is the other.  Examples: He is a chicken. They were sitting ducks Hyperbole: Exaggeration  Example: It’s so hot, I might melt.

Figurative Language Idiom: Phrase (group of words) that use words in a different way than usual.  Example: She passed with flying colors.  Example: It’s raining cats and dogs. Personification: gives human qualities to non-human things like animals and objects.  Example: The stars were looking down upon us.

Poems Rhyme Scheme:  Look at the last word in every line.  Assign the letter “a” to the last word in the first line.  Look at the next line’s last word.  If it rhymes with the word labeled “a” then it also gets labeled “a”.  If it does not rhyme with the word labeled “a” then it gets labeled “b”.  Repeat this process until the end of the poem using letters a-z.

Poems Example The sun goes down a In all our towns. a We all are mad b There’s more time to be had. b The rhyme scheme for this example is aabb. The rhyme scheme changes depending on the poem.

How to read a poem  Stop/pause only at punctuation marks-periods, commas, colon, semi-colon.  A paragraph in a poem is called a stanza.

Source Questions Almanac: published every year (annually). Contains information about the stars, the rising and setting of the sun, eclipses, high and low tides, weather, and a timeline of main events. Textbook: an organized manual of instruction on any branch of study. Encyclopedia: complete and accurate information about all branches of study. One article per subject. Organized alphabetically. Biography: a book written on a person’s life. Accurate and complete information.

Source Questions Auto-biography: a biography written by the same person it is about. (Written by me and about me). Lecture: an oral presentation intended to teach people about a subject. Teachers, professors, doctors may hold a lecture. Propaganda: a piece of information that is sending a message trying to influence people’s opinions. Also known as advertisement, brochures, and flyers. These may be about any subject from trying to recruit you into the army or a church to trying to sell you something.

Source Questions Websites: WebPages that may or may not have accurate information. It depends on which site. Pamphlet: a short (not complete) piece of information. It can be folded into a booklet or leaflet. It could be about any subject. Program:  A book given out at shows or performances indicating the people performing or involved with the show, indicating the order of the show.  Computer software  TV show.

Last Hints Don’t Freak Out!!!!!!!!!!! Succeed!!!!!!!!!!!