NL Grade 6 Reading flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Main idea

The most important point a whole passage makes about its topic. It is broad enough to cover every paragraph and is often stated in the opening or closing sentence.

Theme

A general message about life, people, or human nature that a whole story supports. It is expressed as a full statement, not as a single word or plot event.

Supporting details

Specific facts, examples, reasons, or events that explain or prove the main idea. They answer who, what, when, where, why, or how about that central point.

Inference

A conclusion a reader draws by combining clues in the text with background knowledge. It is not stated directly, so it must be backed by evidence from the passage.

Summary

A short restatement of a text's main idea and most important details, given in the reader's own words. It leaves out minor details and contains no personal opinion.

Cause and effect

A relationship in which one event makes another happen. The cause answers why something occurred; the effect is the result, often signaled by because, so, or as a result.

Compare and contrast

Explaining how two or more things are alike and how they differ. Signal words include both, similarly, alike, however, unlike, whereas, and in contrast.

Fact versus opinion

A fact can be proven or checked; an opinion is a feeling, belief, or judgment. Words such as best, worst, should, and beautiful often signal opinion.

Sequence

The order in which events or steps happen. Time-order words such as first, next, then, after, later, and finally show the order in a text.

Prediction

A reasonable guess about what will happen next, based on clues in the text and the reader's own experience. A prediction is revised when new details appear.

Context clues

Hints in nearby words and sentences that reveal an unknown word's meaning. Types include definition, example, contrast, and general inference clues.

Prefix

A word part added to the beginning of a base word that changes its meaning, as in un- (not), re- (again), pre- (before), and mis- (wrongly).

Suffix

A word part added to the end of a base word that changes its meaning or part of speech, as in -less (without), -ful (full of), and -ly (adverb).

Root word

The base part of a word that carries its core meaning and cannot be broken into smaller meaningful pieces, such as port in transport or struct in construct.

Homophones

Words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings, such as their, there, and they're, or to, too, and two.

Homographs

Words spelled the same but with different meanings, and sometimes different pronunciations, such as bow (a knot) and bow (to bend forward).

Synonyms and antonyms

Synonyms are words with similar meanings, such as happy and joyful. Antonyms are words with opposite meanings, such as generous and selfish.

Simile

A comparison of two unlike things using the words like or as, such as cheeks as red as apples or running like the wind.

Metaphor

A direct comparison that states one thing is another without using like or as, such as the classroom was a zoo or time is money.

Personification

A figure of speech that gives human qualities to an animal, object, or idea, such as the wind whispered or the sun smiled down.

Idiom

A common expression whose meaning cannot be understood from the literal words, such as under the weather or hit the books.

Shades of meaning

Small differences in intensity or tone among words with similar meanings, such as the difference among scrawny, thin, and slender or warm, hot, and scorching.

Dictionary entry

A reference listing for a word that shows its spelling, pronunciation, part of speech, and numbered meanings, sometimes with an example sentence.

Previewing

Looking over a text's title, headings, bold words, graphics, and captions before reading in order to predict content and connect to what is already known.

Text structure

The way an author organizes information, such as description, sequence, compare and contrast, cause and effect, or problem and solution. Signal words reveal the pattern.

Table of contents

A list at the front of a book showing its chapters or sections with page numbers. It helps a reader locate topics and see how the book is organized.

Index

An alphabetical list at the back of a book giving topics and the page numbers where each appears. It helps readers find specific information quickly.

Glossary

An alphabetical list, usually at the back of a book, that defines important or technical words used in that text, sometimes with pronunciations.

Caption

A short line of text next to or under a photo, diagram, or chart that explains what the graphic shows and connects it to the passage.

Point of view

The perspective from which a text is told. First person uses I or we; third person uses he, she, or they and may be limited or all-knowing.

Author's purpose

The reason an author writes a text, usually to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain how to do something. Purpose shapes word choice and text features.

Monitor and fix up

A reading strategy of noticing when meaning breaks down and repairing it by rereading, reading ahead, using context, or breaking a long word into parts.