FAST ELA Grade 4 flashcards
FAST ELA Grade 4 · Build recall with a focused review session.
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 an informational text makes about its topic. Supporting details explain, describe, or prove that point, and a good summary keeps the main idea.
- Theme
- A message about life or people that a whole story or poem supports. It is more than a topic and must be backed by events, not just one sentence.
- Summary
- A short retelling that keeps the central idea and key events or facts in order, uses your own words, and leaves out minor details and personal opinions.
- Inference
- A conclusion reached by combining clues in the text with what you already know. A valid inference can point to the words that led to it.
- Text evidence
- A direct quote or specific paraphrase from a text used to support an answer. Strong answers also explain how that evidence backs the claim.
- Character trait
- A word describing what a character is like, such as brave, selfish, or patient. It is inferred from what the character says, does, and thinks.
- Character motivation
- The reason a character acts the way they do, such as fear, loyalty, or wanting to belong. It is often shown through actions and thoughts rather than stated directly.
- Plot
- The sequence of events in a story, usually built around a problem, rising events, a turning point, and a resolution that shows how the conflict ends.
- Setting
- The time and place in which a story happens. Setting details can create mood and can explain why characters face certain problems or make certain choices.
- First-person point of view
- A narrator who is part of the story and uses I or we. The reader knows only what that narrator observes, thinks, and chooses to tell.
- Third-person point of view
- A narrator outside the story who uses he, she, or they to tell about characters. This narrator may know characters' thoughts or report only what is visible.
- Simile
- A comparison of two unlike things using like or as, such as quiet as a mouse. The comparison helps the reader picture or feel the description.
- Metaphor
- A direct comparison that states one thing is another without using like or as, such as the classroom was a zoo. It suggests a quality the two things share.
- Personification
- Giving human qualities to an object, animal, or idea, such as the wind whispered through the trees. It is a type of figurative language, not literal description.
- Hyperbole
- An intentional exaggeration used for emphasis or effect, such as I have told you a million times. It is not meant to be taken literally.
- Idiom
- A common phrase whose meaning is not literal, such as under the weather, meaning feeling sick. Its meaning must be learned from how the phrase is used.
- Imagery
- Descriptive language that appeals to the senses, such as the sharp smell of pine. It helps readers see, hear, feel, taste, or smell what is described.
- Stanza
- A group of lines in a poem, separated by a space, similar to a paragraph in prose. Stanzas often organize ideas and can repeat a pattern.
- Rhyme and rhythm
- Rhyme is the matching of ending sounds in words, and rhythm is the pattern of stressed and unstressed beats. Both shape how a poem sounds and feels.
- Stage directions
- Notes in a drama, often in brackets or italics, that tell actors how to move, speak, or look. They are not spoken aloud by the characters.
- Text structure
- The way an author organizes information, such as chronological order, comparison, cause and effect, problem and solution, or description. Signal words reveal the structure.
- Cause and effect
- A text structure that explains why something happened and what resulted. Words such as because, since, therefore, and as a result signal this pattern.
- Compare and contrast
- A text structure that shows how two or more things are alike and different. Words such as both, unlike, similarly, and however signal the comparison.
- Author's purpose
- The reason an author writes a text, usually to inform, explain, persuade, or entertain. Word choice and details reveal the purpose.
- Claim
- The statement an author wants the reader to accept as true. A strong claim is supported by relevant evidence and explained with clear reasoning.
- Fact versus opinion
- A fact can be checked or proven, such as a date or measurement. An opinion expresses a judgment or feeling and often uses words like best or should.
- Primary source
- A firsthand account or record created by someone who experienced an event, such as a diary, letter, interview, or photograph. It gives direct evidence.
- Secondary source
- A source that summarizes, explains, or interprets other sources, such as a textbook or encyclopedia article. It is one step removed from the event.
- Text features
- Parts of a text that help readers find and understand information, including headings, captions, bold words, diagrams, timelines, and glossaries. They add meaning beyond the main text.
- Context clues
- Words and sentences around an unfamiliar word that hint at its meaning. Clues may be definitions, examples, antonyms, or word parts such as prefixes.
- Prefix and suffix
- A prefix is a word part added to the beginning, such as pre- meaning before. A suffix is added to the end, such as -less meaning without.
- Connotation
- The feeling or association a word carries beyond its dictionary meaning. For example, thin and scrawny describe similar things but suggest different attitudes.