FAST ELA Grade 5 Reading key terms

The central message or big idea about life that a story, poem, or play communicates, usually revealed through what characters learn, how a conflict resolves, or what the narrator emphasizes. It is stated as a full sentence, not a single word.

The most important point a passage conveys about its topic, supported by details throughout the text. In informational text it is often stated in a topic sentence; in literature, the related idea is the theme.

Specific facts, examples, quotations, or events that explain or prove the main idea or a claim. A reader checks whether details genuinely connect to the point rather than merely being interesting.

A direct quotation or precise detail from a passage used to justify an answer or interpretation. Strong evidence is relevant to the question, accurate to the wording, and sufficient to support the full claim being made.

A conclusion a reader draws by combining clues in the text with background knowledge, when the author does not state the idea directly. An inference must be defensible from the passage, not merely a guess.

A reasonable statement about what will happen next, based on clues such as character behavior, foreshadowing, or the pattern of events so far. Predictions are revised as new information appears in the text.

The way a character changes or is revealed across a story through actions, dialogue, thoughts, and reactions of others. A character who changes significantly is dynamic; one who stays the same is static.

The organized sequence of events in a narrative, typically moving through exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Conflict drives the plot forward toward a turning point.

The central struggle that drives a story, such as a character against another character, against nature, against society, or against an internal fear or flaw. Conflict creates tension and leads to the climax.

The part of a story after the climax where loose ends are tied up and the outcome of the conflict becomes clear. It often reveals what the character learned, which can point to the theme.

The perspective from which a story is told. First person uses I or we; third person limited follows one character's thoughts; third person omniscient knows the thoughts of many characters; third person objective reports only observable action.

The voice that tells a story, who may be a character inside the events or an outside observer. The narrator's knowledge and reliability shape what the reader can know and how events are judged.

Conversation between characters in a story or play, usually set off by quotation marks in prose and by character labels in drama. Dialogue reveals personality, advances the plot, and can create conflict.

Instructions in a play script, often in brackets or italics, telling actors how to move, speak, or behave, and describing the set. They are not spoken aloud but guide the performance and reveal mood.

A unit of a play or story set in one time and place, marked in drama by a change of setting or characters. Scenes build toward the larger acts or chapters that contain them.

A grouped set of lines in a poem, separated from other groups by a blank line, similar to a paragraph in prose. Stanza length and pattern can affect rhythm and emphasis.

The pattern of end rhymes in a poem, labeled with letters so that lines rhyming with each other share a letter, as in AABB or ABAB. The scheme helps create rhythm and can signal shifts in meaning.

Deliberate reuse of a word, phrase, line, or sound for emphasis, rhythm, or emotional effect. Poets and speechwriters use it to make key ideas memorable and to build intensity.

Language that goes beyond literal meaning to create vivid comparisons or effects, including simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, and idioms. Readers interpret it by identifying what is being compared and why.

A comparison between two unlike things using the words like or as, such as cheeks as red as apples. The comparison highlights a shared quality rather than stating it directly.

A direct comparison that states one thing is another without using like or as, such as the classroom was a zoo. Readers identify the two things compared and the quality the comparison emphasizes.

Giving human qualities or actions to an animal, object, or idea, as when the wind whispered through the trees. It creates imagery and can set a mood or express feeling about the thing described.

Descriptive language that appeals to the senses, helping readers see, hear, smell, taste, or feel what is described. Specific sensory details often create mood and make scenes memorable.

The feeling a text creates in the reader, such as suspense, calm, or sadness, produced by word choice, imagery, and pacing. Mood is the reader's emotional response, distinct from the author's attitude.

The author's or narrator's attitude toward the subject or audience, conveyed through word choice and detail, such as humorous, serious, or sarcastic. Tone differs from mood, which is the reader's feeling.

Information surrounding an unfamiliar word, such as definitions, examples, contrasts, or cause-and-effect relationships, that helps a reader figure out its meaning. Readers check the guessed meaning against the whole sentence.

A word part attached to a base or root to change meaning or part of speech: a prefix comes before the root and a suffix comes after. Knowing common affixes helps readers decode unfamiliar words.

The core part of a word that carries its basic meaning and remains after prefixes and suffixes are removed. Recognizing roots shared across words, such as in transport and portable, supports word analysis.

A word that has a similar meaning to another word, though rarely identical in shade or strength, as happy and joyful. Writers choose among synonyms to control tone and precision.

A word with an opposite meaning to another word, such as scarce and plentiful. Antonyms in a sentence often act as contrast clues that reveal the meaning of an unfamiliar word.

The reason an author writes a text: to inform or explain, to persuade, to entertain, or to express feelings. Purpose shapes the choice of details, structure, and language in a passage.

A fact is a statement that can be proven true or false; an opinion expresses a belief, judgment, or feeling that cannot be proven. Recognizing the difference helps readers judge the strength of an argument.

A statement an author asks readers to accept, supported by reasons and evidence in an argument. A strong claim is debatable, clear, and backed by relevant facts rather than emotion alone.

The way an author organizes information, such as chronological order, comparison and contrast, cause and effect, problem and solution, or description. Recognizing structure helps readers follow and remember ideas.

A visual element in a text such as a diagram, map, timeline, table, or chart that presents information. Graphic features often add or clarify details not fully explained in the sentences around them.

Combined forms of media such as audio, video, images, and animation used to present information. Each element contributes meaning, and comparing it with a written text reveals what each does better.

The trustworthiness of information based on the author's expertise, the publisher, the date, and whether claims are supported. Readers check these qualities before relying on a source for a report.

The ability to read accurately, at an appropriate rate, and with expression and phrasing that reflect meaning. Fluent reading supports comprehension by freeing attention for understanding rather than decoding.