FAST ELA Reading Grade 6 cheat sheet

Theme is the central message or lesson of a text; it must be supported by events and details across the whole work, not by one isolated sentence.

Plot arc in order: exposition (setting and characters) → rising action → climax (turning point) → falling action → resolution.

Point of view: first person uses I/we and narrates from inside the story; third-person limited reveals one character's thoughts; third-person omniscient reveals the thoughts of many characters.

Tone is the author's attitude toward the subject; mood is the feeling or atmosphere the text creates in the reader.

Figurative language identifiers: simile uses like/as; metaphor states a comparison directly; personification gives human traits to nonhuman things; hyperbole is extreme exaggeration; idiom is a nonliteral expression; imagery is sensory description.

Conflict types: character vs. character, character vs. self, character vs. nature, character vs. society.

Poetry devices to name: line, stanza, rhyme scheme (labeled AABB, ABAB, etc.), repetition, refrain, rhythm, alliteration.

A symbol is an object, place, or person that stands for a larger idea beyond its literal meaning.

Text structure in prose (chapters, scenes, stanza breaks, line breaks) controls pacing and emphasis; explain why the author chose that form, not just that it exists.

Topic is what a text is about (a word or phrase); central idea is a complete statement about the topic that the whole text supports.

Structure signal words: chronological (first, then, finally); cause-effect (because, as a result, therefore); compare-contrast (both, unlike, whereas); problem-solution (issue, solve); description (for example, such as).

An argument is built from a claim, supporting reasons, and evidence; a complete argument also states a counterclaim and answers it with a rebuttal.

Evidence strength for factual claims: statistics and verified facts > expert quotations > specific examples > personal anecdotes.

Author's purpose options: inform, explain, persuade, entertain, describe; identify it from what the text asks the reader to think or do.

Primary source = firsthand and created by a participant (diary, letter, interview, photograph); secondary source = created later from other sources (textbook, biography, encyclopedia entry).

Signs of bias: loaded or emotional words, one-sided evidence, missing counterclaims, and claims with no cited support.

Text and graphic features to check: title, headings, subheadings, captions, bold or italic print, maps, diagrams, charts, timelines, sidebars, glossary, index.

An objective summary states the central idea plus the most important details in the reader's own words, with no opinions and no new information.

When comparing two texts on one topic, compare topic, author's purpose, structure, point of view, tone, and use of figurative language.

Point of view is who tells the text; perspective is the lens of beliefs and experiences shaping how the topic is presented.

An allusion is a brief reference to a well-known person, place, event, or literary work; identifying the source unlocks the meaning.

Genre markers: fable (animal characters plus a stated moral); myth (gods or supernatural causes, explains nature); legend (exaggerated events tied to a real place or person); tall tale (hyperbole and larger-than-life heroes); drama (dialogue and stage directions in acts and scenes); poem (stanzas and deliberate line breaks).

Compare-contrast signal words: similarly, likewise, both, also, on the other hand, unlike, whereas, in contrast.

Synthesizing means combining information from multiple sources; a fact confirmed by two or more sources is stronger than a fact found in only one.

To judge a source, check the author's expertise, the publication date, the author's purpose, and whether the evidence can be verified.

The same theme can be developed in different genres; trace how each text builds that idea through its own form and devices.

In drama, stage directions and dialogue carry the information that narration carries in prose fiction.

Five context clue types: definition or restatement, example, synonym, antonym, and inference from the general sense of the sentence.

Antonym clues usually follow contrast words such as but, however, unlike, instead of, and on the other hand.

Prefix meanings: pre- (before), re- (again), un-/non- (not), mis- (wrongly), sub- (under), inter- (between), anti- (against), post- (after), trans- (across).

Suffixes signal part of speech: -tion/-ment/-ness (noun), -able/-ous/-ive/-ful (adjective), -ly (adverb), -ize/-ify (verb).

Common roots: bio (life), graph (write), spect (look), port (carry), struct (build), tele (far), phon (sound), aud (hear), dict (say), chron (time).

Denotation is the dictionary meaning; connotation is the positive, negative, or neutral feeling a word carries, so word choice must match the intended tone.

Homophones sound alike but are spelled differently (their/there/they're); homographs are spelled alike but have different meanings and sometimes different pronunciations.

Dictionary entries give the entry word, pronunciation, part of speech, numbered definitions, an example sentence, and sometimes the word's origin.

Idioms and figurative expressions must be read for intended meaning, not word-for-word literal meaning.