FAST ELA Reading Grade 6 flashcards

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

Theme

The central message, lesson, or insight about life that a story or poem conveys, developed across the whole text rather than stated in a single line.

Climax

The turning point of a story where the main conflict reaches its greatest tension and the outcome begins to be decided.

Third-person limited point of view

A narrator outside the story who reveals the thoughts and feelings of one character while describing all other characters only from the outside.

Simile

A figure of speech comparing two unlike things using the words like or as, such as "her voice was as soft as velvet."

Stanza

A grouped set of lines in a poem, separated by space, that works much like a paragraph and usually develops one idea.

Mood

The feeling or atmosphere a text creates in the reader, built through word choice, imagery, and details about the setting.

Personification

A figure of speech that gives human qualities to a nonhuman thing, as in "the wind whispered through the trees."

Rhyme scheme

The pattern of end rhymes in a poem, labeled with letters so that lines rhyming with each other share the same letter, such as AABB.

Central idea

The most important point an informational text makes about its topic, supported throughout by key details rather than stated only once.

Text structure

The way an author organizes ideas in a text, such as chronological order, cause and effect, compare and contrast, or problem and solution.

Claim

The position or argument an author states and must support with reasons and evidence drawn from the text.

Counterclaim

An opposing point of view that an author acknowledges in an argument and then answers with a rebuttal.

Objective tone

Writing that presents information factually and neutrally, without expressing the author's personal feelings or judgments.

Primary source

A firsthand account or original document, such as a diary, letter, interview, or photograph, created by someone who experienced the event.

Text features

Elements such as headings, captions, bold print, sidebars, diagrams, and timelines that guide readers and add meaning to a text.

Summarize

To restate the central idea and most important details of a text briefly and in your own words, without adding opinions.

Allusion

A brief reference to a well-known person, place, event, or literary work that the reader is expected to recognize.

Genre

A category of writing defined by shared features, such as poetry, drama, fiction, informational text, or argument.

Compare and contrast

Examining two texts or ideas to identify both their similarities and their differences, often organized with a graphic organizer or Venn diagram.

Author's perspective

The viewpoint, beliefs, and experiences an author brings to a topic, which shape how that topic is presented to readers.

Fable

A short story, often with animal characters, that teaches a lesson or moral, which is frequently stated at the end.

Drama

A genre written to be performed, told mainly through dialogue and stage directions and organized into acts and scenes.

Synthesis

Combining information from two or more sources to build a fuller, more reliable understanding of a topic than one source alone provides.

Legend

A story based partly on real people or events but exaggerated over time, often explaining a place, landmark, or tradition.

Context clues

The words, phrases, and sentences surrounding an unfamiliar word that help a reader figure out its meaning.

Denotation

The exact, dictionary definition of a word, without the emotional associations that the word may also carry.

Connotation

The feelings and associations a word suggests beyond its dictionary meaning, which may be positive, negative, or neutral.

Root word

The basic part of a word that carries its core meaning and to which prefixes and suffixes can be added.

Prefix

A word part added to the beginning of a root or base word that changes its meaning, such as pre- meaning before.

Homograph

One of two or more words spelled alike but different in meaning and sometimes in pronunciation, such as lead (metal) and lead (to guide).

Antonym clue

A context clue in which a word or phrase with the opposite meaning appears nearby, often after contrast words like but or unlike.

Thesaurus

A reference tool that lists synonyms and antonyms of words so a writer can choose the most precise word.