Georgia Milestones Grade 3 ELA key terms

The most important point a passage is making about its topic. It is what the author most wants readers to understand and remember after finishing the text.

The subject a text is about, usually stated in a word or short phrase. A topic is broader than a main idea, which says something specific about that subject.

A fact, example, reason, or description in a text that helps explain or prove the main idea. Details answer questions readers may have about the author's point.

The underlying message or lesson about life that a story conveys, such as the value of honesty. A theme is stated in a full sentence, not just one word.

The specific thing a character, and usually the reader, learns from the events of a story. It often describes how someone should behave or what matters most.

A short retelling of a text that includes only the most important events or points, in the order they matter, without personal opinion or minor details.

To tell the events of a story again in your own words, usually in the correct order from beginning to middle to end, including key characters and what they did.

The order in which events happen in a story or steps happen in a process. Signal words such as first, next, then, and finally often show sequence.

A person, animal, or other being who takes part in the action of a story. Readers learn about characters from what they say, do, and think.

Where and when a story takes place. Setting includes the place, time of day, season, and historical period, and it can strongly affect events.

The series of events that make up a story, including a problem or conflict, rising action, a turning point, and a resolution. Plot connects events with cause and effect.

The central problem or struggle in a story. It may be between characters, between a character and nature, or between a character and something inside themselves.

The part of a story where the problem is solved or worked out and events settle into an ending. It answers how things turned out for the characters.

A quality that describes what a character is like inside, such as brave, selfish, or patient. Traits are inferred from a character's words and actions.

The reason a character acts or feels a certain way. Motivation explains the why behind behavior and is often shown through dialogue and events rather than stated directly.

The voice that tells a story. The narrator may be a character in the story who uses words like I, or an outside voice that describes everyone's actions.

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

The words characters speak to one another in a story, usually marked with quotation marks. Dialogue reveals character feelings, traits, and important plot information.

A reasonable conclusion a reader draws by combining clues in the text with what the reader already knows, even though the text does not state it directly.

Words, sentences, or details from a text that support an answer, opinion, or inference. Strong answers point to specific evidence rather than general memory.

A part of a nonfiction text other than the main paragraphs that helps readers find or understand information, such as headings, captions, bold words, and diagrams.

A short title above a section of text that tells readers what the section is about. Headings help readers predict content and locate information quickly.

A brief line of text placed near a picture or diagram that explains what the image shows. Captions add information not always found in the main text.

An alphabetical list at the end of a book that defines important or difficult words used in the text, often with the page where each word appears.

Information in the words and sentences around an unknown word that helps a reader figure out its meaning, such as a definition, example, or contrast.

The base part of a word that carries its main meaning and can stand alone or have prefixes and suffixes added to it, as help does in helpful.

A word part added to the beginning of a root word that changes its meaning, such as un- meaning not or re- meaning again.

A word part added to the end of a root word that changes its meaning or its part of speech, such as -ful meaning full of or -less meaning without.

A word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word, such as happy and glad. Synonyms help writers avoid repeating the same word.

A word that means the opposite of another word, such as hot and cold. Antonyms are often used as contrast clues to the meaning of an unfamiliar word.

Language that means exactly what the words say, without exaggeration or imaginative comparison. It is the everyday, dictionary meaning of a statement.

Language that goes beyond the exact dictionary meaning of words to create pictures or effects, including similes, metaphors, and personification.

A comparison of two unlike things using the words like or as, such as cheeks as red as apples. A simile helps readers picture an idea clearly.

A comparison that states one thing is another without using like or as, such as the classroom was a zoo. Metaphors create vivid images.

A common expression whose meaning cannot be figured out from the individual words, such as under the weather meaning feeling sick.

The reason an author writes a text, most often to inform, persuade, or entertain. Readers look at content, word choice, and text features to decide the purpose.

A statement that tells what someone thinks, feels, or believes and cannot be proven true or false. Opinions often include words like best, should, or beautiful.

A statement that can be proven true with evidence, observation, or a reliable source. Facts are different from opinions, which express personal beliefs.

The way an author organizes information in a text, such as describing, comparing and contrasting, showing cause and effect, or presenting a problem and solution.

A text structure that shows how two or more things are alike and how they are different. Signal words include both, alike, unlike, and however.

A text structure that explains why something happened and what resulted. Signal words include because, so, since, and as a result.

A word or phrase such as first, however, or therefore that connects ideas and shows how sentences and parts of a text relate to each other.

Punctuation marks placed around a speaker's exact words in dialogue or around the exact title of a short work such as a poem or article.

Marks such as periods, commas, question marks, and exclamation points that show where sentences and ideas begin and end and how they should be read.

A group of words that expresses a complete thought and contains a subject and a predicate. A sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with punctuation.

The part of a sentence that tells who or what the sentence is about. It is usually a noun or pronoun and agrees with the verb in number.

A word that shows an action or a state of being, such as run, think, or is. Verbs must agree with their subjects in number and tense.