Georgia Milestones Grade 5 ELA flashcards

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

Theme

The underlying message about life or human nature that a story communicates, expressed as a complete sentence and supported by events and character choices across the text.

Plot diagram stages

Exposition introduces characters and setting, rising action builds conflict, climax is the turning point, falling action shows consequences, and resolution settles the conflict.

Character trait

An enduring quality of a character, such as loyalty or stubbornness, inferred from what the character says, does, thinks, and how other characters react.

First-person point of view

A narrator who participates in the story and uses I or we, revealing only that narrator's thoughts and knowledge while limiting insight into other characters.

Metaphor

A figure of speech that states one thing is another without using like or as, such as calling a difficult problem a mountain to climb.

Simile

A comparison using like or as that highlights a shared quality, as in the runner was as quick as a startled deer.

Setting

The time and place in which a story occurs; it can create mood, shape characters' choices, and drive the conflict forward.

Story summary

A brief retelling of a literary text that states characters, setting, and conflict, then traces main events in order to the resolution without adding opinion.

Main idea

The central point an informational passage is built around, supported by key details such as facts, examples, and reasons rather than minor side information.

Cause and effect structure

A text organization that explains why something happened and what resulted, often signaled by words such as because, since, therefore, and as a result.

Compare and contrast structure

A text organization that examines similarities and differences between two or more subjects, signaled by words such as both, unlike, whereas, and in contrast.

Firsthand account

A text written by someone who personally experienced the events, using first-person pronouns and offering that participant's own observations and reactions.

Secondhand account

A text about events written by someone who did not experience them directly, relying on interviews, documents, or other sources to report what happened.

Text feature

A visual or organizational element such as a heading, caption, bold term, diagram, or timeline that helps readers locate and understand information.

Inference

A conclusion a reader draws by combining evidence from the text with background knowledge; it must be supportable with a quotation or paraphrase.

Author's purpose

The main reason a text was written, usually to inform, persuade, or entertain; longer texts may combine purposes, so name the primary one.

Evidence

Specific facts, examples, statistics, or quotations an author uses to support a claim; valid evidence must be both relevant and sufficient.

Opinion claim

A statement of the writer's position on a topic that can be debated, then supported with reasons and evidence rather than presented as plain fact.

Topic sentence

The sentence that states a paragraph's controlling idea, usually placed first, with all other sentences supporting and connecting back to it.

Transition words

Words or phrases such as however, therefore, for example, and finally that show how ideas relate and help readers follow the order of a piece.

Revising versus editing

Revising improves ideas, organization, and word choice; editing corrects conventions such as grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Revise before editing.

Narrative writing

Writing that tells a story with established characters, setting, and conflict, organized by plot events and enriched with dialogue and sensory detail.

Informative writing

Writing that explains a topic using a clear introduction, grouped facts with topic sentences, precise vocabulary, and a concluding section that sums up.

Conclusion paragraph

The closing section that restates the main point in fresh words and connects it to a broader idea without introducing new arguments or copying the introduction.

Perfect verb tenses

Tenses formed with a helping verb plus past participle: present perfect (has walked), past perfect (had walked), future perfect (will have walked).

Active and passive voice

In active voice the subject performs the action (Maya wrote the report); in passive voice the subject receives it (The report was written by Maya).

Coordinating conjunction

One of the joining words and, but, or, so, yet, or nor, used to connect words or groups of words of equal grammatical importance.

Subordinating conjunction

A word such as because, although, while, since, or if that begins a dependent clause and shows how it relates to the main clause.

Sentence fragment

A group of words punctuated as a sentence but missing a subject, a verb, or a complete thought, so it cannot stand alone.

Correlative conjunctions

Paired conjunctions such as either/or, neither/nor, both/and, and not only/but also that must connect grammatically parallel elements.

Context clues

Surrounding words and sentences that hint at an unknown word's meaning, including definition, example, synonym, antonym, and general-sense clues.

Greek and Latin roots

Word parts from Greek or Latin that carry meaning, such as bio (life), graph (write), tele (far), and port (carry), used to decode unfamiliar words.