MCAS ELA Grade 3 flashcards
MCAS ELA Grade 3 · Build recall with a focused review session.
33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Theme
- A message about life or human nature that a whole story or poem supports with events and details. It is stated as a complete sentence, not a single topic word.
- Central idea
- The main point that an entire informational passage develops. It must be broad enough to cover every paragraph, unlike a single supporting detail.
- Supporting detail
- A specific fact, example, or quotation inside a passage that helps prove the central idea or theme. It covers only part of the text, not the whole.
- Text evidence
- Words or information taken directly from the passage that prove an answer is correct. Evidence must come from the text itself, not from outside knowledge.
- First-person point of view
- A narrator who uses I, me, or we and takes part in the story. This narrator knows only personal thoughts and observations, so information stays limited.
- Third-person omniscient
- A narrator outside the story who knows the thoughts and feelings of several characters. Pronouns are he, she, they, and the narrator is not a character.
- Third-person limited
- A narrator outside the story who follows one character closely and reveals only that character's inner thoughts. Other characters are seen from the outside.
- Character trait
- A lasting quality of a character, such as honesty or stubbornness, shown through words, actions, and others' reactions. It differs from a temporary feeling like anger.
- Simile
- A comparison of two unlike things using the words like or as, such as cheeks as red as apples. It helps readers picture an idea vividly.
- Metaphor
- A comparison that states one thing is another without using like or as, such as the classroom was a zoo. The reader must infer the shared quality.
- Personification
- Giving human qualities to an animal, object, or idea, such as the wind whispered through the trees. It creates imagery and can set a mood.
- Hyperbole
- Deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis or humor, such as I have told you a million times. It is not meant to be read literally.
- Idiom
- A common expression whose meaning cannot be figured out from the individual words, such as under the weather meaning ill. Context reveals the intended meaning.
- Author's purpose
- The reason a writer created a text: to inform, explain, persuade, or entertain. A passage may do more than one, so choose the dominant purpose.
- Cause and effect
- A text structure that explains why something happened and what resulted. Signal words include because, since, therefore, as a result, and so.
- Compare and contrast
- A text structure that shows how two or more things are alike and different. Signal words include both, similarly, unlike, however, and on the other hand.
- Chronological order
- A text structure that presents events in the order they happened. Signal words include first, next, then, after, and finally.
- Problem and solution
- A text structure that names a difficulty and then describes one or more ways it is addressed. Signal words include issue, solve, fix, and remedy.
- Claim
- The position a writer or speaker argues for in an argument text. Everything else in the piece should explain or support this statement.
- Reason
- A statement explaining why a claim is valid, linking the claim to evidence. It answers the question of why the reader should agree.
- Context clues
- Hints in surrounding words and sentences that reveal an unknown word's meaning. They include stated definitions, examples, contrasts, and cause-effect links.
- Prefix
- A word part added to the beginning of a base word that changes its meaning, such as un- meaning not or re- meaning again. It does not change the word's part of speech.
- Suffix
- A word part added to the end of a base word that changes meaning or part of speech, such as -less meaning without or -ful meaning full of.
- Stanza
- A group of lines separated from other groups by space in a poem. Stanzas work like paragraphs, often developing one idea or image.
- Stage directions
- Notes in a play script, usually in brackets or italics, telling actors how to move, speak, or use the set. They are not spoken aloud.
- Subject-verb agreement
- A rule that a singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb. Words between the subject and verb do not change this.
- Pronoun-antecedent agreement
- A rule that a pronoun must match the noun it replaces in number and gender, such as each student raising his or her hand, not their hands.
- Sentence combining
- Joining two short related sentences into one using a conjunction or punctuation. It removes repetition and shows the relationship between ideas.
- Sensory detail
- A description appealing to sight, sound, smell, taste, or touch. It helps readers imagine a scene and is common in narrative and descriptive writing.
- Dialogue
- The words characters say to each other, usually enclosed in quotation marks. It reveals personality, moves the plot, and breaks up long narration.
- Flashback
- A scene that interrupts the present action to show something that happened earlier. It gives background that explains a character's current behavior.
- Summary
- A brief retelling of a text's most important ideas or events in the reader's own words. It leaves out minor details and keeps the original order.
- Inference
- A conclusion drawn by combining clues in the text with what the reader already knows. It is supported by the passage but not stated directly.