MTLE Communication Arts/Literature (5-12) cheat sheet

Close reading sequence: literal meaning, structural choices, figurative language, tone, theme; each layer cites textual evidence before interpretation.

Narrative point of view: first person = limited and subjective; third-person omniscient = access to multiple consciousnesses; third-person limited = one character's filter; objective/dramatic = observable action only.

Freytag's pyramid: exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution; modern texts may open in medias res and delay exposition.

Literary periods in US secondary curricula: Romanticism (emotion, nature, individual), Realism (ordinary life, verisimilitude), Naturalism (heredity and environment as determinism), Modernism (fragmentation, stream of consciousness).

Poetic meter: iambic pentameter = five unstressed-stressed feet per line; blank verse = unrhymed iambic pentameter; free verse = no fixed meter or rhyme.

Sound devices: alliteration (initial consonants), assonance (vowel repetition), consonance (internal/final consonants), onomatopoeia (word imitates sound).

Figurative language decisions: simile uses like/as; metaphor asserts identity; personification gives human traits to nonhuman; synecdoche = part for whole; metonymy = associated thing for concept.

Informational text structures: cause-effect, compare-contrast, problem-solution, chronological, description; signal words (because, however, first, therefore) reveal the structure.

Sentence boundary rule: two independent clauses need a semicolon, a comma plus coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS), or a period; a comma alone creates a splice.

Colon rule: the clause before a colon must be independent; the colon introduces a list, explanation, or quotation.

Pronoun-antecedent agreement: indefinite pronouns such as each, everyone, anybody, neither are singular; collective nouns are singular when acting as one unit.

Subject-verb agreement traps: prepositional phrases between subject and verb do not change number; inverted sentences (There are...) require locating the true subject.

Modifier placement: a participial opener must modify the subject of the main clause; dangling modifiers occur when the implied actor is absent.

Parallel structure: items in a series, comparisons, and correlative pairs (not only...but also, either...or) must share grammatical form.

Punctuation of nonessential elements: nonrestrictive clauses and appositives take paired commas or dashes; restrictive clauses take none.

Writing process and argument: claim, evidence, commentary, counterclaim, rebuttal; revision addresses organization and ideas, editing addresses conventions.

Speaking purposes map to organizational patterns: informative = chronological or topical; persuasive = problem-solution or Monroe's motivated sequence; narrative = chronological.

Delivery variables: volume, pacing, pitch, inflection, eye contact, gesture, and pause; rehearsal targets fluency rather than memorization of script.

Audience analysis before a speech: prior knowledge, stance on the topic, demographic and cultural context, and setting determine vocabulary and evidence type.

Active listening components: receiving, attending, interpreting, evaluating, responding; paraphrasing and clarifying questions signal comprehension.

Small-group roles: facilitator, recorder, reporter, timekeeper, devil's advocate; assigned roles reduce social loafing.

Media literacy core questions: who created this message, what techniques attract attention, what values and points of view are included or omitted, and why it was sent.

Persuasive appeals: ethos (credibility), pathos (emotion), logos (logic and evidence); fallacies include ad hominem, bandwagon, false dilemma, and slippery slope.

Source evaluation criteria: authority, accuracy, currency, objectivity, and purpose; lateral reading checks a claim against independent sources.

Backward design order: identify desired results, determine acceptable evidence, then plan learning experiences and instruction.

Standards alignment: a measurable objective names the cognitive verb, the content, and the condition or criterion; verbs should match the intended Bloom level.

Formative vs summative: formative assessment informs instruction during learning; summative assessment certifies achievement at the end of a unit.

Scaffolding options: modeling, think-alouds, graphic organizers, sentence frames, chunked text, and gradual release (I do, we do, you do).

Differentiation adjusts content, process, or product based on readiness, interest, and learning profile; it is not tracking.

Discussion protocols: Socratic seminar, literature circles with role sheets, and fishbowl; accountable talk requires students to cite text and build on peers.

Writing assessment: analytic rubrics score traits separately (ideas, organization, conventions); holistic rubrics assign a single overall score.

Reading assessment data: running records and miscue analysis reveal cueing systems (semantic, syntactic, graphophonic); Lexile and grade-level scores guide text selection.