OST ELA Grade 3 key terms

The most important point an author wants readers to understand about a text. It is often stated in one sentence and is supported by details throughout the passage.

A specific piece of information in a text that supports or explains the main idea. Details can be facts, examples, or descriptions that answer questions about who, what, when, or why.

The subject a text is about, usually expressed in a word or short phrase. The topic is broader than the main idea, which states what the author says about that subject.

Words, sentences, or details taken directly from a passage that support an answer or idea. Readers point to evidence to show why their thinking is correct.

A reasonable conclusion a reader draws by combining clues in the text with what the reader already knows. An inference is not stated directly in the passage.

A thoughtful guess about what will happen next in a story or what a text will explain. Good predictions use clues from the text and the reader's background knowledge.

A short retelling that states the main idea and the most important details of a text in the reader's own words. A summary leaves out minor details and personal opinions.

The lesson or message about life that a story conveys, such as honesty matters or friends help each other. A theme is different from the topic, which is just the subject.

The lesson taught by a fable or folktale, often stated at the end of the story. It tells readers how to behave or what to value.

A word describing what a character is like on the inside, such as brave, honest, or selfish. Readers infer traits from a character's words, actions, and thoughts.

The reason a character acts or feels a certain way in a story. Motivation may be stated outright or inferred from what the character says and does.

The sequence of events in a story, usually built from a beginning, a problem, rising action, a climax, and a resolution. The plot shows how the conflict is solved.

The problem or struggle a character faces in a story. A conflict may be between characters, between a character and nature, or inside a character's own mind.

The part of a story where the problem is solved and the events are wrapped up. The resolution comes after the climax and shows how things end.

The time and place where a story happens. Setting can affect the characters' actions and mood, and it may be stated directly or implied through details.

The perspective from which a story is told. A narrator may be a character in the story using I, or an outside voice using he, she, or they.

The voice that tells a story. The narrator may be a character who takes part in the events or a storyteller who stands outside them.

The words characters say to each other in a story, usually shown inside quotation marks. Dialogue reveals character feelings and moves the plot forward.

A short story, often with animal characters, that teaches a lesson about behavior. The lesson, called a moral, is usually stated plainly at the end.

Language that goes beyond literal meaning to create a picture or feeling, such as similes, metaphors, and personification. It helps readers imagine and feel what the writer describes.

A comparison between two unlike things that uses the words like or as, such as cheeks as red as apples. Similes help 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 in the reader's mind.

Giving human qualities to an animal, object, or idea, such as the wind whispered through the trees. Writers use it to make descriptions livelier and more memorable.

A description that appeals to one of the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch. Sensory details help readers experience the scene as if they were there.

A part of an informational text that helps readers find and understand information, such as headings, captions, bold words, diagrams, and indexes. Features guide readers through the material.

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

Words printed near a picture or diagram that explain what it shows. Captions give extra information that may not appear in the main body of the text.

A drawing that labels the parts of something or shows how it works. Diagrams make information easier to understand by showing it visually.

An alphabetical list of important words and their meanings, usually found at the back of a book. Readers use a glossary to look up unfamiliar terms.

A way of examining how two or more things are alike and different. Writers often use clue words such as both, unlike, similarly, and however to signal comparisons.

A relationship in which one event makes another event happen. The cause is why something happens, and the effect is the result.

The order in which events or steps happen in a text. Clue words such as first, next, then, and finally help readers follow the order.

Information in the words and sentences around an unknown word that helps readers figure out its meaning. Types include definitions, examples, and opposites.

A word part added to the beginning of a base word that changes its meaning, such as un- in unhappy or re- in rebuild. Knowing prefixes helps readers unlock new words.

A word part added to the end of a base word that changes its meaning or use, such as -ful in helpful or -less in careless. Suffixes can also show tense or number.

The basic part of a word that carries its main meaning and can stand alone, such as play in replaying. Adding prefixes and suffixes builds new words from it.

A word that names a person, place, thing, or idea, such as teacher, park, pencil, or kindness. Nouns can be common or proper, singular or plural.

A word that shows action or a state of being, such as run, jump, is, or seems. Every complete sentence needs a verb.

A word that describes a noun or pronoun, such as tall, blue, or friendly. Adjectives answer questions like what kind or how many.

A word that describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb, often telling how, when, or where. Many adverbs end in -ly, such as quickly or softly.

The part of a sentence that tells who or what does the action or is being described. The subject and the verb must agree in number.

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

A group of sentences about one main idea, set off by an indent or space. A paragraph usually begins with a topic sentence and ends with a closing sentence.

The sentence in a paragraph that states its main idea, usually placed first. The other sentences give details that support it.

Punctuation marks placed around a speaker's exact words in dialogue. They show readers which words are spoken aloud and where the speech begins and ends.

Marks such as periods, commas, question marks, and exclamation points that make writing clear. Punctuation shows where sentences end and how ideas are grouped.

Writing a letter in uppercase form. In English, capitalize the first word of a sentence, proper nouns, and the pronoun I.

To restate someone else's ideas in your own words while keeping the meaning the same. Paraphrasing shows understanding without copying the original wording.