ParaPro cheat sheet

Main idea is what the whole passage is mostly about; every supporting detail must relate back to it.

An inference combines text evidence with prior knowledge and is never stated directly by the author.

A fact can be verified; an opinion uses judgment words such as best, should, beautiful, or worst.

Author's purpose is usually one of four: inform (facts), persuade (opinion plus call to action), entertain (story), or explain (steps or how-to).

Context clues include definition, example, synonym, antonym, and the general sense of the surrounding sentence.

A simile uses like or as; a metaphor states one thing is another; personification gives human traits to nonhuman things.

Common text structures: sequence (first, next, finally), compare-contrast (both, unlike), cause-effect (because, as a result), problem-solution.

Decoding rules: a closed syllable has a short vowel (cat); an open syllable ends in a vowel and is long (me); a silent e lengthens the vowel (cap becomes cape).

Theme is the life lesson or message of a text; plot is the sequence of events. They are not the same thing.

A complete sentence needs a subject (who or what), a predicate (the verb and its object or complement), and a complete thought.

A fragment is missing a subject, a predicate, or a complete thought; a run-on joins two independent clauses without correct punctuation.

Run-ons are fixed with a period, a semicolon, or a comma plus a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).

A singular subject takes a singular verb; phrases between the subject and verb (of the boxes, along with the teacher) do not change the verb's number.

A pronoun must match its antecedent in number and gender; indefinite pronouns such as everyone, each, and somebody are singular.

Commas set off items in a series of three or more, introductory phrases, and nonessential information, and precede a coordinating conjunction joining two independent clauses.

Singular possessive adds apostrophe-s; a plural ending in -s adds only an apostrophe; an irregular plural not ending in -s adds apostrophe-s.

Homophone pairs to distinguish: their/there/they're, your/you're, its/it's, to/too/two, then/than.

A paragraph follows topic sentence, supporting details, concluding sentence; transitions signal relationships (however shows contrast, therefore shows result).

Order of operations: parentheses and brackets, then exponents, then multiplication and division left to right, then addition and subtraction left to right.

Percent relationship: part = percent × whole; convert a percent to a decimal by dividing by 100, and a decimal to a percent by multiplying by 100.

To add or subtract fractions, rewrite with a common denominator; multiply fractions straight across; to divide, multiply by the reciprocal.

Mean is the sum divided by the number of items; median is the middle value of an ordered list (average the two middle values if the count is even); mode is the most frequent value.

Area formulas: rectangle = length × width; triangle = one-half base × height; circle = pi × radius squared. Perimeter adds all side lengths; circumference = 2 × pi × radius.

GCF is the largest number that divides two numbers evenly; LCM is the smallest number both divide into evenly. For two numbers, GCF × LCM = their product.

Rounding: locate the target place value, then look at the digit to its right; 5 or more rounds up, 4 or less stays the same.

A ratio a:b compares two quantities; proportions are solved by cross-multiplying and setting the two products equal.

On a number line, adding a negative moves left and subtracting a negative is the same as adding a positive.