5th Skills

1. Theme

Theme is an underlying meaning or message of a story. A story can have more than one theme.

Themes can be statements, lessons, or generalizations that stand on their own such as: Life is what you make of it.

Sometimes the author states a theme directly.

Sometimes readers have to figure out a theme on their own by asking, What did I learn by reading this story?

Look for evidence in the story to support the theme or themes.

The actions you take to reach a goal or make something are the steps in a process.

Sometimes steps in a process are shown by numbers or clue words such as first, next, then, and last.If there are no clues, use common sense to picture the steps.

If you picture the result, youll understand why each step is necessary.

Identifying steps in a process will help you solve problems and follow directions.

A cause is why something happens. An effect is what happens.

When you read sometimes clue words such as because and since signal a cause and effect relationship.Sometimes there are no clue words.

Sometimes the author does not tell a cause, and you need to think about why something happened.

A cause may have more than one effect, and an effect may have more than one cause.

A plot includes the important events that happen in a story.

Identifying the plot will help you understand the story better.

A plot usually had a conflict or problem, rising action, climax, and an outcome or resolution.

As you read, you can write the most important event on a story map to keep the plot structure organized

Conflict is the storys main problem.The conflict can be within a character, between two characters, or between a character and nature.

During the rising action, one event follows another.Each event adds interest or suspense, to the conflict

The climax is the high point when the paint character faces the problem directly.

This is the pop and turning point of the story.

The outcome is the ending of the story.

Making judgments means forming opinions about someone or something. Characters, authors, and readers all make judgments.

Characters make judgments about situations and other characters.

Authors make judgments about the subject of their writing. Evaluate an authors judgments by asking if they are supported by evidence in the story or article.

Readers make judgments about characters, authors and ideas.A readers judgment should be supported by evidence in the story or article.

Visualizing is creating a picture in you mind as you read.

Pay attention to description, imagery, and sensory words that help you imagine what you are reading. Also think about what you already know about the places, people and things being described.

As you read and get more information, you may need to change the picture in you mid to match the new details.

If you have a hard time visualizing, reread or read more slowly to get a better picture.

A graphic source is something that shows information visually.Picture, charts, graphs, and maps are graphic sources.

Graphic sources can help you better understand what you read because they provide a lot of information that can be seen quickly.

A fact is something that can be proved true or false. Statements of fact can be proved by checking reference books, observing, measuring, and so on.

An opinion tells a persons ideas or feelings.It cannot be proved true or false, but it can be supported or explained.Some statements of opinion begin with clue words such as I believe or In my opinion.

The setting is the time and place in which a story happens.

In some stories, the author tells you exactly when and where the story takes place.In other stories, the author tells about the setting through details, and you have to figure out the time and place.

Sometimes the author tells only one part of the setting, either the time or the place.

In some stories, the setting is very important.If affects what happens in the story and why.In other stories, it isnt really important

Authors viewpoint is the way an author thinks about the subject of his or her writing.

To learn an authors viewpoint, think about the authors opinion and choice of words.Sometimes you can figure our an authors viewpoint even when it is not stated.

Unbalanced, or biased writing happened when an author presents only one viewpoint.Balanced writing presents both sides of an issue equally.

When you form opinions based on facts and details, you are drawing conclusions.

To draw conclusions, think logically.Also use clues from what youve read and your own knowledge and experience.

TO check you conclusion, ask yourself if it makes sense.Are there any other possible conclusions?

Characters are the people or animals in stories.You learn about them from their words, actions, and the way other characters act toward them.

When you read, think of what you know about real people and what you have learned about the characters so far.Use this to decide what a characters actions mean and what the character might do next.

Text structure is the way a piece of writing is organized.

There are two main kinds of writing fiction and nonfiction.Each is read in a different way.Identifying the text structure will help you choose the best reading strategy.

Fiction tells stories of made-up people and events. Fiction is often organized in chronological order

Nonfiction tells of real people and events or gives real information.It can be organized in chronological order, by main ideas with supporting details, or as relationships such as cause and effect, problem and solution, and compare and contrast.

Summarizing means telling just the main ideas of an article or the plot of a story.

A good summary is brief.It does not include unnecessary details, repeated words or thought, or unimportant ideas.

Comparing is telling how two or more things are alike.

Contrasting is telling how two or more things are different.

Authors sometimes use clue words such as similar to, like, or as to compare things.They may use clue words such as different from, but, or unlike to contrast things.

When there are no clue words, compare and contrast by asking what does this remind me of?

The topic is what the paragraph, article, or story is about.

The main idea is the most important idea about the topic.

Sometimes the main idea is state.When it is not, you have to decide what is most important and pit it into your own words.

Supporting details tell more about the main idea.

Knowing the main idea will help you better understand and remember what you read.

Context clues are words that can help you figure out a word that is unfamiliar to you.

When you come to an unfamiliar word, decide if it is important to the meaning of the sentence or paragraph. If it is, use context clues to understand it.

Look for specific clues by asking yourself questions like, Does the sentence give a definition or explanation of the word?

Predicting is giving a statement about what you think might happen next in a story or come next in an article.The statement you give is the prediction.

You can make predictions based on what you already know and what had already happened in the story or article.

After you predict something, continue reading to check your prediction.As you learn new information, you might need to change your prediction.

Authors purpose is the reason or reasons an author has for writing.

Authors dont usually state a purpose, so it helps to remember that the four common purposes are to persuade, inform, entertain, and express

If you know an authors purpose, you may change how you read to match what you read.For example, if an author want to explain a difficult idea, you may decide to read slowly to make sure you understand the information.But when an authors purpose is to entertain, you may want to read quickly.

Generalizing is making a statement about what several people or things have in common.

This is a generalization: Many people like popcorn.Clue words such as many and most can signal generalizations.

A valid generalization if supported by facts and logic.A faulty generalization is not.

Paraphrasing is explaining something in your own words.

After you read a sentence or paragraph, pout it into your own words.Dont change the authors meaning or add you own opinion.

Paraphrasing can help you study for tests because you will remember ideas better when you put them into your own words.

5th Skills

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