Informational TEXT STAAR Review

​Informational Text: STAAR Review

Informational text gives the reader information about a specific topic. The PURPOSE is to inform.

Informational text is NONFICTION. It is often hard to understand because readers may lack prior knowledge.

​Types of Author's Purpose Questions

There are lots of ways STAAR makers like to ask author's purpose questions. They use vocabulary to confuse test takes.

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Author's Purpose

Can appear in many different forms

• the author's attitude

• the most likely reason the author....

• the author included examples because...

• And the LIST goes on.

What is the most likely reason the author includes the details in paragraph 1 of the excerpt from “Cool Jobs: Sports Science”?

A To convey to the reader the pressure of Olympic gymnastic performances

B To draw the reader into the topic of sports science using a true story

C To highlight the way an error can keep a gymnast from victory

D To show how well world-class athletes must be able to perform

​3 STEPS
1. Read the question and the choices
2. Define ANY words you are not 100% understanding
3. Reread paragraph 1 and THINK about WHY the author wrote it.

​The author includes the description in paragraph 1 most likely to —

A. illustrate the significance of what archaeologists hope to discover

B. explain the tasks most commonly performed by archaeologists
.C. Hemphasize the difficulty archaeologists face when trying to locate ancient cities

D. highlight the activities that take the most time for archaeologists to perform

Remember if the author is mentioned in the question it is involving author's purpose.

​EVIL STAAR test maker plotting to make the test go way beyond PIE!!!

​What is the most likely reason that the author has included paragraph 1 in the article?

A. To educate readers about the battle of Gettysburg
B. To compare the Gettysburg cyclorama to a computer game
C. To give readers detailed information about Civil War battles
D. To simulate the experience of being at Gettysburg

​The author uses a quotation from the movie Toy Story in the first paragraph to —

A. explain to the reader what the movie is about

B. establish the purpose of the selection for the reader

C. describe one of the movie’s main characters for the reader

D. gain the reader’s attention with a familiar saying

​Remember it isn't just the author's purpose for writing the passage, BUT the author's purpose for why he/she wrote certain parts, used certain language, included certain pictures...etc.

​Two-part questions! Double the fun.

Things to remember:

1. The part A is always connected to part B.

2. These questions can be about anything: vocabulary, main idea, author's purpose.

3. They almost always involve TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

​This question has two parts.
First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.

Part A What is the most likely reason the author wrote this article?

A To share interesting facts about methane

B To explain why Sainsbury’s is the best grocery chain

C To tell about a method used to decrease everyday waste

D To describe how anaerobic digesters are similar to the human body

​Part B
Which sentence from the article best supports the answer to Part A?

A But its leaders have some modern ideas. (paragraph 1)

B The excess amounts of this gas can have harmful effects. (paragraph 2)

C These giant silos act like artificial stomachs. (paragraph 4)

D Fortunately much of that garbage can be turned into a valuable raw material for making biofuel. (paragraph 6)

Open Ended

Who is your favorite "PAIR"? This can be TV, movies, books, cartoons etc. Example Batman and Robin, Harry and Ron

Also known can be seen as

Key
Central
Important
Mainly
Significant
Focuses
Reasons

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​Main Idea: Question Types

Simple STEPS to Success
1. Read and re-read the question
2. Ask myself what is the text MOSTLY about?
3. Does my answer connect to the title?
4. Which answer cover more of the passage as a whole.

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​What is the controlling idea of the excerpt from “Cool Jobs: Sports Science”?

A Gymnasts must change their body position in order to stick landings.

B Science helps gymnasts and other athletes improve performance.

C Shannon Miller is an American gymnast who won the Olympic gold medal.

D Olympic gymnastics requires effort on the part of both athletes and coaches.

​Main idea questions can be reversed so that the questions ask you to support the main idea.

The main reason for building the vault in an isolated, underground location was to —

Which idea does the information in paragraph 2 support?

How does the author support the idea that the Cutty Sark was once considered a technologically advanced ship?

​Main idea questions can also ask about only a part of the text or the whole.

Paragraph 4 is mostly about —

The reader can conclude from the details in paragraph 4 that Mestral —

What is one reason scientists are excited about the idea of using Coralbots to restore reefs?

Poll

Greatest Bad GUY

The reader can conclude that in the future Armando MOST LIKELY will...

Based on the passage, if the historical society does NOT purchase the Murphy home, the home will MOSTLIKELY be

​Prediction Questions

​Based on the information in the passage, which statement about the lunar calendar is true?

What does the author say is the MAIN problem with the methods you identified in Part 1?

Inference Questions

Read this sentence from Paragraph 7.

Then suddenly I’m breathing again!

How does the narrator MOSTLIKELY feel at this moment?

A. anxious
B. carefree

C. homesick

D. relieved

​Inference Questions

​Read this sentence from Paragraph 13.

She abandons the house in which she is not treated according to her merits.

Which conclusion is BEST supported by the information in the sentence?

What does the photograph of the anaerobic digester silos and its caption help the reader understand?

A.

Microbes are used to make methane.

B.

Methane is held in containers so it won’t escape.

C.

Farms benefit from the extra food from stores.

​Text Evidence to support a response.

​Which sentence from the selection best shows that the Sainsbury’s company tries to make use of a by-product?

A.

Offering shoppers the freshest and most appealing products possible is a good start. (paragraph 3)

B.

Special trucks collect food waste from more than 1,200 grocery stores all over England. (paragraph 5)

C.

Some of the methane trapped during the process fuels the trucks. (paragraph 5)

D.

So far Europe has mainly led the way in biofuel development. (paragraph 7)

​Remember these questions will often have quotes.

Read Sentence 1 from an encyclopedia and Sentence 2 from a journal article.

1. Cactus is the common name for a family of spiny, fleshy plants native to America.

2. Arizona is home to many of the country’s most interesting varieties of cactus.

Which is the BEST summary of the two sentences?

A. The cactus is a spiny, fleshy plant common to America.
B. Many varieties of cactus, a spiny, fleshy plant native to America, exist in Arizona.

C. Arizona has the most interesting varieties of cactus.

D. America has many interesting varieties of spiny, fleshy cactus.

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​Paraphrase and Summary Questions

Which statement BEST summarizes what happens in the passage?

A. Two young girls prevent an attack on their small village.

B. The lighthouse keeper’s daughter discovers an old fife and drum.
C. A small town prepares to escape from the British navy.

D. The British navy threatens to attack a coastal American village.

​Which word from paragraph 1 best helps the reader understand that the word requirement refers to something that is an obligation?

Record your answer in the space provided.

​​NEW Question Type: TEXT ENTRY

​Based on the dialogue in lines 29 through 38, which words best describe Angie’s behavior toward Pete? Select TWO correct answers. ` Admiring ` Astonished ` Encouraging ` Grateful ` Teasing

​​New Question Type: Multi Select

Multiple Choice

What do you do when you don't know what a word means in the question or answer choice?

• Pray

• Guess

• Look it up in the dictionary