4th grade semester 1 review

The theme of a text is...

• The most important parts of the text

• What the author wants to teach us

• What we figure out on our own through clues in the text

• An unknown word

What is the theme of this text?

There once was a clever fox who loved playing tricks. He invited his friend the stork over for dinner one day. When dinner was served, the poor bird saw that the meal was soup served in a flat dish. Try as she might, the stork could not drink the soup with her long, thin beak.

"I'm sorry you aren't enjoying the dinner," the fox said, laughing to himself over his trick.

"Oh, it's no problem at all," the stork said, acting very polite. "You must join me for dinner next time."

Soon the stork invited the fox to her house for dinner. The fox had worked hard all day and was very hungry. But when the stork brought out the food, the fox got a surprise. The dinner was served in tall, narrow jars. With her long beak, the stork had no trouble gobbling up the tasty food. The fox's mouth did not fit in the jar, so he went home hungry.

• Expect other people to treat you the way you treat them

• Even though people are different, they can still be friends

• People will always treat you badly

• Life is always fair

A summary of a text is...

• What the author wants us to learn

• What the text is mostly about

• Retelling the most important parts of a text in our own words

• Using clues in the text to figure out what the author didn't directly state

The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be held in Brazil. It will be the 20th year of the World Cup. Brazil was chosen in October of 2007 to host the 2014 competition. Earlier in the year, South America had been chosen as the continent for the contest. Brazil was the only country to put in a bid. This is the second time Brazil will host the World Cup. The country hosted it in 1950. It is the first World Cup to be held in South America since 1978, when Argentina hosted. No other South American country has hosted the World Cup more than once.

What is the best summary of this passage?

• The 20th World Cup will take place in 2014. In 2007, it was decided that the competition would be held in South America. It is the first World Cup in South America since 1978.

• In October 2007, Brazil was chosen to host the 20th World Cup. Brazil has already hosted the World Cup before. 1978 was the last time a South American country hosted the World Cup.

• The 2014 World Cup will be held in Brazil. It is the second time Brazil has been chosen to host the World Cup. Brazil is the only South American country to host the World Cup twice.

• Early in 2007, South America was chosen as the continent for the 20th World Cup. Brazil was the only country that put in a bid. Brazil hosted the World Cup before in 1950.

What is the main idea of a passage?

• What the author wants us to learn from the passage

• The most important parts of the passage retold in our own words

• What the passage is mostly about

• An unknown word

What is the main idea of this passage?

Turn over a bag of potato chips. Is the label interesting? A simple food recipe may use several ingredients. These come from the soil and from chemistry labs around the world. Surprises also show up in the labels on clothing and other products. Look at the label on a package of lipstick. The tube seems small and shiny, but inside lipstick there is soap, oil, fish scales, and wax!

• A bag of potato chips seems like a simple recipe. There are many ingredients from the soil and from chemistry labs.

• Lipstick alone has soap, oil, wax, and fish scales.

• Labels show what goes into food, clothing, and other products. A simple product may have many ingredients.

• Lipstick seems small and shiny.

What do we do when we make an inference?

• Figure out what the text is mostly about

• Figure out who is narrating the text

• Use clues in the text to figure out something not directly stated

• Figure out what the author wants us to learn

After school, Jeanette went to Mia's house so they could work on their math homework together. They spent ten minutes trying to solve the first problem. "This is impossible," Jeanette sighed.

"It sure feels that way," Mia agreed. "Wait. Let's try one more thing." She opened her laptop and searched for math websites that might help. She finally found one that looked promising. "Here, check this out," Mia said. She turned around. "Jeanette?"

Jeanette was on the couch, fast asleep.

What can you infer about Jeanette's character?

• Jeanette is quick to give up

• Jeanette is a good partner

• Jeanette doesn't get enough sleep at home

• Jeanette doesn't like Mia

Write a piece of evidence from the text that helps support your inference that Jeanette is quick to give up.

In the early days of automobiles, rain was a real problem for drivers. Water covered the windshields, so they couldn't see. They had to open their windows and stick their heads outside! When Mary Anderson saw drivers struggling in the rain, she thought she could help. Anderson started working on designs for a rain-clearing device. Even after many failures, she kept experimenting. This persistence resulted in Mary Anderson's invention of the modern windshield wiper. Her design put a rubber blade on a wooden stick. Today's wipers use the same basic principle that Mary Anderson dreamed up in 1903.

What is the meaning of the word persistence as it is used in the text?

• A feeling of sadness

• No sense of humor

• Continuing even when something is difficult

• Feeling of confusion