Reading in 15 minutes a day

Junior Skill Builders ® N E W Y O R K Copyright © 2008 LearningExpress, LLC. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by LearningExpress, LLC, New York. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Junior skill builders : reading in 15 minutes a day. p. cm. ISBN: 978-1-57685-661-1 1. Reading (Middle school) 2. Reading (Secondary) 3. English language—Grammar—Study and teaching (Middle school) 4. English language—Grammar—Study and teaching (Secondary) I. LearningExpress (Organization) II. Title: Reading in 15 minutes a day. LB1632.J86 2008 428.4071`2—dc22 2008020199 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First Edition For more information or to place an order, contact LearningExpress at: 2 Rector Street 26th Floor New York, NY 10006 Or visit us at: www.learnatest.com C O N T E N T S Introduction 1 Pretest 5 SECTION 1: BUILD YOUR VOCABULARY 17 Lesson 1: Multiple-Meaning Words 19 • Don’t be fooled by words with more than one meaning Lesson 2: Words That Sound or Look Alike 27 • The difference between a homophone and a homograph Lesson 3: Synonyms and Antonyms 35 • Using words that mean the same or mean the opposite Lesson 4: Prefixes and Suffixes 43 • Get clues about a word’s meaning from its parts Lesson 5: Terminology and Jargon 51 • Don’t be thrown by technical terms and subject-matter vocabulary Lesson 6: Context Clues 59 • Find the meaning of unknown words from hints in the text Lesson 7: Denotation and Connotation 67 • Know what a word implies as well as what it really means iv contents SECTION 2: VARIETY IN READING 75 Lesson 8: Genre: Fiction or Nonfiction? 77 • How do you know if something’s fiction or not? Lesson 9: Author’s Purpose 85 • Why did the author write this selection anyway? Lesson 10: Tone and Style 93 • How does what authors say and how they say it make you feel? Lesson 11: Text Features 101 • What information can you get from headings, subheads, and captions? Lesson 12: Graphics 109 • What information can you get from graphs, maps, and other visuals? SECTION 3: ORGANIZATION OF TEXT 117 Lesson 13: Main Idea and Supporting Details 119 • What’s a selection all about? Are there enough facts to back that idea? Lesson 14: Chronological Order 127 • Follow things as they happen, from beginning to end Lesson 15: Cause and Effect 135 • What makes something happen? What effect can one thing have on another? Lesson 16: Compare and Contrast 143 • How are people, places, and events alike? How are they different? Lesson 17: Fact and Opinion 151 • What can the author prove to be true? What are simply his or her personal beliefs? Lesson 18: Question and Answer 159 • The author asks you a question, and then you find the answer Lesson 19: Problem and Solution 167 • The author states what’s wrong and suggests how to fix it contents v Lesson 20: Making Inferences 175 • Learn to make good guesses so you can predict what’ll happen next Lesson 21: Drawing Conclusions 183 • Weigh all the evidence, and then make a decision Lesson 22: Summarizing 191 • Retell only the most important parts of what you read SECTION 4: ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE: THE FACTS 199 ABOUT FICTION Lesson 23: Character and Setting 201 • Who’s the story about? • Where does the story take place? Lesson 24: Plot: Conflict and Resolution 209 • Follow a story’s ups and downs on the path of happily ever after Lesson 25: Point of View 217 • Who’s telling this story anyway? Lesson 26: Theme 225 • What’s the message or lesson the author wants me to learn? Lesson 27: Imagery 233 • Use your senses to get “into” the story Lesson 28: Flashback and Foreshadowing 243 • Thinking about the past • Warning readers about what might happen in the future Lesson 29: Figurative Language: Idiom, Personification, Hyperbole 251 • Words don’t always mean what they say • Objects can be characters, too • Making things bigger than life Lesson 30: Figurative Language: Similes and Metaphors 259 • Compare things that are different, in very interesting ways Posttest 267 Glossary 280 ... - tailieumienphi.vn