TEAS 7: Reading - integration of Knowledge and Ideas

ATI and maybe FutureRn

prediction

A reader’s guess of events to come or what a text will be about

• uses details from a text to speculate about what will happen next

inference

combines text details with a reader’s background knowledge to fill in gaps of information in the text.

questions of ask yourself when finding theme

What message, lesson, or big ideas about life are being communicated through the narration, setting, dialogue, and/or plot? What does the author or creator want the audience to know?

parts that build theme

• Narration/Exposition.

  • Big ideas and messages often come through narration and exposition. Look for how characters change as a result of story events.

• Setting.

  • Authors choose settings that will enhance the plot and thus the theme. For example, an author might choose to set a story on a space station where the last human beings must live because humanity has taken Earth and its natural environment for granted. The theme can be that people should take care of nature because protecting Earth means protecting humanity.

• Characters.

  • The journeys and adventures—emotional or physical—that characters endure and the obstacles they overcome throughout the course of a story give hints about the themes in texts. A character who must overcome many physical and emotional hardships and is rewarded for their efforts might suggest the theme that endurance is a key quality of survival.

• Dialogue.

  • Like narration and exposition, the words that characters speak in stories often reveal insights into the ways characters change as a result of plot events.

• Plot.

  • Like settings, a story’s plot helps readers determine its themes. In a story with a theme such as “Crime doesn’t pay,” for example, the story’s plot must reflect the theme: the criminal character must be caught by the end. As another example, in a story with the theme “Love conquers all,” the protagonist (or main character) will triumph over the obstacles they face along the way by expressing or acting out of love.​​​​​​​

social commentary

Use of rhetoric or themes to make statements about current culture

counterclaim

A conflicting opinion that an author acknowledges and responds to when making an argument

rhetorical devices

Appeals used in arguments to persuade readers emotionally, morally, and intellectually

peer reviewed

Published writings that have been analyzed by experts in the field

primary source

A firsthand document or source created at the time in question 

secondary source

A compilation of primary and secondary sources

tertiary source

A compilation of primary and secondary sources

quantitative data

Information that can be counted, measured, or compared on a numerical scale

qualitative data

Information describing qualities and characteristics that can be observed and recorded, but not objectively measured