STAAR Blitz Preperation
English STAAR Blitz and analysis to get a good grade on the staar
Staar Blitz Day 1
Story:
Excerpt from Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks by Jason Reynolds
1 (1) They turned left down a street called Marston. (2) Marston was a street that was lined with houses that her mother always said had been around for a long time. (3) An old neighborhood, she’d ramble whenever they drove through newer, seemingly nicer communities, where every house looked like the last house, like a choir of homes dressed in the same robes, turned the same way, singing the same melody in the same key, which makes for a boring, boring song. (4) But Marston Street was lined with a little bit of everything, from small brick to fancy vinyl. (5) From bay windows to Colonial style. (6) From ramblers all on one level to three stories. (7) A fence here and there, a gate there and here. (8) Grass. (9) Gravel. (10) Blacktop. (11) Pavement. (12) Everything old enough to look lived in. (13) To look tried on. (14) Old enough to be warm and worn by a generation or two. (15) Maybe even three.
Question one:
By comparing the newer houses in sentence 3 to a choir, the narrator is suggesting that they -
a. have a blissful appearance
b. improve the appearance of the neighborhood
c. lack originality and are uninteresting
d. make the neighborhood look poor
the answer is c, lack originality and are uninteresting because the author says that “like a choir of homes dressed in the same robes, turned the same way, singing the same melody in the same key, which makes for a boring, boring song,” which suggests that instead of the author thinking it’s like a choir making a beautiful song, the author thinks that the houses are like a choir that is singing a boring tune, looking all the same. This lets us infer that the author finds the houses boring and uninteresting.
Question two:
Read this quotation from the selection.
But Marston Street was lined with a little bit of everything, from small brick to fancy vinyl. From bay windows to Colonial style. From ramblers all on one level to three stories. A fence here and there, a gate there and here. Grass. Gravel. Blacktop. Pavement. Everything old enough to look lived in. To look tried on. Old enough to be warm and worn by a generation or two. Maybe even three. |
Which of the following best expresses how the narrator feels about the older houses on Marston Street?
a. She is disgusted by their lack of order.
b. She feels appreciation and respect for them.
c. she dislikes their weathered and worn appearance.
d. She shows no interest toward them.
the correct answer is, “She feels appreciation and respect for them,” because the diction contributes to the tone to be more warm and welcoming to the street than it does to the newer nicer communities. Her tone shows this, by having a tone of warmth and admiration of, from lines 4-15.
This question is tricky because just before that she talks about how the houses there are boring and uninteresting, but then her tone switches and she talks about how the houses are warm and welcoming for generations to come and have special things about them that makes them beautiful. She switches the tone with a but right after she says they are boring, saying overall, the houses are old and uninteresting but they have special things about them that makes them look beautiful.
So when looking at each question and making selections on the STAAR, always look for connections, tones, key words, theme(s), and context.
Question 3:
The author wants to combine the ideas in sentences 1 and 2.
In the space provided, write a new sentence that combines these ideas in a clear and effective way.
These questions require a skill of being able to combine sentences and edit.
Three answers for this question:
Complex:
They turned left down a street called Marston that was lined with houses that her mother always said had been around for a long time.
Compound-Complex:
They turned left down a street called Marston, and it was a street that was lined with houses that her mother always said had been around for a long time.
Appositive (and complex)
They turned left down a street called Marston, a street that was lined with houses that her mother always said had been around for a long time.
All types of sentences that are required for staar and examples:
Compound:
connects two or more independent clauses:
independent clause + [comma + fanboys] or [semicolon] + independent clause
avoid mistakes:
fused sentences: I love coffee I drink it every day. (no punctuation)
comma splices: I love coffee, I drink it every day. (comma was put but no fanboys)
Incorrect punctuation: I went home and I went to bed. (conjunction was put but no comma)
Example(s):
My mother cooked a lot when I was younger, but I finally can be the one to cook for her. (compound-complex)
My mother cooked, and I cooked. (compound)
Simple:
one independent clause with a subject and verb, expressing a complete thought.
Subject + Verb (Predicate)
Examples:
The dog barked.
She likes pizza.
Looking at the picture gifted to me on my last birthday, I started crying in front of everybody.
(Verb, subject, predicate)
Complex:
a sentence structure that combines one independent clause (a complete thought) with at least one dependent clause (an incomplete thought)
[independent] + [dependent] with [and, a comma, or no comma with a subordinating conjunction.']
Dependent clause: "Because it was raining, we stayed inside.”
The thought continued on with a comma to complete the incomplete thought.
Independent clause: We stayed inside because it was raining.
The thought didn’t need a comma because it was shown as a complete thought.
Example (One answer to #3):
They turned left down a street called Marston that was lined with houses that her mother always said had been around for a long time.
Compound Complex:
Contains two or more independent clauses and at least one dependent clause.
Dependent Clause +, + Independent Clause + , + Coordinating Conjunction (FANBOYS) + Independent Clause.
Example (one answer for #3):
They turned left down a street called Marston, and it was a street that was lined with houses that her mother always said had been around for a long time.
Appositive:
contains a noun or noun phrase placed beside another noun to identify, rename, or explain it
How to Identify and Use Appositives
Identification: Look for a phrase that renames the noun immediately before it. If you can remove it without changing the core meaning, it is a nonrestrictive appositive.
Punctuation: If it's extra info, use commas to set it off. If it's necessary to identify the noun, do not use commas, says Grammar Bytes!.
Placement: Generally, they follow the noun, but they can precede it for emphasis, such as: "A bold innovator, Wassily Kandinsky is known for his colorful abstract paintings"
Mistakes:
Misplacing commas: Forgetting commas on nonrestrictive phrases or adding them to restrictive ones.
Sentence fragments: Appositives cannot stand alone, according to Curvebreakers.
Misplacement: The appositive must be placed immediately next to the noun it describes to avoid confusion.
Example (Answer for #3):
They turned left down a street called Marston, a street that was lined with houses that her mother always said had been around for a long time.
This is appositive because it adds extra detail with it still being a complete sentence, which makes it complex-appositive.