PSSA Review
2011
Figurative Language
 Simile (like or as): She was as happy as a clam.
 Metaphor (direct comparison): His smile is golden.
 Personification (human qualities to inanimate): The
sun smiled on us.
 Hyperbole (exaggeration): I could eat a horse.
 Allusion (reference to well-known): “Five score years
ago…”
 Imagery (appeals to the senses): The luscious green
grass was freshly cut.
Reading Comprehension: Poetry
 Written with a rhythm
 Uses figurative language
 Evokes emotion
 Written in stanzas and lines
 Rhyme Scheme: pattern of rhyming lines
 Couplet: two rhyming lines
 ALL poems are lyric (one speaker/emotional)
 Sonnet (14), ballad (story), ode (praise), elegy (mourning)
Reading Comprehension: Drama
 Written to be performed by actors on stage


Comedy: to amuse and entertain, happy ending
Tragedy: serious/human suffering, sad ending (death)

Tragic flaw: the trait a hero in the tragedy has that brings them to
their downfall (e.g. jealousy, greed, pride).
 Divided into: Acts and Scenes
 Dialogue: words spoken by characters in the play
 Cast of characters: list of character names and
descriptions
 Stage directions: Instructions for the actors and
descriptions of the stage/scenery

[Written in italics.]
Vocabulary
 Root: base of a
word
root word
EVENT + ful =
eventful
 Un +
(root word
EXPECTED =
unexpected

Affix: syllables added to a root word
Prefix: added to the
beginning of a word

dis (not) + agree =
disagree
Suffix: added to the end of a
word

joy + ous (full of) = joyous
Vocabulary
 Synonym: words with similar meanings
 Angry, livid, furious
 Brave, intrepid, courageous
 Happy…
 Small…
 Antonym: words with opposite meanings
 Brave/Frightened
 Happy/Sad
 Perfect/
Vocabulary in Context
 words, sentences, phrases that come before and after
a particular word
 ideas surrounding the word
Although it was quite and peaceful in the
park, Rosario could hear the vociferous
constant hollering of the man in the
alleyway.
Context Clues
Although it was quite and peaceful in the
park, Rosario could hear the vociferous
constant hollering of the man in the
alleyway.
Although = contrast to quiet and peaceful
Comma , = change
constant hollering = continuous, loud
Practice
Because of the boy’s reputation for
mendacity, his teacher did not believe his
excuse for not handing his report in on time.
Underline words that are context clues.
marks of punctuation that are
Circle
context clues.
Idioms
 Literal meaning:




definition
Figurative meaning:
creative interpretation
Idiom: expressions that
cannot be understood
just by knowing the
literal meaning of a word
or words.
I aced the English test.
I got a perfect grade
on the English test.
Multiple-Meaning Words
 Homonyms: Words that have the same spelling but
different meanings.


ProJECT: to stand out
PROject: an assignment
 Homophones: words that sound alike but are spelled
differently and have different meanings.


Pause: to stop momentarily
Paws: an animals foot
Reading Comprehension: Prose
 Non-fiction: factual (for
 Fiction: imaginary
real)
 Explains, argues,
describes
 Biographies, newspapers
articles, textbooks (math,
language, history,
science)
 Entertain
 Stories, novels, fairy
tales, fables, myths
Fiction
 Plot (story)
 Characters (people/animals)
 Setting (time and place)
 Theme (message)
 Point of View (1st person, 3rd person)
Strategy
 Identify the kind of literature: Fiction, non-fiction,
poetry


Fact or opinion?
To inform or entertain?
 Identify the main idea (focus): what is the story
about?
 Identify the author’s purpose: why are they writing
this?
Responding to the Text
 Generalizations: broad statement (not always factual
or true)
 Key words: Always, never, all
 People always go to the beach during the summer.
Drawing Conclusions
 overall opinion based on information/evidence from
the passage
Marcus squirmed in the metal chair and stifled a yawn.
The guest speaker has been lecturing for what seemed
like two days. Marcus picked up his pen and began an
elaborate doodle in the margins of his paper.
Inference
 Inferences: determination based on information and
evidence from the passage
Roger walked up and down his driveway bouncing and
bouncing a ball and tossing it at a hoop over his garage
door.