STAAR Review

‘’’’’’Apostrophes ‘’’’’’ When do you use apostrophes? Singular- bird’s nest, girl’s shoe Plural- boys’ game, pencils’ erasers If a word ends in s- Thomas’ lunch, Miss Alas’ class

Now you try! Rewrite the sentence and add apostrophes as needed My mothers eyes are as blues as the glimmering ocean. All of my friends shoes get dirty on the playground because of the recent rain. The bus tires are black and shiny after being cleaned.

Contractions What are contractions? Write down as many contractions as you can:

Contractions Contraction: What it means:

Never Put Yourself First! My friends and I ate lunch together. The principal called my brother and me into the office today. Write two sentences of your own:

Double Negatives Which one sounds better? I don’t have no pencils. I don’t have any pencils.

When do you use “an” and “a” “An” is used when the nest word starts with a vowel. Example- I have an exam tomorrow at noon. “A” is used when the next word starts with a consonant. Example- A cat purrs like the engine of a car. Krueger Elementary is ______ excellent school. Can we bring _____ snack to school tomorrow?

Dialogue Quotation marks must go around what people say. Commas, question marks, or exclamation marks can separate what someone says and who says it. Examples “Are you ready for the STAAR Writing test?” Mrs. Lawson asked the class. The class yelled, “We are ready!” “I knew you be ready after working so hard,” Mrs. Lawson replied.

Dialogue Now you try! When are we going lunch Kaylie asked her teacher. Mrs. Valdez replied We will be going in ten minutes. The Disney Channel is my favorite channel Bella told her friends.

Connecting Sentences You can connect sentences with the FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) You can only connect sentences with a comma when both sides are complete sentences. Examples Mrs. McGookey loves going to Starbucks, but she doesn’t always like spending the money. Marissa can go play outside with her friends, or she can stay in and finish her homework. Everyone loves writing and can’t wait to see the topic of the composition each week.

Connecting Sentences Now you try I always go to school and learn a lot. We got to hand out Valentine cards on Friday but we didn’t get to have a party. We have practiced so hard for this test and everyone is going to do very well.

Homophones Know what and when you should use each of these: Too To Two Write a sentence using each homophone:

Homophones Know what and when you should use each of these: Wood Would Write a sentence using each homophone:

Homophones Know what and when you should use each of these: Know No Write a sentence using each homophone:

Homophones Know what and when you should use each of these: Four For Write a sentence using each homophone:

Homophones Know what and when you should use each of these: There They’re Their Write a sentence using each homophone:

Homophones Know what and when you should use each of these: Your You’re Write a sentence using each homophone:

Homophones Know what and when you should use each of these: Where Were Write a sentence using each homophone:

NO EXCUSE WORDS You must use and spell these correctly Who When How What Wait Were We’re Where Said Want Does Say Favorite Every Because

Capitalization Proper Nouns- any important person, place or thing- Burger King, Landon, Krueger Elementary School Replacing a name with Mom, Grandma etc. Titles- books, movies, magazines- the big words in the title, but some of the smaller words are not (a, the, for, to, of)- Tale of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Complete Sentence Every sentence must have a subject and a verb. Identify the subject and the verb to decide if a sentence is complete or incomplete. Examples We are going to do our very best on the STAAR Writing Test.- Complete The boys ran quickly to recess. –Complete The fourth graders of Krueger Elementary- Incomplete- missing a verb Went to lunch right after PE.- Incomplete- missing subject

Capitalization Now you try So many of the bike riders. _____________________________ I fell. ______________________________________ The pencil was breaking every time I wrote. _________________________ Using all of my strategies. ________________________________

Then vs. Than When do you use then? When do you use than? Write a sentence using each word correctly.

Past Tense vs. Present Tense List words used in past tense: Write a sentence in past tense: List words used in present tense: Write a sentence in present tense:

Who vs. Whom When do you use who? When do you use whom? Write a sentence using each word correctly.

Controlling Idea This is the sentence that comes after your hook in the expository paper . It lets the reader know what the paper will be about or the main idea in of the paper.

Concluding Sentence This sentence is the last sentence of the paper. It wraps up or summarizes the main ideas in the paper.

Adding/Deleting Sentences Many questions will ask you to add or delete a sentence from the paper. -You must think of the main idea of the paper and decide if each of these sentences is a supporting detail (a sentence that supports the main idea) -You must plug in all the choices to identify which sentence makes the most sense in the paper.

Expository Essay Focus on explaining what the prompt asks you Every sentence supports your central idea Use specific details at least 2 preferably 3 to each reason Use an expository hook (to grab the reader’s attention and a conclusion (wraps up the main ideas in the paper)

Your Paper Should Include Complete sentences- no run on sentences or fragments Correct Capitalization, Punctuation, and Spelling Paper must be 26 lines (no more and no less) Neat handwriting Transition Words

Papers Should Not Include: Today I am going to tell you about… A question lead that asks… “Have you ever…” Anything else?

Thesaurus Practice: Using a thesaurus, find 3 synonyms for each of the following words: Bad Sad Happy Hurt Small Fun Big