Definitions for Language Arts 1:
(LA.01.01) Sentence fragments:
Definition: Sentence fragments are incomplete sentences. They do not express a complete thought.
Example: "Swimming in the pool" is a sentence fragment that is missing the subject. "Sally was swimming in the pool" is a complete sentence.
(LA.01.01) Declarative sentences in SVO pattern:
Definitions: A declarative sentence is a "telling" sentence, one that declares something. SVO pattern refers to a sentence that has the principle parts in this order: subject, verb, object. The subject is the part of the sentence about which something is said, that which "does" the verb. The verb is the part that expresses action or is a verb of being such as is, was, and were. The object is that which receives the action of the verb.
Example of a sentence in SVO pattern: Billy ate the cake.
(LA.01.01) Interrogative sentences in VSO pattern:
Definitions: An interrogative sentence is a sentence that asks a question. VSO pattern refers to a sentence that has the principle parts in this order: verb, subject, object.
Example of a sentence in VSO pattern: Did you eat the cake?
(LA.01.03) Capitalize proper nouns:
Nouns are classified as either common nouns or proper nouns. A noun that names a particular person, place, or thing (Maria, Anchorage, Ford) is proper and must be capitalized. A noun that does not name a specific person, place, or thing (girl, town, car) is a common noun and is not capitalized.
(LA.01.04) Salutation:
The salutation of a letter is its greeting, such as "Dear Mr. Green."
(LA.01.05) Personal Pronouns:
Definition: A pronoun is a word that take the place of a noun, or is used for a noun. ("Pro" means "for.") Personal pronouns refer to the person speaking, spoken to, or spoken about.
Examples: I, my, mine, me, you, your, he, his, him, she, her, hers, it, they, theirs, them.
(LA.01.07) Metaphor:
Definition: A metaphor is a figure of speech comparing two unalike things to suggest that they are similar. Metaphors are often used in writing, especially poetry. (If the comparison uses the words like or as, it is a simile instead of a metaphor: "He was as hungry as a horse!")
Examples: The lake was a mirror. The children came in from sledding with roses on their cheeks.
(LA.01.07) Idiom:
Definition: An idiom is a saying whose meaning cannot be understood from the ordinary meanings of the separate words in it but must be learned as a whole.
Examples: Oh, you are just pulling my leg! The king told the foreign army to give way. The sparkling ring caught her eye.
(LA.01.09) Character motivation:
Definition: Character motivation simply means what is driving the character. What makes them do what they are doing and make the choices they make?
Example: The motivation of the wolf in "Little Red Riding Hood" is to trick Little Red Riding Hood so that he can eat her!
(LA.01.10) Context clues:
Definition: Context clues refer to the words around the unknown word. When reaching an unknown word, can the child figure out the meaning from the rest of the words in the sentence?
Example: She looked through the trees and glimpsed a beautiful pond. "A swim would be so much fun!" she thought. The student should be able to determine that "glimpsed" means "saw," from understanding the meaning of the rest of the words in the sentence.
(LA.01.11) Literal meaning:
Definition: The literal meaning of a story is simply what the words are saying; the simplest or most obvious meaning of the words.
Example: When Goldilocks tried the first porridge, did she like it? (No, she said it was too hot.)
(LA.01.13) Digraph:
Definition: A digraph is a pair of letters representing a single speech sound. (Di is the Greek root for two, twice, or double and graph is the Greek root meaning to write or something written.)
Example: oa in boat, ea in eat, ph in phone
©2003 Galena City School District
