6th Grade English

350 core topics + 159 prerequisite topics taught as needed · approximately 161 hours of instruction including spaced review

How the course runs

An adaptive diagnostic (up to 40 questions) places the student on the course's knowledge graph - topics already known are credited, and instruction begins exactly at the learning frontier. Every topic is taught with a worked-example lesson and auto-graded practice; a topic is mastered at 75%+ and then maintained through spaced reviews on an expanding schedule. Mixed checks follow every 6 lessons; each unit ends with a 12-item quiz, and course-wide assessments appear at 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% mastery. Prerequisite gaps below the course are detected and taught rather than skipped, so completion certifies the whole tower, not just the top.

Core curriculum

Greek & Latin Roots · 8 topics

What a Root Is [M]	Find the root inside a long word and tell it from a base word.
What the Common Roots Mean [M]	Know what the roots that build academic English actually mean.
Words That Share a Root [H]	Sort words into families by the root they are built on.
Words Built from Two Roots [H]	Read a word built out of two roots by putting both part meanings together, in order.
One Root, Many Prefixes [H]	Use the prefix to tell apart words built on the same root.
Reading a Word You Have Never Met [H]	Work out an unfamiliar word from its root and the sentence together.
When the Letters Lie [H]	Test a root by meaning, not by letters, and catch the look-alikes.
Greek Spelling Clues [H]	Spell the Greek words in science and math, and know why they look odd.

Context Clues & Word Nuance (Grades 4-6) · 8 topics

When the Clue Is Somewhere Else [H]	Find the meaning of a word when the clue sits in a different sentence.
Shades of Meaning [H]	Choose the word whose size matches what actually happened.
Words That Carry a Feeling [H]	Hear the approval or disapproval hidden inside a word choice.
Reporting or Arguing? [H]	Tell a sentence that reports from one that argues, and name the word doing it.
Word Parts Plus Context [H]	Take an unfamiliar word apart and check the pieces against the sentence.
Everyday Words With a School Meaning [H]	Catch a familiar word being used in its science, math, or history sense.
The Words the Directions Use [H]	Know the words that every subject and every test direction line uses.
Can You Swap That Word? [H]	Test a replacement word against meaning, size, and feeling all at once.

Figurative Language & Idioms · 9 topics

Noticing When Words Are Not Literal [M]	Tell when a sentence is not meant exactly as written.
Working Out What It Really Means [M]	Say in plain words what a figure of speech is telling you.
Similes [M]	Read a comparison made with like or as.
Metaphors [M]	Read a comparison that says one thing IS another.
Simile or Metaphor? [M]	Tell the two kinds of comparison apart.
Personification [M]	Spot something not human doing something only people do.
Hyperbole [M]	Read an exaggeration that nobody is meant to believe.
Idioms [H]	Learn set phrases whose meaning the words do not give you.
Naming the Device [H]	Say which kind of figurative language a sentence uses.

Academic Vocabulary · 8 topics

Three Kinds of School Word [M]	Sort a word into everyday, used in every subject, or belonging to one subject.
The Words Every Subject Uses [H]	Give the exact meaning of the words that show up in every subject.
The Everyday Word and the School Word [H]	Match a school word to the everyday wording that means the same thing.
One Word, Many Forms [H]	Choose the right form of an academic word for the slot it has to fill.
The Same Word in a Different Class [H]	Work out which meaning a familiar word carries in a school subject.
Command Words: What the Task Asks For [H]	Name what a direction word is telling you to do before you start writing.
Reading the Question Before You Answer It [H]	Say what a test question requires before looking at the choices.
How Sure Does the Writer Sound? [H]	Tell what a writer is claiming from the verb that carries the claim.

Theme, Lesson & Central Message · 8 topics

Topic or Theme? [M]	Tell the subject of a story apart from what the story says about it.
What a Character Learns [M]	Find the theme by watching what a character understands at the end that they did not understand at the start.
The Moral a Story States [H]	Read a stated moral or saying and check what the story actually backs up.
Saying a Theme in One Sentence [H]	Word a theme so it is neither about one character nor true of every story.
The Evidence for a Theme [M]	Point to the detail that actually supports a theme, not just a true detail.
Themes Nobody Writes Down [H]	Work out a theme from an ending, a silence, or a word the writer chose.
Objects That Carry the Message [H]	Read the object or image a story keeps returning to.
What a Story Does Not Say [H]	Refuse a lesson the text will not support, including the tidy one.

Point of View, Narrator & Perspective · 8 topics

Who Is Telling This [M]	Find the teller of a text before deciding what the text means.
How Much the Teller Knows [H]	Work out how far a teller can see, and what is therefore missing.
What the Teller Cannot See [H]	Assemble what a text shows but its teller has not noticed.
What a Person Makes of It [H]	Separate what happened from what a person in the text made of it.
Words That Give a View Away [H]	Notice the single words that carry a teller's attitude.
One Event, Two Views [H]	Explain why two honest accounts of one event can disagree.
Telling It From Somewhere Else [H]	Predict what changes when the same events get a different teller.
Why the Author Chose This Teller [H]	Explain what a writer gains and loses by choosing a particular teller.

Poetry & Drama · 9 topics

Lines, Stanzas and Where a Poem Breaks [M]	Read a poem's shape on the page as part of what it means.
Rhyme, Rhyme Scheme and Poems Without Either [M]	Hear rhyme, name the pattern it makes, and read a poem that has none.
Repetition, Alliteration and the Sound of a Line [M]	Notice what a poem's sounds are doing besides rhyming.
The Picture a Poem Puts in Your Head [M]	Read the sensory pictures a poem or a stage sets, and say what they do.
Figures of Speech Inside a Poem [H]	Read similes, metaphors and personification where poems pack them tightest.
Who Is Talking in a Poem [M]	Identify the voice speaking a poem, and what that voice reveals.
What the Poem or the Scene Is Saying [H]	State what a poem or a scene is finally about, in a sentence.
How a Play Is Written Down [M]	Read a script: cast list, scene heading, dialogue and stage directions.
Reading What a Scene Is Really Doing [H]	Work out what characters want, what blocks them, and what they will not say.

Comparing & Contrasting Texts · 8 topics

Comparing on the Same Point [H]	Name one point that both texts speak to before you say anything about either of them.
Two Characters, Side by Side [H]	Compare two characters by what each one decides, not by what each one is called.
What the Setting Changes [H]	Ask what a setting makes possible or impossible, not just what it looks like.
Patterns of Events Across Stories [H]	Recognize the shape two stories share, and find the exact place where they stop sharing it.
Same Idea, Different Story [H]	State what each text says about a shared subject, then compare the two statements.
Two Tellers of One Event [H]	Compare who is telling each text and what that teller was in a position to know.
The Same Story in Another Form [H]	Compare what a poem, a play, a story or an explanation can and cannot carry.
Making a Comparison That Says Something [H]	Write a comparison that names the shared point, the difference, and why the difference matters.

Author's Purpose & Point of View · 8 topics

Why the Author Wrote It [H]	Name what a text was built to do, not just what it is about.
The Evidence for a Purpose [H]	Point to the move in the text that proves what the writer wanted.
Why This Part Is Here [H]	Explain the job a single paragraph, sentence or phrase is doing.
Who It Was Written For [H]	Work out the reader a text was aimed at, and how you can tell.
The Author's Point of View [H]	Say what the writer thinks about the subject, even when no opinion is stated.
Words That Take a Side [H]	Notice how a writer's wording steers what a reader concludes.
Facts, Judgments, and Honest Uncertainty [H]	Sort what can be checked from what is argued, and spot a writer naming their own limits.
Two Writers, One Subject [H]	Compare two texts on one subject and find the exact point where they part.

Inference, Evidence & Summarizing · 8 topics

Stated or Implied? [H]	Tell what a text says outright from what it only lets you conclude.
What One Detail Tells You [H]	Draw the conclusion a single detail supports, and stop there.
The Line That Proves It [H]	Given a claim, find the sentence in the text that actually supports it.
Putting Two Details Together [H]	Reach a conclusion that no single sentence in the text states.
An Objective Summary [H]	Say what a text argued, in its own terms, without taking a side.
Deciding What to Leave Out [H]	Cut the details a summary can lose, and keep the ones it cannot.
Which Evidence Is Strongest [H]	Choose between two relevant details by asking which one settles it.
Inference or Guess? [H]	Spot the step that goes past what the text can carry.

Integrating Multiple Sources · 8 topics

What Your Sources Are Really About [H]	State the one question a set of sources is answering, precisely enough to compare them.
Where Sources Agree [H]	Find the ground two sources share before you look at where they split.
Where Sources Disagree [H]	Locate the exact sentence where two sources stop agreeing.
A Fact Fight or a Meaning Fight [H]	Tell whether two sources disagree about what happened or about what it means.
What Each Source Chose to Include [H]	Notice what one source puts first, and what another leaves out entirely.
Choosing the Source That Can Answer It [H]	Match a question to the source that is actually able to answer it.
Building One Answer from Several Sources [H]	Write one sentence that holds everything the sources support and nothing more.
What None of the Sources Tells You [H]	Name the question your sources leave open, and what would answer it.

Reading in Science: Life Science (Grades 5-6) · 8 topics

Technical Words: Parts and Context [M]	Work out a science word from its parts and from the sentence around it.
How a Science Text Is Built [M]	Name the shape a science passage is built in, and use it to find the point.
Reading the Numbers in a Science Text [M]	Read a figure in prose for its unit, its size and how sure it is.
Models and Where They Break [H]	Judge a scientific model by what it predicts and by what it leaves out.
Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning [H]	Separate what a science text asserts from what it shows, and the link between.
Reading an Investigation [H]	Read a described experiment for what it changed, held steady and can show.
Cause, Correlation, and Coincidence [H]	Tell a cause from two things that merely happen together.
What the Science Actually Says [H]	Use what a passage taught you to answer a real life-science question.

Reading in Science: Earth & Space (Grades 5-6) · 8 topics

Words Earth Science Redefines [M]	Read an earth science term for its exact meaning, not its everyday one.
Numbers Too Big to Picture [H]	Handle the huge distances, slow rates and long times an earth science text reports.
Diagrams That Cannot Be to Scale [H]	Judge an earth science model or diagram by what it is built to show.
Loops, Not Lines [H]	Follow a cause around a loop instead of straight down a list.
What Can and Cannot Be Predicted [H]	Tell a real prediction from a question no method can answer.
How We Know What Nobody Watched [H]	Name the measurement that supports a claim about something nobody saw happen.
What the Science Actually Says [H]	Use what a passage taught you to answer a real earth or space science question.
When Science Changes Its Mind [H]	Trace how new evidence overturned an idea scientists had accepted.

Reading in Science: Physical Science & Engineering · 8 topics

Physical Science Words, Defined in Place [M]	Work out a physical science term from the sentence that introduces it.
The Point of a Physical Science Text [M]	Find the mechanism a physical science passage is really explaining.
Running the Mechanism Forward [M]	Say why something physical happens, and follow the chain past one step.
Reading the Measurements [M]	Read numbers in a science passage for size, unit and what they compare.
Which Sentence Actually Proves It [H]	Point to the detail in a science text that settles a particular claim.
Reading a Fair Test [H]	Find what an investigation changed and what it deliberately held still.
What the Better Design Costs [H]	Name what an engineering choice gives up in exchange for what it gains.
Using the Physics on a New Case [H]	Apply a mechanism from the passage to a situation the passage never named.

Reading in Social Studies: American History (5-6) · 9 topics

Reading a Source Like a Historian [H]	Ask who made a source, when, and what they wanted it to do.
Claims and the Evidence Under Them [H]	Separate what a history text asserts from what it shows.
When Sources Disagree [H]	Compare accounts of the same event instead of trusting one.
What the Wording Gives Away [H]	Notice how a writer's word choices shape what you conclude.
Putting a Source Back in Its Moment [H]	Read a source against what its writer could and could not know.
Summarizing Without Losing the Argument [H]	Write a summary that keeps the point, not just the facts.
Chains of Cause in History [H]	Follow why one thing led to another, and where the chain stops.
Whose Account Is This [H]	Work out whose view a history text carries, and who is missing.
What the History Actually Says [H]	Answer questions about the events themselves, from the text.

Reading in Social Studies: Civics & Government · 7 topics

Civics Words With Exact Jobs [H]	Work out what a government word means from the sentence around it.
Who Holds Which Power [H]	Sort any government action by which job it is and at which level.
Steps, and Where They Stop [H]	Follow a civic process in order and find the points where it can end.
The Claim and the Support Under It [H]	Separate what a civics text asserts from what actually backs it up.
What a Rule Does After It Is Made [H]	Trace the effects a rule produces, including the ones nobody wrote down.
Who a Rule Lands On [H]	Ask whose interest a rule or an account serves, and who it leaves out.
What This Text Wants From You [H]	Identify what a civic text was written to make its reader do or think.

Reading in Social Studies: Economics & Culture · 8 topics

Economics Words in Context [H]	Pin down an economics term from the sentences around it.
The Cost of What You Did Not Choose [H]	Name what was given up when somebody in the text made a choice.
Why a Price Moved [H]	Explain a change in price by what happened to supply or to demand.
Reading the Numbers in the Text [H]	Work out what a figure in a social studies text does and does not measure.
Claims About Money, and What Backs Them [H]	Separate what an economics text asserts from what it actually shows.
Who Gains and Who Loses [H]	Trace a decision to the people it helped and the people it cost.
How Culture Moves and Changes [H]	Follow a practice as it travels between peoples and is changed by them.
What the Social Studies Actually Says [H]	Answer questions about the economics and the cultures themselves.

Verb Tenses & Subject-Verb Agreement · 8 topics

Past, Present, or Future? [M]	Tell from the verb whether a sentence is about the past, the present, or the future.
Building the Past Tense with -ed [H]	Add -ed to a verb and make the spelling changes the ending forces.
Verbs That Do Not Take -ed [H]	Use the past tense of the irregular verbs, and keep it apart from the participle.
Actions Caught in the Middle [H]	Use am, is, are, was, were and will be with an -ing verb to show an action in progress.
Have, Has and Had [H]	Use have, has and had with a past participle, and say what had adds.
Keeping the Tense Steady [H]	Notice a sentence that slips into a different tense and put it back.
Making the Verb Match Its Subject [H]	Match a present-tense verb, including am, is and are, to its subject.
Subjects That Trick You [H]	Find the real subject when a phrase, a group word or a There sentence hides it.

Conjunctions, Prepositions & Complex Sentences · 9 topics

Clause, or Just a Phrase? [H]	Tell an independent clause, a dependent clause, and a phrase apart.
Prepositions and the Phrases They Start [H]	Find a prepositional phrase and say where it starts and stops.
The Subject Is Never Inside the Phrase [H]	Ignore the prepositional phrase and match the verb to the real subject.
All Seven Coordinating Conjunctions [H]	Choose among the seven - and, but, or, so, for, nor, and yet - by what each one claims.
The Comma Before a Joining Word [H]	When a joining word holds two halves together, the comma goes in only if a whole sentence follows it.
Subordinating Conjunctions [H]	Use because, although, unless, until, and their kin to say how two ideas relate.
Where the Comma Goes in a Complex Sentence [H]	Comma after a leading dependent clause, none after a trailing one.
Conjunctions That Come in Pairs [H]	Use both...and, either...or, neither...nor, and not only...but also, with matching halves.
Simple, Compound, Complex [H]	Name the structure of any sentence by counting its clauses.

Paragraphs & Topic Sentences · 7 topics

The Sentence the Others Are About [H]	Find or choose the sentence a paragraph is built on.
The Sentence That Does Not Belong [H]	Spot a sentence that wanders off the paragraph's point.
Naming Why It Does Not Fit [H]	Say what is wrong with an off-point sentence, not just which it is.
Details That Actually Support [H]	Choose detail that backs the claim you made.
Ending Without Adding [H]	Close a paragraph by landing the point, not opening a new one.
Linking Words Between Sentences [H]	Use a transition that states the real relationship.
Where One Paragraph Ends [H]	Find the point where a new idea starts and split there.

Opinion & Argument Writing · 7 topics

A Claim or a Fact? [H]	Tell a position someone could argue with from a fact they could check.
The Reason Under a Claim [H]	Find the sentence that says why a position holds.
A Reason That Just Says It Again [H]	Spot a reason that goes in a circle instead of forward.
Evidence That Actually Proves It [H]	Tell measured evidence from a stronger way of repeating an opinion.
Claims You Cannot Defend [H]	Recognize a claim pushed past what any evidence could support.
Answering the Other Side [H]	Answer the strongest objection instead of talking past it.
The Shape of an Argument [H]	Name the job each sentence in an argument is doing.

Informative & Explanatory Writing · 8 topics

Explaining or Arguing? [H]	Tell a sentence that explains from one that argues, tells a story, or gives orders.
Saying What You Will Explain [H]	Open a report with a sentence that says what about the subject will be explained.
Putting Facts Where They Belong [H]	Group related facts under the heading that answers the same question.
Sentences That Add Something [H]	Develop a point with real information instead of repeating it louder.
Defining a Word for Your Reader [H]	Write a definition that names the kind of thing and what sets it apart.
The Exact Word [H]	Use the subject's own word instead of describing your way around it.
Sounding Like a Report [H]	Keep the writer, the reader, and casual talk out of an explanation.
Your Own Words, the Same Facts [H]	Restate a source's fact in your own wording without changing it.

Narrative Writing · 9 topics

Starting Where the Story Starts [M]	Begin a story inside the moment instead of outside it.
Telling It in an Order a Reader Can Follow [H]	Keep events in order and mark the jumps with real time signposts.
Showing a Feeling Instead of Naming It [H]	Replace a named feeling with something a reader can watch.
The Detail That Earns Its Place [H]	Choose details that do a job instead of filling space.
Dialogue That Does a Job [H]	Keep the lines that change something and cut the ones that do not.
Slowing Down the Part That Matters [H]	Spend sentences in proportion to what a moment is worth.
One Narrator, One Time [H]	Hold a story in the same tense and the same person all the way through.
An Ending That Lands [H]	End by showing what is different now.
The Shape of a Story [H]	Name the job each sentence in a story is doing.

Revising & Editing · 9 topics

Revising and Editing Are Different Jobs [M]	Tell a change that fixes what a piece says from one that fixes how it is written.
Cutting Words That Do No Work [H]	Cut the words that repeat something the sentence has already said.
Pronouns That Point at Nothing [H]	Find a pronoun a reader cannot trace back and rewrite it so they can.
The Sentence in the Wrong Place [H]	Find the sentence a reader meets before they can understand it.
Where the Describing Words Landed [H]	Put a describing phrase next to the thing it is supposed to describe.
Lists That Match [H]	Build every item in a list out of the same kind of phrase.
Tense That Slips [H]	Keep a whole piece in one tense, and put a slipped sentence back.
What a Spellchecker Cannot Catch [H]	Catch a correctly spelled word that is the wrong word.
Finding the Error and Naming It [H]	Find the one error in a sentence, name what kind it is, and fix just that.

Research & Reference Skills · 9 topics

A Question Worth Researching [M]	Turn a subject into a question that sources can actually settle.
The Words Worth Searching [H]	Pull the searchable words out of a research question.
Choosing the Right Reference Work [H]	Match a research need to the reference work built to answer it.
Finding It Inside the Book [H]	Use contents, index, glossary and title page for what each is for.
Guide Words and Alphabetical Order [H]	Use guide words to decide whether a word is on a page.
Does This Source Answer My Question? [H]	Tell a source that answers your question from one that merely shares it.
Who Wrote It, and Why [H]	Weigh a source by its author, its date and its purpose.
Notes in Your Own Words [H]	Take a note that carries the idea without carrying the sentence.
Naming Where It Came From [H]	Record a source completely enough that a reader could find it.

Grade 6 Reading Workshop · 8 topics

The Idea the Whole Text Is Serving [H]	Name what a whole text is saying about its topic, and write a summary that keeps the point instead of the most memorable facts.
The Line That Settles It [H]	Choose the exact detail that settles a particular claim, rather than a detail that is merely true or merely nearby.
What the Text Made True Without Saying It [H]	Answer a question the text never answers outright, using a line on the page plus what you already know - and stop where the line stops.
What the Whole Thing Says About People [H]	State the theme or message of a text as a sentence about people, and check it against the ending the writer actually chose.
Why That Part Is in That Place [H]	Name how a text is put together, and explain what a particular paragraph or stanza is doing where the writer put it.
Whose Account Is This [H]	Work out whose account you are reading, what it lets them know, what it makes them want you to think, and whose view is missing.
A Word Inside Its Sentence [H]	Settle what a word or phrase means from the sentences around it, including figures of speech and ordinary words doing a special job.
Claim, Reason, and How Far the Evidence Reaches [H]	Trace a writer's claim to the reasons and evidence under it, and judge whether the evidence reaches as far as the claim does.

Word Study: Morphology & Multisyllabic Words · 9 topics

Peeling a Long Word Apart [H]	Take the prefix and the ending off a long word and find the root inside.
Endings You Read in One Piece [H]	Chop the last chunk off a long word and read it whole.
Chunking What Is Left [H]	Divide a long content-area word into chunks you can already read.
The Loud Chunk in a Long Word [H]	Find the syllable a long word is said loudest on.
Silent E Meets an Ending [H]	Decide whether a silent e survives when an ending is added.
Doubling in a Longer Word [H]	Decide whether the last consonant doubles when a base word is longer than one syllable.
When Y Becomes I [H]	Decide whether a final y changes to i when an ending is added.
Which Change Does This Word Need? [H]	Choose among the three spelling changes, including the case where none of them applies.
A Long Word in a Real Sentence [H]	Work out an unfamiliar long word from its parts and the sentence around it.

Fluency in Longer Text · 8 topics

Breaking a Long Sentence Where It Breaks [H]	Group a long sentence at its clause and phrase joints instead of wherever your breath runs out.
Reading Straight Past an Aside [H]	Find the words a writer fenced off, and keep hold of the sentence while you read them.
Semicolons, Colons and Dashes Out Loud [H]	Give a semicolon, a colon, a dash and a set of parentheses the four different things they ask your voice to do.
The Sentence You Have to Regroup [H]	Notice when a sentence has handed you the wrong grouping, and find the word that proves it.
Dialogue Without Stumbling [H]	Say only the quoted words in a character's voice, and track who is talking when nobody is named.
The Word the Paragraph Tells You to Lean On [H]	Use what a paragraph has already said to decide which word in the next sentence carries the stress.
Saying What the Page Abbreviates [H]	Read titles, units, symbols and number ranges aloud as the words they stand for.
Mapping a Whole Paragraph Before You Read It [H]	Decide, from the marks alone, where your voice rests in a paragraph and where it keeps moving.

Listening & a Speaker's Reasoning (Grades 6-8) · 8 topics

The Sentence That Carried the Claim [H]	Pick out the position a speaker was arguing for from everything else they said.
Support That Bears on the Claim [H]	Tell support that holds a position up from something true that was said beside it.
The Claim Nobody Backed Up [H]	Sort the claims a speaker backed up from the ones they only asserted.
The Answer That Missed the Point [H]	Say what a speaker's answer actually did with the point it was aimed at.
A Move Instead of a Reason [H]	Name what a speaker did in the place where a reason was supposed to go.
Where They Actually Disagree [H]	Find the one question two speakers answer differently.
How Far the Speaker Went [H]	Report a speaker's case exactly as far as it went and no further.
What You Would Still Need to Know [H]	Name the missing fact that would actually settle an argument you heard.

Punctuation, Mechanics & Sentence Errors (Grades 6-8) · 9 topics

The Fragment in Longer Writing [H]	Find a fragment in writing long enough that the missing half is not obvious, and say which half is missing.
Run-Ons That Do Not Look Like Run-Ons [H]	Find the seam where a second sentence begins, and tell a run-on from a long sentence that is doing nothing wrong.
The Comma Splice and Three Ways to Fix It [H]	Recognize a comma holding two complete sentences together, and choose among the repairs that fix it.
Commas in a Series, and the Comma That Does Not Belong [H]	Punctuate a list of three or more, and tell a compound sentence from a sentence that merely has two verbs.
Commas Around a Part You Could Lift Out [H]	Decide whether a description is extra or identifying, and fence it on both sides or neither.
The Apostrophe When More Than One Owns It [H]	Form a plural possessive, and leave a plain plural alone.
Quoting a Source, Not a Speaker [H]	Quote a source exactly, mark where the quoting starts and stops, and paraphrase without the marks.
Capitals in Titles and Words Made From Names [H]	Capitalize a title the way print does, and keep the capital on an adjective built from a name.
The Word Pairs That Slip Through [H]	Choose between look-alike words using the sentence around them rather than a memorized rhyme.

Character, Motive & Change (Grades 6-8) · 8 topics

What a Character Is After [H]	Work out what a character is after from what they do, not from what they say.
How You Know What They Want [H]	Point at the detail that makes a motive more than a guess.
Wanting Two Things at Once [H]	Name the two things a character wants at once, and see which one the choice puts on top.
What the Choice Costs [H]	Find what a choice costs a character, including the cost nobody in the story mentions.
Where the Change Shows [H]	Locate where a character changes when the text refuses to announce it.
What the Character Cannot See [H]	Read the gap between what a character believes and what the text shows.
Two People, One Event [H]	Use two reactions to one event to measure both people.
Would They Do That? [H]	Judge which actions fit a character's record and which would need a change the text never shows.

How a Story Is Built (Grades 6-8) · 8 topics

What a Scene Sets Up [H]	Name what a scene plants for later, and say what a later page would have to stop and explain if the plant were not there.
What the Opening Withholds [H]	Say what a first page or first paragraph keeps back, and what the story buys by keeping it back.
Why It Is Told Out of Order [H]	Tell story order apart from telling order, and say what moving an event out of its place buys the writer.
What the Backward Look Explains [H]	Name the exact thing a backward look explains, and say why it arrives where it does rather than anywhere else.
Where the Story Turns [H]	Find the moment a part of a story stops being able to go back, and defend the exact line you chose.
What Would Be Lost If This Were Cut [H]	Remove a scene, a sentence or a detail in your head, and name exactly what stops working in the pages around the hole.
Reading From Where the Excerpt Sits [H]	Use a note about where an excerpt falls in a longer work to decide what the page may assume and what its job is.
Where a Part Stops, and Why There [H]	Explain what the last line of a scene, chapter or story closes, and what it deliberately leaves open.

Symbol, Mood & Figurative Meaning (Grades 6-8) · 8 topics

What an Image Does to the Feeling [H]	Name the mood a passage builds and point at the nouns and verbs that build it, instead of naming a feeling the subject suggests.
Where the Feeling Turns [H]	Find the line where a passage's mood changes and name what changed it, rather than pointing at the biggest event.
What a Comparison Claims [H]	Say what a comparison asserts about the thing compared, and say what it deliberately does not assert.
How One Word Colors a Description [H]	Name what a chosen word adds that a plainer word would not - a person, a history, an audience, an attitude - not just whether it sounds good or bad.
Why the Same Thing Keeps Coming Back [H]	Track a detail that appears more than once and say what the later appearances gain from the earlier ones.
When a Thing Starts to Stand for Something [H]	Say what an object has come to stand for and point at the words in the text that paid for it.
What a Description Tells You That Nobody Says [H]	Read a description as evidence about the person doing the describing and the situation they are in, not only about the thing described.
How Far a Reading Goes [H]	Sort a proposed reading into supported, merely allowed, or ruled out, and name the words that decide it.

Argument: Claim, Reason & Evidence (Grades 6-8) · 8 topics

Which Sentence Is the Claim [H]	Find the one sentence a piece of argument is trying to get you to accept, and tell it apart from the facts and reasons that hold it up.
The Reasons Under a Claim [H]	Pick out the reasons a writer gives for a claim, and say what job each one is doing in the argument.
Reason or Evidence? [H]	Tell a reason apart from the evidence offered for it, and spot a sentence that looks like evidence but never measures anything.
What a Fact Is Doing There [H]	Follow a piece of evidence to the reason it was put there to support, and describe the chain that connects them.
The Reason Nobody Backed Up [H]	Find the reason a writer states and then never supports, and say what kind of evidence would be needed to fix it.
Evidence That Does Not Fit [H]	Judge whether a piece of evidence actually supports the reason it is attached to, even when the evidence itself is perfectly true.
What the Writer Expects You to Agree With [H]	Name the step an argument needs but never states - the thing the writer counts on the reader already believing.
What Would Change the Conclusion [H]	Say which new fact would do the most damage to an argument, and which missing evidence would settle it.

Text Structure & How Information Is Organized (Grades 6-8) · 8 topics

What a Paragraph Is Doing for the Whole [H]	Name the job one paragraph does for the article around it, not just what the paragraph says.
What a Transition Claims [H]	Say what relationship a connecting word claims between two parts - and read the relationship when there is no connecting word at all.
Where the Comparison Does the Explaining [H]	Find the comparison a nonfiction writer is using as a tool, and say exactly what it explains and what it does not claim.
What a Heading Promises [H]	Read a heading as a promise with two halves, then check whether the section under it pays.
Why This Shape and Not Another [H]	Say what a writer's choice of organization makes possible, and what a different order would have cost.
What a Swap Would Cost [H]	Test the order of an article by moving a paragraph in your head and naming exactly what breaks.
A Shape Inside a Shape [H]	Tell the structure of a whole text apart from the structure of one paragraph sitting inside it.
The Order Inside a Paragraph [H]	Explain why the sentences inside one paragraph sit in the order they do, and decide where a new sentence belongs.

Sources, Bias & What to Trust (Grades 6-8) · 8 topics

Who Made This, and Where It Turned Up [H]	Read the frame around a text - who wrote it, where it appeared, when - and say what that settles and what it leaves open.
Who Gains If You Believe It [H]	Name what a writer stands to gain from a reader's belief, and use that to decide where to look rather than what to conclude.
Saw It, or Was Told It [H]	Trace a claim back through everyone it passed through, and separate what a writer witnessed from what reached them secondhand.
Reported, or Concluded [H]	Separate what a writer observed or measured from what the writer worked out on top of it, and notice where the second step happened.
What You Are Not Being Told [H]	Find the number, comparison or group a text leaves out, and say why that absence changes what the text can support.
How Would You Check One Claim [H]	Choose the move that would actually settle a specific claim, using a record or a measurement outside the text that made it.
The Same Fact in Two Places [H]	Explain how one true fact can leave opposite impressions in two texts, without either text saying anything false.
What This Source Is Good Evidence For [H]	Decide what a source can actually support, instead of deciding whether the source is trustworthy.

Word Building: Roots, Prefixes & Suffixes (Grades 6-8) · 8 topics

Finding the Root Inside a Long Word [H]	Find the piece of a long word that carries its core meaning, and say what that piece means.
Building a Meaning Out of the Parts [H]	Build a working meaning for a word you have never met, and let the sentence decide whether you built the right one.
What the Prefix Is Doing [H]	Say what a prefix is doing to the root behind it, and tell it from the prefixes it looks like.
One Base, Four Prefixes [H]	Choose which prefixed form of a base word a sentence actually needs.
Two Endings, Two Different Words [H]	Choose between two endings on the same base that fill the same slot and make different claims.
The Same Root in Two Classes [H]	Recognize one root doing the same work in science, in social studies and in English.
When the Parts Do Not Add Up [H]	Catch the words whose parts predict one meaning while the word means another.
Endings That Tell You What Kind of Word It Is [H]	Read a technical word from any class by reading what its ending says the word names.

Connotation, Tone & Shades of Meaning (Grades 6-8) · 8 topics

Ladders of Strength [H]	Rank near-synonyms from the weakest to the strongest.
The Word the Facts Support [H]	Pick the word whose size matches the record, and reject the one that adds a fact.
The Word That Fits the Reader [H]	Choose the wording that fits a stated reader, and spot the one word that does not.
One Word Swapped [H]	Say what changed when a neutral word was traded for a loaded one - and what did not.
Praise Here, Complaint There [H]	Judge a word by the sentence it is in, not by a list of positive and negative words.
What It Says and How It Makes Them Look [H]	Separate what a sentence asserts from the impression its wording leaves.
Taking the Verdict Out [H]	Rewrite a loaded sentence so every fact survives and the judgment does not.
The Attitude the Words Add Up To [H]	Name a writer's tone precisely and find the line that is carrying it.

Words That Do a Job: Academic & Subject Vocabulary (Grades 6-8) · 8 topics

What the Task Verb Makes You Hand In [H]	Say what an assignment verb requires you to produce, and pick the answer that produces it.
The Word a Science Class Means Narrowly [H]	Use the narrow meaning a subject gives a familiar word, and decide cases with it.
Two Words a Subject Keeps Apart [H]	Sort a statement into the right one of two terms a subject refuses to let you blur.
The Slot a Word Has to Fit [H]	Choose the academic word that fits the frame a sentence has already set, not just the one that means the right thing.
A Definition That Actually Defines [H]	Write and recognize a definition that names the category and what sets the term apart from its neighbors.
The Words for What the Numbers Did [H]	Describe a set of numbers in the exact words a subject uses for rise, fall, steadiness and size of change.
Saying It the Way the Assignment Asked [H]	Rewrite a spoken sentence in report language without adding, dropping or inflating anything.
The Assignment That Asks for Two Things [H]	Find both products a two-part prompt requires, and say which half an answer is still missing.

Sentence Variety & Style (Grades 6-8) · 8 topics

Three Sentences Into One [H]	Fold short sentences into one without losing a fact or inventing one.
Which Fact the Sentence Is About [H]	Choose which fact becomes the sentence's own statement and which get folded in as description.
The Words a Sentence Ends On [H]	Move the when, the where and the who-said-so out of the last position and leave it for what happened.
What a Paragraph Drums On [H]	Hear when every sentence in a paragraph opens the same way, and say what the repeated opening is.
Starting the Sentence Somewhere Else [H]	Move a when, a where or a describing phrase to the front without changing what the sentence says.
The Short Sentence That Lands [H]	End a run of long sentences with a short one that says what they showed.
The Sentence That Says It Again [H]	Find the sentence that adds nothing an earlier sentence had not already said.
Naming What a Paragraph Needs [H]	Check a draft paragraph against the four faults this unit names and say which one it has.

Usage, Voice & Consistency (Grades 6-8) · 8 topics

Putting the Doer Back Into the Sentence [H]	Rewrite a sentence that hides who acted, using the doer the paragraph has already given you, and change nothing else.
When the Passive Is the Right Choice [H]	Say what the passive voice is doing in a sentence instead of treating it as a mistake.
The Verb Matches the Subject, Not the Nearest Noun [H]	Find the real subject across an interrupting phrase and give it the verb it needs.
Group Words, and the Number They Keep [H]	Keep a verb and a pronoun on the same number as the word they both point back to.
The Pronoun With Nothing to Point At [H]	Catch a pronoun that could mean either of two things, or nothing at all, and fix it without changing the sentence.
The Sentence That Slips Out of Tense [H]	Hold one tense across a paragraph, and tell a real slip from a shift the meaning requires.
Staying With the Same Person [H]	Notice writing that stops describing someone and starts addressing the reader, and put it back.
Forms Speech Allows and Writing Does Not [H]	Choose the edited form of the constructions that are ordinary in speech and get marked in school writing.

Writing an Argument: Counterclaims & Rebuttal (Grades 6-8) · 8 topics

Which Sentence Is the Counterclaim [H]	Tell a counterclaim from a reason, a fact both sides accept, and a complaint that is not aimed at the claim at all.
The Other Side at Its Strongest [H]	Pick the version of the objection that is worth answering instead of the version that is easiest to knock over.
Saying What They Actually Said [H]	Report an objection without a sneering verb, an invented motive, a shrunken count, or a smaller version of the claim.
Conceding Without Giving Up [H]	Grant the part of an objection that is true without granting the argument along with it.
The Sentence That Turns It Back [H]	Answer a counterclaim with a reason it does not settle the question, rather than with the claim again.
Arguing With Something Nobody Said [H]	Spot a rebuttal that answers a claim the other side never made, and name the claim it answered instead.
Where the Counterclaim Goes [H]	Place the counterclaim paragraph by asking whether the reader already holds the objection.
The Four Moves, and the One That Is Missing [H]	Check a counterclaim paragraph for all four moves, including the ones a draft only pretends to make.

Writing from Sources (Grades 6-8) · 8 topics

Summary or Paraphrase? [H]	Tell a summary of a whole passage from a paraphrase of one sentence, and know which one a writing job is asking for.
The Paraphrase That Is Too Close [H]	Spot the two ways a restatement is still the source's writing: the same shape with new words, or a new shape with the source's words inside it.
Building the Sentence Again [H]	Rebuild a source sentence so the writing is yours and the claim is still the source's.
When to Quote and When to Say It Yourself [H]	Decide whether a sentence needs the source's exact words or only the information in it.
Telling the Reader Who Is Speaking [H]	Introduce a quotation so the reader knows whose words they are - including when the source is quoting somebody else.
The Verb That Reports Honestly [H]	Choose a reporting verb that matches how certain the source was, which way the point cuts, and whether it looks forward or back.
Fitting a Quotation Into Your Own Sentence [H]	Build a sentence that has a slot for the quoted words, so the whole thing reads as one sentence.
Cutting a Quotation Without Changing It [H]	Use three dots and square brackets to shorten and adjust a quotation while the source's claim survives intact.

Prerequisite material - taught automatically when the diagnostic finds gaps

Phonological & Phonemic Awareness · 8 topics

Hearing Rhymes	Tell when two words end with the same sound.
Counting Syllables	Break a word into its beats.
Hearing the First Sound	Tell which sound a word starts with.
Hearing the Last Sound	Tell which sound a word ends with.
Hearing the Middle Vowel Sound	Find the vowel sound in the middle of a short word.
Blending Sounds into Words	Push separate sounds together to make a word.
Breaking Words into Sounds	Split a word into every separate sound.
Words That Begin Alike	Group words by their beginning sound.

Phonics: Letters, Sounds & Short Vowels · 6 topics

Capital and Lowercase Letters	Match every capital letter to its lowercase partner.
Letter Sounds	Say the sound each letter stands for.
Short Vowel Sounds	Hear and write the five short vowel sounds.
Reading Short Words	Sound out and read consonant-vowel-consonant words.
Spelling Short Words	Write the letter for each sound you hear.
Word Families	Read a whole set of words by learning one ending.

High-Frequency Words & Sight Vocabulary · 2 topics

Recognizing High-Frequency Words	Know the most common words on sight, instantly.
High-Frequency Words in Sentences	Use common words correctly inside a real sentence.

Print Concepts & Early Comprehension · 3 topics

How Books and Print Work	Know the parts of a book and which way print goes.
Listening Comprehension	Understand a story that is read out loud to you.
What Happened First, Next, Last	Put the events of a story in the order they happened.

Sentence & Capitalization Basics · 5 topics

What Makes a Sentence	Tell a complete sentence from a group of words.
Naming Part and Telling Part	Split a sentence into who it is about and what happens.
Capital Letters and End Marks	Start every sentence with a capital and end it with a mark.
Choosing the Right End Mark	Use a period, question mark, or exclamation point.
Capitalizing Names	Capitalize names, places, days, months, and the word I.

Phonics: Silent-e & Long Vowels · 6 topics

Long Vowel Sounds	Hear a vowel saying its own name.
One Letter Changes the Word	Add or remove a silent e and read the new word.
Short Vowel or Long Vowel?	Decide from the spelling whether a vowel is short or long.
Reading Silent-e Words	Read a silent-e word accurately, without dropping the e.
Spelling with Silent e	Decide whether a word needs a silent e at the end.
Open Syllables: go, he, my	Read a long vowel that got that way by ending the word.

Syllable Types & Syllable Division · 9 topics

Counting Syllables by Vowel Sounds	Count the syllables in a written word by counting its vowel sounds.
Closed Syllables: The Vowel Is Short	Recognize a syllable that ends in a consonant and know its vowel is short.
Open Syllables: The Vowel Is Long	Recognize a syllable that ends in a vowel and know that vowel is long.
Open or Closed? Deciding the Vowel Sound	Use the last letter of a syllable to predict whether its vowel is long or short.
The Six Kinds of Syllable	Name which of the six syllable types a chunk of a word is.
Two Consonants in the Middle	Divide a word between two middle consonants and read the closed first syllable.
One Consonant in the Middle: Try Long First	Divide a word with one middle consonant by trying the long vowel first, then flexing.
The -le Ending Takes One Consonant With It	Split off a consonant-le ending and use what is left to set the first vowel.
Reading a Long Word You Have Never Seen	Chunk an unfamiliar multisyllable word and read it one syllable at a time.

Endings, Plurals & Contractions · 3 topics

More Than One: Adding -s	Make a naming word mean more than one by adding -s.
Reading an -s at the End	Tell a plural -s on a naming word from a verb -s that marks one doer.
Adding -ed and -ing	Apply the doubling, drop-e and y-to-i rules when an ending goes on.

Prefixes & Suffixes · 10 topics

Finding the Base Word	Strip the extra parts off a word to find the word underneath.
What a Prefix Means	Know what the common prefixes do to a word.
Using a Prefix to Read a Word	Work out what a prefixed word means without being told.
What a Suffix Means	Know what the common suffixes add to a word.
Using a Suffix to Read a Word	Work out what a word with a suffix means.
Building Words from Parts	Put a prefix, base word, and suffix together into one word.
Reading a Word You Have Never Seen	Work out an unfamiliar word from its prefix, base, and suffix.
Spelling Changes When You Add an Ending	Apply the three rules for adding a suffix to a base word.
Endings Change a Word's Job	See how a suffix turns one kind of word into another.
Choosing the Right Form	Pick the form of a word that a sentence actually needs.

Homophones, Homographs & Word Traps · 3 topics

Words That Sound the Same	Recognize two words that share one sound and nothing else.
Choosing the Right Spelling	Use the meaning of a sentence to choose between two spellings.
its and it's, your and you're	Tell a contraction from a possessive using the long-form test.

Context Clues (Grades 2-3) · 8 topics

When the Sentence Just Tells You	Find a word's meaning written into the sentence itself.
A Nearby Word That Means the Same	Use a synonym elsewhere in the passage to unlock a word.
When a Contrast Points the Other Way	Use a contrast word to work out the opposite meaning.
Working Back From Examples	Use a list of examples to work out the category.
When There Is No Clue Word	Work out a meaning from the whole situation.
Naming the Clue	Say which kind of context clue a sentence is using.
Putting Your Guess Back In	Check a guessed meaning by reading the sentence again with it.
Words With More Than One Meaning	Choose the meaning a sentence needs, not the one you thought of first.

Story Basics: Character, Setting & Events · 3 topics

Who the Story Is About	Name the characters in a story and say what one of them is like.
How a Character Feels	Name a feeling a story shows through what a character does.
What a Character Wants	Say what a character is trying to get or trying to do.

Retelling, Sequence & Summary · 7 topics

Who the Story Is About	Name the character a story follows.
First, Next, and Last	Say what happened first, what came in between, and what came last.
Putting the Whole Story in Order	Arrange all the events of a story from beginning to end.
Finding the Problem	Name what goes wrong in a story.
Finding the Solution	Say how a story's problem gets resolved.
Summarizing a Story	Retell a story keeping only what matters.
Knowing What to Leave Out	Spot the detail a summary does not need.

Story Structure: Problem, Plot & Solution · 6 topics

Beginning, Middle, End	Say which part of a story an event belongs to, and what that part is for.
What a Character Wants, and What Is in the Way	Name both halves of a story problem: the want and the thing blocking it.
The Tries That Do Not Work	Follow the middle of a story as a run of attempts, and say why each fails.
The Moment It Turns	Find the one moment after which a story cannot go back.
How It Ends, and What Is Different	Say how a story settles - fixed, gone around, or accepted - and what changed.
Because of That, Not And Then	Follow a plot as a chain of causes instead of a list of events.

Main Idea & Supporting Details · 6 topics

Topic or Main Idea?	Tell what a text is about from what it says about it.
Finding the Main Idea	Say in one sentence what a whole text is telling you.
Main Ideas That Are Not Written Down	Work out the main idea when no sentence states it.
Details That Back It Up	Find the fact in a text that supports a particular idea.
Writing a Summary	Retell a text keeping only what matters.
Telling a Detail from the Main Idea	Spot the sentence that is only a detail.

Text Features & Graphics · 1 topics

What a Heading Promises

Use a title or a heading to say what a part of a page will be about.

Text Structure in Nonfiction · 8 topics

Words That Give the Shape Away	Spot the words and sentences that tell you how a nonfiction text is organized.
Description: Groups, Parts and Kinds	Recognize a text that describes one thing closely or sorts things into kinds.
Sequence: Time Order and Steps	Follow a text built on the order things happen or the order they are done.
Compare and Contrast	Read a text that sets two things side by side and says how they are alike and different.
Cause and Effect	Trace a text where each thing described makes the next thing happen.
Problem and Solution	Read a text that states a difficulty and then what was done about it.
Naming the Structure of a Whole Text	Decide which structure a whole passage is built on, and notice when it uses more than one.
Why the Writer Chose That Shape	Explain what a text's structure does for the reader, and what would be lost in another shape.

Reading in Science: Life Science (Grades 2-4) · 7 topics

The Main Idea of a Science Text	Find what a science passage is really explaining.
Science Words Defined in Place	Work out a technical word from the sentence that introduces it.
Following a Process in Order	Track the steps of a life cycle or a process.
Cause and Effect in Science	Say why something happens, using the text.
Comparing Two Living Things	Say how two organisms or processes differ, and why.
Finding the Evidence	Point to the sentence that proves a claim.
What the Science Actually Says	Use what the passage taught you to answer a real science question.

Reading in Social Studies: American History (2-4) · 7 topics

The Main Idea of a History Text	Find what a history passage is really about.
Putting Events in Time Order	Work out what happened first, and how much time passed.
History Words in Context	Work out what a historical term means from the text around it.
Causes and Consequences	Explain why something happened, and what it led to.
Evidence in a History Text	Point to the detail that actually proves a claim.
Whose Story Is Being Told	Notice whose point of view a history text takes, and who is missing.
What the History Actually Says	Use what the passage taught you to answer a real history question.

Nouns & Verbs · 6 topics

What a Noun Is	Name the words that stand for a person, place, or thing.
Common Nouns and Proper Nouns	Tell a general noun from the name of one particular thing.
What a Verb Is	Name the words that tell what someone does.
Finding the Verb in a Sentence	Pick out the verb inside a whole sentence.
Making the Verb Match	Choose a verb form that matches one thing or many things.
Finding Both Parts	Pick out the noun and the verb in the same sentence.

Adjectives, Adverbs & Pronouns · 4 topics

What an Adjective Is	Name the words that tell what a noun is like.
Which Noun the Adjective Describes	Match an adjective to the one noun it is telling you about.
What a Pronoun Is	Replace a noun with the pronoun that fits its job.
The Noun a Pronoun Stands For	Track a pronoun back to the noun it replaced.

Sentence Types, Fragments & Run-Ons · 5 topics

Spotting a Fragment	Tell when a group of words stops before it is a sentence.
Spotting a Run-On	Notice when two sentences have been jammed into one.
Three Ways to Fix a Run-On	Repair a run-on, and choose the repair that fits the meaning.
Joining Two Sentences	Combine short sentences with the joining word the meaning needs.
Sentence, Fragment, or Run-On?	Sort any group of words into complete, too short, or too long.

Commas, Quotation Marks & Apostrophes · 8 topics

Commas in a List	Separate three or more items in a sentence with commas.
The Comma After an Opener	Close off a word or phrase that comes before the main sentence.
The Comma Before and, but, or, so	Use a comma when a joining word connects two whole sentences.
Commas Around the Person You Are Talking To	Set off the name of the person being spoken to.
Quotation Marks Around What Someone Says	Punctuate a spoken line and the words that tell who said it.
Apostrophes in Contractions	Put the apostrophe exactly where the missing letters were.
Apostrophes That Show Ownership	Show who owns something with 's or s'.
its, it's, and the Plural That Needs No Apostrophe	Choose between look-alike words that an apostrophe tells apart.

Capitalization & Titles · 6 topics

Naming Words and Names	Tell a word that names one particular thing from a word that names a whole group.
Titles That Go With a Name	Capitalize a title or family word when it is part of somebody's name.
Place Names and Directions	Capitalize the name of a particular place, but not a kind of place or a direction.
Languages, Peoples, and School Subjects	Capitalize languages, countries, and the people from them, but not school subjects.
Capitals Inside Quotation Marks	Capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence, and know when the second half does not get one.
Which Words in a Title Get a Capital	Capitalize the first word, the last word, and every important word in a title.

Spelling Patterns & Rules · 2 topics

The /shun/ Ending: -tion, -sion or -cian	Choose between -tion, -sion, -ssion and -cian at the end of a word.
The Vowel You Cannot Hear	Find an unstressed vowel by saying a related word out loud.

Writing Strong Sentences · 7 topics

Knowing When You Have a Sentence	Tell a finished sentence from a piece of one.
Saying More Than the Bare Fact	Add detail that answers a question a reader would ask.
Verbs That Do the Work	Choose a verb precise enough to replace a description.
Naming the Thing Exactly	Replace a category word with the actual thing.
Joining Two Sentences	Put two related sentences together without making a run-on.
Choosing the Right Joining Word	Pick the joining word that states the real relationship.
Changing How a Sentence Starts	Notice a repeated opening and rewrite one to break it.

Reading Fluency & Prosody · 5 topics

What the End Mark Tells Your Voice	Read a line the way its end mark says to read it.
Reading in Groups, Not One Word at a Time	Group the words in a line the way they belong before you read it aloud.
Where the Marks Say Pause	Pause where a comma is and stop where an end mark is, and nowhere else.
The Word You Lean On	Choose which word to stress, and know what stressing it tells a listener.
Reading a Character's Voice	Say only the quoted words in the character's voice, the way the tag says.

Grade 7 Reading & Language · 1 topics

Word Choice, and What It Is Doing to You

Settle a word's meaning from the sentences around it, and name what a writer's particular choice of word is doing to the reader.

Argument: Claim, Evidence & Reasoning · 1 topics

Finding the Claim

Locate the exact proposition an argument is asking you to accept.

Grammar: Phrases, Clauses & Verbals · 6 topics

Which Groups of Words Can Stand Alone	Tell a phrase from a clause, and a clause that stands alone from one that cannot.
What a Phrase Is Doing in the Sentence	Say which word a prepositional phrase goes with and what it tells you about it.
The Words That Rename a Noun	Find the noun group that renames the noun beside it, and read what its commas mean.
An -ing Word Working as a Noun	Recognize an -ing word that is naming an activity rather than acting as the verb.
An -ing or -ed Word Working as an Adjective	Find the noun a participial phrase describes, including when the sentence attaches it to the wrong one.
Active, Passive, and the Missing Doer	Say who did the action in a sentence, and notice when the sentence never tells you.

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