Grade by Grade
A. Literacy Connections and Applications / C. Comprehension: Understanding and Responding to Texts · Understanding and Responding to Texts

Understanding and Responding to Texts: Unit Review

A1.1 A1.2 A2.1 A2.2 A2.3 A2.4 A2.5 A2.6 A2.7 A3.1 A3.2 A3.3 C1.1 C1.2 C1.3 C1.4 C1.5 C1.6 C1.7 C2.1 C2.2 C2.3 C2.4 C2.5 C2.6 C2.7 C3.1 C3.2 C3.3 C3.4 C3.5 C3.6 C3.7 C3.8About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can show what I learned about understanding and responding to texts in Grade 5.

Words to know

evidence
Words, facts or events from a text that prove an idea.

Let's review!

In this unit you became a sharper reader, listener and viewer. You explored new genres and cultural text forms, cause and effect in persuasive texts, prefaces and glossaries, infographics and digital media, prior knowledge and predictions, fix-up strategies, connections and inclusion, summaries and well-supported conclusions, multiple plots, inferences, style and connotation, imagery and humour, point of view and bias, cultural elements, texts by and about First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, and smart, safe research.

This review has a few questions from every lesson. Try each one, then press Show answer to check. If a part feels tricky, go back to that lesson.

Before readingset your purposechoose a textuse prior knowledgepredictpreview featuresDuring readingmonitor (traffic light)fix-up strategiesinfervisualizetrack plots and causesAfter readingsummarizeconclude with evidencemake connectionscheck for biasfind missing voices
The strategies from this unit, sorted by when you use them: before, during and after reading.
any text,ad or videoWho made it?Who is it for?Why was it made?What techniquesare used on me?Whose voiceis missing?Is it currentand credible?
Six critical-reading questions from this unit. They work on a book, a website, an ad, a thumbnail or a speech.

Text Forms, Genres and Choosing Texts for a Purpose

1

When I was seven, my family moved from Manila to Winnipeg. I remember my first snowfall. What genre is this? Give two characteristics.

2

What makes a legend different from a myth?

3

How many lines does a tanka have, and where does it come from?

4

Your purpose: understand how a newcomer feels at a new school. Which text would help most: a memoir by a newcomer, or a myth about the moon?

Text Patterns and Features: Cause and Effect, Prefaces and Glossaries

1

Because the snowplow didn't come, the road stayed blocked, so the bus couldn't get through. What pattern is this?

2

Where would you find the meaning of a key word in a nonfiction book?

3

What does a preface usually tell you?

4

Why is a cause-and-effect chain persuasive?

Images, Graphics and Design in Digital and Media Texts

1

What is clickbait? Give an example.

2

What does Sponsored on a post tell you?

3

Why might an infographic draw one box much bigger than another?

4

Name one way to hide information on a web page.

Before and During Reading: Prior Knowledge and Predictions

1

Name two sources of prior knowledge.

2

What should you do when the text shows your prediction was wrong?

3

Why do monarch butterflies take several generations to return to Canada?

Checking My Understanding: Fix-Up Strategies and Word Clues

1

Name three fix-up strategies.

2

Canadarm2 is 17 metres long. It can move end over end. What does It refer to?

3

Find the main clause: Although the rink was crowded, we skated near the boards because the middle was slushy.

Making Connections: Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility in Texts

1

What is accessibility?

2

Make a strong text-to-world connection to Running Together.

3

What insight do Running Together and A Man in Motion share?

Summarizing and Drawing Well-Supported Conclusions

1

What makes a conclusion well-supported?

2

Should a summary include your opinion?

3

Summarize in one sentence: Beavers build dams. The dams make ponds. The ponds become wetlands where many animals live.

Analyzing Texts: Main Ideas, Multiple Plots, Notes and Cause and Effect

1

What word often signals a switch to another plot?

2

In The Ice Storm, freezing rain had two effects. Name them.

3

What does relevant information mean?

Making Inferences: Reading Between the Lines

1

Mei laced her skates slowly, pulling each lace tight, then loosening it. Make a local inference.

2

Give a theme (global inference) for The Last Skate.

3

What is the difference between explicit and implicit evidence?

Elements of Style: Voice, Word Choice, Word Patterns and Sentences

1

Order from positive to negative: bossy, confident, sure.

2

Why do suspense stories often use short sentences?

3

Write a sentence using the rule of three.

Literary Devices: Imagery and Humour

1

Is The pond was a mirror a simile or a metaphor?

2

What kind of humour is My little brother eats a hundred pancakes every morning?

3

Why would imagery suit a travel ad?

Point of View, Perspectives and Bias

1

Ella hoped it would snow. Meanwhile, her teacher secretly hoped it wouldn't. What point of view?

2

Name two kinds of evidence of bias.

3

How could a biased flyer influence its audience?

4

Name one critical thinking skill you used in this unit.

Cultural Elements in Texts: Norms, Values, Artifacts, Sports and Music

1

Name a norm, a value and an artifact from Lights for Diwali.

2

What does the steelpan mean to Marcus's uncle?

3

Why should you say many families instead of all families?

Learning from First Nations, Métis and Inuit Texts: Past and Present

1

What does reciprocity mean in Indigenous Storywork?

2

How did history shape Speaking Michif?

3

What happened on April 1, 1999?

4

Name one real book by an Indigenous creator from this lesson, with its creator.

Smart Research and Digital Citizenship

1

What is lateral reading?

2

Why isn't a video with millions of views automatically true?

3

Name two kinds of personal data you should keep private.

4

Before posting a photo of your friend, what must you do?

Just for fun

In this unit you read about the moon, monarchs, beavers, an ice storm and a robotic arm. If they formed a relay team, the beaver would build the track, the monarchs would fly the baton to Mexico, and the moon would only show up for part of the race.

How to use this review

Do one or two sections at a time. Say your answer out loud or write it before you press Show answer. For explain-questions, check that you gave evidence and a reason. Mark any question you missed, and revisit that lesson's examples and practice. Then take the quiz below.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

A true story told by the writer about their own life is a...

2.

Which feature lists word meanings at the back of a book?

3.

A thumbnail with a shocked face and YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS!!! is most likely...

4.

Changing your thinking when the text shows new evidence is called...

5.

Which is a well-supported conclusion?

6.

Mist rose like steam from a cup of tea is...

7.

A narrator who shares the thoughts of many characters is...

8.

A flyer from a company that sells turf calls grass MUDDY and BORING and leaves out costs. This shows...

9.

What does Nunavut mean in Inuktitut?

10.

How thick does the Canadian Red Cross say ice should be for skating alone?

For parents and teachers

Use this review to find what to practise:

  • Mixed up genres (myth/legend, memoir/biography) or couldn't choose a text for a purpose → revisit Text Forms, Genres and Choosing Texts for a Purpose.
  • Unsure about cause-and-effect chains, prefaces, glossaries or indexes → revisit Text Patterns and Features: Cause and Effect, Prefaces and Glossaries.
  • Couldn't explain infographics, clickbait, sponsored content or audience → revisit Images, Graphics and Design in Digital and Media Texts.
  • Predictions without evidence, or never revised → revisit Before and During Reading: Prior Knowledge and Predictions.
  • Didn't notice confusion, mixed up pronouns, or got lost in long sentences → revisit Checking My Understanding: Fix-Up Strategies and Word Clues.
  • Weak connections, or unsure about accessibility and inclusion → revisit Making Connections: Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility in Texts.
  • Summaries too long or with opinions; conclusions without evidence → revisit Summarizing and Drawing Well-Supported Conclusions.
  • Lost track of two plots or mixed up causes and effects → revisit Analyzing Texts: Main Ideas, Multiple Plots, Notes and Cause and Effect.
  • Inferences without clues, or local vs. global confusion → revisit Making Inferences: Reading Between the Lines.
  • Couldn't explain connotation or why a style fits a form → revisit Elements of Style: Voice, Word Choice, Word Patterns and Sentences.
  • Mixed up simile and metaphor, or couldn't name kinds of humour → revisit Literary Devices: Imagery and Humour.
  • Limited vs. omniscient confusion, or missed bias → revisit Point of View, Perspectives and Bias.
  • Couldn't name norms, values or artifacts, or overgeneralized about a culture → revisit Cultural Elements in Texts: Norms, Values, Artifacts, Sports and Music.
  • Unsure how history shapes First Nations, Métis and Inuit texts → revisit Learning from First Nations, Métis and Inuit Texts: Past and Present, and read one of the recommended books together.
  • Trusted popular or outdated sources, or unsure about privacy and permission → revisit Smart Research and Digital Citizenship.

Keep reading together every day. Asking "How do you know? What's your evidence? Whose voice is missing?" is the best comprehension practice there is.