6th Grade Language Arts Final Exam – Q4 – Study Guide

Mrs. Lopez

The 2012 Language Arts final exam will consist of the following:

A 70 question multiple choice exam, to be taken in class during final’s week, consisting of questions about the following subject matter:

o Headings and Graphicso Root Words and Affixeso Adjectives and Adverbso Context Clueso Compare and Contrasto The novel “If I Should Die Before I Wake”

A written essay in response to a question about the novel “If I Should Die Before I Wake”, to be written in class the day of the final exam.

The outline below is to serve as a study guide for students to orient themselves by when preparing for the final exam. All of the materials listed below, have been covered in class, and will be reviewed with the students before the finals begin. If there are any questions, please contact Mrs. Lopez immediately. Best of Luck to all my students!

Headings and Graphics and Maps

Maps and Graphs

Graphics are figures that give information through pictures and shapes. Learn about different types of graphics below.

MAPS

Physical Maps

Physical maps show the Earth's landforms and bodies of water. The maps use lines, shading, tints, spot elevations, and different colors to show elevation. This helps show the difference between mountains and lowlands.

Political Maps

Political maps show boundaries that divide cities, states, and countries. Some maps show the boundaries by printing the areas in different colors. For example, continent maps usually show each country in different color.

Topographic Maps

Topographic maps use lines to show the shape and elevation of the land.

Road Maps

Road maps help travelers go from one place to another. Some road maps show only interstate highways, while others show roads, streets, and important places.

GRAPHS

Bar Graphs

Bar graphs use bars to show information. The bars can reach from left to right or from bottom to top. The heights or lengths of the bars show an amount or number of something. See example below.

Line Graphs

Line graphs use lines to show what happens over a certain length of time (e.g., growth of a plant).

Pie Charts

Pie charts show how the sizes of the parts compare to each other and to the whole.

Roots Words and Affixes

When you are trying to figure out the meaning of an unfamiliar word, it helps to try to break down the word into smaller parts. These parts are called affixes and root words. Affixes include two different types of word parts: prefixes and suffixes. Prefixes and suffixes often provide valuable clues as to the meaning of words.

Root Word

A root word is the base word which prefixes and suffixes are attached to.

Root Word Example

approve disapprove (not approve)

create creator (one who creates)

Root Word Example

dict predict (to speak of the future)

port portable (able to carry)

Prefix

A prefix is a part of a word that is placed at the beginning of a word to change its meaning.

Prefix Meaning Example

ab– away from; not absent (not present)

ambi– both ambiguous (having two or more meanings)

anti– against antiseptic (free of germs)

bene– goodness benediction (to speak well of)

bio– life; living biology (the study of life)

de–from; down;

awayderange (to make insane, away from sanity)

dis– not disobey (not honest), disappear (not appear)

ex– former ex-minister (former minister)

extra– beyond extraordinary (beyond ordinary)

fore– before forerunner (a person or thing that comes before another)

hyper– over, above hyperactive (overly active)

inter– between interstate (between states)

mis– wrongly misplace (place wrongly)

Prefix Meaning Example

mono– one monarch (one ruler)

non– not, no nonsense (no sense)

post– after postwar (after the war)

pre– before preheat (heat before)

sub– under, below subzero (below zero)

super– above supersonic (above the speed of sound)

ultra– beyond ultrastellar (beyond the stars)

un– not unharmed (not harmed)

Suffix

A suffix is a part of a word that is placed at the end of a word to change its meaning.

Suffix Meaning Example

–able, –

iblecapable of fixable (capable of being fixed)

–en make, past participle tighten (make tight), eaten (past participle of eat)

–er more bigger (more big), brighter (more bright)

–ful full of playful (full of play or fun)

–less without careless (without hope), helpless (without help)

–lyin a way, in a manner

(adverb)

happily (in a happy manner), slowly (in a slow

manner)

–ment condition, result fulfillment (the result of being fulfilled)

Suffix Meaning Example

–ness state, condition, quality kindness (the quality of being kind)

–or one who inspector (one who inspects)

–ship condition, status, ability of relationship (the condition of being related to)

–tion action, resulting state satisfaction (the state of being satisfied)

Adjectives and Adverbs

To show differences, we use comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs.

Comparatives

The comparative form compares two things.

Most adjectives with one syllable use –er endings to form the comparative. Double the final consonant if it follows a vowel.

Fast becomes faster.

The superhero is faster than a speeding car.

Most adjectives with two or more syllables use more placed before the adjective to form the comparative.

Determined becomes more determined.

Brody was more determined to win the game than Jermone.

For most adjectives with two syllables ending in –y, drop the –y from the ending and add –ier to form the comparative.

Lucky becomes luckier.

A clover is luckier than a rabbit's foot:

Superlatives

The superlative form compares three or more things.

Adjectives with one syllable use –est endings to form the superlative. Double the final consonant if it follows a vowel.

Thin becomes thinnest:

Moe's has the thinnest pizza crust in town.

Adjectives with two or more syllables use most before the adjective to form the superlative.

Skilled becomes most skilled:

Carla was the most skilled player on the team.

For adjectives with two syllables ending in –y, drop the –y from the ending and add –iest to form the superlative.

Hairy becomes hairiest:

My dad is the hairiest man in the family.

Exceptions

There are many adjectives that do not follow the rules above. Here are a few:

Adjective

fun

stupid

yellow

Comparative

more fun

stupider

yellower

Superlative

most fun

stupidest

yellowest

Two of the most important exceptions are good and bad.

Adjective

good

bad

Comparative

better

worse

Superlative

best

worst

Mom's meat loaf tastes good.

Her lasagna is even better.

Grilled chicken is her best dish.

The scrape on my arm looks bad.

The scrape on my head looks worse.

The scrape on my knee is the worst.

Negatives

To create negatives, use less before the adjective to form the comparative and least placed before the adjective to form the superlative.

Adjective

fortunate

familiar

Comparative

less fortunate

less familiar

Superlative

least fortunate

least familiar

Context Clues

Learning words can be hard. If you're not sure what a word means, it helps if you can at least know the information around the word. There are ways of figuring out what a new or unusual word means. One way is to use context clues.

Using context clues means using the information around the word you don't know. These words help you find what it means. You can also use the information in the rest of the paragraph to help you figure out what the word means. There are a few things to watch for when looking for context clues:

A punctuation mark, such as a comma (,) or dash (—), may help you understand how the

word is being used.

example:

During the song's crescendo, the part where the music gets louder, the trumpets can

be heard over the singer's voice.

Crescendo is a big word! If you don't know what it means, look at the hint after the comma.

The hint is "the part where the music gets louder." This shows that crescendo must mean

the same thing as "the part where the music gets louder."

Key words, such as "or", and "that is" may also give you a hint that a definition is nearby.

example:

Blake studied every facet of the statue, and every part of it impressed him.

This sentence shows that facet means "part."

Also, make sure to read the entire paragraph! Sometimes a word's definition may become

clearer by reading the entire paragraph where it appears.

Compare and Contrast

When we are presented with two passages, they may be similar or different. It is important to recognize these similarities and differences.

Comparing Information

When we compare two types of information, we are looking for similarities between them. In other words, we want to see how the two are alike.

For example, Batman and Spider-Man are similar in the respect that they are comic book superheroes.

Contrasting Information

When we contrast two types of information, we are looking for differences between them. Contrasting means showing how two things are different.

For example, Batman wears a bat costume, drives the Batmobile, and has an arch-nemesis named The Joker. Spider-Man wears a spider costume, swings from buildings with spider webbing, and has an arch-nemesis named The Green Goblin

Novel “If I Should Die Before I Wake”

Students will need to know the following details from the novel “If I Should Die before I Wake”

Why is Hilary so angry with her mom? Know who Mosze is, and what he dies fighting over. Know who Nadzia was, and what she looked like. Know who was present for tata’s shiva. Know who Jacub is. Know the name of the concentration camp that Channa and her family were sent to. Understand who Zayde and Bubbe were. Know the name of the gang that Hilary belonged to. Know what type of accident Hilary had. Understand the details surrounding Bubbe’s gift. Know what anti-Semitism means. Know what country the Nazi’s primarily originated from. Know what country Nadzia was being sent to live in. Understand what role the violin plays in Channa’s life. Know what a guillotine is.