MKAS Reading Comprehension & Vocabulary Strategies 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which question helps a reader identify the MAIN IDEA of a passage?
- What is the first word in the passage?
- What is this passage MOSTLY about? (Correct answer)
- How many sentences are in the passage?
- What is the longest word in the passage?
Correct answer: What is this passage MOSTLY about?
Asking 'What is this MOSTLY about?' helps a reader identify the central idea of a passage.
Question 2: A student reads a poem about autumn leaves. The poem says the leaves are 'dancing in the wind.' This is an example of:
- A fact about leaves
- Figurative language that gives the leaves a human action (Correct answer)
- A synonym for 'falling'
- A text feature
Correct answer: Figurative language that gives the leaves a human action
Saying leaves are 'dancing' gives them a human quality, which is an example of figurative language called personification.
Question 3: What is the BEST way to find the meaning of a new word in a book?
- Ignore it and move on
- Use context clues from surrounding sentences and check a glossary if available (Correct answer)
- Only look at the first letter of the word
- Ask someone to spell it
Correct answer: Use context clues from surrounding sentences and check a glossary if available
Using context clues and checking a glossary are both effective strategies for finding word meanings.
Question 4: In a nonfiction passage, a BOLD word usually means:
- The word is spelled incorrectly
- The word is important and may be defined in a glossary (Correct answer)
- The word should be skipped
- The word is someone's name
Correct answer: The word is important and may be defined in a glossary
Bold words in nonfiction text signal that the word is a key vocabulary term, often defined in a glossary.
Question 5: Which strategy helps a student understand a confusing part of a text?
- Skip to the end of the book
- Reread the confusing section carefully (Correct answer)
- Read faster to get past the hard part
- Close the book and stop reading
Correct answer: Reread the confusing section carefully
Rereading a confusing section is a key fix-up strategy that helps readers clarify their understanding.
Question 6: What is a DETAIL in a passage?
- The most important idea the whole passage is about
- A piece of information that supports or explains the main idea (Correct answer)
- The author's name and publication date
- The title of the passage
Correct answer: A piece of information that supports or explains the main idea
Details are specific pieces of information that support, explain, or give examples of the main idea.
Question 7: A student reads: 'Mia RELUCTANTLY ate her broccoli.' Using context clues, reluctantly most likely means:
- Eagerly and with excitement
- Quickly and without stopping
- Unwillingly and without wanting to (Correct answer)
- Carefully and very slowly
Correct answer: Unwillingly and without wanting to
Children often don't want to eat broccoli, so reluctantly means doing something unwillingly.
MKAS Reading Comprehension & Vocabulary Strategies 5
Which question helps a reader identify the MAIN IDEA of a passage?