Reach Higher Quiz Lab

Unit 1: Choices

This unit is about choices: how people with disabilities make choices, and how people choose their interests and stand up for what they believe.

Use a Dictionary

Many words have more than one meaning. First use context clues (nearby words) to guess. Then check a dictionary and choose the meaning that makes sense. An entry shows the entry word, pronunciation, part of speech, and meanings.

Complete Sentences

A complete sentence expresses a complete thought. It has a subject (who or what the sentence is about) and a predicate (what the subject is, does, or has).

• A simple subject can have two nouns: Tom and Amy. A simple predicate can have a helping verb: is inspiring.
• A noun in a prepositional phrase is never the simple subject: The box of toys is heavy. → box
• No subject or no verb = a fragment: Running in the park. / The girl with the red bag.

Use a Thesaurus

A thesaurus lists synonyms (similar meanings, like intent and plan) and antonyms (opposite meanings, like conform and rebel). Use it to find the best word when you write.

• Related words are only close in meaning. To replace a word, choose a synonym.
• Frail usually describes a weak body. Vulnerable can describe feelings.

Subject-Verb Agreement

The subject and the verb must agree in number.

• Ignore phrases between the subject and the verb: The box of old newspapers sits in the garage.
• Each, everyone, everybody, and one of are singular: Each of the students has a pen.

Personal Narrative

A personal narrative is a true story about something that happened to you. You are the narrator, so you use I. Write about a time you had to make a choice.

1. Beginning: introduce the problem and how you felt.
2. Sequence: tell events in order with transitions: First, Next, Then, At last, Two weeks later.
3. Feelings: tell how you responded to each event.
4. Vivid language: strong adjectives and comparisons help readers picture it (sharp, jagged steps; arms like a bird).
5. Ending: tell whether the problem is solved and what you chose.

Unit 2: Survival

This unit is about survival: how plants and animals use adaptations such as camouflage, mimicry, and deception to stay alive, and how people survive in the wild by staying calm, being resourceful, and never giving up.

Part 1 · Adaptations

Part 1 reading summary: plants and animals have adaptations that help them survive. Some hide, some trick, some copy other creatures, and some live by feeding on others.

Camouflage vs. Mimicry

Venomous vs. Poisonous

• Venomous: it bites or stings you to put poison in. A coral snake is venomous.
• Poisonous: it harms you if you eat it or touch it. A poison dart frog is poisonous.
• Memory trick: venom comes to you; poison you take in.

Part 2 · Survival Stories

Part 2 reading summary: Hatchet tells how Brian Robeson survives alone after a plane crash; The Girl Who Fell from the Sky is the true story of Juliane Koepcke Diller, who survived in the Amazon rainforest.

Relate Words (Word Families)

When you read a new word, ask: Does it look like a word I already know? Words in the same word family look alike and have related meanings.

• Endings give clues: -tion, -ance, -ence, -ry often make nouns; -er, -ist name a person; -ing can describe.

Subject and Object Pronouns

A pronoun takes the place of a noun. Which pronoun you use depends on its job in the sentence. Writers use pronouns so they do not repeat the same nouns too many times.

• Two people? Cover the other name and test: (Sam and) I saw it. / The guide helped (Sam and) me.

Shades of Meaning

Good writers choose words that say exactly what they mean. Synonyms have similar meanings, but some are stronger than others. Put them on a synonym scale from weakest to strongest.

• Pick the word that matches how strong something really is. A storm that completely destroyed a shelter is best called powerful, not just strong.

Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns

Possessives show ownership. A possessive adjective comes before a noun. A possessive pronoun stands alone and replaces the noun.

• Possessives never take an apostrophe: its, hers, ours, theirs. It's means it is.
• Test: is a noun right after it? Yes → possessive adjective (my map). No → possessive pronoun (the map is mine).

Write to Inform: Expository Report

An expository report reveals information about a topic. The model report, Survival in the Dark, shows how:

1. Hook: the first sentence introduces the topic in an interesting way, for example with a rhetorical question.
2. Main idea: the most important idea about the topic.
3. Body paragraphs: each one has details and examples that support the main idea (bats use echolocation; fireflies use bioluminescence).
4. Domain-specific vocabulary: subject words like echolocation and bioluminescence help explain the topic.
5. Conclusion: repeats the main idea of the report.