The STAAR Tier 3 Vocabulary Field Guide serves as a comprehensive vocabulary and study guide tailored for the STAAR reading tests across grades 3 through 8. It categorizes specialized literary and rhetorical terms into nine distinct domains, ranging from genres and story elements to poetry, drama, and word study. To ensure mastery, the guide incorporates practical study methods like index card drills, family games, and weekly teacher frameworks. Furthermore, it analyzes released test patterns and includes diagnostic self-check quizzes to help students successfully decode test questions.
STAAR Vocabulary Field Guide PRESENTATION SLIDES
Every reading-test term for grades 3–8, with study plans
for parents, teachers, and students, plus examples your kids will repeat at
dinner. (Sorry in advance.)
Reading Sage · Sean Taylor, M.Ed. · November 2026
1. Start here
A student can understand a passage perfectly and still miss
the question, because the question is written in a dialect: most likely
reason the author includes… counterargument… third-person limited… stage
directions. That dialect is Tier 3 vocabulary: low-frequency,
domain-specific words that belong to reading, literature, rhetoric, and
writing. Nobody says “juxtaposition” at the grocery store, which is exactly why
it has to be taught on purpose.
Tier 2 vs. Tier 3, in one breath. Tier 2 words are
general academic words that travel across subjects (reluctant, dubious,
solemn). Tier 3 words are the specialist vocabulary of one field (stanza,
flashback, thesis). This guide covers the Tier 3 layer, the language of
reading. Tier 2 gets its own guide in this series.
How to use it
•
Students: One domain a day. Say the silly
sentence out loud, then invent a worse one. Worse is better. Gross is
memorable, and memorable sticks.
•
Parents: Ten minutes at dinner. Pick three
terms, everyone makes up a sentence, and the groan-meter picks the winner.
•
Teachers: Every term carries the grade where
TEA’s assessed curriculum first names it, so you can build a vertical word wall
and know where to spiral back.
Legend
•
★ = the term or its exact concept was tested, or
appeared in a question stem or answer choice, on a May 2022 released form I
read in full (Grades 3, 5, 7, 8).
•
◇ = eligible per TEA’s assessed-curriculum list, but I
did not see it on the forms I read.
•
(3) = first named in Grade 3’s assessed
curriculum. (5–8) = named across that span.
2. What I analyzed, and what I couldn’t
•
Released tests. TEA now publishes released tests
online only; PDFs exist for 2022 and earlier. I read the May 2022 Grade 3,
5, 7, and 8 Reading forms cover to cover: passages, stems, and answer
choices.
•
Grades 4 and 6. I worked from TEA’s
assessed-curriculum documents plus redesigned sample materials and answer keys,
not a full released form. Treat the ★ marks for those two grades as lower
confidence.
•
Assessed curriculum, Grades 3–8. These documents
list the TEKS eligible on the redesigned test. They are the best official map
of what can be asked, and every grade tag in this guide comes from them.
•
Not analyzed. Item text from the online
2023–2026 forms. Where I mark ◇, the term is fair game but unconfirmed on a
form.
•
Redesign note. The 2022 reading forms I read had
no Revising and Editing items. The redesigned RLA does, and it includes short
and extended constructed responses in every grade (short responses are capped
at 475 characters, per TEA’s FAQ). Students must use these terms in
writing, not just recognize them.
•
Looking ahead. Spring 2027 is the last STAAR
administration for grades 3–8. The Student Success Tool (beginning-, middle-,
and end-of-year tests) replaces it in 2027–28 under House Bill 8. The draft SST
assessed-curriculum documents I opened (Grades 4 and 6, August 2026) list the
same reading skills, with some readiness and supporting labels adjusted. Drafts
can change, so confirm on TEA’s site. The vocabulary below is TEKS vocabulary,
and it travels.
3. The big finding: where Tier 3 hides
Across the four forms, Tier 3 words show up in four places.
1.
Question stems. The stem is vocabulary:
“Look at this cartoon…”, “…uses direct address…”, “How does the playwright
develop…”.
2.
Answer choices. Wrong answers are often right
vocabulary, wrong text. A student who can’t separate flashback from
foreshadowing is guessing.
3.
Word-study items. Dictionary entries with
numbered definitions (Grades 5 and 8), prefix and suffix items (Grades 3 and
5), and context-clue items (Grade 7).
4.
Writing. Constructed responses and editing items
reward precise terms.
The forms also test plenty of Tier 2 words (attentive,
solemn, reminisce, dubious, repose, waned, overwhelmed, snatched, sly).
Those belong in the Tier 2 guide. Here we focus on the language of the test
itself.
4. The MECE map: nine domains, zero overlap
Rule: each term lives in exactly one domain, and
cross-references point to its home. Together the nine domains cover everything
a student must name, spot, or explain on the test.
1.
Genres and text types: what kind of text is
this?
2.
Story elements: the parts of a narrative.
3.
Poetry: the parts of a poem, including sound
devices.
4.
Drama: the parts of a play.
5.
Informational and argument structure: how
nonfiction is built.
6.
Author’s craft: figurative language, point of
view, mood and tone, rhetoric, fallacies.
7.
Thinking and response moves: what the reader does
(infer, summarize, compare).
8.
Word study: affixes, roots, dictionary skills,
context.
9.
Revising and editing: the sentence-level
toolkit.
5. Domain 1: Genres and text types
Passage families
•
Fiction ◇ (3–8): A made-up story. If the
narrator is a sandwich with feelings, it’s fiction. Sorry.
•
Informational text ◇ (3–8): Facts that explain a
topic. “Why Your Feet Smell: An Investigation.” Facts, no talking
sandwiches.
•
Literary nonfiction ◇ (3–8): A true story told
with story tools (characters, setting, plot). Imagine a true story about an
astronaut whose burrito floated away, told like a thriller.
•
Argumentative text ◇ (3–8): States a claim and
backs it with reasons and evidence. “Pizza should count as a vegetable,
because tomato sauce.” That’s a claim. Now go find evidence.
•
Persuasive text ◇ (3–8): Tries to convince,
often leaning on emotion. Teaching shortcut (mine, not TEA’s): argumentative
= lawyer with receipts; persuasive = commercial with puppy-dog eyes.
•
Correspondence ◇ (3–8, editing): Letters and
emails. “Dear Principal: Please ban Brussels sprouts. Sincerely, A Victim.”
Literary genres (fiction subtypes)
•
Folktale ◇ (3–5): An old story passed down by
mouth, carrying a culture’s wisdom. Grandma’s story about the clever rabbit
who tricks the coyote. (Grade 3’s 2022 form had exactly that kind of tale.
Grandma was right.)
•
Fable ◇ (3–5): A short story with animal
characters and a moral. Moral of the hare story: don’t nap mid-race unless
you enjoy losing to a turtle.
•
Fairy tale ◇ (3): Magic, royalty, “once upon a
time.” A stepmother, a pumpkin, and one lost shoe? Call it.
•
Legend ◇ (3–5): A hero story that began with a
real person and got stretched by retelling. The real guy sneezed once. The
legend says he blew down a barn.
•
Myth ◇ (3–6): An ancient story that explains
nature or gods. Why thunder? Zeus had a very large burrito.
•
Tall tale ◇ (4–5): A wildly exaggerated hero
story. Pecos Bill lassoed a tornado, rode it, and then made it take a bath.
(The Grade 4 redesigned practice test includes a tall tale, so the genre is
live.)
•
Realistic fiction ★ (6–8): Made up, but it could
happen: real-world settings, everyday problems. No dragons. Just a kid, a
locker, and a smell. (Grade 8’s 2022 form asked which sentence shows a
characteristic of realistic fiction.)
•
Adventure ◇ (6–8): Danger plus a journey. Maps,
mountains, mild panic.
•
Historical fiction ◇ (6–8): Invented characters
in a real time period. A made-up soldier at Valley Forge, complaining about
cold toes.
•
Mystery ◇ (6–8): A puzzle with clues. Who ate
the last donut? The suspect has frosting on his chin.
•
Humor ◇ (6–8): Written to make you laugh. You’re
reading it right now.
•
Fantasy ◇ (7–8): Magic or impossible things. Dragons
who file taxes.
•
Science fiction ◇ (7–8): Made-up science or
technology, often in the future. An alien trying to understand Earth
toilets.
•
Short story ◇ (8): Brief fiction, few
characters, one main conflict.
6. Domain 2: Story elements
Characters
•
Major and minor characters ◇ (3): Major
characters carry the story; minor characters support. Major: the kid with
the pet frog. Minor: the lunch lady who sees everything.
•
Character relationships ★ (3–5): How characters
feel and act toward each other. Frenemies sharing a bunk bed and a feud
about stinky socks.
•
Character change ◇ (4): How a character is
different at the end. Starts as a bully, ends up sharing his pudding.
•
Internal and external responses ◇ (6): What a
character feels or thinks inside versus what shows on the outside. Inside:
panic. Outside: a calm “Hello” while sweating like a ham sandwich in July.
•
Character qualities (traits) ◇ (7): Lasting
personality features. Brave, bossy, always chewing gum.
•
Character motivation ★ (8): Why a
character acts. Motive for the cookie crime: hunger. Not a crime of passion.
A crime of snack.
Conflict, setting, plot
•
Conflict ★ (3–8): The problem the characters
face. Common teaching labels: person vs. person, vs. self, vs. nature, vs.
society. (Labels are classroom convention; TEA just says conflict.)
•
Setting ★ (3–8): Where and when. Historical
and cultural setting ★ (4–6): the time period and way of life. A haunted
porta-potty changes the plot more than a sunny meadow does. (Grade 7’s 2022
form asked how the historical time period affects the plot.)
•
Plot ★ (3–8) and sequence of events ◇
(3): What happens, in order.
•
Rising action ◇ (4–6), climax ★ (4–6), falling
action ★ (4–6), resolution ★ (3–6). Plot mountain: you hike up
the Rising Action (smelly), reach the Climax (view of the Burrito of Doom),
slide down the Falling Action, and the Resolution is the hot shower.
•
Flashback ★ (6–8): A scene from the past
inserted into the present. Wavy screen. “Back in my day…” Dad’s story is the
wavy screen.
•
Foreshadowing ◇ (7–8): A hint about what’s
coming. A character says, “What could possibly go wrong at the tuna ice
cream stand?” Everything. Everything could go wrong. (Grade 8’s 2022 form
asked which sentence hints a game will end badly, which is this concept.)
•
Suspense ◇ (7): Nervous waiting. The door
creaks. Is it a pizza guy… or IS it?
•
Subplot ◇ (8): A smaller side story. Parallel
plots ◇ (8): two stories running at once. Subplot = side dish. Parallel
plots = two TV channels on a split screen.
•
Linear vs. non-linear plot ◇ (8): Linear goes in
order; non-linear jumps around (flashbacks and more).
Meaning
•
Theme ★ (3–8) vs. topic ◇ (3): The topic
is one or two words (“friendship”). The theme is the lesson, written as
a sentence (“Real friends accept your weird”). Topic is a noun. Theme is a
sentence you could stitch on a pillow. The Grade 7 form phrased it as a central
message ★. Grades 5–7 add multiple themes ◇ across a text or between
paired texts.
•
Narrator ★ (3–8): The voice telling the story
(see point of view, Domain 6).
7. Domain 3: Poetry
•
Poem, poet, speaker ★ (5): The poet is
the real person who wrote it. The speaker is the voice inside the poem. The
poet is the puppeteer. The speaker is the sock puppet, who may be a squirrel
with feelings. (Grades 3, 5, and 7 all asked about “the poet” or “the
speaker.”)
•
Line ★ and stanza ★ (3–5): A line is one
row of the poem; a stanza is a group of lines. “Stanza” is Italian for
“room.” A stanza is a room in the poem’s house, and the blank line is the wall.
Remember: poems and plays use line numbers; prose uses paragraph
numbers. Counting the wrong thing costs points.
•
Rhyme and rhyme scheme ◇ (3–7): The pattern of
ending sounds, labeled with letters. cat (A), dog (B), hat (A), frog (B) =
ABAB.
•
Meter ◇ (6–7): The beat pattern. da-DUM
da-DUM, the heartbeat of a dad dancing at a wedding.
•
Line break ◇ (6): Where a line ends, often for
emphasis. Where the poem takes a breath. Or a bathroom break.
•
Graphical elements ◇ (7–8): Punctuation,
capitalization, and line length used on purpose. An ALL-CAPS line is the
poem YELLING. A short line. Stops. Dead.
•
Sound devices ◇ (3–5): Language that plays with
sound.
o
Alliteration (4): repeated starting consonant
sounds. Burping Brad blew big blue bubbles.
o
Assonance (4): repeated vowel sounds inside
words. The sleepy beetle eats green beans.
o
Onomatopoeia (3): the word sounds like the
noise. SPLAT. BURP. KABLOOEY. Squelch.
•
Poetic forms ◇ (8): Epic (a long hero
adventure), lyric (a speaker’s feelings, song-like), humorous
(written to get a giggle, ideally during silent reading).
•
Cross-reference: imagery, simile, metaphor, and
personification live in Domain 6, but poetry questions use them constantly.
8. Domain 4: Drama
•
Drama, play, script ★ (3–8): A story written to
be performed.
•
Playwright ★ (6–8 for craft): The person who
writes the play. A shipwright builds ships; a playwright builds plays,
hopefully with fewer leaks.
•
Cast of characters ◇ (3): The list of roles at
the top. The lineup for the burping contest.
•
Character tags ◇ (4–5): The NAME: before each
spoken line. PRINCIPAL: I smell something.
•
Dialogue ★ (3–8): What the characters say to
each other. Dia-LOG: it logs the conversation.
•
Stage directions ★ (4–5): Bracketed or italic
instructions about movement, tone, and setting. [Burps loudly, then bows.]
(Grade 5’s 2022 form asked what the reader learns from stage directions in a
scene.)
•
Staging ◇ (6–7): How the scene is arranged:
props, movement, lighting. Where actors stand and what is on the floor. A
banana peel, obviously.
•
Act ◇ (3–5) and scene ★ (4–5): An act is
a big section; a scene is a smaller chunk in one time and place. Acts are
courses. Scenes are bites.
•
Dramatic action ◇ (8): The events that move the
play forward, built through acts and scenes.
•
Developing character through dialogue and staging
★ (6–7): Ask, “What does this line or action reveal about the person?” (Grade
7’s 2022 form did exactly this with a general and his wife.)
9. Domain 5: Informational and argument structure
The main-idea ladder
•
Key idea ★ (3–8): What one group of details adds
up to (a paragraph or section). One slice of the pizza.
•
Central idea ★ (3–5): The point of the whole
selection, in one sentence. The whole pizza.
•
Controlling idea / thesis ★ (6–8): The main
point that controls every paragraph, usually stated in the introduction
or conclusion. The boss of the essay. A paragraph that doesn’t answer to the
boss gets fired.
•
Supporting details / evidence ★ (3–8): Facts,
examples, quotations, data. The receipts.
•
Summary ★ (3–8): Short, in order, key ideas
only, no opinions. The highlight reel, not the whole game. Wrong
summaries usually include one tiny detail as if it were the point, or leave out
the ending.
Text features and what they’re for
•
Title, heading, subheading, section ★ (3–8):
Signposts. Headings are road signs. Skip them and you drive into a swamp.
•
Illustration, photograph, cartoon ★ (3–8):
Visuals the author chooses on purpose. Stems ask, “most likely reason the
author includes this…” and the answer is almost never “to make it pretty.” It
is the idea the visual supports. A cartoon uses humor to make a
point.
•
Caption ◇: Words that explain a visual. The
photo’s name tag.
•
Map ★, diagram ◇ (4), timeline ◇
(3, 5), table and graph ◇ (3): Information in picture or grid form.
•
Sidebar, inset ◇ (5): A box of extra information
beside the main text. Sidebar = side dish.
•
Bullets, numbers, bold, italics ◇ (3): Bold
is the text raising its hand. Italics is the text leaning in to whisper.
Bullets are tiny “pay attention” dots.
•
Pronunciation guide ◇ (4): Respelling in
parentheses, like (al-jee) for a hard word.
•
Introduction, foreword, preface ◇ (6):
Front-of-book background. Foreword = the words that come before.
•
References, acknowledgements ◇ (6–7): Sources
and thank-yous.
•
Footnotes, endnotes, citations ◇ (8): Footnote
= tiny note at the foot of the page. Endnote = at the end. Citation = giving
credit. Caught copying? Cite it.
Organizational patterns (text structure)
•
Text structure ★ (3–8): The umbrella term. Stems
ask, “How does the author organize…?”
•
Chronological order / sequence ★: Time order. First
I ate the burrito. Then I regretted it.
•
Cause and effect ★ (3, 7): One thing leads to
another. Cause: burrito. Effect: bathroom.
•
Problem and solution ★ (3): Problem: gym bag
smells like a swamp. Solution: wash it. Or burn it.
•
Compare and contrast ◇ (4): Alike and different.
Dogs vs. cats: both can destroy a couch.
•
Logical order / order of importance ◇ (5): Ideas
arranged by sense or by rank. Rank the dangers: touching a stove, then
touching a cactus, then touching your sister’s diary.
•
Definition / classification ★ (6): Say what a
thing is; sort things into groups. Classification = sorting the sock drawer:
smells fine, smells weird, radioactive. (Grade 8’s form used
“classification” in an answer choice.)
•
Advantage and disadvantage ◇ (6): Pros and cons.
Eating the last donut: delicious, but your brother will find out.
•
Categories and subcategories ◇ (7):
Outline-style structure. Animals → mammals → burping mammals (cows).
•
Multiple organizational patterns ★ (8):
Different structures combined to build the thesis.
Argument
•
Claim ★ (3–8): The position the author argues. The
flag the author plants in the ground.
•
Evidence ◇ (3–8): Facts, statistics, expert
quotations, research studies. Grades 6–8 ask about the types of evidence
and, in Grade 7, whether the author considers alternatives ◇.
•
Fact vs. opinion ★ (3): Facts can be proven;
opinions can’t. Fact: skunks spray. Opinion: skunks smell wonderful. (Wrong,
but it’s an opinion.) (Grade 3’s 2022 form asked students to find an
opinion.)
•
Counterargument ★ (8): The other side, followed
by the author’s answer. “But pizza makes you smell like pepperoni!” “Yes.
And?”
•
Audience / intended audience ★ (3–8): Who the
author is writing to. Don’t write “Dear Kindergartners, here are the tax
rules.”
•
Author’s purpose ★ (3–8): Why the author wrote
it. P.I.E.: Persuade, Inform, Entertain, then eat actual pie. Stems also
use “explain” and “show.”
•
Quotation / expert ★ (7): Quoting someone builds
credibility. “As Dr. Burp says…” Dr. Burp has a PhD in Burping.
10. Domain 6: Author’s craft
Point of view
•
Point of view ★ (3–8): Who tells the story and
how much they know.
•
First person ★ (3–8): The narrator is a
character who says I, me, my. “I ate the last taco and I regret
nothing.” (Grade 8’s 2022 form asked what first-person point of view helps
the reader understand.)
•
Third person ◇ (3–8): An outside narrator who
says he, she, they.
•
Third-person limited ★ (6–8): An outside
narrator who stays inside one character’s head. A camera glued to one kid’s
forehead. You hear his thoughts, never the dog’s.
•
Omniscient ◇ (6): An all-knowing narrator. Like
Mom hearing a naughty word whispered in the next county.
•
Subjective vs. objective ◇ (7): Feelings and
opinions vs. just the facts. Subjective: “This soup is disgusting.”
Objective: “The soup is green and contains a sock.”
•
Multiple points of view ◇ (8): The same events
through different eyes. The burrito incident, as told by the burrito.
Figurative language (not meant literally; idioms,
adages, and puns live in Domain 8)
•
Literal vs. figurative ★ (3–8): Literal means
exactly what it says; figurative means something else. “He’s all ears.”
Literal: gross. Figurative: he’s listening.
•
Imagery ★ (3–5): Words that paint a sensory
picture. “The locker smelled like a swamp wearing wet socks.” (Grade 3’s
poem asked why the poet includes imagery.)
•
Simile ★ (3–8): Compares using like or as.
“His snore sounded like a chainsaw chewing marbles.”
•
Metaphor ★ (4–8): Says one thing is
another. “My little sister is a tornado in a tutu.” The Grade 5 and 7
forms often just say “the comparison.” Grade 5’s poem called noisy kids hyenas,
which is a metaphor.
•
Personification ★ (4–8): Gives human actions to
non-human things. “The burrito stared at me, silently judging my life
choices.”
•
Extended metaphor ◇ (8): A metaphor that runs
through a whole passage. Life is a school cafeteria: you get a tray, stand
in line, and meet the mystery meat. For pages.
•
Hyperbole ◇ (3–5): Obvious exaggeration. “I’ve
told you a MILLION billion times to flush!”
•
Irony ★ (8): The gap between what you expect and
what happens. A fire station burns down. A dentist has rotten teeth.
(Grade 8’s 2022 form asked students to explain irony in a sports scene.)
•
Anecdote ◇ (4–5): A short personal story used to
make a point. “My uncle sneezed so hard his toupee landed in the soup.
That’s why I wear a hat.”
•
Stereotyping ◇ (5): Assuming everyone in a group
is the same. It’s unfair and lazy. “All dogs love fetch.” Tell that to a
Chihuahua taking a nap.
Voice, mood, and tone
•
Voice ◇ (3–6): The author’s personality on the
page. If every sentence ends in “dude,” you know whose voice it is.
•
Mood ★ (6–8): The feeling the reader
gets. Mood = the stink in the room: what you feel when you walk in.
•
Tone ★ (7–8): The author’s attitude
toward the subject. Tone = tone of voice. “Greeeeat job” with an eye roll is
sarcastic. Grade 8’s form offered tones like sentimental, sarcastic,
confident, and disrespectful. Quick rule: mood is what I feel; tone is what
the author feels.
Rhetoric and logical fallacies (Grades 6–8 ask
students to tell devices from fallacies. Devices are good tools. Fallacies
are broken tools.)
•
Direct address ★ (7): The author talks straight
to “you.” “YOU! Yes, YOU! Put down the pickle.” (Grade 7 asked why the
author uses it. Answer family: to urge the reader to act.)
•
Rhetorical question ◇ (7): A question asked for
effect, not for an answer. “Do you want to smell like a gym sock forever?”
•
Leading question ★ (8): An opening question that
pulls the reader into the topic. “Ever eaten something so gross you gagged?
Great. Let’s talk broccoli.”
•
Analogy ◇ (8): Comparing two things to explain
one. A brain is to a body what a principal is to a school: the one yelling
“Walk, don’t run!”
•
Juxtaposition ◇ (8): Placing opposites side by
side to sharpen the contrast. A glittery unicorn parked beside a dumpster
fire. Now the unicorn looks extra sparkly.
•
Loaded language ★ (7–8): Words chosen to stir
strong emotion. “Our glorious, heroic nachos vs. their slimy, disgusting
tacos.” (Both Grade 7’s TEKS and Grade 8’s 2022 form include it.)
•
Sweeping generalization ◇ (7): A huge claim from
too little proof. Watch for all, every, never, always. “All boys
smell. Every one. Forever.”
•
Bandwagon ◇ (8): “Everyone’s doing it.” “Everyone
is wearing underpants on their heads, so you should too!”
•
Circular reasoning ◇ (8): The “proof” just
repeats the claim. “This burrito is the best because it’s the tastiest, and
it’s the tastiest because it’s the best.” The argument chases its own tail.
11. Domain 7: Thinking and response moves
•
Infer / inference ★ (3–8): Text evidence plus
your brain. Chocolate on his face plus an empty cookie jar equals guilty.
•
Conclude / conclusion ★ (3–8): A stronger
inference supported by the whole selection. Detectives conclude. Lottery
players guess.
•
Predict / prediction ★ (3–8): What will probably
happen next, based on clues. You can’t “predict” the past. Time machines are
not on the test.
•
Text evidence / support ★ (3–8): The sentence or
detail that proves an answer. No receipt, no refund. Two-part items
often ask for the answer and then the evidence.
•
Evaluate details / determine key ideas ★ (3–8):
Decide which details matter and which are trivia. The plot: important. The
color of his sock: trivia, unless the sock is evidence.
•
Synthesize ◇ (3–8): Combine information from
different places into a new understanding. A smoothie: banana + spinach + a
secret = a flavor neither had alone.
•
Make connections ◇ (3–8): Link the text to your
life, other texts, or the world. “This is like when my dog ate my homework.”
•
Retell, paraphrase, summarize ★ (3–8): Retell =
every beat. Paraphrase = same meaning, your words. Summarize = the main points,
shortest. TEKS: Grade 3 retell and paraphrase; Grades 4–5 add summarize; Grades
6–8 paraphrase and summarize.
•
Compare and contrast across texts ★ (paired
passages): The stem SHOUTS in capitals: BOTH, SIMILAR, DIFFER. When the test
yells BOTH, find the overlap. When it yells DIFFER, find the gap.
•
Locators: selection, excerpt, paragraph, line,
stanza, section ★: Where to look. “The selection” is the passage. “The
excerpt” is a chunk of a longer book.
•
Constructed response ◇ (3–8): A written answer,
short or extended. Answer the question, give text evidence, and use the
right term.
12. Domain 8: Word study
•
Prefix ★ (3–5): Added to the front. un- =
not: an unflushed toilet is not flushed. Named prefixes: im-, non-, dis-,
in-, pre- (3); mis-, sub- (4); trans-, super- (5). Grade 3’s 2022 form tested
un-.
•
Suffix ★ (3–5): Added to the end. -less =
without: sockless, brainless. -ful = full of: a snotful tissue. Named
suffixes: -ness, -y, -ful (3); -ment, -ity/-ty (4); -ive, -logy (5). Grade 3
tested -less; Grade 5 tested the suffixes in judgmental.
•
Affix and base word: Affix is the umbrella for
prefixes and suffixes. The base word is what remains when you peel them off.
•
Roots ◇: TEKS name specific Greek and Latin
roots by grade. For deeper work, see the roots-and-affixes guide in this
series.
o
Grade 4: auto (self): autobiography =
your life story, by you. graph (write): autograph = self-writing.
meter (measure): an odometer measures how far Dad drives you crazy.
o
Grade 5: geo (earth): geography =
writing about the Earth. photo (light): photograph = light
writing; photosynthesis = a plant’s light snack.
o
Grade 6: mis/mit (send): submit,
transmit; send the pizza. bene (good): benefit. man
(hand): manual, manicure. vac (empty): vacant, vacuum; a
vacation empties your schedule. scrib/script (write): describe,
script. jur/jus (law): jury, justice.
o
Grade 7: omni (all): an omnivore eats
ALL the nachos. log/logue (word, speech, study): monologue = one
person talking and talking, like Uncle Rick at Thanksgiving. gen
(birth, kind): generate, genre. vid/vis (see): video, vision.
phil (love): bibliophile loves books; Philadelphia, the city of
brotherly love. luc (light): lucid, translucent. sens/sent
(feel): sensitive, resent.
o
Grade 8: ast (star): astronaut = star
sailor; disaster = bad star. qui (quiet, rest): quiet, tranquil.
path (feeling, suffering): sympathy, apathy. mand/mend
(order, entrust): command, recommend. duc (lead): produce,
educate.
•
Synonym and antonym ◇ (3): Same meaning and
opposite meaning. Synonyms: stinky, smelly, ripe. Antonym of stinky: fresh.
•
Homophone ◇ (3–4): Sounds the same, spelled
differently (TEKS example: reign/rain). The king’s reign brought rain.
•
Homograph ◇ (3): Same spelling, different
meaning. Wind (breeze) and wind (the clock). Bass (fish) and bass (guitar).
•
Multiple-meaning word ★ (3–5): One spelling,
several meanings. A bat is a flying mammal or a wooden club. Only one is
allowed in the dugout.
•
Dictionary entry ★ (3–8): Numbered definitions
plus pronunciation and part of speech. Grades 5 and 8 asked which numbered
definition fits a sentence. Plug each definition into the sentence like a
puzzle piece. The one that doesn’t make you say “huh?” wins.
•
Context clues ★ (3–8): Hints near the word.
Grades 3–5: within and beyond a sentence. Grade 6: definition, analogy,
examples. Grade 7: contrast, cause and effect. Grade 8: within or beyond a
paragraph. Context clues are the fingerprints at the crime scene.
•
Idiom ◇ (3), adage ◇ (5), pun ◇
(5): Idiom: “He kicked the bucket.” No buckets were kicked. Adage: an old
saying with advice, like “Don’t count your chickens.” Pun: a word joke, like
“I’m reading a book on anti-gravity. It’s impossible to put down.”
•
Syllabication, pronunciation, word origin, part of
speech ◇ (3–8): What a dictionary tells you besides the meaning. Word
origin (5 and up) is a word’s birth certificate.
13. Domain 9: Revising and editing
All ◇. The 2022 reading forms I read had no editing items,
but the redesigned test does, and these terms name what it asks.
•
Complete sentence vs. fragment (3–8): Fragment:
“Because the burrito exploded.” Because… what? Finish the thought.
•
Run-on and comma splice (4–8): Two sentences
jammed together, or joined by only a comma. “I burped, everyone laughed.” A
comma is a speed bump, not a bridge.
•
Subject-verb agreement (3–8): The verb matches
the subject. “The kids in my class eats pizza.” Ouch. Eat.
•
Verb tense and irregular verbs (3–8): Keep tense
consistent and learn the odd ones. “Yesterday I eat a sandwich.” No: ate.
And “throwed” is not a word. Threw.
•
Active vs. passive voice (8): Active: “The
dog ate my homework.” Passive: “My homework was eaten by the dog.” Same dog,
longer excuse.
•
Nouns (3–5): Singular, plural, common, proper,
and collective (5). A class eats lunch (singular), even if it’s
thirty kids.
•
Adjectives and adverbs (3–5): Comparative and
superlative (smelly, smellier, smelliest); adverbs of time and manner
(3), frequency and degree (4).
•
Prepositions and prepositional phrases (3–8):
Position words. Anywhere a squirrel can go in relation to a tree: on, under,
over, through.
•
Pronouns (3–6): Subjective (I, he),
objective (me, him), possessive (my, his); reflexive (4: myself),
indefinite (5: everyone, somebody), relative (6: who, which, that).
Pronoun-antecedent agreement (7–8): The pronoun must match the noun it
replaces. “The cats licked its paws.” Cats. Their.
•
Conjunctions: Coordinating (3: for, and, nor,
but, or, yet, so), subordinating (5–7: because, although, when),
correlative (6–7: either/or, neither/nor).
•
Conjunctive adverbs (5–7): however,
therefore, meanwhile. “I love burritos; however, they don’t love me.”
•
Punctuation (3–8): Apostrophes (contractions,
possessives), commas (series, compound sentences, introductory elements,
nonrestrictive phrases), semicolons, colons, parentheses (8), quotation marks
in dialogue, italics or underlining for titles.
•
Capitalization (3–8): Titles, holidays, and
places (3); historical periods, events, documents, titles of works, languages
(4); abbreviations, initials, acronyms, organizations (5–6).
•
Commonly confused words (6–8): its/it’s,
affect/effect, there/their/they’re, to/two/too. It’s = it is. “The
burrito lost its flavor, and now it’s gone.”
•
Structure terms: Introduction, transition,
conclusion, coherence, development. Transitions are tiny bridges: first,
next, however, therefore.
14. Grade-by-grade ladders: what’s new at each grade
Everything from earlier grades stays fair game. A Grade 8
student should still own simile.
•
Grade 3: Affixes im-, non-, dis-, in-, pre-,
-ness, -y, -ful. Synonym, antonym, idiom, homophone, homograph,
multiple-meaning words. Theme vs. topic; major and minor characters; sequence,
conflict, resolution. Folktale, fable, fairy tale, legend, myth. Rhyme scheme,
sound devices, stanza. Drama basics (characters, dialogue, setting, acts).
Central idea; features (sections, tables, graphs, timelines, bullets, numbers,
bold, italics). Cause and effect, problem and solution. Claim, fact vs.
opinion, audience. Author’s purpose. Imagery, simile, onomatopoeia, hyperbole.
First and third person; voice.
•
Grade 4: Affixes mis-, sub-, -ment, -ity/-ty;
roots auto, graph, meter; homophones like reign/rain. Rising action, climax,
falling action. Historical and cultural setting. Tall tales. Metaphor,
personification; alliteration, assonance. Character tags, scenes, stage
directions. Pronunciation guides, diagrams. Compare and contrast. Facts used to
support an argument. Anecdote.
•
Grade 5: Affixes trans-, super-, -ive, -logy;
roots geo, photo; adages, puns; word origin. Multiple themes; character
conflicts. Poet vs. speaker. Insets, timelines, sidebars. Logical order, order
of importance. Facts for or against an argument. Stereotyping.
•
Grade 6: Six roots (mis/mit, bene, man, vac,
scrib/script, jur/jus). Context through definition, analogy, examples. Part of
speech. Internal and external responses; flashback. The named genre list.
Meter, line breaks. Playwrights’ dialogue and staging. Controlling idea or
thesis. Introduction, foreword, preface, references, acknowledgements.
Definition, classification, advantage and disadvantage. Types of evidence.
Omniscient and limited point of view. Mood. Rhetorical devices vs. logical
fallacies.
•
Grade 7: Seven roots (omni, log/logue, gen,
vid/vis, phil, luc, sens/sent). Context through contrast and cause and effect.
Character qualities; foreshadowing, suspense. Fantasy, science fiction.
Graphical elements in poems. Categories and subcategories. Consideration of
alternatives. Subjective and objective point of view. Tone. Direct address,
rhetorical question. Loaded language, sweeping generalization.
•
Grade 8: Five roots (ast, qui, path, mand/mend,
duc). Context beyond a paragraph. Non-linear plot (flashback, foreshadowing,
subplots, parallel plots) vs. linear. Setting shaping values and beliefs. Epic,
lyric, humorous poetry. Dramatic action through acts and scenes. Footnotes,
endnotes, citations. Multiple organizational patterns. Counterargument.
Extended metaphor. Multiple points of view; irony. Analogy, juxtaposition.
Bandwagon, circular reasoning. Active and passive voice.
15. The stem decoder: how the test asks, and what vocabulary it needs
•
“What is the most likely reason the author includes
[a photo, cartoon, quotation, phrase, paragraph]?” → Text features and
author’s purpose. Winning move: name the idea the choice
supports. Reject “to make it interesting.”
•
“What does [word] mean in paragraph N?” / “Which
definition of [word] is used…?” → Context clues, multiple meanings,
dictionary entries. Winning move: reread the sentence and plug in each
meaning.
•
“The prefix [or suffix] helps the reader
understand…” → Affixes. Winning move: peel it off, translate it,
rebuild the word.
•
“What can the reader infer / conclude / predict…?”
→ Inference. Winning move: point to the line that proves it.
•
“Which key idea do the details in paragraphs X–Y
support?” → Key idea and central idea. Winning move: add up the
details first, then match.
•
“Which sentence best supports the theme / claim?”
→ Text evidence. Winning move: say the theme or claim in your own words
first, then hunt.
•
“How does the author’s use of [personification,
figurative language] contribute to [mood, tone]?” → Craft. Winning move:
name the device, then its effect on the reader or the attitude.
•
“How does the setting, time period, or change of
setting affect the plot?” → Story elements. Winning move: ask what
problem or event the setting causes.
•
“Why is line N important to the plot?” → Plot
parts. Winning move: decide whether it is the conflict, the climax, or
the resolution.
•
“What does the reader learn from the stage
directions / dialogue?” → Drama. Winning move: ask what it reveals
about a character.
•
“Who is the intended audience?” “What is the primary
claim?” “Why does the author present a counterargument / use loaded language?”
→ Argument and rhetoric.
•
“How does the author organize…?” “…organizational
structure…” → Text structure. Winning move: scan each paragraph’s
first sentence and match the pattern.
•
“What is the best summary?” → Summary. Winning
move: cross out choices where a tiny detail is the point, where an opinion
sneaks in, or where the ending is missing.
•
BOTH / SIMILAR / DIFFER → Paired-passage
comparison.
•
“Which characteristic of [a genre] is most
evident…?” → Genres.
16. Study guide
Students: the 10-minute Burp-Proof Routine
1.
Read (2 min). Read three terms and their silly
sentences out loud.
2.
Write (3 min). On an index card, put the term on
the front. On the back, write your own definition and your own gross example.
Yours must be worse than mine.
3.
Hunt (3 min). Find the term in something you
read today: a story, an article, a cereal box.
4.
Decode (2 min). Write one test question that
would use the term. (“What is the most likely reason the author uses
personification…?”)
Then space the review: 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 14 days.
Retrieval practice (trying to recall before you look) and spacing are among the
best-supported study methods in cognitive science, and index cards are a cheap
way to do both.
Parents: three games for the car and the dinner table
•
Name That Device. Say a sentence; kids shout the
device. “My brother snores like a bulldozer!” (Simile.) “The fridge is
whispering my name!” (Personification.) Arguing about the answer is learning.
•
Mood or Tone? Read one sentence in different
voices. Kids label what they feel (mood) and what the speaker feels
(tone).
•
Claim Court. One person states a claim (“Dessert
should come first.”). Everyone else supplies evidence, a counterargument, and
names any fallacy they spot. “Because it’s the rule!” is circular reasoning,
and parents must resist it.
•
Bonus: When your child reads, ask the stem
question out loud: “Why do you think the author put that picture there?”
Teachers: a weekly rhythm
•
Monday: Introduce five terms from one domain
with the silly sentence and a real mentor text.
•
Tuesday: Sort and match (term, definition,
example) in pairs.
•
Wednesday: Text hunt: find and label three
examples in the class read-aloud.
•
Thursday: Stem decoding. Students write the
stems the test would ask and rank the wrong answers.
•
Friday: A quick no-notes retrieval quiz, then a
four-sentence constructed response that must use two terms correctly.
•
Spiral: Revisit each domain every third week. A
word wall nobody uses is just wallpaper, so make students say and write
the words.
17. Planning guide: ten weeks
Count backward from your campus’s test date. TEA publishes
the testing calendar, and Spring 2027 is the final STAAR administration for
grades 3–8.
•
Weeks 1–2: Domains 1 and 2 (genres, story
elements). Mentor texts: fables, tall tales, a short story. Goal: label the
plot parts and the theme of every story.
•
Weeks 3–4: Domains 3 and 4 (poetry, drama). Read
a poem and a short play every week. Goal: use line numbers and stage directions
correctly.
•
Weeks 5–6: Domain 5 (informational and argument
structure). Goal: write a one-sentence central idea or thesis for each article
and name its text structure.
•
Weeks 7–8: Domain 6 (craft, rhetoric,
fallacies). Goal: spot and label one device a day and name its effect.
•
Week 9: Domains 7 and 8 (thinking moves, word
study). Goal: dictionary-entry and affix drills, plus paired-passage practice.
•
Week 10: Domain 9, mixed review, and one full
practice set. Goal: students explain every missed question in vocabulary terms
(“I missed it because I mixed up mood and tone.”).
•
After week 10: Maintenance. Five terms a week
through the index-card spiral until test day.
•
Daily time: About 10 minutes in Grades 3–4, 15
in Grades 5–6, and 15–20 in Grades 7–8.
18. If you only have three weeks
Prioritize the terms that showed up repeatedly across all
four forms I read. (This is my reading of four forms, not a statistical
analysis.)
•
Grades 3–4: key idea, central idea, infer,
predict, author’s purpose, setting and plot (conflict, resolution), theme, why
an author includes an illustration or photograph, simile, prefix and suffix,
multiple meanings, audience, cause and effect.
•
Grades 5–6: everything above, plus claim, stage
directions, stanza and speaker, metaphor and personification, dictionary
entries, text structure, summary, and BOTH/DIFFER comparisons.
•
Grades 7–8: everything above, plus mood and
tone, point of view, direct address, loaded language, counterargument, thesis
and controlling idea, flashback, irony, and the effect of figurative
language.
19. Self-check quiz (answers below)
1.
“My brother snores like a bulldozer.”
2.
“The burrito stared at me, silently judging my life
choices.”
3.
“I’d eat a billion tacos right now.”
4.
A character says, “What could possibly go wrong at the
tuna ice cream stand?”
5.
“Everyone in the grade has this phone, so you need one
too!”
6.
In a script: [Burps loudly, then bows.]
7.
What does the prefix un- do in “unflushed”?
8.
“Real friends accept your weird.” Topic or theme?
9.
A fire station burns down.
10.
The author states the other side’s objection, then
answers it.
11.
The narrator says “she” and reveals only one
character’s thoughts.
12.
One paragraph states a problem; the next states the
fix.
Answers: 1. simile. 2. personification. 3. hyperbole.
4. foreshadowing. 5. bandwagon. 6. stage direction. 7. means “not” (not
flushed). 8. theme (it’s a full-sentence lesson). 9. irony (situational). 10.
counterargument. 11. third-person limited. 12. problem and solution.
20. Sources and caveats
Sources (all Texas Education Agency)
•
Assessed-curriculum documents, Reading Language Arts,
Grades 3–8:
tea.texas.gov/student-assessment/staar/2023-3-rla-assessed-curriculum.pdf (swap
the 3 for 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8).
•
May 2022 released Reading forms, Grades 3, 5, 7, 8:
tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/2022-staar-may-grade-3-reading-releasedtest.pdf
(swap the grade number for 5, 7, or 8).
•
Texas Assessment Program FAQs (online released tests;
constructed-response limits):
tea2.tea.texas.gov/data-reports/student-assessment-overview/texas-assessment-program-faqs-10-30-25.pdf
•
House Bill 8 overview and the 2027–28 testing calendar:
tea.texas.gov/about-tea/news-and-multimedia/correspondence/taa-letters/overview-of-house-bill-8-0
and …/school-year-2027-28-student-assessment-testing-calendar
•
Draft SST assessed curriculum, Grades 4 and 6 (August
2026): tea2.tea.texas.gov/data-reports/staar/sst-4-rla-assessed-curriculum.pdf
(swap the 4 for 6).
Caveats
•
★ and ◇ marks reflect only the forms I read. ◇ does not
mean “won’t appear.”
•
Grades 4 and 6 were analyzed from standards and sample
materials, not a full released form.
•
Grade tags come from the Fall 2021 and Summer 2022
assessed-curriculum documents. Check TEA’s current documents before you
finalize a scope and sequence.
•
Test passages and items belong to TEA. I paraphrased
and cited concepts; use TEA’s official practice tests for real items.
•
The mnemonics and the humor are mine. Edit freely, and
let your students make them worse.
