PARCC Assessment: How Parents Can Help Prepare Your Child for PARCC
Have your child take the practice assessments nightly; spend about 30 minutes on practice assessments then focus on vocabulary. Practice assessments are available online at
Parents will have the opportunity to take the practice tests at our PARCC Parent Primer On March 15, 2016.
PARCC Vocabulary: How Parents Can Help Prepare Your Child for PARCC
- Practice 5-6 words each night; read the definition and examples together. Have your child use the word in a sentence or write a sentence using the word in context.
- Pepper your conversations with the “big” words” , but the ones you would use normally in an adult conversation. Encourage your child to ask for clarification when you use these words.
- Play words games, Boggle, Apples to Apples, phone/tablet word games using these words.
- Be patient and correct errors with care. Exposure to difficult language and explanation for things requires repetition, patient practice and usage.
adjectivea word used to describe a noun or pronoun
Examples: happy, sad, pretty, ugly, slimy, rough, red, green, etc.
adverb a word used to describe a verb, adjective, or other adverb, often ending in "-ly"
Examples: He quickly ran to the bus stop.
She happily opened her birthday presents.
alliteration repetition of the initial sound at the beginning of words
Example: Angry armadillos arrive and attack apples.
analogy a comparison of two different things that are similar in some way
Examples: Bird is to feathers, as dog is to _____ (fur).
Doctor is to hospital, as teacher is to _____ (school).
analyze to study something closely to bring out deeper meaning or structure
Example: My teacher told me to analyze the poem, then write a paragraph describing the main idea
antonym a word that means the opposite of another word
Example: fat and skinny, young and old, happy and sad, etc.
argument a statement of the meaning or main point of a text
Example: The Grand High Witch is the meanest witch of all. The reader could develop this argument because she has made a plan to get rid of all the children in the world.
articulate able to speak or write clearly and effectively
Example: Susan could not find the words to describe what she was feeling; it was difficult for her to articulate her emotions to her family.
author's intention the message the author is trying to get across to the reader
Example: Fudge is always upsetting Peter in Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, but Peter still loves Fudge. The reader knows this because he says, "the little guy really looks up to me, he always wants to do just what I am doing." The author's intention is for the reader to know that even when your sibling really upsets you, you still love them.
author's purpose The reason the author has written something (to inform the reader of something, to persuade the reader to do something, to express an idea or feeling, to entertain or give the reader something enjoyable to read)
Example: The author's purpose for writing her personal narrative was to tell the story of her best friends.
cause and effect a way of explaining the reason (cause) why events occur (effect)
Example: It was snowing outside so school was canceled.
The noisy class could not go outside for recess.
central idea the key points made in a text; the main ideas
Example: One of the central ideas in Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing is that even though siblings can make you angry, we still love them. I know this is true because even when Peter gets angry with Fudge he says the little guy must really look up to me to want to do everything I do.
character actions the author shows what kind of person the character is through what the character says and does and the reader must make inferences about the character (figure out something about the character)
Example: The character Luke, in The Witches, showed he was brave when he risked his life to get the potion to change the witches into mice and save other children.
chronological order events are arranged in the order in which they happened (time order)
Example: The life cycle of a butterfly is: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly.
cite evidence examples in a text that support your answer
Example: The Grand High Witch is the most evil witch of all. I know this because it states in the book that she created a magic potion to get rid of all children in the world.
combine to join or bring together
Example: The dog is brown. The dog has shaggy fur.
COMBINED sentence: The dog has shaggy, brown fur.
compare all the ways two things are alike
Example: Moths and butterflies have wings, fly, have a similar life cycle, are insects, etc.
complete to finish
Example: Complete the math problem 4 + 4 =
Answer: The completed math problem 4 + 4 = 8.
composition a piece of writing, a brief essay
Example: My composition on how to care for a dog was only five paragraphs long.
comprehend to understand
Example: I could not comprehend what the man was saying because he was speaking a language I did not know.
conclude to finish; to bring something to an end
Example: After reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, I could conclude that Fudge looked up to his older brother. I know this is true because he always tried to do everything like his brother Peter.
conclusion / draw a conclusion make a judgment after considering all the information read
Example: She was able to draw a conclusion that dolphins are smart animals after reading the article because dolphins can use tools, communicate, and be trained by people.
connections / making connections readers relate what they read to personal experiences (text-to-self), to information from other texts (text-to-text), and to information about the world (text-to-world) in order to enhance understanding of self, text, and life
Example: A text to self connection I can make is between Sheila from Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and a girl that used to be in my fourth grade class. Both girls were always bossy and acted like know-it-alls which made it difficult for them to make friends.
contents the subjects or topics covered in a book or text
Example: The contents of the article on horses talked about their size, diet, and how to care for a horse.
contrast to show differences
Example: One main difference of moths and butterflies is that moths fly at night while butterflies fly during the day.
create to make
Example: I created a text-to-self connection between Sheila from Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and a girl I knew in fourth grade by comparing some similarities between the character in the book and the person I knew.
demonstrate show or prove something using an example
Example: The superhero was able to demonstrate her power of speed reading by finishing a 1,000 page book in less than a minute!
describe provide characteristics and features, give a detailed picture of something
Example: The poet described the autumn leaves on the tree as flames in a fireplace, a mix of reds, yellows, oranges, and golds all swaying together.
details pieces of information that support or tell more about the main idea
Example: Without details the Harris Burdick pictures would not be as creepy or interesting.
determine decide something using evidence or facts
Example: A grizzly bear can determine when it's time to hibernate based on changes in the weather.
develop to create something
Example: He was able to develop a strong argument for getting a new bike when he showed his parents he was responsible by completing all of his chores, getting good grades in school, and being well-behaved.
discuss to give information, ideas, opinions, etc., about something in writing
Example: It is important to discuss problem with friends with your family so they can help you to find a solution.
distinguish give the differences between two or more different items
Example: It is important to distinguish facts from fiction so you learn the truth and not lies.
elaborate to explain in greater detail
Example: When you are writing it is important to make sure you elaborate your thoughts using details and examples.
engage the reader make the reader of your writing excited to read more, interested in what you have written
Example: When you engage the reader, you have done your job as a writer. The person reading your work is now excited and wants to learn more!
entertain to make the reader want to read more
Example: Even though the story was sad, the author was able to entertain me with his writing so much that I continued to read it even as I cried.
essay a brief composition (piece of writing) on a single subject that usually presents the personal views of the author
Example: I used my research to help me write my essay on Albert Einstein. While researching and writing my essay I discovered that Einstein was a C student, he even received Ds and Fs!
evaluate examine and judge carefully
Example: I needed to carefully evaluate which resources I would use for my report, because I found that some of them were filled with errors.
evidence facts, statements, or physical signs that provesomething or support a conclusion
Example: I used the evidence or clues in the text to determine how the main character. I could tell he was scared when he hid under his bed and tried to not make any sounds.
expand to increase in size or amount
Example: I was able to expand my schema by reading more books about the Civil War.
explain answer how and why questions, using background knowledge, evidence in the text or prompt, and facts
Example: After reading the article, I was able to explain that even though blue whales can grow to be over 110 feet long and weigh up to 348,000 pounds, they only eat krill which are about the size of my thumb!
express say or write in a clear way
Example: Even without using words, the toddler was able to express his anger by stamping her feet and screaming.
fact a statement that is true.
Example: It is a well-known fact that during the winter temperatures are usually cold.
figurative language words or a phrase that has a meaning that is different from the literal meaning
Example: I am so hungry I could eat a horse. This means I am very hungry, not that I am actually going to eat a horse!
foreshadow clues in a story that hint at later events
Example: In the story Little Red Riding Hood, her mother warns her not to to stray from the path, talk to strangers, and be careful of the wolf. When Little Red talks to the wolf, the author is giving the reader a clue that something bad is going to happen next because she did not listen to her mother.
generate to create or produce
Example: After I read the story I had enough information to generate my answer to the test question.
hyperbole an extreme exaggeration
Example: The ice cream sundae was so tall it reached a mile into the sky. The extreme exaggeration is that no matter how big of an ice cream sundae a person could make it would be impossible for it to reach a mile into the sky.
hypothesize to make a guess you can test
Example: I studied the size and color of the egg and could hypothesize that it was laid by a chicken.
identify to select or pick something based on clues or information given
Example: I was able to identify that the reason the water did not overflow from the cup was that it was being held in by surface tension.
idiom a common expression that doesn't make sense if you take it literally
Example: Race against the clock. (Means to be in a very big rush, not running a race with a clock.)
Get over it. (Means to move on from something, not climbing over the word it.)
infer a conclusion that can be made about someone or something based on clues given in the text, the author does not state it, the reader needs to figure it out
Example: John hears a smoke alarm and smells burnt bacon. John can infer that something is burning in the kitchen.
inform to gain information from reading a text
Example: The author wrote the article on people driving a car while texting to try to inform people that this is a dangerous behavior.
interpret to find the meaning of something
Example: I can interpret the definition of the unknown word by using the context clues in the sentence.
key ideas main or important ideas in text
Example: The key ideas of the paragraph tells me the most important information in the paragraph.
literal / literal meaning actual, real, true, fact
Example: She has butterflies in her stomach.
(Literal Meaning: She actually has butterflies flying around inside her stomach.)
(Figurative or Non-Literal Meaning: She is nervous.)
locate to find
Example: I can locate the definition of an unknown word in a dictionary.
meaning to communicate or inform something unknown
Example: I looked up the definition, or meaning, of the unknown word in the dictionary.
metaphor figure of speech comparing two different things
Example: She is the shining star of our school. (Meaning she does well in school and is very liked, not that she is actually a star shining.)
When he saw the bear in front of him, he froze with fear. (Meaning he was so scared he could not move, not that he actually turned to ice.)
mood how the reader feels about the text while reading
Example: When I read the newspaper article about a little girl finding her family after the tornado I felt happy.
narrative a story
Example: I wrote a narrative about my trip to Alaska and finding a bear salmon fishing in a pond.
noun a person, place, thing, or idea
Example: The little boy drank the milk. (The nouns in the sentence are boy (person) and milk (thing).)
opinion a belief or feeling about something, not a fact
Example: It is my opinion that students should be able to have recess everyday to use up some energy and play with their friends.
organize to put into order
Example: After writing my story, I went back to revise my writing so I could organize my thoughts in a chronological order.
paraphrase to restate in your own words
Example: "Night or owl monkeys are strictly nocturnal."
In my own words: Night or owl monkeys are only active during the nighttime.
passage a section of text
Example: To find the answer to the test question, I needed to reread the passage of text.
personification a figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes
Example: Lightning danced across the sky. (Lightning is not alive and therefore could not dance.)
persuade to convince
Example: In my essay, Should Students Have Candy At School, I tried to persuade the reader that all students should be allowed to have candy at school.
plot sequence of events in a story
Example: The story mountain I made for my fiction writing allowed me to have a detailed plot filled with exciting events.
point of view the perspective from which a story is told
Example: She went to her best friend's house to study. They went outside and rode their bikes for 20 minutes then went back to the house to study. (third-person point of view)2. "Do you love candy?" I asked my friend Roxis. (first-person point of view)
prefix a syllable or word added to the beginning of a root word to change the meaning
Example: disagree - "dis" is the prefix which means not, so disagree means to not agree
I disagree with you. Dogs are not able to fly!
prior knowledge / schema your background knowledge and experiences about a topic, what you already know about a topic
Example: I could make connections to the book about whales because I had just returned from a trip to the aquarium where I learned some interesting facts about whales.
prompt a question or an instructions that tells you what you're supposed to write
Example: On the NJASK, the prompt said to write about a time I had to keep a secret.
pronoun a word that takes the place of a noun
Example: Sally and Jane went to the movies.
WITH a pronoun: They went to the movies.
provide to give
Example: I always provide the reader enough information about what I am writing about because I always use details and examples to support my work.
purpose the reason why something is done
Example: The purpose of school is to learn and grow as a person so children become successful adults.
quote to write the exact words of someone else
Example: In my report about Barack Obama, I included a quote he said about learning from mistakes, "You can't let your failures define you -- you have to let your failures teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently the next time."