Thank you so much for purchasing my product! Practice for the Reading STAAR test with these question stems. This is a good way to get your students used to answering STAAR questions without killing them with worksheets. There are 47 question cards. I have used these question cards many ways in my classroom. I print them onto card stock and then laminate them. They are used frequently in my classroom. I have a set on a key ring on my desk. When I am creating questions, a test, or just randomly asking questions about a text, I used them. I have to create a new set every year because I wear them out so much! I also use them during our station time. Students select several and create questions about a particular text we are working on. Sometimes I just have them answer their own questions, or create multiple choice responses for them. I have enough sets so that each partnership in my classroom can have a set. I have students work together to create one or tow questions about the text. I then have students rotate their questions to another partnership, where they need to answer the questions. This has turned into a stump your neighbor type game. This ensures that the students’ questions are difficult enough. Students must also provide text
evidence to support their answers. These questions were taken from the released STAAR passages from 2011, 2013 and the recently released 2014.******** There are a total of 156 questions cards and 4 cover cards. 59 fiction, 47 nonfiction, 32 poetry and 18 drama. Please check out my blog at: http://talesfromroom801.blogspot.com/ © Christi Cecil 2014
The reader can
conclude that when
(character name)
(action) -
The author included
paragraph ______ in order to -
Read the sentences
from paragraph _____.
These sentences show
that _________-
Which statement best
expresses the main
theme of the excerpt?
What effect does
(character's) behavior
have on the resolution
of the excerpt?
What effect does
(action or event) have
on the resolution of the
excerpt?
Insert sentence from the text
Which sentence best
explains why
(character) is
(emotion)?
Which event triggers
the main problem in the excerpt?
The author included
paragraph ______ to -
Which sentence best explains why
(character) is surprised
by (character’s
action)?
Which of these best
expresses (character’s)
(feelings or emotions)?
Which of these best
expresses (character’s)
admiration for (character)?
Which statement best
expresses the main
conflict in the excerpt?
In paragraph ____,
which words does the
author use to create a _______ mood?
What is the best
summary of the excerpt?
What do paragraphs
____ through ____
suggest about
(character)?
(Character’s actions)
contribute to the plot
by-
Which of these best
describes (character’s)
internal conflict in the story?
The point of view from
which the story is told
gives the reader insight
into-
A theme expressed in
the story centers on-
In paragraph _____,
the word (vocabulary
word) means
something that is-
How does the setting
influence the plot of
the story?
What does the word
(vocabulary word)
mean in paragraph
____?
In paragraph ____, the
word(vocabulary
word) emphasizes -
The reader can
conclude that when
(character name)
(action) -
In paragraph ____, the
reader can tell that
something that (phrase
or idiom) is -
Because the story is
written in 1st person
point of view, the reader is better able to
understand -
The language in
paragraph ____ is used
to emphasize -
Paragraph ____
through ____ help build
tension in the story by-
Based on the story,
what can the reader
conclude about _______?
Paragraph ____ is
important to the story
because it-
(Character’s) thoughts
in paragraph _____ show that she/he -
In paragraph _____,
which words does the author use to create a
_____ mood?
Which of these best demonstrates the
moment when
(character) realizes
__________?
The story reaches the
climax when -
Which sentence from
the story provides the
best evidence that
(character) feels
(feeling word)?
The author uses
paragraph ___ to
convey to the reader -
The figurative
language in paragraph ____ helps
the reader imagine -
The author includes
paragraph ____ and
_____ in the selection most likely to illustrate
that -
What can the reader conclude about
(character’s)
relationship with
(character)?
The author includes
the questions in
paragraph ____ most
likely to -
The author organizes
the selection by -
Which statement is an
example of
stereotyping?
Read the sentence
below
The author uses the
comparison to help
the reader understand
In paragraph ____, the
author included
examples in her argument most likely
because she-
Both (character) and
(character) agree
that-
The details in
paragraph ____ help
the reader infer that -
Which sentence
foreshadows that
(character) will be
_______?
Insert metaphor or simile
The author uses short
sentences in
paragraph ____ to help
create a feeling of -
Read the sentence.
The author uses
figurative language in
this sentence most
likely to -
What is the significance of _____?
In paragraph _____,
the descriptions of
(something in the text)
suggest that-
How does the author
reveal (character’s)
reason for _________?
What lesson does the
narrator learn?
Insert figurative language
The author’s use of
similes in
paragraph ___ creates
a feeling of -
The reader can best
identify this selection as a (text genre)
because it -
Read the sentence
Why does the author
include this description
of (character)?
Read the sentence.
The author includes this
sentence most likely to
show -
What idea is
suggested by the
information in each
section of the table?
Insert sentence with an idiom
Insert a description of the character
Reading STAAR
Stem Questions
Fiction
The author included
paragraph ___ most
likely to -
The author chose the
title of this selection to highlight the idea
that -
By presenting the ideas
included in paragraph
___ through ____, the author is able to -
Which sentence from
the selection is a
commonplace
assertion?
Reading STAAR
Stem Questions
Nonfiction
In paragraph ____, the
word ____ means the -
Which sentence from
the selection is an
opinion?
What is the best
summary of the selection?
What are paragraphs
____ and ____ mainly about?
What is the best
summary of the section
titled (insert heading
title)?
With which statement
would the author most
likely agree?
Which of these
supports the idea that
(insert inference from
the selection)?
How does the author
organize paragraphs
___ and ___?
What can the reader
conclude about the
author’s opinion of (something in the
article)?
Which words from
paragraph ____ help
the reader understand what (vocabulary
word) means
The author of this
selection thinks that - The author uses the first
paragraph mostly to -
The author wrote this
article most likely to -
Why does the author
include paragraph
_____ and _____?
Why is the (map,
photograph, chart,
etc.) included with the
selection?
Which idea from
paragraph ___ does the author base on an
assumption?
What does the word
(vocabulary word)
mean in paragraph ___?
In paragraph ___, the
word (vocabulary
word) emphasizes -
The author supports
each of his arguments
with-
Why does the author begin this selection
(with a question,
dialogue, a
description, etc.)?
The author emphasizes
the idea that -
What is the most likely
reason the author wrote this selection?
Which sentence shows
that the author
believes (inference
from the text)?
Because the Latin root
_____ means ____, the
reader can tell that the
word _____ in
paragraph ___ refers to something that -
What do the words
(idiom) mean in
paragraph ___ -
In paragraph ___ and
___, the author
presents the idea that -
Why does the text
begin with a question?
The author begins and
ends the selection by
bringing together the
idea that -
Which statement best
expresses an opinion
found in the selection?
The author includes
the description in
paragraph ___ most likely to -
The author of the
selection includes ___
and ___ most likely to -
Which sentence from
the selection suggests
that the author thinks
____ is important?
The images included
with the article help the reader
understand -
Which of the following
belongs in the empty
box? (Sequence
Question)
Which of the following is the best title for the
diagram?
What is paragraph
____ mainly about?
Which emotion in the
photograph most
likely intended to
evoke in the reader?
In paragraph ____, the
author uses the
example of _____ to-
Which sentence best
reflects the concerns about (idea from the
text)?
How do paragraphs
____ through ____
support the author’s position about (idea
from the text)?
The author supports
the article’s premise by
providing -
The author includes
the description of _____
most likely to -
Based on the information in the
selection, which of
these would most
likely be true?
Read these lines from the
poem
The metaphor in the
____ stanza is used to
emphasize -
The poet uses a simile
in line ___ to reveal
that the speaker -
Reading STAAR
Stem Questions
Poetry
Insert sentence from the text.
These lines highlight the speaker’s (feelings)
because they show that -
Read lines ___ from the
poem
Insert sentence from the text.
The poem uses personification in these
lines to show that -
How are the (item in the poem) and speaker
similar?
Dividing the poem into
___ stanzas allows the
poet to -
Which lines from the
poem reflect a lesson that the speaker
learns?
The poet likely intends
for the ____ lines to
express the speaker’s
In the poem, the
speaker’s mood
changes from -
In stanza ___, the
poet’s use of a
metaphor suggests
that -
The (the thing in the poem) is important to
the poem because it
represents -
Based on the ____
stanza, the reader can
conclude that the
speaker -
The poet helps the
reader understand how it felt to -
The dialogue in the
poem helps convey
the idea that the characters are -
The poet places the
words ____ on a line by
themselves most likely
because -
The repetition of the
line ____ suggests that
the speaker -
The imagery in stanza
___ suggests that -
At the end of the
poem, the speaker
expresses a felling of -
Which line from the
poem best expresses the speakers sense of
(emotion)?
Which line best
communicates the
speaker’s feelings of ______?
The repetition of the
words ___ & ___
emphasizes the
speaker’s desire to -
The poet chose an
irregular and
unpredictable rhyme
scheme most likely to -
Because the poem is written from the
speaker’s point of
view, the reader is
better able to
understand -
The last two lines of the
poem suggest that
____ in the title is a
symbol for -
The imagery in lines ___
through ___ help the reader understand -
The poet includes these lines most likely
to suggest that the
speaker -
The poet reveals the
speaker’s feelings
mainly by -
The poet organizes the
poem as she does in
order to -
What is the most likely
reason that the poet
uses capitalization in
line ____?
Insert a sentence from the poem.
Why does the poet
include stanzas ___ &
___?
The poet includes the
(type of figurative
language) in stanza ___ in order to -
Which line from the
poem suggests (a
feeling or idea)?
Reading STAAR
Stem Questions
Drama
What does the word
(vocabulary word)
mean in paragraph
___?
In scene ___, the
dialogue between
____ and _____ reveals
that -
Read these lines from
paragraph ____.
Insert sentence from the text.
The playwright includes these lines to suggest
that -
Read the following line
from scene ___.
Insert sentence from the text.
What is ironic about the parents’ belief that ____?
Read the line from the
excerpt.
Insert sentence from the text.
The playwright includes this line in order to -
The language used in
paragraph ____ helps
the reader infer that
the -
The playwright uses
stage direction at the
end of scene ___ to
hint that -
Which of the following
lines does the
playwright include to show that (character)
is (adjective)?
In paragraph ___, the
word (vocabulary
word) means to -
What can the reader
conclude about
(character) from their
dialogue?
What does paragraph
____ suggest about
(character)?
Paragraph ____ is
important to the lay
because it shows -
Based on the dialogue in paragraph ___, how
does (character)
respond to (action in
the play)?
What is the best
summary of the excerpt?
(Something from the
play) in scene ____ is
important because it -
Why are the stage
directions at the end
of scene ____
important?
The details used to
describe _______ are
included to -
Read this line from the
play.
Insert sentence from the text.
What is the most likely purpose of this line?