Authors: The Staff of REA, Research & Education Association
ISBN-13: 9780738600970, ISBN-10: 0738600970
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Research & Education Association
Date Published: December 2005
Edition: First
REA
Real review, Real practice, Real results.
REA's Texas Grade 8 TAKS Reading & Writing Study Guide!
Fully aligned with the objectives adopted by the Texas Educaiton Agency
Are you prepared to excel on this state high-stakes assessment exam?
* Take the diagnostic Pretest and find out what you know and what you should know
* Use REA's advice and tips to ready yourself for proper study and practice
Sharpen your knowledge and skills
* The book's full subject review refreshes knowledge and covers all topics on the official exam, including reading, literary analysis, and vocabulary to reinforce key English language lessons
* Smart and friendly lessons reinforce necessary skills
* Key tutorials enhance specific abilities needed on the test
* Targeted drills increase comprehension and help organize study
* Color icons and graphics highlight important concepts and tasks
Practice for real
* Create the closest experience to test-day conditions with a full-length practice Posttest
* Chart your progress with detailed explanations of each answer
* Boost confidence with test-taking strategies and focused drills
Ideal for Classroom, Family, or Solo Test Preparation!
REA has helped generations of students study smart and excel on the important tests. REA’s study guides for state-required exams are teacher-recommended and written by experts who have mastered the test.
About Rea | vii | |
Acknowledgments | vii | |
Succeeding on the Taks-Grade 8 Reading | viii | |
About this Book | viii | |
How to Use this Book | viii | |
Why Students are Required to Take the TAKS | ix | |
What's on the TAKS | x | |
TAKS Reading Objectives | xi | |
Tips for the Student | xiii | |
Tips for Parents | xiv | |
Pretest | 1 | |
Pretest Answers | 19 | |
Lesson 1 | Vocabulary | 23 |
Passage 1 | The Caddo: Texas's Forest Dwellers | 25 |
Passage 2 | Catching the Butterflies | 28 |
Passage 3 | The Invisible Tree | 32 |
Passage 4 | Get Ready to Battle the Common Cold, the Unbeatable Bug | 36 |
Lesson 2 | Main Idea | 40 |
Passage 1 | The Trail of Tears | 42 |
Passage 2 | Madeleine's Twisty Treat | 45 |
Passage 3 | Mosquitoes: Annoying but Amazing | 49 |
Passage 4 | A Pop-ular Kind of Corn | 53 |
Lesson 3 | Literature | 57 |
Passage 1 | Excerpt from Bleak House | 60 |
Passage 2 | The Bunkhouse | 63 |
Passage 3 | Mr. Salazar | 66 |
Passage 4 | Excerpt from The Secret Garden | 70 |
Lesson 4 | Cause and Effect and Comparison and Contrast | 75 |
Passage 1 | Clueless | 77 |
Passage 2 | The Great Blue Heron | 80 |
Passage 3 | Dragons of Ancient China | 84 |
Passage 4 | Wilson Bentley | 88 |
Passage 5 | The Art of a Snowflake | 88 |
Lesson 5 | Author's Purpose and Point of View | 93 |
Passage 1 | The Frame | 95 |
Passage 2 | How to Set up an Aquarium | 98 |
Passage 3 | Beating Writer's Block | 102 |
Passage 4 | When Camels Came to Texas | 106 |
Lesson 6 | Conclusions and Inferences, Part 1 | 110 |
Passage 1 | The Truth about Organ Donation | 113 |
Passage 2 | Excerpt from Hard Times | 116 |
Passage 3 | D.C. Dish | 119 |
Passage 4 | The Loose Law of the Library | 123 |
Lesson 7 | Conclusions and Inferences, Part 2 | 127 |
Passage 1 | The "Reality" of Reality Television | 128 |
Passage 2 | The Dead Sea Scrolls | 131 |
Passage 3 | A Costly Lesson | 134 |
Passage 4 | Space Colonization: Too Big a Risk | 138 |
Posttest | 143 | |
Posttest Answers | 171 |