Bilingual vocabulary guide with English and Spanish definitions and example sentences for Spanish-speaking students.
Guia bilingue de vocabulario con definiciones en ingles y espanol y oraciones de ejemplo.
Elementos Literarios
English Definition:
A person, animal, or creature in a story.
Definicion en Espanol:
Una persona, animal o criatura en una historia.
Example / Ejemplo:
The main character in the story is a brave girl named Rosa.
English Definition:
Where and when a story takes place.
Definicion en Espanol:
Donde y cuando ocurre una historia.
Example / Ejemplo:
The setting of the story is a small village in Mexico during summer.
English Definition:
The main events that happen in a story from beginning to end.
Definicion en Espanol:
Los eventos principales que ocurren en una historia de principio a fin.
Example / Ejemplo:
The plot includes a problem that the character must solve.
English Definition:
The main message or lesson the author wants you to learn from the story.
Definicion en Espanol:
El mensaje principal o leccion que el autor quiere que aprendas de la historia.
Example / Ejemplo:
The theme of the story is that hard work leads to success.
English Definition:
The problem or challenge that the character faces in the story.
Definicion en Espanol:
El problema o desafio que enfrenta el personaje en la historia.
Example / Ejemplo:
The conflict in the story is that the dog is lost and needs to find its way home.
English Definition:
How the problem is solved at the end of the story.
Definicion en Espanol:
Como se resuelve el problema al final de la historia.
Example / Ejemplo:
The resolution is when the dog finally finds its family.
English Definition:
The person or voice telling the story.
Definicion en Espanol:
La persona o voz que cuenta la historia.
Example / Ejemplo:
The narrator tells us what the character is thinking and feeling.
English Definition:
The words that characters say to each other in a story, shown with quotation marks.
Definicion en Espanol:
Las palabras que los personajes se dicen entre si en una historia, mostradas con comillas.
Example / Ejemplo:
"Let's go to the park!" said Maria. This is dialogue.
Comprension Lectora
English Definition:
The most important point the author wants you to understand about the topic.
Definicion en Espanol:
El punto mas importante que el autor quiere que entiendas sobre el tema.
Example / Ejemplo:
The main idea of this article is that recycling helps protect the Earth.
English Definition:
The key message that connects all parts of the text together.
Definicion en Espanol:
El mensaje clave que conecta todas las partes del texto.
Example / Ejemplo:
The central idea of the book is that friendship can overcome any challenge.
English Definition:
Facts, examples, or information that help explain the main idea.
Definicion en Espanol:
Hechos, ejemplos o informacion que ayudan a explicar la idea principal.
Example / Ejemplo:
The supporting details tell us that butterflies have four wings and six legs.
English Definition:
A short retelling of the most important parts of a text in your own words.
Definicion en Espanol:
Una narracion corta de las partes mas importantes de un texto en tus propias palabras.
Example / Ejemplo:
In my summary, I wrote about the problem and how it was solved.
English Definition:
A smart guess you make using clues from the text and what you already know.
Definicion en Espanol:
Una suposicion inteligente que haces usando pistas del texto y lo que ya sabes.
Example / Ejemplo:
I can make an inference that the character is sad because she is crying.
English Definition:
Information from the text that proves or supports your answer.
Definicion en Espanol:
Informacion del texto que prueba o apoya tu respuesta.
Example / Ejemplo:
The evidence from paragraph 2 shows that the weather was very cold.
English Definition:
A decision or understanding you reach after reading and thinking about the text.
Definicion en Espanol:
Una decision o entendimiento al que llegas despues de leer y pensar sobre el texto.
Example / Ejemplo:
My conclusion is that the author wants us to take care of animals.
Tecnicas del Autor
English Definition:
The reason why an author writes a text: to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain.
Definicion en Espanol:
La razon por la que un autor escribe un texto: para informar, persuadir, entretener o explicar.
Example / Ejemplo:
The author's purpose is to inform readers about how bees make honey.
English Definition:
The position from which the story is told - who is telling the story.
Definicion en Espanol:
La posicion desde la cual se cuenta la historia - quien esta contando la historia.
Example / Ejemplo:
The story is told from the point of view of the youngest sister.
English Definition:
When the narrator is a character in the story and uses words like "I," "me," and "my."
Definicion en Espanol:
Cuando el narrador es un personaje en la historia y usa palabras como "yo," "mi," y "me."
Example / Ejemplo:
"I walked to school with my best friend." This is first person.
English Definition:
When the narrator is not in the story and uses words like "he," "she," "they," and character names.
Definicion en Espanol:
Cuando el narrador no esta en la historia y usa palabras como "el," "ella," "ellos," y nombres de personajes.
Example / Ejemplo:
"Maria walked to school with her best friend." This is third person.
English Definition:
How a character thinks and feels about something based on their experiences.
Definicion en Espanol:
Como un personaje piensa y siente sobre algo basado en sus experiencias.
Example / Ejemplo:
From the wolf's perspective, he was just hungry, not mean.
Caracteristicas del Texto
English Definition:
A title at the top of a section that tells what that part is about.
Definicion en Espanol:
Un titulo en la parte superior de una seccion que dice de que trata esa parte.
Example / Ejemplo:
The heading "What Dolphins Eat" tells me this section is about dolphin food.
English Definition:
Words under a picture that explain what the picture shows.
Definicion en Espanol:
Palabras debajo de una imagen que explican lo que muestra la imagen.
Example / Ejemplo:
The caption under the photo says, "A baby sea turtle heading to the ocean."
English Definition:
A drawing with labels that shows how something works or its parts.
Definicion en Espanol:
Un dibujo con etiquetas que muestra como funciona algo o sus partes.
Example / Ejemplo:
The diagram shows all the parts of a flower, like the stem and petals.
English Definition:
A picture or drawing in a book that helps you understand the story or information.
Definicion en Espanol:
Una imagen o dibujo en un libro que te ayuda a entender la historia o informacion.
Example / Ejemplo:
The illustration shows that the character lives in a small house near the forest.
English Definition:
Words printed in thick, dark letters to show they are important.
Definicion en Espanol:
Palabras impresas en letras gruesas y oscuras para mostrar que son importantes.
Example / Ejemplo:
The word habitat is in bold because it is an important vocabulary word.
English Definition:
A list at the back of a book that gives definitions of important words.
Definicion en Espanol:
Una lista al final de un libro que da definiciones de palabras importantes.
Example / Ejemplo:
I looked up the word "ecosystem" in the glossary to find its meaning.
English Definition:
An alphabetical list at the back of a book showing where to find topics.
Definicion en Espanol:
Una lista alfabetica al final de un libro que muestra donde encontrar temas.
Example / Ejemplo:
The index says information about tigers is on pages 24-28.
English Definition:
A list at the front of a book showing chapter titles and page numbers.
Definicion en Espanol:
Una lista al principio de un libro que muestra los titulos de capitulos y numeros de pagina.
Example / Ejemplo:
The table of contents shows that Chapter 3, "Ocean Animals," starts on page 15.
Lenguaje Figurado
English Definition:
A comparison between two things using the words "like" or "as."
Definicion en Espanol:
Una comparacion entre dos cosas usando las palabras "como."
Example / Ejemplo:
"Her smile was as bright as the sun" is a simile.
English Definition:
A comparison that says one thing IS another thing, without using "like" or "as."
Definicion en Espanol:
Una comparacion que dice que una cosa ES otra cosa, sin usar "como."
Example / Ejemplo:
"You are a shining star" is a metaphor comparing a person to a star.
English Definition:
Giving human actions or feelings to animals, objects, or ideas.
Definicion en Espanol:
Dar acciones o sentimientos humanos a animales, objetos o ideas.
Example / Ejemplo:
"The wind whispered through the trees" gives the wind a human action.
English Definition:
A big exaggeration that is not meant to be taken seriously.
Definicion en Espanol:
Una gran exageracion que no debe tomarse en serio.
Example / Ejemplo:
"I'm so hungry I could eat a horse" is a hyperbole.
English Definition:
When words close together start with the same sound.
Definicion en Espanol:
Cuando palabras cercanas comienzan con el mismo sonido.
Example / Ejemplo:
"Silly snakes slither slowly" is an example of alliteration with the "s" sound.
English Definition:
A word that sounds like what it means.
Definicion en Espanol:
Una palabra que suena como lo que significa.
Example / Ejemplo:
"Buzz," "crash," "splash," and "meow" are examples of onomatopoeia.
Habilidades de Vocabulario
English Definition:
Words or sentences around an unknown word that help you figure out its meaning.
Definicion en Espanol:
Palabras u oraciones alrededor de una palabra desconocida que te ayudan a descubrir su significado.
Example / Ejemplo:
I used context clues to figure out that "enormous" means very big.
English Definition:
A word that has the same or almost the same meaning as another word.
Definicion en Espanol:
Una palabra que tiene el mismo o casi el mismo significado que otra palabra.
Example / Ejemplo:
"Happy" and "joyful" are synonyms because they mean almost the same thing.
English Definition:
A word that has the opposite meaning of another word.
Definicion en Espanol:
Una palabra que tiene el significado opuesto de otra palabra.
Example / Ejemplo:
"Hot" and "cold" are antonyms because they are opposites.
English Definition:
A word part added to the beginning of a word that changes its meaning.
Definicion en Espanol:
Una parte de palabra anadida al principio de una palabra que cambia su significado.
Example / Ejemplo:
Adding the prefix "un-" to "happy" makes "unhappy," which means not happy.
English Definition:
A word part added to the end of a word that changes its meaning.
Definicion en Espanol:
Una parte de palabra anadida al final de una palabra que cambia su significado.
Example / Ejemplo:
Adding the suffix "-ful" to "help" makes "helpful," meaning full of help.
English Definition:
The basic word without any prefixes or suffixes added to it.
Definicion en Espanol:
La palabra basica sin ningun prefijo o sufijo anadido.
Example / Ejemplo:
In the word "unhappiness," the root word is "happy."
Use Cognates! Many of these ELA terms are cognates - words that look and sound similar in English and Spanish. Words like "character/personaje," "theme/tema," "conflict/conflicto," and "conclusion/conclusion" share Latin roots. When you see a new English word, think about whether it sounds like a Spanish word you already know!
Usa los Cognados! Muchos de estos terminos de lectura son cognados - palabras que se ven y suenan similares en ingles y espanol. Cuando veas una palabra nueva en ingles, piensa si suena como una palabra en espanol que ya conoces!