STAAR Task Cards
Texas Teachers: Conquer STAAR Reading with Engaging Task Cards!
STAAR doesn’t need to be stressful for you or for your students. Enjoy teaching reading and math (even during STAAR season) with resources that are aligned, engaging, and no prep.
Boost STAAR Scores & Spark Curiosity: Fun, Ready-Made Reading Task Cards!
Texas Tested, Teacher Approved: The Ultimate STAAR Reading Task Card Toolkit!
Aligned
Not sorta aligned. Deeply aligned. With TEKS. With STAAR. With best practices.
Engaging
Students love them! Because students feel confident, engaged, and ready.
No Prep
Simple to use. Download and go. It doesn’t get simpler than this.
Making Inferences STAAR Task Cards
This STAAR mega bundle includes nine task card sets covering all STAAR stems and is updated with the new TEKS!
Making Inferences Task Card Mega Bundle Includes:
- 148 Task Cards
- All Genres
- STAAR-Aligned
- STAAR Question Stems
- Online Support Resources
Drawing Conclusions STAAR Task Cards
Whether you’re teaching whole-class, reviewing for STAAR reading, meeting with a small group or setting up reading stations, this mega bundle has you covered for weeks…even months of reading practice all focused on drawing conclusions!
I am such a fan of task cards and I absolutely loved this bundle. Inferring is a tough skill for students so I love that this bundle includes different contexts for them to practice inferring. Thank you!!
My students struggle with drawing conclusions and inferencing. These cards are fantastic! Thanks for a wonderful product.
Unlock Reading Success with Engaging Task Cards
Explore More STAAR Reading Task Cards
TEKS Alignment for Each Set of Task Cards
Making Inferences Task Cards covers a range of inferencing skills from all genres with 148 total task cards, STAAR-aligned, fiction, poetry, literary nonfiction, informational texts, expository, biography, and more!
Which sentence states the main theme of the story?What does __ learn in this story?What is the theme of the selection?What is the main message of the story?What theme is best supported by the details in this selection?What lesson does the narrator share in this text?
This paragraph is mostly about –
The section titled ___ is mainly about –
What does this paragraph help you understand about ___ ?
What is the main idea of this paragraph?
What best completes the graphic organizer?
What would be the best heading for this section?
The photograph is included to show –
Which idea is supported by the timeline?
The caption under the photograph explains –
Why does the author include this graphic?
Making inferences on author’s purpose, literary texts and setting.
Making predictions, character analysis, and STAAR informational texts.
STAAR released stems for literary nonfiction, sensory language, and visualizing strategies.
We bundled 9 drawing conclusions task cards sets together and added BONUS cards!
These reading task cards use scaffolding to focus students on using text evidence to support conclusions.
STAAR Informational texts focused on science, matter, and energy.
STAAR-aligned, biographies, and black history month all in one task card bundle.
STAAR Stems and Schema
You can teach skills, hold guided reading groups, and execute the best literacy stations all day. Sometimes your students still struggle with the STAAR reading test!
There are two variables that have a major impact on STAAR reading scores:
- Student access to rigorous questioning.
- Student background knowledge in a variety of texts.
Schema for STAAR Passages
STAAR reading passages follow a concise set of plot lines, biographical profiles, and informational topics. We embed all of our STAAR task cards with these same topics and structures.
Using the same plot lines, biographical profiles, and informational topics directly builds student background knowledge. This has a massive impact on reading comprehension, as measured by STAAR reading.
It’s no secret, background knowledge is crucial for reading success, and our results prove it! Your students will love you for it too!
Task Cards with STAAR Stems
Let’s face it, publishers don’t get STAAR.
It’s like they make the questions from some other state test and then slap the Texas flag on it!
Not these STAAR resources.
All of our reading task cards have STAAR released question stems.
In some cases the stems are scaffolded with easier open-ended questions. The scaffolded questions build on easier reading skills to bridge the gap up to STAAR rigor.
Task Cards Aligned with STAAR 2.0
STAAR 2.0 aims to make the assessments more closely aligned with classroom learning and real-world application of skills. That’s great because that’s how we designed our STAAR Task Cards. Here are some key points about STAAR 2.0 that align with our task cards:
- Emphasis on deeper understanding: Instead of rote memorization and simple recall, STAAR 2.0 focuses on critical thinking, problem-solving, and application of knowledge in different contexts.
- New item types: Traditional multiple-choice questions are reduced, while interactive formats like drag-and-drop, open-ended responses, and performance tasks are introduced.
- Partial credit scoring: Students can earn partial credit on some questions, promoting deeper engagement and recognizing their progress.
- Online administration: Most STAAR 2.0 tests are administered online, providing greater flexibility and access to resources.
- Grade-level adjustments: The specific changes vary by grade level, with a greater emphasis on foundational skills in elementary grades and more complex application in high school.
STAAR Resources with the Newest TEKS
The new ELAR TEKS are here, and we’re ready for them. All of 2018 STAAR teaching resources are aligned to the new TEKS. Of course, our newest products are aligned as well.
Readiness TEKS
Of the seven new TEKS strands, we build our STAAR resources around the priority standards, the readiness TEKS. That doesn’t mean there aren’t supporting standards in our resources. They just don’t comprise the majority of the tasks.
What are the priority strands?
- Comprehension Skills
- Literary Elements
- Genres
- Author’s Purpose and Author’s Craft
Which Tested TEKS Are Covered?
We cover 100% of the STAAR Assessed Curriculum.
Alignment of Comprehension TEKS Across Grade Levels
TEKS 3.6C, 4.6C, 5.6C, 6.5C, 7.5C, 8.5C:
make and correct or confirm predictions using text features, characteristics of genre, and structures; (Supporting Standard)
TEKS 3.6E, 4.6E, 5.6E, 6.5E, 7.5E, 8.5E:
make connections to personal experiences, ideas in other texts, and society; (Readiness Standard)
TEKS 3.6F, 4.6F, 5.6F, 6.5F, 7.5F, 8.5F:
make inferences and use evidence to support understanding; (Readiness Standard)
TEKS 3.6G, 4.6G, 5.6G, 6.5G, 7.5G, 8.5G:
evaluate details read to determine key ideas; (Readiness Standard)
TEKS 3.6H, 4.6H, 5.6H, 6.5H, 7.5H, 8.5H:
synthesize information to create new understanding; (Readiness Standard)
Use Text Evidence to Support a Response
TEKS 3.7C, 4.7C, 5.7C, 6.6C, 7.6C, 8.6C: use text evidence to support an appropriate response; (Readiness Standard)
Retell / Paraphrase / Summarize While Maintaining Meaning & Logical Order
TEKS 3.7D: retell and paraphrase texts in ways that maintain meaning and logical order; (Supporting Standard)
TEKS 4.7D, 5.7D, 6.6D, 7.6D, 8.6D: retell, paraphrase, or summarize texts in ways that maintain meaning and logical order; (Readiness Standard)
(Note: Grades 4–8 expand “retell/paraphrase” to include “summarize,” and move it to Readiness.)
Responses Demonstrating Understanding of Texts (Constructed Response)
(Appears in Writing/Composition section but is part of Response Skills strand in STAAR)
TEKS 3.7B: write a response to a literary or informational text that demonstrates an understanding of a text; (Readiness Standard)
TEKS 4.7B, 5.7B: write responses that demonstrate understanding of texts, including comparing and contrasting ideas across a variety of sources; (Readiness Standard)
TEKS 6.6B, 7.6B, 8.6B: write responses that demonstrate understanding of texts, including comparing sources within and across genres; (Readiness Standard)
(Note: Grades 6–8 shift to “comparing sources within and across genres,” reflecting increased complexity.)
TEKS prior to 2022
Comprehension Skills TEKS
Comprehension skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student uses metacognitive skills to both develop and deepen comprehension of increasingly complex texts. The student is expected to:
Student Expectations A-D
(A) establish purpose for reading assigned and self-selected texts;(B) generate questions about text before, during, and after reading to deepen understanding and gain information;(C) make, correct, or confirm predictions using text features, characteristics of genre, and structures;(D) create mental images to deepen understanding;
Student Expectations E-I
(E) make connections to personal experiences, ideas in other texts, and society;(F) make inferences and use evidence to support understanding;(G) evaluate details read to determine key ideas;(H) synthesize information to create new understanding; and(I) monitor comprehension and make adjustments such as re-reading, using background knowledge, asking questions, and annotating when understanding breaks down.
Figure 19
The new TEKS no longer separate the comprehension skills from the rest of the TEKS. You will no longer find Figure 19.
Instead, those comprehension skills are embedded throughout the 7 ELAR strands.
Literary Elements
A) infer basic themes supported by text evidence;(B) explain the interactions of the characters and the changes they undergo;(C) analyze plot elements, including the rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution; and(D) explain the influence of the setting, including historical and cultural settings, on the plot.
Genres Skills
(A) demonstrate knowledge of distinguishing characteristics of well-known children’s literature such as folktales, fables, legends, myths, and tall tales;(B) explain figurative language such as simile, metaphor, and personification that the poet uses to create images;(C) explain structure in drama such as character tags, acts, scenes, and stage directions;(D) recognize characteristics and structures of informational text and (I) argumentative texts
Author’s Purpose and Craft
The student uses critical inquiry to analyze the authors’ choices and how they influence and communicate meaning within a variety of texts. The student analyzes and applies author’s craft purposefully in order to develop his or her own products and performances.
This strand is the link between reading and writing and some of the student expectations will be tested on STAAR Reading.
Response Skills
The response skills will not be tested as readiness TEKS, but they are essential.
You will find them in our open-ended tasks. They include making connections, retelling, paraphrasing, summarizing, and using text evidence.