Phrases to Push Your Thinking:
· I’m noticing…
· I’m thinking…
· It seems as though…
· It’s possible that…
· I wonder…Perhaps…
· On page__, the text stated…
· The author explained that…
· I’m wondering…
· For example…
· In the text it states…
· This is revealed when…
· This seems like the kind of place…
· ______seems like the kind of person…
· I suspect…
· I’m envisioning…
· Some evidence from the text is…
· This makes me think…
· One idea I have is______, but on the other hand….
Say More!:
· What’s more…
· In other words…
· This connects to…
· On the other hand…
Making High Level Predictions:
Usually, we predict:
· at turning points in a story
· when the character(s) is faced with a choice or challenge
To make a strong prediction you should:
· Bring everything you know about the character(s)/events to your prediction
· Predict what the character will do and how they will do it
· Explain how you arrived at your prediction - "I know this because..." “This is evident when…” “It is revealed…”(use text evidence!)
Envisioning:
Good readers envision the text as they read. This means that good readers:
· Create an image in their mind of what the characters and setting look like.
· Make mental movies of plot events - what does it look like, sounds like, feel like!? You should be using all 5 senses here!
· Live in a "text world" while reading - feels like you are almost there yourself
· If your mental movie is fuzzy or unclear, then it is time to go back and re-read!
· There should be a significant idea behind why you are envisioning a moment in the text—the envision should lead you to a deeper understanding of the plot, characters, conflicts, or themes revealed in the text.
· There should be an underlying idea behind the moment you envisioned.
Lift a Line (Citing Evidence):
· Strong readers evaluate the text for meaning. Authors often use powerful lines in their stories to send a message to the reader. Students should look for lines that:
· are important or significant to the story
· send a message to the reader
· include powerful details
· help you understand or make meaning of the text
· are interesting or curious – thought provoking
· Your lifted line should be a quote and written exactly as it is stated in the text.
· You should follow your lifted line with This makes me think (TMMT)... or This shows, this reflects, this explains, this demonstrates... as a way to reflect on what the line teaches, shows, or says that is relevant to understanding the story.
Character Theory:
· A character theory is when you develop an insight about a character based on the words, actions, and reactions of the character.
· Descriptions within the text, the thoughts and opinions of secondary and minor characters can be evidence to formulate your theory.
· Clues from the setting, and author descriptions, create rich evidence for the reading detective to collect.
· Readers are detectives trying to piece together “who the character” really is by putting together all the clues you are given and then develop a “character theory”.
· Character theories help the reader understand how characters will react or handle situations in the future.
· Start your post it, “A theory about my character is that he/she is …(some examples might be...compassionate, selfless, wise, complex)
Setting and Its Impact on Characters
· The setting dictates a character’s personality and development. A well-developed setting gives readers a clear understanding about how characters will behave.
· The setting affects the choices characters make, in accordance with that setting’s rules. Characters thus have a relationship with the setting as much as they do with other characters.
o In “All Summer In A Day” by Ray Bradbury, the setting is like a cage that locks Margo inside. This is the type of place where your soul is trapped. The incessantly rainy planet is the kind of place that washes out all your hopes and dreams and confines you to its monotony. In the story, Margot’s classmates lock her inside a closet and deprive her of her one joy and hope which is to break out of her cage and feel the warmth of the sun. Like the planet is a cage for the students, Margot’s classmates trap her in the closet, which denies her of her livelihood and ultimately breaks her spirit. Ultimately, the setting within this story is the type of place that traps dreams until your spirit is broken and you feel hopeless.
· The setting can mirror the characters’ lives or experiences. If the setting is undergoing chaos or destruction, examine the events, experiences, or feelings of the characters to see if the setting is mirroring a character’s life, experiences, or emotions.
· In some instances, the setting will juxtapose (or be in contrast with) the character’s life for a contrasting effect. (Consider when Margot is locked in the closet, all of the students are enjoying the sun, feeling its warmth, basking in the rays of the sunlight. By having Margot in the dark, hopeless, robbed of her dream to see the sun, the beautiful weather in the setting creates a sharp contrast to her classmates’ savoring of the sun.)
Author’s Craft
Authors make deliberate choices with regard to how they craft a text. These choices affect how the reader connects with the text.
Examples of author’s craft include:
· Use of symbolism
· Literary devices
o Foreshadowing
o Flashback
o Imagery
o Point of view (P.O.V.)
o Word choice
o Repetition
o dialogue
o Figurative language
§ Simile
§ Metaphor
§ Personification
§ Alliteration
§ Hyperbole
§ Onomatopoeia
Symbolism-(Information from Love Your Pencil.org)
· Symbolism occurs when a simple thing in a book or a movie represents or stands for a big idea. When that happens, the simple thing is a symbol for a big idea.
Conflict
· A conflict is a problem that the main character or characters face.
· Every story worth reading has a conflict.
· If there is no conflict, there is no tension.
· Some stories have multiple conflicts.
· Types of Conflict
o Person vs. Person (Man vs. Man, Character vs. Character)
§ The central character faces opposition from another person or group of people.
§ Example:
· Two girls compete for the same role in the school play.
o Person vs. Self (Man vs. Self, Women vs. Self, or Character vs. Self)
§ The central character faces an internal struggle.
§ Example
· A young man goes through hard times after losing his father in a car accident.
o Person vs. Society (Man vs. Society, Women vs. Society, or Character vs. Society)
§ The central character or group of characters battle against traditions, institutions, or laws.
§ Example
· A student takes his fight against the school dress code all the way to the Supreme Court.
o Person vs. Nature (Man vs. Nature, Women vs. Nature, or Character vs. Nature)
§ The central character struggles against animals, the elements, or other natural forces.
§ Example
· A castaway washes up on an island and must learn to survive with the available resources.
o Person vs. Supernatural (Man vs. Supernatural, Women vs. Supernatural, or Character vs. Supernatural)
§ The central character is challenged by forces that are not of this world.
§ Example
· A boy wizard must use his powers to protect his community from evil monsters.
o Person vs. Technology (Man vs. Technology, Women vs. Technology, Character vs. Technology)
§ The central character struggles with or against the forces of technology.
§ Example
· A teenage boy is pursued by robots from space that transform into cars.