Character Motivation
Character Motivation is...
The reason why a character does something.
Theme is...
An inference is...
An educated guess/a guess made based off of explicit details from the text.
Order of events is...
the order/sequence that the events in a story take place.
Historical context is...
the information about the time period/place/events that inspired the text.
True or False: Character motivation is always directly stated in the text.
False
True or False: Theme is always directly stated in the text.
False
True or False: An inference does not have to be 100% accurate.
True! However, there are strong inferences and weak inferences.
True or False: There is only one correct sequence of events in a story.
True! The correct order of events will be ordered based on the way they took place in the story.
True or False: The historical context is not important to understand the text.
False! Knowing the historical context is helpful in understanding why events/characters were chosen.
Identify the motivation for the wolf in the following passage:
The wolf began chasing the pigs. His mouth was watering and the pigs smelled like dinner. The wolf begged the pigs to let him into their home and threatened to knock the house down if they didn't let him in.
The wolf was motivated by his desire to eat the pigs.
True or False: 'Friendship' is an acceptable theme.
False! Themes are never only one word.
A student is walking slowly to class with their headphones in, their shoulders slumped, and their head down.
We can infer that this student might be...
A. Excited for class
B. Running late to class
C. Tired
D. Enthusiastic about their last class
C. Tired
What is the correct sequence of events for "The Three Little Pigs"?
Wolf arrives
Pig builds house of brick and stone
Wolf blows down the house of straw
Pig builds house of straw
Pigs run to house of brick and stone
Pig builds house of sticks and twigs
Wolf blows down house of sticks
Wolf tries to trick the pigs into letting him into the house of bricks and stone
Wolf lands in pot of boiling water and runs from house crying
Pig builds house of straw
Pig builds house of sticks and twigs
Pig builds house of brick and stone
Wolf arrives
Wolf blows down house of straw
Wolf blows down house of twigs
Pigs run to house of brick and stone
Wolf tries to tick the pigs into letting him into the house of bricks and stone
Wolf lands in pot of boiling water and runs from house crying
True or False: Historical context can help a reader understand why an author chooses to make characters act a certain way in the text.
True! Characters might think or act a certain way based on the historical environment that is surrounding the author or the time period.
Identify the character's motivation for throwing the statue in the water based on the following details:
"Is that where my sculpture is?" - Annie
"In the water." - Annie's father
"Annie, your father was the hunter," he says, "He was not the prey." - Annie's father
"Annie, when I saw your mother for the first time, I was not just out of prison. I was a guard in the prison. One of the prisoners I was questioning had scratched me with a piece of tin. I went out to the street in rage, blood all over my face. I was about to go back and do something bad, very bad. But instead comes your mother. I smash into her, and she asks me what I am doing there. I told her I was just let go from prison and she held my face and cried in my hair." - Annie's father
"The Book of the Dead" HMH Intro to Literature National 10, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing, Pages 7-15
Annie's father threw the statue into the water because he felt guilty about lying to her all her life.
False! Themes are universal. They should be able to apply to anyone - this mentions specific characters and events.
A student gets their paper back in their English class. They see a star shaped stamp at the top and a number circled in green ink. The student stands up and shouts excitedly.
Create an "I think _______, because ________" sentence that infers what happened in this situation.
Answers may vary, but might look like:
I think the student got a good grade on their paper because they saw a green circled number, a star stamp, and they got excited.
What is the correct order of events from "The Book of the Dead"?
Annie's Dad takes sculpture
Annie is born
Parents meet and marry and leave Haiti
Annie and dad go to actress's house for lunch
Parents born in Haiti
Annie and dad go to Florida
Annie makes sculpture
Annie's dad reveals the truth to Annie
Dad works in prison
Parents born in Haiti
Dad works in prison
Parents meet and marry and leave Haiti
Annie is born
Annie makes sculpture
Annie and dad go to Florida
Annie's dad takes sculpture
Annie's dad reveals the truth to Annie
Annie and dad go to actress's house for lunch
How might historical context shape a character's point of view about themselves?
A. It reveals what year they were born
B. It shows that their experiences can have an effect on their emotions and behavior
C. It shows the character's family history
B. It shows that their experiences can have an effect on their emotions and behavior
Identify the character motivation for the narrator's sister based on the details below.
My sister took my favorite shirt after I told her not to touch my things. She spilled tomato sauce all over the shirt and didn't even bother to clean it.
When I went to talk to her about it, she reminded me that I did the same thing to her favorite skirt in December.
A. She is lazy and doesn't want to clean the shirt
B. She wants revenge for the narrator ruining her favorite skirt.
C. She just wanted to borrow a cute shirt.
D. She felt sad that the narrator's shirt was ruined.
B. She wants revenge for the narrator ruining her favorite skirt.
What is a possible theme for the following passage:
Jessica was very excited to eat the skittles she had just purchased. The red ones were her favorite! As she settled in, Alice came to sit next to her. "Give me the red ones!" she said. Jessica was hesitant, but Alice was one of the coolest girls in school, so Jessica reluctantly gave her the red skittles then Alice left. Jessica was still excited because the orange ones were her second favorite. Just as she was about to eat them, Mandy came over to Jessica and demanded, "Give me the purple and orange ones! Remember the time when I shared my Cheeze Its with you?" Jessica did not remember this instance. However, Mandy was one of the coolest girls in school, so she gave her the skittles and Mandy walked away. Left with only the green and yellow skittles, which Jessica hated, she was no longer happy about eating skittles.
You can't buy friendship
Don't sacrifice your happiness for others
Not everyone will be a friend
Just as I was about to enter the zoo, I heard a loud crashing sound followed by an intense roar. I began to round the corner, when I saw something crazy! A large crowd was running toward me and shouting.
Create an "I think _______, because _______" statement that infers what happened in this situation.
Answers may vary, but might look something like:
I think an animal escaped from their exhibit because of the sounds that were heard and the fact that a large crowd was running away from where the sound happened.
Create a sequence of important events from "What, of this Goldfish..." that includes at least 5 major events in the correct order.
Answers may vary, but might include:
Yoni wants to make a film about a magic goldfish.
Yoni knocks on Sergei's door and is let in.
Yoni sees the goldfish, gets excited, and Sergei kills him.
Sergei struggles to make the right choice, remembering all the other wishes he has used for others.
Sergei uses his last wish to save Yoni.
What can historical context reveal about a text?
A. The time and place a text occurs
B. The political background of a given area during a certain time
C. The conflicts that are occurring in a place at a certain time
D. All of the above
D. All of the above