Plot
What is the climax?
the turning point of the story
The opening sentence of a mystery novel reads: "No one ever visited the house at the end of Willow Lane after midnight—not if they wanted to come back."
**What role does this opening sentence play in setting up the story?
Hook - Introduces setting
It creates suspense, hooks the reader, and sets a dark, mysterious tone.
The narrator is the ________.
person telling the story
The sequence of events in a story or novel is called the ________.
plot
An author wants you to feel like you are standing inside a bustling marketplace. They describe the smell of roasting spices, the noisy chatter of vendors, and the bright colors of woven carpets through the narrator's eyes.
**How does the author use sensory details to develop the narrator's perspective?
dialogue
descriptions
inner thoughts
character’s reactions/ behavior
Descriptions, sensory details
Interest and suspense are built during which part of the story?
rising action
In Chapter 4 of an adventure story, the main character drops their only map into a rushing river, and it washes away.
** How does this specific scene contribute to the overall plot of the story?
Introduces Conflict
It creates the central conflict/obstacle that forces the character to rely on their own skills or seek help
Which sentence is written in second person point of view?
A.) Erin did not want to go to the grocery store.
B.) You did not want to go to the grocery store.
C.) Mariah did not want to go to the grocery store.
D.) I did not want to go to the grocery store.
B.) You did not want to go to the grocery store.
I didn't like creeping down the dark alley.
From which point of view is this sentence written?
first person
What is the most common type of conflict in a story?
character vs. character
A graphic novel includes a full-page image showing a character standing tiny at the bottom of a massive, dark staircase looking up toward a single glowing door.
** How does this image contribute to the meaning of the scene?
Makes the character seem small
It visually emphasizes how overwhelmed, small, or intimidated the character feels by the challenge ahead.
Which sentence is written in third person point of view?
A.) I brought my mother breakfast this morning.
B.) You always wear your seatbelt.
C.) We didn't mean to hurt Jorge's feelings!
D.) Cynthia and her brother walked home from school this afternoon.
D.) Cynthia and her brother walked home from school this afternoon.
** Read the passage. Which plot element is shown in italics? **
It was dark and a little eerie by the campfire where Jonas and his friends were huddled. They were telling ghost stories, and each boy tried to make his story scarier than the last. Jonas looked around to see if his dad was anywhere nearby. Suddenly, they heard a loud crack and rustling in the nearby woods. "What's that?" whispered Jonas to the boy next to him. He didn't want to admit it, but he was downright scared now. His heart was racing. He could see a large shadowy figure approaching, holding something that looked like a knife. "Thought you might want to toast some marshmallows," said Jonas's father as he stepped into the light of the fire. He held up a bag of marshmallows in one hand and metal skewers--not a knife--in the other. Jonas and his friends breathed sighs of relief. His father taught the group a secret trick for making toasted marshmallows, and they each ate about fifteen.
CLIMAX
Read this passage:
"Maya stared at the test paper. Her palms were sticky with sweat, and her heart pounded like a snare drum. 'I've studied for three nights,' she whispered to herself, 'so why can't I remember the first answer?'"
** How does the author reveal Maya’s anxiety? (2 ANSWERS)
dialogue
descriptions
inner thoughts
character’s reactions/ behavior
3. Inner thoughts
4. character's reactions/behavior
Through her internal dialogue/thoughts and physical actions/reactions
**Choose the two words that best complete the sentence.**
During the introduction, it is important to introduce the ________ and the ________.
characters, conflict
Right before the hero makes a huge decision in Chapter 10, the author includes a brief flashback scene showing the hero's grandfather giving them a silver compass years ago.
** How does this flashback scene contribute to the hero's decision in the present?
Background Information
It provides key background knowledge about the hero's values and motivation for their choice
A ________ narrator can see and describe every character's thoughts.
third person, omniscient
What is the most common Hook for a Fairy Tale?
Once upon a time....
Two characters watch a stray dog run into an alley. Character A thinks, "That dog looks dangerous and wild," while Character B thinks, "That poor dog looks lost and hungry."
** How does the author show that Character A and Character B have different perspectives on the same event?
dialogue
descriptions
inner thoughts
character’s reactions/ behavior
3. inner thoughts
By revealing their contrasting internal thoughts/opinions about the dog
Write the plot elements in the correct order. (5 words/ phrases total)
exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, conclusion
A story ends with the line: "The old wooden key sat on the kitchen table, untouched, exactly where he had left it twenty years ago."
** How does this final sentence contribute to the theme or overall meaning of the story?
It symbolizes lost time, regret, or an opportunity that was never taken.
We laughed so hard that milk came out of our noses.
From which point of view is the sentence written?
first person
In a story about a stormy night, the narrator repeatedly compares the dark clouds to "angry monsters guarding the sky" and the wind to "a harsh voice screaming at the window."
** How does the author's choice of figurative language (word choice/tone) develop the narrator's frightened perspective?
The dark, aggressive imagery shows that the narrator views the storm as threatening rather than just rainy
An author uses a narrator who only sees things from a child's perspective—misunderstanding adult conversations and misinterpreting serious events as games.
** How does using an unreliable or limited narrator shape how the reader understands the story's events?
Audience does not get all of the information.
It creates a gap between what the narrator understands and what the reader realizes is actually happening