Vocabulary
This element of plot includes the time and place of the story
setting
The main character of the story
Vinny
a deep, narrow valley made by running water.
ravine
"It was the one above it, the one you had to work up to, the big one, where you had to take a deadly zigzag trail that climbed up and away from the waterfall, then cut back and forth to a foot-wide ledge something more like fifty feet up. That was the problem. That's where the boy had jumped from.
What inference can you make about how Vinny feels about jumping from this precipice?
He is scared to do it.
How does Vinny feel about going to the pond?
Nervous and anxious
The protagonist of the story
Vinny
Vinny's best friend and they have a teasing relationship.
Joe-Boy
The American State where the story takes place at
Hawaii
"Starlene in her cutoff jeans and soaked T-shirt, stood perfectly still, her arms at her sides. Vinny suddenly felt like hugging her. Why, he couldn't tell."
What inference can you make about how Vinny feels?
He likes her or he's worried about her and wants to protect her.
What is important about the legend of the Stone Goddess?
It is a way for Starlene to say the boy did not die.
This is the type of conflict that a character experiences when they are battling a problem in their head or heart and have to make a choice.
internal conflict
The character who believes the dead boy was taken by the Stone Goddess.
Starlene
Give one example from the story that lets us know that even though it's a beautiful setting, it's also very dangerous.
Possible answers:
Slippery, muddy trail
High precipice
Shallow water
Teacher's discretion
"Are you going to jump, or is Joe-Boy right?"
"Joe-Boy's an idiot. Sure I'm going to jump."
What inference can you make about Vinny's decision to jump?
He doesn't want to look scared to his friends/ or he wants to impress Starlene/he buckled under the peer pressure.
How does Vinny change by the end of the story?
He learns it is ok to not always do as his friends say.
This is the type of conflict where the protagonist struggles with another character, nature, or even society.
External conflict
The friend who was afraid of nothing.
Mo
How tall was the highest cliff?
Fifty feet
"Starlene said it was the goddess that took him, the one that lives in the stone down by the road. She did that every now and then, Starlene said, took somebody when she got lonely. Took him and kept him. Vinny had heard that legend before, but he'd never believed in it."
Make an inference- why does Starlene tell Vinny this?
She doesn't want to believe the boy is dead or she wants to make Vinny feel better because he's so scared.
What does Vinny mean when he thinks that "he'd never seen anything so beautiful in all his life" at the end of the story?
He is glad to be alive and living in this place. He feels proud for making his own decision.
This is the term used when we make an educated guess about something or someone in a story based on clues in the text or our own prior knowledge.
Inference
Name of the boy who died at the ravine.
Butchie
What is the most important thing about the setting of the story?
It is the place where a boy died.
"He didn't want to be here. It was too soon, way too soon.
He saw a footprint in the mud and stepped around it."
Make an inference- whose footprint is it?
The dead boy's footprint.
What effect do Vinny's parents have on Vinny after their discussion about the boy who died?
Vinny felt guilty about going as it disobeyed his mother. Felt childish he doesn't want to "get back on the horse", and weak because he cant say no to his friends.