Vocab
In the "Last Dance" what does the word 'reminisce' mean?
To think back on a past memory.
What is the Genre and Sub Genre of "The Tree"?
Genre: Fiction
Sub- Genre: Poetry
The readers can infer how the speaker in the poem feels how about the tree? Which line or stanza proves the speakers mood?
The speaker misses the tree, and the mood is regretful or sad.
-STANZA/ LINE: 15 "The gap it left created a silence, an emptiness, along the street: the presence of the absence of the tree."
What is personification?
When you give a non human object human characteristics.
In both text the speakers are losing something, what is being missed or loss?
In “Last Dance,” Julie experiences a feeling of loss when she faces the reality that her sister is leaving home; the speaker in “The Tree” experiences the loss of the tree and its shadows.
In poem what was the speaker in the story reminiscing about?
The Tree at their neighbors house.
What is the Genre and Sub Genre of "Last Dance"?
Genre: Fiction
Sub- Genre: Realistic Fiction
How will the speaker feel if they did not get one more dance party? Which paragraph/qoute supports your answer?
Paragraph 7: "I couldn’t shake the feeling of how upset I would be if we didn’t get to have one last dance party."
How does the author use personification in this sentence?
"Becca and I both started laughing and continued to dance as our anger crept out of the living room."
The author says that the anger in the room crept out the living room. ANGER DOES NOT WALK!
What does it mean to "not take anything for granted"?
Assuming that things will always be the same. CHANGE WILL ALWAYS HAPPEN.
What does "bittersweet" mean?
Hint: Paragraph 20
To like something yet it hurts.
or
Pleasant but including elements of suffering or regret
Explain what is realistic fiction.
What did the speaker mean by "...the sky burned brilliant red and gold..."?
The sun was setting and the sky was bright red and gold.
The author uses personification in what way?
"The leaves dance within the windows, filled, fractured, by the wind, the twilight."
The leaves are moving. LEAVES DO NOT DANCE!
What did the narrator in "Last Dance" take for granted?
Becca and Julie's dance party.
What is Julie feeling bittersweet about?
Her last dance with her sister
Which sentence best supports the idea Julie has a change of attitude about her sister leaving for college?
P20 "Things would always be changing, and though I hated to think of my sister leaving, the fact that this last dance was as important to her as it was to me made the moment even more special."
What can the reader infer about the narrator based on paragraph 7 of the story “Last Dance”? INCLUDE C+E
A She is angry that Becca has spent the last month busy with friends.
B She wonders if her relationship with Becca will change after the move.
C She thinks that Becca is happy about leaving home to go to college.
D She fears that the nightly tradition is no longer important to Becca.
D, The author states "We were older now, and I understood that Becca had things to do and was preoccupied with spending her final days of high school with her friends." This quote explains how Julie knew that Becca would be busy with other things.
Which is an example of personification?
A. "The classroom was a zoo."
B. "I felt like the food kept calling me."
C. "The boom of the fireworks scared the baby. "
B. "I felt like the food kept calling me."
How can you best summarize the each text?
POEM:
-B: Speaker introduces the shadow. M: Then notices the tree as it is being taken away. E: Finally the speaker is reminiscing about the tree.
STORY:
-B: Becca and Julie's dad requires the sisters to dance before they go to bed. M: Becca is moving to college and Julie is worried they will not have one last dance party. E: Becca approaches Julie for one last dance party.
What does refuge mean? (P6)
shelter or protection from danger or distress
In what way does Becca and Julie getting older help develop the story's plot?
As the sisters grew older then dance parties stopped.
What does the author mean by "...it was a refuge in the midst of our petty arguments and silly misunderstandings." (P6)
The dance parties kept the sisters from being upset with each other.
Read a sentence from both text that contains a similar idea. Which (group of lines/sentence) from each contains a similar idea?
Poem: Line 10 "I never noticed"
Story: Paragraph 7 "I never realized how much ..."
In both the story “Last Dance” and the poem “The Tree,” the theme is of not taking small wonders for granted. Which sentence do both narrators realize this?
For example, in the story, Julie says she realizes “that these were the moments to cherish” (paragraph 20), and in the poem, the speaker reflects, “For years I never noticed” (line 10) and “The gap it left created a silence” (line 14).