Elements of Fiction
Predictions/Inferences/Conclusions
Main Idea
Summarizing
Plot
100
Where and when a story takes place.
What is the setting?
100
Making a guess based on the title.
What is a prediction?
100
What the author's most important idea is.
What is the main idea?
100
Supporting details are________?
Details that relate to and help support the main idea.
100
The most exciting part of the story.
What is the climax?
200
The main character that the audience tends to root for.
What is the protagonist?
200
What you combine with your background knowledge to make an inference.
What is evidence from the text?
200
A sentence within the passage that contains the main idea.
What is a topic sentence?
200
The Ws that support the main idea.
What are who, what, when, where, and why?
200
The part of the plot where the conflict(s) build and it becomes more intense.
What is rising action?
300
Character versus Character, Character versus Society, Character versus Nature
What are the types of external conflicts?
300
Iggy squinted as he tried to see through the holes in the ski mask. He could make out the large bag on the counter. The frightened woman who put it there now had both hands raised. As he took the bag off of the counter, Iggy tipped an imaginary hat to the woman. The jest did not brighten her demeanor. Iggy exited the first set of doors but stopped in the vestibule. Soon the windows of the building pulsated with blue and red lights. Iggy hurriedly walked back into the building.
What is Iggy doing?
He is robbing a bank.
300
Being a clown isn't all fun and games. Rodeo clowns expose themselves to great danger every time they perform. When cowboys dismount or bulls buck them off, rodeo clowns jump in front of the bulls and motion wildly to get their attention. In this way, rodeo clowns provide an alternate target, and in doing so protect the rider. Of course, this is a very dangerous thing to do. So you see, sometimes clowning around can be serious business.
What is the main idea?
Being a clown isn't as easy as it seems.
300
Which of the following details would not be included in a summary of The Little Mermaid?
A. Ariel has red hair.
B. Ariel trades her voice for legs.
C. Prince Eric falls in love with Ariel anyway.
What is A?
300
Any action that takes place after the climax.
What is the falling action?
400
The moral or message the author wants you to learn.
What is the theme?
400
Gina looked in the mirror at the bright red pustule on her nose. She poked at it carefully, afraid that it might burst on her dress. It was large and painful. The more she prodded it, the larger it got. This is not how it was supposed to go! Gina thought to herself. Then she began crying. Her mother yelled up the stairs, "Gina! Eric is here!" This news made Gina even more distraught. Now her makeup was running and just as she feared, some of it got on her dress. "Why me? Why today?" Gina lamented to herself between sobs and gasps.
Why is Gina upset?
She has a pimple on her nose.
400
It's hard to imagine what things were like before there was money, but such a time did exist. During these times people exchanged goods using the barter system. The word barter means to trade. People using the barter system traded things instead of buying and selling them. So if you were a rice farmer, you would trade your rice with many people to get all the things that you wanted or needed. Unfortunately, the people from whom you needed things might not want your rice. Isn't it nice to just go to the store and buy candy instead of having to trade rice for it?
What is the main idea?
People used to barter or trade goods instead of buying things with money.
400
Which detail would be included in the summary of The Little Mermaid?
A. Ariel had a lot of forks.
B. Flounder was yellow.
C. Ursula put a curse on Ariel.
What is C?
400
The end of the plot.
What is the Resolution?
500
What is this?
What is a plot diagram?
500
Gina looked in the mirror at the bright red pustule on her nose. She poked at it carefully, afraid that it might burst on her dress. It was large and painful. The more she prodded it, the larger it got. This is not how it was supposed to go! Gina thought to herself. Then she began crying. Her mother yelled up the stairs, "Gina! Eric is here!" This news made Gina even more distraught. Now her makeup was running and just as she feared, some of it got on her dress. "Why me? Why today?" Gina lamented to herself between sobs and gasps.
Who is Eric?
Eric is Gina's date.
500
As young Americans mature into adults, they are tempted by the allure of easy credit. Credit card companies attempt to ensnare young people by giving away "free" headphones or sports towels in return for completing credit applications. Many of these young people go on to accumulate debt through undisciplined spending. They pay much more than the original loan because they are charged a high rate of interest and it takes them years to repay their debts. It is best to avoid this debt prison altogether.
What is the main idea?
Young people can easily end up with a lot of debt.
500
How do you say “Holy cow” in French? The fastest thing in France may just be the fastest ground transportation in the world. The TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse: French for very high speed) is France’s national high-speed rail service. On April 3rd, 2007, a TGV test train set a record for the fastest wheeled train, reaching 357.2 miles per hour. In mid-2011, TGV trains operated at the highest speed in passenger train service in the world, regularly reaching 200 miles per hour. But what you may find most shocking is that TGV trains run on electric power, not petrol. Now if you’ll excuse me; I have a record to catch.
Summarize this paragraph in one sentence.
The TGV is a French Train that set a record for the fastest wheeled train and the fastest passenger car service.
500
The part of the story where the characters and setting are introduced.
What is the exposition?