Objective Summaries
When writing an objective summary for a fictional text, you should focus on the ____.
Main character!
Inferences are _____.
Educated guesses about a text!
What is the difference between direct characterization and indirect characterization?
Direct characterization is when the author TELLS you something about a character (eg: they are mean).
Indirect characterization is when the author SHOWS you something about a character, and readers may have different interpretations about it.
Themes are never just ____ ______, and they should always be written as ________ _________.
One word. Universal statements.
What are the 6 plot conflict types?
Character vs. Character
Character vs. Self
Character vs. Nature
Character vs. Supernatural
Character vs. Technology
Character vs. Society
The biggest difference between Objective vs. Subjective summaries are_____.
Objective summaries are free from bias or opinions whereas subjective summaries include both bias and opinions.
What 3 things do we need to consider when making an inference?
Prior experience, textual evidence, and clues from the text
What does the STEAL acronym stand for? (discuss what each letter represents)
S: Speech
T: Thoughts
E: Effect on Others
L: Looks beyond physical traits
What 3 things should we consider when we are trying to identify the theme?
1. Character changes
2. Character mistakes
3. The plot conflict!
What is the difference between internal and outer dialogue?
Internal dialogue reveals the character's thoughts and feelings. These don't have to be said out loud.
Outer dialogue is all spoken dialogue between characters.
Abigail heard a soft cry and immediately rushed to her window, but she could not see anything. She sprinted out of her room, and while heading downstairs, she called out to her older sister and mother who were cooking dinner in the kitchen.
Clair shouted, "Abigail, how many times do I have to tell you to not run down the stairs. You could fall down!"
"I heard a strange cry and I just wanted to let you know that I'm going out to see what it is," Abigail said and dashed out of the house.
Clair called her older daughter Mia and they both followed Abigail in confusion.
On the driveway, Mia too heard the sound that resembled an infant crying. "Mum, could it be a lost child?" Mia asked in concern.
"It sounds like there are two infants crying," Claire said, catching up with Abigail.
Following the sound, they reached their garden toolshed, and to their surprise, they found two little kittens crying in a corner.
Feeling relieved, Clair said, "I had heard before that the cry of a cat or kitten could sound like that of a human baby, but until now, I didn't think it was true. Let the little ones be, I'm sure their mother will come by soon and we can check on them later." The trio went back home with smiles on their faces.
Which of the following statements provides the BEST objective summary of the passage?
A. Abigail hears a cry and with the help of her sister and mother, follows the sound to find its source. They think the sound belongs to babies, only to find two little kittens crying.
B. Abigail hears a cry outside her window and runs downstairs to find its source. Abigail's mother scolds her for running down the stairs in haste as she could hurt herself.
C. Abigail hears a crying sound outside her window. She heads out to look for the source after informing her mother and sister. They realize that there are two different crying sounds.
D. Abigail hears a crying sound and runs out of the house to locate the source after informing her mother and sister. She later finds two kittens inside the garden tool shed.
Abigail hears a cry and with the help of her sister and mother, follows the sound to find its source. They think the sound belongs to babies, only to find two little kittens crying.
Just as he has done every day for the past 2 months, Jason checked the mail as soon as he got off the bus. He grabbed the stack of white envelopes and without looking through them headed into his house. As he laid the envelopes on the counter, he threw his book bag down the hall in the general direction of his room. Jason stared at the mail laying on the counter. He knew it could be any day now. His mom has been showing him pictures on Facebook of happy seniors posing with their letters. Ever since he was a little boy he knew what he wanted to do and where he wanted to go. His hands trembled as he flipped through the stack. He stopped when he recognized the logo in the upper left-hand corner. He started at it for an eternity. Questions, doubt and uncertainty paralyzed him. Should I open it? Save it for when my parents get home? Do nothing with it? What if they reject me? He shook his head to clear his thoughts, took a deep breath, and carefully slid his finger along the top to break the seal. Almost terrified of what it would say, Jason took another deep breath and steeled himself for the possible rejection as he gently unfolded the paper. Engrossed in what he was reading, he didn't hear his mom come in the side door. "Hey, sweetie," she shouted down the hall. As she approached the kitchen where Jason was now sitting with his back to her, she asked, "Did the mail come? I checked the box and it was empty." He turned around with a big smile on his face and tears running down his cheeks. "It's finally here! Get your camera ready!" Jason exclaimed.
What can you infer about Jason?
A. Jason was tired of having the check the mail everyday for his parents.
B. Jason was hesitant and a little sad to tell his mother what came in the mail.
C. Jason was overwhelmed with joy that he finally received his acceptance letter to the college of his choice.
D. Jason was embarrassed that his mom would take pictures of him and post them to Facebook and wanted to hide what the letter said.
Jason was overwhelmed with joy that he finally received his acceptance letter to the college of his choice.
What does this passage reveal about Ricky? Explain your answer:
Ricky looked around to see if anyone was coming, then quietly took the girl’s cell phone from her open purse and slipped it into his own pocket.
Ricky was sneaky/dishonest/a thief (answers may vary)
Israel caught the pass and ran towards the end zone like his life depended on it. He dodged and jumped over the opposing players who were coming toward him like heat guided missiles. Israel was 5 yards from the end zone and could see someone coming at him from the side. As the opponent dove towards him, Israel did a front flip into the end zone. He turned towards the score board and what he saw made his heart jump for joy. 21-18. They did it! Not only were they undefeated, they are now state champions. Israel triumphantly lifted the ball above his head. Despite the numerous obstacles he had last season, he had broken all of his school's rushing yards this year. Israel unconsciously rubbed his knee and thought back to the preseason game last year when he blew out his knee, had surgery, and spent months in rehab wondering if he would ever take the field again. He could almost feel the pain he had experienced. There were times he was close to giving up, but he pushed through by visualizing a moment just like this one. His teammates finally made it to the end zone to celebrate with him. As they lifted him up on their shoulders, he smiled out at the crowd cheering for them and held the football up in victory.
What is the theme of this passage?
A. You need the support of your family to overcome the challenges.
B. You should stay humble and avoid bragging about your accomplishments.
C. Through determination and hard work, you can overcome challenges in order to achieve a goal.
D. Some dreams are unrealistic and should be kept to yourself if you want them to come true at some point in your life.
Through determination and hard work, you can overcome challenges in order to achieve a goal.
What are the 3 things dialogue can do?
1. Propel the action
2. Provoke a decision
3. Reveal aspects of a character