1. What we know so far in English!
Experts in thinking about reading!

2. Predict A guess about what the book is about Or what will happen next
Use at the beginning of a book
Or beginning of a chapter!
Answer your prediction

3. Vocabulary
The word
Dictionary definition
What it means in the story!

4. envision A picture of a scene from the book
A picture of your connection to that scene

5. inference What you know about the story + What you know about life
___________________________________________
A new thought about the book
(an educated guess about character, plot, conflict)

6. Author’s Purpose …quote from the book that is unusual
Or shows a special quality that the author highlights
Explain what the quote shows the reader about the story, what would change it the author took it out, what pattern does it show in the story

7. Figurative Language
…portion of the figurative language that is important
Identify the type (simile, personification, etc.)
Meaning in the story

8. Theme Life lesson in the story Quote from the book
How it shows the life lesson
Usually more than one in a complex text

9. Compare/Contrast Venn Diagram:
Should have three important comparisons in each section

10. Drawing a Conclusion
using information that is implied or inferred to make meaning out of what is not clearly stated
read between the lines, since not everything is explicitly stated or spelled out all the time

11. imagery Words that create a picture in your mind
Using sensory detail to paint a picture in your mind
Write the imagery and explain why it is important in the story

12. Background knowledge Used especially in historical fiction
Look up any information that seems strange or special to a certain time period
Use that information to broaden your understanding of the text

13. Conflict External Man vs man Man vs society Man vs nature
Man vs machine
Internal
Man vs self

14. Irony Something other than expected
Situational irony: fire in a fire station
Verbal irony: say something but you mean the opposite
Dramatic irony: when viewer/reader knows something that the character doesn’t

15. suspense
Building up of excitement in a story through repeated or words or phrases
Write one phrase
Tell me how it builds mood in the story

16. Point of view 1st person: narrator tells the story, I
2nd person: you (understood you), instructions, directions, recipes
3rd omniscient: know more than one person’s thoughts, I, she, we, they…but narrator takes over and tells you what other people are thinking
3rd limited: only know one person’s thoughts

17. foreshadow A hint about what is going to happen in the story
Write the hint
Predict what it means
Determine if you are correct about the hint

18. flashback
when a scene or a character goes back in time to explain an important past event
Usually explains an important plot point
Briefly explain what happened and explain why it is important in the story

19. symbolism An image or words that stand for something else
Example: US flag stands for freedom
Used in short stories to highlight patterns important to the story

20. Characterization:
Direct: the author explicitly describes the character
Mrs. Cudmore hates to go outside when it is hot.
Indirect: the author describes a character through dialogue, actions, and through other characters.
Mrs. Cudmore stomped back inside. Her hair was flat and sweat was pouring down her face.
She said, “Give me a cold Pepsi, right now!”