"To read is to voyage through time." - Carl Sagan

   

In this, our first fiction unit of the year we will dive deep into how we become better readers by learning how to analyze what is happening in fiction. This involves knowing which parts of the story carry the most meaning and interest and how to cite evidence from the story and explain your thinking.

 

- What are the roles that secondary characters play?

- Better than nice or bad- which character traits are worth mentioning. 

- Plot - it's what happens. But is it simple or complex? And what kind of conflict are we dealing with?

- Setting - how does it turn up the tension and make entire stories possible?

- Theme - We read a book about a tree, but what was the story really about? Turns out trees can teach us about resilience.

- What can Memory Moments teach us

- The older person offers Wise Words - our characters need some help.

- What does it mean when characters act in contradictory ways?

- Aha Moments! equal turning points in the story. 

- When Tough Questions are asked, thinking about how we would respond can help us better understand the pressures or characters are under.

- If some word or images keeps coming up again and again - then the author wants us to understand something big.