Interactive Literature Notebook

6th grade

Table of Contents• Plot Vocabulary• Elements of Plot• Character Traits• Plot Pyramid• Theme

Plot Vocabulary

The chain of events that make up the story.

The time and place of the story.

Problems that arise as characters struggle to reach their goals.

Plot Vocabulary

The main character in a story.

The character or force in conflict with the protagonist.

Little Red Riding HoodPlot – While visiting her sick Granny, Little Red Riding Hood finds the Big Bad Wolf dressed as Granny and in her bed to trick Little Red so that he can eat her!Setting – In the woods, at Granny’s house, a long time agoComplications – Big Bad Wolf eats Granny and pretends to be herProtagonist – Little Red Riding HoodAntagonist – The Big Bad Wolf

Elements of Plot• The first part of the plot• Characters, setting, and basic

situation are revealed• The events that sets the story in

motion• Makes the rest of the story possible• Main part of the story• Moves the plot along• Where complications arise• The most exciting or intense part of

the story for the protagonist• The OMG!• Usually the turning point• Events that follow the climax and lead

to the resolution• Conflicts begin moving towards

resolution• The end of the story• Loose ends of the plot are tied up• Remaining questions are answered• Conflicts are resolved

Goldilocks and the Three Bears• Exposition – • Characters – Goldilocks, 3 bears• Setting – In the woods, sometime in the past

• Inciting Incident – Goldilocks finds a house and decides to go in

• Rising Action- Goldilocks eats baby’s porridge, breaks baby’s chair, and falls asleep in baby’s bed. The bears return home and find that someone has been there.

• Climax- The bears discover Goldilocks asleep in baby’s bed; she wakes

• Falling Action- She screams and runs out of the house

• Resolution- Goldilocks never returns again

Character TraitsPositive Negative

List 10 positive character traits here.

List 10 negative character traits here.

Plot Pyramid“Just Once”

Thomas J Dygard

Characters: Moose, Jerry Dixon, Coach WilliamsSetting: HS Football FieldEvent: Moose wants to carry the ball; the coach won’t let him

The Moose accepts his role as the lineman.

-Jerry’s touchdown

-The Moose asks the coach for the ball and is turned down -The crowd chants for the Moose

The Moose

gets the ball

-Tacklers were after the Moose-The Moose got tackled-The Moose scored!

ThemeThe truth or central idea a story reveals about life

Moral, life-lesson, message

A debatable opinion

Implied not stated

Any theme can be considered valid

THEME

IF you can support it with text evidence!

“Just Once”What is the theme of “Just Once”? Use text evidence to support your answer.

Full House Theme SongThere’s a face of somebody who needs you

Everywhere you look, there’s a heart

A light is waiting to carry you home

Family members are there for each other and help each other.

There’s a hand to hold on to

HomeFriendsFamily Being Togeth

er

Themes

Christian the Lion Video ClipAfter a year apart, Christian embraces his former owners

Christ

ian

beca

me wild

–

head

of a

pride

Told he would not remember his owners

Introduced his wife!

Love and friendship last a lifetime and endure separation.

ThemesLove

AnimalsFriendshi

pSacrifice

Alternate Clip

“All Summer in a Day”“All Summer in a Day” Ray Bradbury

Venus

Margot, teacher, classmates

They are expecting the sun to come out for the first time in 7 years.

3rd person omniscient

The rain was slackening

The children were mean to Margot

The children lock Margot in the closet.

The rain stops and the sun comes out!

The children play outside in the sun for 2 hours

The rain begins

The children let Margot out of the closet

Margot’s withdrawal vs. the children’s lack of compassion

Theme: Jealousy - the children are jealous that Margot has seen the sun and they haven’t

Internal & External Conflict

Conflict – a struggle between opposing forces or characters

• Without conflict, a story would be boring!• A story can have several conflicts• The main conflict is central to the plot and is

usually resolved at the resolution

Internal & External Conflict

• Takes place inside a character’s mind or heart

• Sometimes involves a decision

• Takes place between a character and something outside the character

• Outside forces = nature, an event/situation, or another character

Internal & External ConflictMargot from “All Summer in a Day”

Margot keeps to herself because she feels she does not fit in with her classmates.

Margot misses Earth and the sun.

Point of ViewPoint of View – the standpoint from which a story is told

Told from the viewpoint of one of the characters using pronouns “I” and “We”

Second Person

The narrator refers to the reader as "you", making the audience member feel as if he is a character within the story.

Point of View

The narrator is an outside observer who can tell us the thoughts and feelings of all of the characters in a story

The narrator reports the facts of a narrator as a seemingly neutral and impersonal outside observer

The narrator is an outside observer that focuses on the thoughts and feelings of only one character

ACEnswerthe question succinctly, restating the question.

ite text evidence that strongly supports your answer. Direct –

quoteIndirect - paraphrase

xplain how the text evidence supports your answer. Elaborate and extend when necessary.

Ways to Cite Text

• On page 12…• In paragraph 4…• The author states…• According to the text…• An example from the

text…

“The Emperor’s New Clothes”

What character trait is revealed about the emperor through his actions as the story unfolds? Choose one trait and back it up with text evidence.

In “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” the emperor’s actions reveal that he is gullible.

On page 5, the emperor stood in front of the mirror ready to march in his parade. When the people exclaimed, “Oh, how well they look! How well they fit!” (Andersen 140) the emperor believed them, allowing his fear of looking foolish to cloud his judgment.

Although the emperor saw himself naked in the mirror, he was so gullible that he was easily tricked into believing that only the hopelessly stupid would be unable to see his new clothes.

Strong Action Verbs

are present tense when possible

are very specific

help readers visualize

are more interesting

are clever

Vivid Verbs

plead, implore, plop, thrust, hurl, pitch, scatter, splatter, heave, wrangle

careen, glide, sail, float, soar, coast, waft, shoot, flow, skate, cruise, drift

bellow, spit, bark, roar, blare, scold, berate, criticize, chasten, admonish, reprimand

Vivid Verbs

Plop, topple, tumble, crash, collapse, stumble, buckle, dive, plummet, plunge

Devour, inhale, swallow, consume, gobble, gorge, relish, feast, scarf, ravage

Spurt, sprint, dart, dash, tear, fly, bolt, shoot, flee, hustle, scramble

Awesome Adjectives

(the catch-all) – bouncy, fun, boring, lazy, silly, first, polite, dainty, strong, mellow, magnificent, painful

five, two-hundred, several, few, many, some, numerous, none.

depressed, apprehensive, hungry, greedy, hopeful

fuzzy, smooth, shaggy, jagged, stingy, frigid, malleable, crusty

pungent, pleasant, bitter, salty, sweet, sour, interesting, revolting, rank, heavenly, delightful, divine

Yellow, magenta, round, rectangular, enormous, miniscule, puny, humongous

Good Sentences• The angry wolf stalks. • The cheerful girl meanders. • The swift creature approaches the

house. • Sharp teeth devour Grandmother. • The strange grandmother pleads. • The evil wolf plots. • The naïve girl approaches the wolf. • The hungry wolf swallows the girl. • The helpful woodsman murders the

wolf. • The relieved girl embraces her

grandmother.

Little Red Riding Hood Fairy Tale Video Clip

Build Action Parts

Day or time: yesterday, today, tomorrow, tonight, now, this morning, noon, 3:00pm (time)Prepositions: as, before, during, after, until, since, while, whenPrepositions: above, across, against, along, around, at, behind, below, by, between, down, from, in, near, off, on over, past, through, towards, under• Because• Since• So that• To + verb (infinitive)

• Adverb (-ly)• Simile (like or as)• With• Without

If, even if, unless, despite, in case, assuming that, regardless, in spite of, although

Action Parts of a Sentencein the evening

after dinner

In his chair

At the library

so that he could be alonesince it was Monday

as they fell downwhile they were doing yard work

in the pile of leaves

at Grandpa’s house

because they were being sillyto clean up the yard

during recess

last summer

on the other side of the see-sawby the tree

so that he didn’t fall

because they were friends

at 5 o’clock

after chopping onions

in front of the stove

at the restaurant

to prepare for the party

because it was his favoriteduring the

tournament

as the other team scored

near the ceiling

in the air

to please the fans

since everyone was watching

whole-heartedlyas happy as a clam

even if it’s late

like toddlers

without caution

in spite of the mess

dangerously

with care

though they knew it was against the rules

like a professional chefwith anticipation

unless the sauce is too salty

like it was the NBA

with as much force as he could muster

despite trailing by 15 points

Better Sentences• The angry wolf stalks menacingly through

the forest. • The cheerful girl meanders while on her

way to Grandmother’s house despite being told to hurry.

• The swift creature approaches the house with caution during the middle of the day.

• The wolf’s sharp teeth devour Grandmother quickly so that he can trick the girl.

• The strange grandmother pretends to sleep in bed as the girl approaches.

• The evil wolf plots to harm the girl as his stomach growls.

• The naïve girl approaches the wolf carelessly despite her suspicions.

• The hungry wolf swallows the girl in the bedroom when she gets too close.

• The friendly woodsman murders the wolf to help the girl when he hears the commotion.

• The relieved girl embraces her grandmother as she thanks the woodsman because she is happy that Grandmother is safe.

Best Sentences• Menacingly, the angry wolf stalks through

the forest. • Despite being told to hurry, the cheerful

girl meanders on her way to Grandmother’s house.