Interactive Reading Literature Notebooks
Lesson 2: Elements of Plot & The Plot Pyramid, Activity 3
Cut-Out Tabs for Plot Pyramid
Rising Action:
What are the
most important
complications and
events in the story
that move the plot
along?
Falling Action:
What events
take place after
the climax that
prepare the story
for its resolution?
Exposition: Who are the
main characters? Where is
the story set? What event
makes the rest of the story
possible?
Climax:
How
does the
main problem
reach its peak?
Resolution: How are the
loose ends tied up? What
questions are answered?
How is the conflict resolved?
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Interactive Reading Literature Notebooks
Lesson 4: Four Types of Conflict, Activity 1
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Interactive Reading Literature Notebooks
Lesson 4: Four Types of Conflict, Activity 1
Notes for Writing Inside Four Types of Conflict Foldable
Man vs. Self (internal)
*a struggle between a character and his feelings, conscience, or
fear
Man vs. Man (external)
*a struggle, mental or physical, between two characters
*other character may be the antagonist
Man vs. Nature (external)
*a struggle between a character and mother nature
*mother nature = weather, animals, insects, sickness, epidemics
Man vs. Society (external)
*a struggle between a character and the laws or beliefs of a group
*could involve poverty, politics, social norms, expectations, or values
How to Construct Four Types of Conflict Foldable
1.  Cut out each piece separately, being careful to leave the tab on.
2.  Place all pieces into the notebook so that the points of the
triangle meet up. Then, glue each tab only down so that all pieces
swing open at the middle.
3.  Write notes onto notebook paper and/or the inside flap of the
tabs. I like to assign each conflict a certain color, so have
students color code the pieces if you wish. I also like to outline
the center in color as I’m filling in notes.
Activity 2 1.  Activity 2 is a simple column sort.
Simply cut out the pieces, color code
the headings if you wish, and have
students sort them into the proper
columns.
2.  A larger version of the key shown
below is at the beginning of this lesson
for your reference.
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Interactive Reading Literature Notebooks
Lesson 4: Four Types of Conflict, Activity 1
vs.
vs.
vs.
vs.
Types of Conflict
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Interactive Reading Literature Notebooks
Lesson 8: Types of Characters Activity 1
Notes for Writing Inside Types of Characters Foldable:
Protagonist – the main character in a story (in a work of literature)
Antagonist – the character or force in conflict with the protagonist
Flat Character – a character that you do not know well
Round Character – a character that you know a lot about
Static Character – a character who stays the same throughout the
story
Dynamic Character – a character who undergoes an important inner
change such as a change in beliefs, personality, or attitude
Sympathetic Character – a character whose situation you
understand, sympathize with, or can relate to
Minor Character – a character mentioned only briefly (less than a
flat character)
64
© 2013 erin cobb imlovinlit.blogspot.com
Interactive Reading Literature Notebooks
Lesson 8: Types of Characters, Activity 1
# © 2013 erin cobb imlovinlit.blogspot.com
Interactive Reading Literature Notebooks
Lesson 10: Point of View
Notes for Point of View Foldable:
Point of View – the standpoint from which a story is told
First Person Point of View – told from the viewpoint of one of the
characters using the pronouns “I” and “we”
Third Person Limited Point of View – the narrator is an outside
observer that focuses on the thoughts and feelings of only one
character
Third Person Omniscient 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
Third Person Objective Point of View – the narrator reports the
facts of a narrator as a seemingly neutral and impersonal outside
observer
Instructions for Point of View Foldable:
1.  Color (if desired) and cut out each window and curtain. Be sure
not to color on the inside square of the window and the area of
the curtain around each type of point of view.
2.  Fold the top of the curtains forward as if they were typical tab
foldables and glue them on at the top of the windows so that
the tabs swing open from the top as shown below.
3. Write the definition for each
type of point of view under
the tab onto the window.
4. As you read different
stories and study literature,
come back to this page and
write the titles of stories that
match each type of point of
view onto the top of the
curtain tabs around the point
of view.
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Interactive Reading Literature Notebooks
Lesson 10: Point of View
Point of View
First Person
Third Person
Limited
Third Person
Omniscient
Third Person
Objective
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Interactive Reading Literature Notebooks
Lesson 11: Similes
{Song Lyric Excerpt}
“Mean” by Taylor Swift
You, with your words like knives
and swords and weapons that
you use against me
You have knocked me off my
feet again, got me feeling like I'm
nothing
You, with your voice like nails on
a chalkboard, calling me out
when I'm wounded
You, pickin' on the weaker man
© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC simile
a comparison of two unlike
things using the words like or as
TIPS:
• the two things
being compared
must be completely
different (unlike)
• not every sentence
that contains like or
as is a simile
Example: As the girl was
humiliated, her cheeks turned as
red as an apple.
(cheeks and apples are unlike)
Non-Example: The girl is as tall as
her brothers.
(the girl and her brothers are not
unlike things; they both describe
people)
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Interactive Reading Literature Notebooks
Lesson 12: Metaphors
{Song Lyric Excerpt}
“I’m Already There” by Lonestar
I'm already there
Don't make a sound
I'm the beat in your heart
I'm the moonlight shining down
I'm the whisper in the wind
And I'll be there to the end
Can you feel the love that we
share?
Oh I'm already there
© Universal Music Publishing Group, OLE MEDIA MANAGEMENT LP, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC a comparison of two unlike
metaphor things by saying that one
thing is a dissimilar object or thing TIPS:
• usually contain
“be” verbs, such as
am, are, is, was, were
• can be changed
into a simile by
including like or as
• comparison should
be obvious or be
explained
Example: Dad is a monster in the
morning before he drinks coffee.
(Dad and monster are dissimilar
and the comparison is explained)
Non-Example: Dad is a boat.
(although Dad and a boat are
dissimilar, there is no clear reason
for the comparison, so it doesn’t
make sense as a metaphor)
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Interactive Reading Literature Notebooks
Lesson 13: Hyperbole
{Song Lyric Excerpt}
“One Thing” by One Direction
Shot me out of the sky
You're my kryptonite
You keep making me weak
Yeah, frozen and can't breathe
Something’s gotta give now
Cause I'm dying just to make
you see
That I need you here with
me now
Cause you've got that one thing
© Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, EMI Music Publishing hyperbole
TIPS:
• often intended to
be humorous or fun
• if it could happen in
real life, then it isn’t
actually a hyperbole
an exaggeration that
cannot possibly be true
Example: Josie’s new friend is as
skinny as a toothpick.
(no person could possibly be as
thin as a toothpick)
Non-Example: Josie’s new friend is
as skinny as a fashion model.
(since a girl could be as thin as a
model, this isn’t a hyperbole)
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Interactive Reading Literature Notebooks
Lesson 14: Personification
{Song Lyric Excerpt}
“Wind Cries Mary” by Jimi
Hendrix
You can hear happiness staggering
on down the street
Footprints dressed in red
And the wind whispers Mary
A broom is drearily sweeping up
the broken pieces of yesterday’s
life
Somewhere a queen is weeping
Somewhere a king has no wife
And the wind, it cries Mary
giving human
personification qualities to
nonhuman things
TIPS:
• the human quality
must be completely
unique to human
• sometimes an
action (the sun
smiled) or an
adjective (the angry
wind howled)
Example: The sun smiled at the
world as it rose in the morning.
(smiling is unique to humans)
Non-Example: The pink flowers
swayed in the April breeze.
(although humans can sway,
flowers can sway too, so this
characteristic is not unique to
humans)
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Interactive Reading Literature Notebooks
Lesson 15: Idioms
{Song Lyric Excerpt}
“Rolling in the Deep” by Adele
Throw your soul through every
open door
Count your blessings to find what
you look for
Turn my sorrow into treasured
gold
You'll pay me back in kind and reap
just what you sow
© Universal Music Publishing Group, EMI Music Publishing idiom
a group of words whose collective
meaning is quite different from
their individual, literal meaning
TIPS:
• when translated
into another
language, idioms
do not make sense
• many idioms have
historical
explanations
Example: When Bill joined the
military, Dad said he was swimming
with sharks.
(there were no sharks; this means Bill
was in a lot of danger)
Non-Example: After falling
overboard, I saw that I was swimming
with sharks!
(words keep their literal meaning)
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Interactive Reading Literature Notebooks
Lesson 16: Alliteration
{Song Lyric Excerpt}
“Song of the South” by
Alabama
Sing it…
Song, song of the South
Sweet potato pie and I shut my
mouth
Gone, gone with the wind
There ain’t nobody lookin’ back
again
© Universal Music Publishing Group the repetition of the
alliteration same initial consonant
sound in a series of words Example: Hal hit the house hard
with the hammer.
TIPS:
(most, but not all words, start with
• often used in brand
names like Coca-Cola, the /h/ sound)
Dunkin’ Donuts
Non-Example: Andy hit the nail
• may contain words
with the hammer.
that do not start with
(only two initial /h/ sound words
the same consonant,
especially prepositions are separated by most of the
and articles
sentence)
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Interactive Reading Literature Notebooks
Lesson 17: Allusion
{Song Lyric Excerpt}
“Someday We’ll Know” by
New Radicals
Someday we’ll know
if love can move a mountain
Someday we’ll know
why the sky is blue
Someday we’ll know
why I wasn’t meant for you
Someday we’ll know
why Samson loved Delilah
One day I’ll go
dancing on the moon
© EMI Music Publishing a reference to a person, place,
allusion or event from literature, sports,
history, movies, or the arts
TIPS:
• helps the author to
explain or describe
and the reader to
visualize or imagine
• the reader must
have prior knowledge
of what is being
referenced to “get”
the allusion
Example: Heather’s mysterious
smile rivaled the Mona Lisa.
(picturing the Mona Lisa helps the
reader visualize Heather’s smile)
Non-Example: The Mona Lisa can
be viewed in Paris.
(this sentence states a fact about
a painting but does not use it to
explain or compare)
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Interactive Reading Literature Notebooks
Lesson 18: Onomatopoeia
{Song Lyric Excerpt}
“Twang” by George Strait
'Cause I need a little twang
A little hillbilly bending on some
guitar strings
Some peddle steel whining like a
whistle of an old freight train
To get that foot stomping honkey
tonkin' feeling going through my
veins
I need a little twang, twang, twang © Songs Of Windswept Pacific, Wudang Mountain Songs, Marvel Man Music words whose sounds
onomatopoeia suggest their meaning
TIPS:
• animal noises such
as moo, meow, hiss,
quack, oink, tweet
• sometimes the
sentence is
exclamatory and
ends with an
exclamation mark
Example: The door slowly creaked
open and then slammed shut!
(creak and slam imitate sounds)
Non-Example: “Hello!” I shouted
into an empty house.
(hello is dialogue and not a
natural noise or sound )
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Interactive Reading Literature Notebooks
Lesson 20: Figurative Language Review, Activity 1
Figurative Language
(glue this section only)
simile
metaphor
 Cut along dotted lines ONLY 
hyperbole
personification
 Fold along solid vertical lines 
onomatopoeia
alliteration
idiom
allusion
(glue this section only)
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