For Use with McDougal Littell
9th Grade, Unit 4, Part 1
The Scarlet Ibis
The Scarlet
Ibis
FICTION SELECTION
Unit 4, Part 1, Grade 9
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Preparing to Read
Connect to Your Life
• Expectations are ideas
about what a person
is capable of doing
or becoming.
• The narrator
of this story has high
expectations
of his younger brother.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Preparing to Read
Connect to Your Life
Think about the
expectations that
others have of you.
– Do some people
expect great
things of you?
– Do you expect great
things of yourself?
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
Some images used under license from Shutterstock, Inc.
Curriculum Companion
Sacramento County Office of Education
1
For Use with McDougal Littell
9th Grade, Unit 4, Part 1
The Scarlet Ibis
Preparing to Read
Connect to Your Life
• For each of the following groups of people,
assign a number from one to five, with five
being the highest, to indicate the level
of expectation they have for you.
–
–
–
–
–
parents
siblings
friends
teachers and coaches
yourself
• Who’s expectations are the highest?
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Preparing to Read
Build Background
“The Scarlet Ibis” is
set on a cotton farm in
the South around the
time of World War I –
a setting much
like the one in which
the author, James
Hurst, grew up.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Preparing to Read
Build Background
Hurst refers to a number of trees and flowers by
the local names that he learned as a boy.
– The “bleeding tree” is a type of pine from which
white sap runs like blood when the bark is cut.
– “Graveyard flowers” are sweet smelling gardenias,
which, because they bloom year after year, are
often planted in cemeteries.
– The frayed twigs of the “toothbrush tree” were once
used by people to clean their teeth after eating.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
Some images used under license from Shutterstock, Inc.
Curriculum Companion
Sacramento County Office of Education
2
For Use with McDougal Littell
9th Grade, Unit 4, Part 1
The Scarlet Ibis
Preparing to Read
Words to Know
• careen
• infallibility
• doggedness
• invalid
• exotic
• iridescent
• heresy
• precariously
• imminent
• reiterate
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Preparing to Read
Focus Your Reading
A theme is central
idea or message
in a work of fiction.
– It is a perception about life
or human nature that the
writer shares with the reader.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Preparing to Read
Focus Your Reading
• Remember, a theme
is not the same
as the subject of a story.
• Theme is insight about
the subject – a statement
you might make, such as:
– “Jealousy can be very
destructive.”
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
Some images used under license from Shutterstock, Inc.
Curriculum Companion
Sacramento County Office of Education
3
For Use with McDougal Littell
9th Grade, Unit 4, Part 1
The Scarlet Ibis
Preparing to Read
Focus Your Reading
• A story may have more than one theme.
• A good way to find a theme is to pay
attention to the main character of a story.
– Does the person go through some sort of change?
– What does he or she learn?
• This might be an insight that the writer
wants to share with the reader.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Preparing to Read
Focus Your Reading
• When you look at a number
of details and make a logical
guess about what they
mean, you are making
an inference.
• You might also combine
inferences with what
you already know
and draw a conclusion.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Preparing to Read
Focus Your Reading
• As an active reader of fiction, you constantly
make inferences and conclusions about
what the characters are doing or thinking
and about what motivates them.
• As you read, jot down two or three things
you can infer about its narrator, as well
as any conclusions you come to about him.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
Some images used under license from Shutterstock, Inc.
Curriculum Companion
Sacramento County Office of Education
4
For Use with McDougal Littell
9th Grade, Unit 4, Part 1
The Scarlet Ibis
Reading and Analyzing
Active Reading
Drawing Conclusions
about the Narrator
– The narrator tells what he
is “smart” at, what he wants
in a brother, and how
he feels about having
an invalid brother.
– What conclusion can
you draw about the
narrator and what he values?
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Reading and Analyzing
Literary Analysis
Theme
– You are expected to
recognize themes within
a text and that themes
are general observations
about life or human nature.
– What change do you see
in the narrator after the
baby smiles and crawls?
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Reading and Analyzing
Reading Skills and Strategies
Recognizing Main Idea
– Analyze the text structure
to identify the main idea
and supporting details
in this paragraph.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Curriculum Companion
Sacramento County Office of Education
5
For Use with McDougal Littell
9th Grade, Unit 4, Part 1
The Scarlet Ibis
Reading and Analyzing
Active Reading
Drawing Conclusions
about the Narrator
– Why is the narrator
willing to gather flowers
for his brother?
– What conclusions can
you draw about the
narrator’s feeling?
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Reading and Analyzing
Active Reading
• Predict
– What are some predictions you can make
based on what you have read so far?
• Drawing Conclusions
– Why did the narrator say
he taught his brother to walk?
– Why did he cry and what does
that show about the character?
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Reading and Analyzing
Literary Analysis
Theme
– How have the narrator’s
feelings changed since
the story began?
– What has the
narrator learned?
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
Some images used under license from Shutterstock, Inc.
Curriculum Companion
Sacramento County Office of Education
6
For Use with McDougal Littell
9th Grade, Unit 4, Part 1
The Scarlet Ibis
Reading and Analyzing
Active Reading
Drawing Conclusions
about the Narrator
– Do you think the narrator
is being cruel or helpful
to his brother?
– What are examples of acts
that are both cruel and helpful?
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Reading and Analyzing
Active Reading
Clarify
– What might a “net of
expectations” be and how
might it trap someone?
» Remember that Hansel and
Gretel, two characters
in a fairy tale, left a trail
of crumbs behind when
they went into the forest.
» The trail was supposed
to lead them out again.
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
Some images used under license from Shutterstock, Inc.
Reading and Analyzing
Reading Skills and Strategies
Predicting
– What clues suggest that
the appearance of the
bird might be important?
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
Some images used under license from Shutterstock, Inc.
Curriculum Companion
Sacramento County Office of Education
7
For Use with McDougal Littell
9th Grade, Unit 4, Part 1
The Scarlet Ibis
Reading and Analyzing
Literary Analysis
Symbol
– It is important to
recognize and interpret
an important symbol.
– In what ways
is the bird like doodle?
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Reading and Analyzing
Reading Skills and Strategies
Make Inferences
– Why might have
the bird arrived
and then died
in this family’s
yard?
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
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Reading and Analyzing
Literary Analysis
Foreshadowing
– What bad luck
might possibly
result from the
dead bird?
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
Some images used under license from Shutterstock, Inc.
Curriculum Companion
Sacramento County Office of Education
8
For Use with McDougal Littell
9th Grade, Unit 4, Part 1
The Scarlet Ibis
Reading and Analyzing
Literary Analysis
• Understand a Short Story
– The crisis of a story is a
turning point – the place
where the conflict is resolved.
– Why might a violent storm
be a good signal for a
story’s crisis?
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
Some images used under license from Shutterstock, Inc.
Reading and Analyzing
Active Reading
Drawing Conclusions
About the Narrator
– Why did the narrator
first run away and then
wait for his brother?
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
Some images used under license from Shutterstock, Inc.
Reading and Analyzing
Literary Analysis
Theme
– What lessons about life
did the narrator learn?
– How might these lessons
be expressed as a theme?
Copyright © 2008 Sacramento County Office of Education
Some images used under license from Shutterstock, Inc.
Curriculum Companion
Sacramento County Office of Education
9