Can all
conflicts
be resolved?
Unit 2 Genre focus:
The Novel
102
Your Anchor Book
Free-Choice Reading
There are many good books that
would work well to support both
the Big Question and the genre
focus of this unit. In this unit you
will read one of these books as
your Anchor Book. Your teacher
will introduce the book you will
be reading.
Later in this unit you will be
given the opportunity to choose
another book to read. This is
called your free-choice book.
103
Thinking About What
You Already Know
Partner Activity
from “The
Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst
When Doodle was five years old, I was embarrassed at having a brother
of that age who couldn’t walk, so I set out to teach him. We were down
in Old Woman Swamp and it was spring and the sick-sweet smell of bay
flowers hung everywhere like a mournful song. “I’m going to teach you to
walk, Doodle,” I said.
He was sitting comfortably on the soft grass, leaning back against the
pine. “Why?” he asked.
I hadn’t expected such an answer. “So I won’t have to haul you around all
the time.”
“I can’t walk, Brother,” he said.
“Who says so?” I demanded.
“Mama, the doctor—everybody.”
“Oh, you can walk,” I said, and I took him by the arms and stood him up.
He collapsed onto the grass like a half-empty flour sack. It was as if he had
no bones in his little legs.
“Don’t hurt me, Brother,” he warned.
104
continued from “The
Scarlet Ibis”
“Shut up. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to teach you to walk.” I
heaved him up again, and again he collapsed.
This time he did not lift his face up out of the rubber grass. “I just can’t do
it. Let’s make honeysuckle wreaths.”
“Oh yes you can, Doodle,” I said. “All you got to do is try. Now come on,”
and I hauled him up once more.
It seemed so hopeless from the beginning that it’s a miracle I didn’t give
up. But all of us must have something or someone to be proud of, and
Doodle had become mine. I did not know then that pride is a wonderful,
terrible thing, a seed that bears two vines, life and death. Every day that
summer we went to the pine beside the stream of Old Woman Swamp,
and I put him on his feet at least a hundred times each afternoon.
Occasionally I too became discouraged because it didn’t seem as if he was
trying, and I would say, “Doodle, don’t you want to learn to walk?”
He’d nod his head, and I’d say, “Well if you don’t keep trying, you’ll never
learn.” Then I’d paint for him a picture of us as old men, white-haired,
him with a long white beard and me still pulling him around in the gocart. This never failed to make him try again.
Finally, one day, after many weeks of practicing, he stood alone for a few
seconds. When he fell, I grabbed him in my arms and hugged him, our
laughter pealing through the swamp like a ringing bell. Now we knew it
could be done.
105
2-1 Understanding the Big Question
Can all conflicts be resolved?
before reading your anchor book
Put a check next to your group’s assignment.
A teenager wants to
l
become a professiona
nts
re
musician, but her pa
oose
think she needs to ch
ession.
a more practical prof
A sports team has been
losing every game, and no
one knows how to reverse
the losing streak.
Two best friends each
want to be the captain
of the basketball team.
Both are qualified, but the
competition is threatening
their friendship.
A town need
sa
youth center
but does
not have the
money to
build one.
st
A teenager has ju
city
moved to a new
make
and is too shy to
new friends.
A student feels that her
teacher is treating her
unfairly. The student raises
her hand but is not called
upon and feels she is being
graded too harshly.
Directions The chart on the next page lists five points of view and
an example for each. Discuss your conflict with your group. Then,
complete the chart by giving an example of each point of view for
your group’s conflict.
106 Lesson 2-1
FIVE POINTS OF VIEW
Point of View
Your Group’s Conflict
Pessimistic
Sees the negative side of a situation
Example The cafeteria offering healthy
food will not change
teenagers’ eating habits.
Optimistic
Sees what could work in a situation
before reading your anchor book
Example By offering teenagers healthy
alternatives, the cafeteria will change
their eating habits.
Sensitive
Focuses on emotional reactions
Example Not offering junk food in the
cafeteria is unfair because people want
to choose their own food.
Logical
Focuses purely on facts and logic
Example Eating junk food is unhealthy
so a school cafeteria should not serve it
to teenagers.
Innovative
Suggests new, creative approaches
Example Create posters with
nutritional value of different foods with
the logo, “You make the choice.”
think about the kinds of conflicts characters face and
how they are resolved. At the center of every theme in
literature is the issue of conflict: good versus evil, growing
up, seeking redemption.
Understanding the Big Question
107
Getting Ready for
Your Anchor Book
You will start reading your Anchor Book soon. The next few pages in this
book give you some background information plus a reading skill.
Introduction to the
before reading your anchor book
Novel
▶ A flashback
k is an interruption of the chronological
order of a narrative to show an event that happened at
an earlier time.
▶ Foreshadowing is the use of clues to suggest events that
will occur later.
▶ Plot is the sequence of events in a narrative. Subplots are
smaller stories that add complexity to the main plot.
▶ A character is an individual who takes part in the action
of a narrative. Most characters are people, but some are
animals or other nonhuman beings that have human traits.
• Major characters are the most important characters in
a narrative.
Minor characters are less important and are
not the focus of attention.
• The protagonist is the main character in a narrative. The
antagonist is a character or a force that is in conflict with
the protagonist.
• A round character is a fully developed character with many
personality traits. A flat character has only one or two
personality traits.
▶ Characterization is the way or ways in which a writer reveals a
character’s personality.
• With direct characterization, the writer makes direct
statements that tell you what a character is like.
• With indirect characterization, the writer hints at what a
character is like through a variety of methods, such as showing
the character’s actions and revealing his or her thoughts.
108 Lesson 2-1
▶ Point of view is the perspective from which a literary work is told.
• With the first-person point of view,
w the narrator is a character
who is part of the action and presents only his or her own
perspective.
• With the third-person point of view, the narrator is someone
outside the action.
▶ Irony
y is a contrast between appearance and reality, between
expectation and outcome, or between meaning and intention.
The Novel and the Short Story
A novel is not simply an overgrown short story. The following chart
shows some of the key differences between these two genres of fiction.
Short Story
Novel
▶ usually presents several major characters
usually tells about one important event
or episode in a character’s life
usually takes place over a longer period of time and
weaves together many incidents and subplots
focuses on the protagonist’s conflict
and how it is resolved
focuses on the protagonist’s conflict but usually
includes several related conflicts
plot builds to a climax—a moment of
decision or insight that often reveals the
story’s theme
▶ may develop minor characters
▶ builds to a climax but is usually more complicated
in structure
▶ presents one or more themes
▶ may use subplots to present a theme from
different angles
before reading your anchor book
usually focuses on a protagonist and a
few other characters
The word novel comes from the French word for “new.” The novel
became firmly established as a literary genre, or form, in eighteenthcentury England. Reading a novel became a social event, and people
read novels to one another for entertainment. Although this type of
entertainment may seem strange to you, think of how you and your
friends may find today’s forms of storytelling, such as blogs and
graphic novels, just as exciting.
Introduction to the Novel
109
2-2 Reading Skills
Making Inferences
In learning new reading skills, you will use special academic
vocabulary. Knowing the right words will help you
demonstrate your understanding.
before reading your anchor book
Academic Vocabulary
Word
Meaning
Example Sentence
infer v.
Related word: inference
to draw conclusions
based on facts
From the way the character speaks, you
can infer that she is angry.
indicate v.
Related words: indication,
indicative
to show; to hint at
The author used a mountain to indicate
the character’s isolation.
deduce v.
Related word: deduction
to use reasoning to figure
something out
The footprints helped me deduce which
way the animal went.
An inference is an educated guess or logical assumption based on
available – though sometimes incomplete – information. Making
inferences helps you understand information or ideas that are not
stated directly. You must often “read between the lines” and look
beyond what the words say to what they imply. Making inferences
can also help you to determine the main idea.
Clues in the Text
+
Clues in the Text
(It Says . . . )
A woman is smiling while
she is reading a letter.
Your Background Knowledge
Your Background Knowledge
(You Know . . . )
People smile when they
are happy.
Directions Read the poem on the next page. Notice the details a
student underlined and the inferences she wrote based on those
details. Then, complete the graphic organizer to help you make an
inference about the last detail she underlined.
110 Lesson 2-2
Leads to
Inference
Inference
(And So . . . )
Information in the letter is
making her happy.
Grandma Ling
by Amy Ling
About the Author
Visit: PHSchool.com
Web Code: exe-8201
If you dig that hole deep enough
you’ll reach China, they used to tell me,
a child in a backyard in Pennsylvania.
Not strongg enough
g to digg that hole,,
5
I waited twentyy years,
y
,
Then sailed back,, half wayy around the world.
It wasn’t until the
speaker was a young
adult that she visited
China.
In Taiwan I first met Grandma.
Before she came to view, I heard
10 her slippered feet softly measure
the tatami1 floor with even step;
and there I faced
my five foot height, sturdy legs and feet,
15 square forehead, high cheeks, and wide-set eyes;
myy image
g stood before me,,
before reading your anchor book
the aqua paper-covered door slid open
The speaker sees that
her grandmother looks
like her, but fifty years
older.
acted on byy fiftyy years.
y
She smiled, stretched her arms
to take to heart the eldest daughter
20 of her youngest son a quarter century away.
She spoke
p
a tongue
g I knew no word of,,
and I was sad I could not understand,,
but I could hugg her.
1
tatami (tä-tä-mē) adj. woven of straw matting
Clues in the Text
(It Says . . . )
Your Background Knowledge
(You Know . . . )
Inference
(And So . . . )
“She spoke a tongue I knew no
word of, and I was sad I could not
understand, but I could hug her.”
Making Inferences
111
Li
nk
Sci
en
In recent years,
many wild animals that
were once endangered
have become more
common. The number
of deer, falcons, foxes,
coyotes, and other species
are steadily increasing.
These animals are now
a common sight
in suburbs,
and even in
cities.
112
Urban Falcons
to
ce
In some ways, the city buildings are
habitat for peregrine falcons. Skyscrap
the birds a high perch for hunting. The
also a steady supply of animals to hunt
including city birds such as sparrows,
starlings, and pigeons. The city also
allows peregrine falcons to escape the
own predators. In the wild, raccoons an
owls feed on falcon eggs and chicks. The increase
in urban falcons has another cause, too. Nearly 40
years ago the birds were in danger of dying out.
That is because too many farmers were using a
chemical called DDT, which killed insects and kept
falcon eggs from hatching.
To protect the falcons, the U.S. government
banned DDT. Scientists also began raising peregrine
falcons in captivity. When the scientists released
these birds, many settled in and around cities.
The Foxes Go to Town
Foxes are wily. These clever creatures can usually
avoid people. In addition, foxes hunt mainly at night.
As a result, no one has ever been able to count how
many foxes there are in U.S. cities. We do know that
people are seeing foxes more often, however. Golfers
in Minneapolis, Minnesota, recently watched some
fox cubs dash onto the green and steal a golf ball.
Officials in Toronto, Canada, say that the city is home
to at least 40 fox dens.
Why would foxes forsake the open meadows?
Why would they abandon their homes in the
country and move to the crowded city? One reason
is that there are not as many open meadows as
there used to be.
The last 50 years have been a time of suburban
expansion. This growth has cut into the foxes’
natural habitat. Many foxes have been forced to
find new homes.
Moving to the city was a practical move for some
foxes. Foxes are territorial animals. Each fox marks
its own area and fights off other foxes. Because
most city neighborhoods have not been claimed
by foxes yet, it is
F Y I
easy for foxes to find
The city holds
“open territory” there.
some dangers for
Cities make a good
peregrine falcons.
habitat for foxes. Empty
• electric wires
city lots are full of
moles and mice, a fox’s
• moving vehicles
favorite foods. Hunting
and trapping are not
allowed in cities, so
these foxes are safe from human predators.
In the city, foxes are good citizens. They go about
their business silently, usually unseen. Weighing
only about 12 pounds, foxes do not attack cats or
dogs. They run away from young children. Foxes
don’t scavenge for garbage, either, unlike raccoons
or dogs. Instead of searching for a free meal, they
hunt, getting rid of pests such as mice and rats.
The Bear Raiders
The voters in Cross City, Michigan, got a big
surprise one recent Election Day. A 400-pound
black bear kept them from leaving the building
where they were voting. That same fall, more than a
dozen bears entered Colorado homes. Most of the
bears headed straight for the kitchen.
In autumn, bears prepare to sleep away the
winter. To survive the coming winter, they eat
voraciously. They hungrily gobble up wild fruits
and nuts. If the summer has been very dry, there
may not be enough fruits and nuts for them all.
When bears cannot find enough food in the
forest, they turn to dumpsters, landfills, garbage
Making Inferences
113
F Y
I
Bears adapt to city life by
sleeping during the day
and foraging through
dumpsters at night.
before reading your library book
The Geese Mess
114
Problems and Solutions
Thinking About the Selection
Animals Among Us
1
2
Explain Reread the concluding sentence. Why does the author
say that we should “keep the ‘wild’ in wildlife”?
Infer What effect might an increase in the falcon population
have on a city’s pigeon population? Look back at the text. Put
an asterisk (*) by the details that help support your answer.
Complete the graphic organizer below.
(It Says…)
4
Support What are some solutions that animals have found to
the problem of being in the “wrong” place? Cite specific details
from the selection to support your answer.
Evaluate Based on the information provided in the reading,
is the inference that there should be no wild animals in the city
valid or invalid? Explain why.
Inference
(And So…)
before reading your anchor book
3
Your Background
Knowledge
(You Know…)
Write Answer the following question in your Reader’s Journal.
5
How does the author use text features such
as the title, headings, and captions to communicate the
conflict?
Making Inferences 115
2-3 Vocabulary
Word Origins
Building Strategies
A root is the most important piece of a word because it contains
the word’s basic meaning. The origin of a word is the word’s
history.
This chart shows some English words whose roots have origins from the
Latin and Greek languages. The root of the word is underlined. Read the
related words in the chart aloud to practice pronunciation and to help you
learn to recognize these root words in new words.
before reading your anchor book
Origin
Meaning
differe (Latin)
“to carry apart”
specere (Latin)
“to see”
similis (Latin)
“same”
videre (Latin)
“to see”
tekhne (Greek)
“art, skill, craft”
tele (Greek)
“far, far off”
logos (Greek)
“reason”; “word”
Related Words
difference: “unlikeness”
differentiate: “to separate, set apart”
perspective: “view”
spectator: “observer”
similar: “alike”
assimilate: “to absorb”
evident: “easy to see”
evidence: “proof”
technician: “someone who has practical
knowledge of a mechanical or scientific subject”
technique: “a method of accomplishing a
desired aim”
television: “an electronic system of transmitting
moving images and sound through space”
telescope: “an optical instrument for viewing
distant objects”
logical: “reasonable”
monologue: “words spoken by one person”
Spelling Tip Knowing word roots not only helps you increase your
vocabulary but also helps you check your spelling. Notice that the
word root is spelled the same way in different words.
116 Lesson 2-3
Directions Identify the word that completes each sentence.
1
Two things that are alike share many
A. differences
2
B. indicate
Which
suspense or its humor?
A. aspect
4
to prove their findings.
C. spectators
B. evidence
B. technique
of shooting a
before reading your anchor book
Jose learned his brother’s
perfect basket from across the court.
C. evidence
Scientists can observe weather phenomena on other planets by
high-powered
.
A. indications
7
C. prologue
Scientists look for
A. television
6
C. differentiate
of the story did you enjoy more, its
B. similar
A. perspectives
5
C. monologues
I can
between the twin sisters because Liz
has a scar and Laura doesn’t.
A. speculate
3
B. similarities
.
Snow was a
A. respective
B. spectators
C. telescopes
expectation given the time of the year.
B. video
C. logical
Vocabulary Inventor
William Shakespeare invented many words when he wrote his plays.
Many of them worked so well that now they are in the dictionary.
Simple words like “hurry” and “disgraceful” came from Shakespeare.
Look back at the chart. How many words can you create? Complete
the first item and choose two more word roots from the chart to
complete the activity. Your new words must include the word root.
The meaning of your word must reflect the root’s meaning.
Your Word
Meaning
–conclu–
Word Roots and Origins
117