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Mrs. Willmon ELAR
1. What is personification?
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2. What is the theme of a story?
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3. How can a reader make a CONNECTION with the text?
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4. What is author’s purpose?
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5. What is compare and contrast?
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6. What is the mood of a story?
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7. What is the plot of the story.
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8. Exposition/Beginning
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9. Setting
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Characters
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Conflict/Problem
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Climax/Middle
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Falling Action/Resolution/Ending
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Denouement
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Examples of Personification for Kids
Time flies- Can time fly?
Personification is when you give human qualities to an object or animal. It is a literary tool that adds
interest or understanding to a poem or story.
Common Personification Examples
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Lightning danced across the sky.
The wind howled in the night.
The car complained as the key was turned.
Rita heard the last piece of pie calling her name.
My alarm clock yells at me every morning.
The avalanche devoured anything standing in its way.
Traffic slowed to a crawl.
The door protested as it opened slowly.
My house is a friend who protects me.
The moon played hide and seek with the clouds.
That book was so popular, it flew off the shelves.
My car’s headlights winked at me.
She is so beautiful the camera loves her.
The stairs groaned as we walked on them.
Winter’s icy grip caused people to shudder.
Our vacuum hums a happy tune while it cleans.
You need to cross over at the mouth of the river.
Time flies and waits for no one.
My flowers were begging for water.
The ivy wove its fingers around the fence.
The thunder was grumbling like it was angry.
Hail pounded the houses and streets.
The cactus saluted those who drove past.
The wildfire ran through the forest at an amazing speed.
When I didn’t make the team, my dream of being a star died.
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Theme
The theme of a story is the life lesson or message the story is trying
to tell us. Some stories have only one theme or message. Other
stories have many lessons ormessages.
Think about the story of Little Red Riding Hood. It seems like a
simple little story. Can you think of any themes or messages?
Did you think of this one?
What is the Message?
(Never talk to strangers.)
How about this one?
What is the Message?
(Do what your mother says.)
As you can see, a story can have more than one message or lesson.
THEME -- The theme in a piece of fiction is its controlling idea or its central
insight. It is the author's underlying meaning or main idea that he is trying to
convey. The theme may be the author's thoughts about a topic or view of
human nature. The title of the short story usually points to what the writer is
saying and he may use various figures of speech to emphasize his theme,
such as: symbol, allusion, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, or irony.
Some simple examples of common themes from literature, TV, and film are:
- things are not always as they appear to be
- Love is blind
- Believe in yourself
- People are afraid of change
- Don't judge a book by its cover
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Text Connections (Reminds me of…)
One important comprehension strategy we want readers to use is making connections.
There are three kinds of connections readers make before, during or after reading:
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text to self – This reminds me of my own life…
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text to text– This reminds me of another book I’ve read/movie I’ve watched…
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text to world– This reminds me this time in history/what’s going on in the world
right now…
Author’s Purpose
Trying to convince
Gives reasons why
Like a science of social studies book
Contains facts and information
Books that have setting, characters, and problems
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You need to know the author’s purpose, so you know
how to read and think about what you are reading.
Compare and Contrast
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Mood
A mood in a story is the feeling that a reader gets while reading the story. The feelings can
be about happiness, sorrow, emotions, struggles or grief. It is a feeling that the author
creates in writing to be understood by the reader.
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PLOT
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Setting
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Characters are the people or animals a story is about.
Get to know them!!
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Conflict=Problem
Definition: Conflict is the struggle between the opposing forces on which
the action in a work of literature depends. There are four basic forms of
conflict: person versus person, person versus self, person versus nature,
and person versus society.
Person vs Self- would be the example of an internal conflict, and external
conflicts are factors that the characters encounters outside the realms of
their own thoughts and actions. A person changing the kind of person they
are is the result of an internal conflict. A person changing their environment
and surroundings are external conflicts.
CONFLICT-- Conflict is essential to plot. Without conflict there is no plot. It
is the opposition of forces which ties one incident to another and makes the
plot move. Conflict is not merely limited to open arguments, rather it is any
form of opposition that faces the main character. Within a short story there
may be only one central struggle, or there may be one dominant struggle with
many minor ones.
There are two types of conflict:
1) External - A struggle with a force outside one's self.
2) Internal - A struggle within one's self; a person must make some decision,
overcome pain, quiet their temper, resist an urge, etc.
There are four kinds of conflict:
1) Man vs. Man (physical) - The leading character struggles with his physical
strength against other men, forces of nature, or animals.
2) Man vs. Circumstances (classical) - The leading character struggles
against fate, or the circumstances of life facing him/her.
3) Man vs. Society (social) - The leading character struggles against ideas,
practices, or customs of other people.
4) Man vs. Himself/Herself (psychological) - The leading character
struggles with himself/herself; with his/her own soul, ideas of right or wrong,
physical limitations, choices, etc.
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Climax or High Point of Story AND Falling Action
The climax is the part where you don’t want to stop reading or watching to go
to the bathroom. (Don’t want to go to the bathroom part-)
Denouement (They lived happily ever after…or not part-)