LITERAL UNDERSTANDING Skill 1 Recalling Information general classroom reading 1. Write a question about a story answer the question. 2. Describe three details from a story explain how they helped make the story more interesting. 3. Who is the main character in a story why is he or she important? 4. Create an outline of facts from an informational story. 5. Create a diagram that lists the following information about a story: Who, What, Where, When, Why, How. 6. Based on the story you have read, make a list of things under the headings Location, Characters, Events. 1. Describe how the author of a story uses details to advance the plot. 2. Write three questions about a story answer the questions. 3. List three supporting details from a story explain how they helped you determine the story s main idea. 4. Create a story map that demonstrates a story s main idea, characters, supporting details. 5. List four supporting characters in a story explain their relationship to the story s main protagonist. 6. While reading a chapter book, keep a journal describing your impressions about the setting, characters, plot highlights. Create a brief journal entry at the end of each chapter.
LITERAL UNDERSTANDING Skill 2 Following Sequence general classroom reading 1. Describe a story s beginning, middle, end. 2. Create a timeline of the sequence of events in a story. 3. Write step-by-step instructions for someone who wants to write a story on one of the following topics: sharks, basketball, or recycling. 4. Draw a cartoon strip that shows how things happened in a story. 5. Think about your favorite meal. Write down the steps you would follow to make that meal. 1. Explain how the sequence of events in a story built suspense or led to the story s conclusion. 2. Create a timeline of the sequence of events in a story. Use the Internet or other research tools to find other historical events that occurred during the same timeframe incorporate the dates on your timeline. 3. Describe a story in which the sequence of events is not obvious. Explain how this story structure aided or impeded your understing of the story. 4. Write summary paragraphs for a prequel sequel to a story. 5. Describe a story in which the author uses flashbacks to explain character motivation plot development. 6. Write a new sequence of events for a story, but keep the ending or conclusion the same.
LITERAL UNDERSTANDING Skill 3 Identifying Speaker general classroom reading 1. Who is telling the story? What clues helped you identify who is speaking? Tell the story from another character s point of view. 2. Imagine you are a character in a story. What are some things you would say as this character? 3. Write a speech for a character in a story in which the character describes his or her life, home, things he or she likes to do. 4. Write an interview with a character in a story. Include at least three questions that you would ask the character, how the character would answer those questions. 5. Tell a story from your own point of view. 1. Identify the narrator point of view of a story (first or third person) explain how you can prove this. 2. Explain why the narrator of a story is reliable or unreliable. Describe a story you have read that has an untrustworthy narrator. 3. Describe a story you have read that has a limited narrator who tells the story from the perspective of one character. 4. Using the Internet or other research tool, find quotes from three people that support the main idea of an informational story. Include appropriate citations. 5. Giving examples from stories you have read, compare how a limited narrator an omniscient narrator are able to reveal information about character actions, feelings, motivations.
LITERAL UNDERSTANDING Skill 4 Determining Main Idea general classroom reading 1. Use a story map to show the main idea supporting details of a story. 2. List three clues that helped you determine the main idea of a story. 3. Draw a picture that shows the main idea of a story. 4. Pick three titles of stories you have read explain how the titles helped you underst the main ideas of the stories. 5. Write an email to a friend describing a story. 6. Write three new titles for a story that clearly show the story s main idea. 1. What is the unstated main idea of the story? 2. Using the Internet or other research tools, find three additional pieces of information that support the main idea stated in the story. 3. Imagine you directed a movie based on a story you read. Create a script for the movie s trailer. 4. Describe a story that had a main idea theme that were not the same. 5. Choose ten key sentences from the story explain how they helped you determine the main idea. 6. Imagine you are developing a video game based on a story. Describe the goal of the game, how the game will be played, how the game will look on screen.
INTERPRETATION Skill 5 Making Inferences general classroom reading 1. What lesson did you learn from this story? 2. Describe clues in a story that help you figure out the story s main idea. 3. Why do you think your teacher wanted you to read this story? 4. What clues made you feel that a person in the story was good or bad? 1. What text clues in a story led you to conclude that a character was good or evil? 2. Describe how you arrived at conclusions about a story s main idea characters if information about these text elements was not directly stated. 3. Give an example of something you learned about a situation or event in the story by reading between the lines. 4. Explain how prior knowledge helped you infer information from a story. 5. Write a blog post that describes a character from a well-known story. Do not disclose the name of the character or story, but include enough information so a reader can infer correctly.
INTERPRETATION Skill 6 Predicting Outcomes general classroom reading 1. Write a new, surprise ending for a story. 2. Tell about two things in the story that helped you figure out the ending. 3. What might happen next in this story if the author decided to make the story longer? 4. Write an email to a friend who was absent from school on the day your class read a story. Describe the story s characters, setting, important events so your friend can predict the story s ending. 1. Propose an alternative ending or conclusion to a story provide an argument why your new text is an improvement. 2. Describe three things that happened in a story how they foreshadowed subsequent events. 3. Describe a story that had a cliffhanger ending explain why you were unable to predict the ending from context clues. 4. Based on the story s conclusion, what other sequence of events could have generated the same outcome? Demonstrate how these interactions, while different from the author s original plan, make the same conclusion feasible.
INTERPRETATION Skill 7 Drawing Conclusions general classroom reading 1. Explain how things you already knew helped you to figure out the main idea of a story. 2. Did the title of this story provide you with clues to the story s main idea? Explain why or why not. 3. Give two examples of why the story was or was not believable. 4. Describe two things that helped you underst what was happening in the story. 5. Describe a time when an author s clues led you to the wrong conclusion. Why might an author want to trick a reader this way? 1. Write a question about one additional thing you would have liked to learn from a story you read. Answer the question by using the Internet or other research tools to find the necessary information. 2. Describe ambiguities in a story that make it difficult to draw conclusions about the author s intent or main idea. 3. What changes would you make to this story to improve it? 4. Describe how you formed a new idea about something by acquiring facts from a story you read. 5. Create a diagram that shows what you already know about a topic, what you want to know about the topic, sources where you will find that information.
INTERPRETATION Skill 8 Interpreting Figurative Language general classroom reading 1. Give an example of how the author described a person, animal, or object by saying it was like something else. 2. Write a poem or rap that compares two things using the word as. For example, she is as tall as a tree, or he was as quiet as a mouse. 3. Find examples in five stories of words that describe things you can hear, see, or touch. 4. Write a paragraph about an animal or a flower using many lively descriptive words. For example, the playful, chocolate kitten was as fluffy as a cloud. 5. Create Wanted posters for three characters from stories. Describe their features by comparing them to something else, using the word like. For example, his eyes are like shiny black beads. 1. Describe how metaphor, simile, hyperbole, or personification is used in a story explain how it enhances or distracts from the story. 2. Describe how an author can use figurative language to create suspense give an example from a story. 3. Write short paragraphs that demonstrate use of simile, metaphor, idiom, hyperbole. 4. Make a list of ten sayings that describe a person by comparing him or her to something else. For example, That person is as busy as a bee. 5. Draw five columns label each one with one of your five senses. Find figurative language from ten stories that relates to each sense.
INTERPRETATION Skill 9 Visualizing general classroom reading 1. Give an example of how an author helps you form a picture in your mind about what you are reading. 2. Draw a picture of something that happened in a story. 3. List words phrases in a story that helped you form a picture of a person, place, or object in a story. 4. Write a paragraph that describes someone in your family. Use as many details as possible so a person reading your description can get a picture in his or her mind of your relative. 5. Authors use words in the same way artists use paints. Describe how an author used words in this way in a story. 1. Describe an example of a particularly vivid scene from a story. Explain what technique the author used to create such a clear picture of the setting or event you found memorable. 2. Pick an event from a story describe how you would make it into a scene for a movie. 3. Create a storyboard for a story, including at least five scenes. 4. Describe how you relate scenes you visualize from reading with real life scenes. Give examples. 5. How has visualizing helped you underst a story when an author changes a point of view? Describe your visualization of the same scene through the eyes of different characters.
INTERPRETATION Skill 10 Paraphrasing general classroom reading 1. Use your own words to rewrite the ending of a story. 2. Tell about a story you read by writing one paragraph. 3. Think of a new title for a story you have read. Explain why your title is better. 4. List four important ideas from an informational story write a summary of those ideas. 5. Using less than a dozen words, write a summary of a story. For example, if you read The Three Bears, you could write: bears come home, find broken chair, missing porridge, sleeping girl. 1. Create a news report based on a story you have read. 2. Write ten tweets describing the plots of some of your favorite stories. 3. Imagine you are an attorney. Prepare a summation of a story you have read to present to a jury for deliberation. 4. Take a description of a complex process from your science book rewrite it with clarity simplification so someone much younger could underst it.
ANALYSIS Skill 11 Comparing Contrasting general classroom reading 1. Compare how two characters from stories are similar to each other or contrast how they are different from each other. 2. How is the life of a character in a story similar to (or different from) your own life. 3. Pick two animals from stories tell how they are same how they are different. 4. Think about a sports story a mystery you have read. Give examples of what was different about the way the authors told the stories. 1. Create a Venn diagram to demonstrate the physical, emotional, intellectual similarities differences between two characters from stories you have read. 2. Compare contrast the views expressed by a character in a story to your own views. 3. Use a Venn diagram to compare two informational stories. 4. Describe how the world today compares contrasts with the setting of a story that takes place in the past. Include at least three examples.
ANALYSIS Skill 12 Recognizing Cause Effect general classroom reading 1. Tell about something that happened in a story that taught a person an important lesson. 2. Give an example from a story of something that caused a person to change his or her mind. 3. Create a chain of events diagram for a story. 4. Write three Why questions about things that happened in a story. Then, answer the questions. 1. Describe the cause effect relationship between key plot elements in a story. 2. Give an example of how recognizing cause effect helped you better underst the plot development of a story. 3. Provide an example from a story of false cause. Demonstrate that because one event follows another does not prove that the second event is caused by the first event. 4. Using your science book, give three examples of each of the following: single cause single effect, single cause multiple effects, multiple causes single effect.
ANALYSIS Skill 13 Classifying general classroom reading 1. Tell why animals in stories you would make good pets or bad pets. 2. Make three headings: Places, Animals, Food. Under these headings, list the names of things you have read about in stories. 3. What makes a character a hero or a villain? List the names of characters that are heroes or villains explain why they belong to that group. 4. When reading for information, it is helpful to group similar things together. Using your science book, pick a topic make group headings, adding things to each group as you read. For example: reptiles, rocks, weather, mammals. 5. Do you like to collect things? Write a paragraph describing what you collect how you organize your collection. For example, baseball cards according to team, bracelets according to color. 1. Categorize facts from an informational story you have read. Group the information in logical categories that would make sense to someone who has not read the story. 2. Select three stories from the same genre identify common traits themes from the stories. 3. List three of your personal interests. By using the Internet or visiting a library, find five books that relate to each of those interests. Label the books narrative or informational indicate how each book relates to an interest. 4. Write a classified help-wanted ad for a job in each of the following categories: Education, Medicine, Technology. 5. Make a list of stories you classify them under the headings: Mystery, Nature, Sports, History.
ANALYSIS Skill 14 Reasoning general classroom reading 1. Tell how three facts helped you underst what was happening in a story. 2. If there are parts of a story that you did not underst, what should the author do to make the story easier to underst? 3. Write three Why questions you asked yourself to show the reason why something happened in a story. 4. Explain how you used things you already know to figure out a story s main idea. 1. How would you apply what you learned in a story to your own life? 2. Describe a scene from a story. Explain how you put together clues from that scene to figure out why something happened. 3. Describe a situation from your own life that is similar to something you have read in a story. 4. Write a paragraph about a time you suddenly had to change your plans. Give clues about why, without directly giving the reason. Have readers use reasoning to figure out why you changed your plans.
ANALYSIS Skill 15 Identifying Analogies general classroom reading 1. List five words in a story that helped you form a picture in your mind. Use the Internet or other research tools to find a synonym an antonym for each word. Use each word in a sentence. 2. Tell how wrapping paper a tablecloth are different. Tell how they are the same. 3. Give an example from a story of something that was different yet alike in some ways; for example, a boot a sal, or a bird a cat. 4. Think about a time an author described a character or event by comparing it to something similar. Create your own sentence comparing a new idea to the same character or event. 1. Create three analogies about people, places, or objects mentioned in a story, using the form A is to B as C is to D. 2. Give three examples of how an author used analogies to explain confusing or complex ideas by comparing them to something familiar. 3. Write a letter to an author who created an ambiguous relationship between two ideas. Explain why the comparison seemed unclear. Give the author tips to writing an effective analogy provide a clearer connection between the unknown entity a familiar idea. 4. Think about a time when it was difficult for a friend to underst your emotional reaction to something because the friend could not relate to your experience. Write a letter to that friend that connects your experience to something he or she experienced.
EVALUATION Skill 16 Detecting Author s Purpose general classroom reading 1. Explain why did the author wrote a story. 2. Write a letter to the author of a story that suggests ideas for two more stories he or she should write. 3. Give examples of stories that did the following things: made you laugh, taught you something, changed your mind, made you want to try something new. 4. Give an example of a story that was written for more than one reason. Explain what the reasons are. 1. What was the author s primary intent when he or she wrote a story? What other objectives might the author have had in mind when writing the story? 2. Assess the value or importance of an author s choice of prose, setting, or characterization in a story. 3. How does the author progress a story to its conclusion? Provide three examples. 4. How effective were the words writing style used by the author of a story? Explain why.
EVALUATION Skill 17 Understing Persuasion general classroom reading 1. Describe how the author of a story tries to prove he or she is right. 2. Explain why you agree or disagree with statements made in a story. 3. Write a letter to a friend that convinces him or her to read a story you enjoyed. Give three reasons why your friend should read the story. 4. Write a paragraph about a story that changed your mind about a topic. For example, that a rat would make a good pet or that soccer was the best sport. 1. Explain how overt or covert persuasion in a story helped you form an opinion. 2. Write a summary of a story from a perspective that is opposite from how it was written. 3. Imagine you are an advertising executive. Describe the ad you would design to sell a very popular book, then describe an ad you would design to sell a controversial book. 4. Write a political speech in which you persuade listeners to vote for one of your favorite characters for president.
EVALUATION Skill 18 Recognizing Slant Bias general classroom reading 1. Explain how you can tell if an author is writing about something real or make-believe in a story. 2. Tell about a story that showed how the author felt about the topic. Did you agree or disagree with the author s feelings? Why? 3. How do your interests affect what you like to read? Describe three books you liked because of your special interests. 4. Do you like to read stories in which the author lets you know his or her feelings? Would you rather read a story that just gives you facts? Describe a story you liked because the author did or did not show personal feelings. 5. Pretend you are running for class president. Write a short speech that tells only good things about yourself. Then, write a short speech that includes some of your faults. 1. Use the Internet or other research tools to find evidence that discounts an idea, belief, or theme presented in a story. 2. Retell a story from your own perspective. 3. Give examples of the use of rhetoric in a story tell how it influenced your interpretation of the story s ideas or themes. 4. Write a paragraph on three of your favorite characters. Then, write a corresponding paragraph based on an impartial view of each character.
EVALUATION Skill 19 Distinguishing Between Fact Opinion general classroom reading 1. Give three examples to show an author is telling a true story. 2. Is the author telling you how he or she feels or thinks about the topic of the story or is the author stating facts? What words give you clues about what the author is doing? 3. What would you do if you wanted to prove what an author says in a story is false? Give an example of something you did not believe from a story. 4. Tell what you like about a story. Then, explain which of these reasons are based on fact which are based on opinion. 5. Write a book review for your school newspaper that gives your opinions. Then, write another review that gives only facts about the book. 1. Describe language, tone, or theme used in a story that helped you determine if the story was fact or opinion. 2. Write an editorial to support an opinion expressed in a story. Then, write a newspaper article based on facts contained in the story. 3. Write a transcript of a discussion from a talk show about a story. Then, label each speaker s statements as fact or opinion. 4. Write an endorsement for a story, giving only opinions. Write another endorsement using only facts. 5. When making an important decision, can there be a balance between taking into account both fact opinion? Why or why not? 6. Describe a story you have read in which the opinions presented influenced your personal judgment of a topic, when considered along with the facts.
EVALUATION Skill 20 Judging Validity general classroom reading 1. Explain how you can tell that the story is true or not true. 2. Describe two stories: one fairy tale one biography. How are they different? 3. Give an example of how you used things you already know to help you decide whether a story was true or not true. 4. Describe a story that did not seem real in the beginning but made sense in the end. What did the author do to change your view? 1. Did the author of the story have first-h knowledge about the subject presented? If yes, explain how you can tell. If no, explain how first-h knowledge might change the author s perspective. 2. Imagine you are an attorney. Write an opening statement to the jury that argues the validity of a story. Provide supportive evidence. 3. What can you do to verify statements made by an author if he or she does not include supporting facts in the story? What would you do if you found conflicting sources? 4. Why is it especially important to check the validity of political speeches? What are some of the logical fallacies you might find? 5. Suppose you are designing an iphone app that can judge whether a story is true or not. What text clues would the app need to search for to judge validity? Provide examples.
EVALUATION Skill 21 Determining Relative Importance general classroom reading 1. List two characters from a story explain why one of those characters is more important to the plot than the other character. 2. Describe two important details that support the main idea two other details that are not important to the main idea. 3. Make up a survey that asks readers to pick things that are important, somewhat important, or not important to a story. Then, fill out the survey. 4. Describe parts of a story that held important clues to help you underst what was happening. 5. Retell a story by describing only the most important parts. 1. Pretend you are an attorney cross-examining the characters in a story. What questions would you ask them to elicit the most important details about the plot? 2. Develop a survey that asks readers to rate different elements (characters, actions, events, motivations, etc.) in a story according to their importance to the plot. 3. Have you ever read a story in which you felt the author got off the track? Describe parts of the story that could be eliminated without affecting the overall plot. 4. When reading for information, why is it important to concentrate on the most important facts? Give an example from your social studies or science textbook of how you would do this. 5. Create a Facebook fan page for a story. Include the most important information to share with fans.
APPRECIATION Skill 22 Interpreting Character general classroom reading 1. Describe a character from a story, including how he or she looks, some things the character might say, the kinds of books this character might like to read. 2. Explain why you agree or disagree with the behavior of a character. 3. Describe how a character from a story is the same as you or different from you. 4. Does the main character in this story seem real to you? Why or why not? 5. Imagine you are the main character in a story. Explain how you would look, act, feel as that character. 1. Think about the characters in a story. What motivates these characters to act the way they do? 2. Retell the main idea of a story from the perspective of a character in the story who is not the narrator. 3. Imagine a character from a story has a Facebook page. Describe all of the details associated with the page. 4. How could an author use a change in setting to show the journey of a character from innocence to maturity? Give an example from a story you have read.
APPRECIATION Skill 23 Recognizing Emotional Reactions general classroom reading 1. Describe the mood of the characters in a story. Why did the characters feel this way? 2. How can the way a character feels about something in a story tell you about the nature of the character? Give an example from a story you have read. 3. Think about a story where a character s behavior surprised you. Explain why you expected the character to behave in another way. 4. Give an example of a character in a story whose feelings change. Describe the clues that signaled the character s feelings had changed. 1. Describe a character with which you empathize, explain why you feel this way. 2. What are some methods an author can use to let readers know how a character is feeling without overtly stating the feeling? Give three examples from stories you have read. 3. Imagine you are the main character in a story. Would your emotional reactions to events in the story be the same as those of the actual character? Explain why or why not. 4. Identify a static character (one that remains unchanged throughout a story) describe how the story would be different if that character had demonstrated a change in attitude, personality, or behavior. 5. What alterations in feeling or mood might you expect in a story if a character experiences a moral conflict or significant life change? Provide examples.
APPRECIATION Skill 24 Identifying Mood & Tone general classroom reading 1. Describe how you felt when you read a story. Were you happy, sad, or did you feel something else? Explain why the story made you feel this way. 2. List some words phrases you would use if you were writing a scary story. Then use those words phrases to write two paragraphs of your story. 3. Give examples of words from a story that make the story funny. Explain how these words help you know the story is meant to be funny. 4. Give examples of stories you have read that create a mood through the setting, feelings of characters, or choice of words. 1. Describe a story in which you were caught up in the mood. How did this affect your enjoyment of the story? 2. Write five paragraphs in which the description of a setting reflects each of the following moods: anxiety, mystery, boredom, loneliness, elation. 3. Compare the mood tone of two stories. Provide details. Explain which of the two stories you prefer, how mood tone influenced your decision. 4. Imagine you are making a movie version of a story. Describe how you would shoot scenes from the story to convey an appropriate mood tone.
APPRECIATION Skill 25 Identifying Setting general classroom reading 1. Explain when where a story takes place. 2. Describe how the setting of a story is similar to or different from the place where you live. 3. Write a paragraph about a story that has a make-believe setting, another paragraph about a story that has a real setting. 4. Is the location a story important? Explain why or why not. 5. Retell a story so it takes place in another location. 1. What are some clues you found in a story that let you know when where the story takes place even though the author does not overtly state this information? 2. How can the author use the setting in a story to reflect emotions, create a mood, reinforce symbolism? Give specific examples from stories you have read. 3. Select a story that takes place in (or is about) a country other than your own. Using the Internet or other research tools, develop an outline of facts about the place. 4. Describe a story in which the author uses a feature of the physical setting as a significant literary element of the plot. For example, Mark Twain s use of the Mississippi River. 5. The setting of a story includes not only place but also time. Describe a story you have read in which the historical time period was critical to the plot. For example, Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities.