| Term | Definition |
|---|
| active reading strategies | steps or procedures the reader uses to stay involved in what he is reading |
| allusion | a reference to a person, place or event in history, literature or the Bible |
| antagonist | the force that is fighting against the main character |
| author's purpose | the writer's major reason for writing his work |
| autobiography | a story written about a real person or event by that person |
| biography | a story written about a real person by someone other than that person |
| characters | the people in a story |
| characterization | any method used by a writer to develop his characters. |
| indirect characterization | using the words or actions of a character to develop them and expecting the reader to 'infer' what they are like from evaluating these. |
| direct characterization | when the author comes right out and tells the reader what a character is like |
| climax | the peak of highest excitement in a story |
| conflict | the struggle or problem in the story |
| connect | an active reading strategy where the reader draws a parallel between his own life and what is going on in the story |
| email | an electronic message sent over the internet |
| evaluate | an active reading strategy in which the reader makes a judgment about a character or an action |
| exposition | background information given at the beginning of a story |
| falling action | events that happen after the climax and that tie up loose ends in a story |
| fiction | a story created in the mind of its author |
| first person | a point of view in which a character is telling his own story |
| graphic organizer | any map or chart that helps organize information for better recall and understanding |
| genre | the largest category of literature |
| Inspiration | a computer program that helps the student or teacher create flow charts of information |
| Man vs fate | When the main character is fighting against chance or luck |
| man vs himself | another way of stating internal conflict |
| man vs man | when the main character must fight against another person or people |
| man vs nature | when the main character is fighting against a force such as famine or earthquake |
| narrator | the person telling the story |
| nonfiction | writing that explains real events and people |
| poetry | literature written in lines and stanzas |
| plot | the events that make up a story and give it its shape |
| point of view | the angle from which the story is being told |
| predict | an active reading strategy that requires the reader to make a logical guess about what will happen next |
| prose | literature written in sentences and paragraphs |
| protagonist | the main character in a story |
| question | an active reading strategy that calls for the reader stopping to ask himself questions about what he is reading |
| resolution | the way the main character solves his problem |
| respond | an active reading strategy in which the reader reacts emotionally to what he is reading |
| review | an active reading strategy where the reader stops to summarize what has happened as he reads |
| rising action | the events that build the conflict and create suspense |
| setting | when and where a story takes place |
| sequence of events | the order of things that happen in a story |
| short story | a fictional story written to be read in one sitting |
| suspense | the literary element that makes a reader want to keep reading a story to find out what will happen next |
| theme | the main message of a story |
| third person limited | when the reader is allowed into the mind of only one character in a story |
| third person omniscient | when the reader is allowed into the minds of several characters in a story and knows more than any one character |
| three column notes | a graphic organizer that puts information into three categories |
| universal theme | a message that repeats itself over and over in different works of literature |
| visual chunks | blocks of information that are easy to picture and remember |
| visualize | an active reading strategy in which the reader tries to picture in his head what he is reading about |
| web page | the URL or website in which information is located |
| webbing | placing information in boxes with lines showing their relationships to each other |
| context clues | using information in the sentence to determine the meaning of a new term or word |
Combine with other sets
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