main idea
what the text or story is about
plot
the chain of events in a story
setting
the time and place of the story
protagonist
the main character in a story who will face a conflict
antagonist
the character or force in opposition with the protagonist
exposition
introduction or beginning of the story; characters, setting, and basic situation is introduced
rising action
moves the plot along; part of the story where complications arise
climax
the most exciting or intense part of the story; usually a turning point
falling action
events that follow the climax and lead to the resolution
resolution
the end of the story; loose ends of the plot are tied up
conflict
a struggle between opposing forces or characters
theme
the central lesson or truth a story reveals about life
narrator
who tells the story
point of view
the standpoint or perspective from which a story is told
first person point of view
told from the point of view of one of the main characters in the story; uses words like I, me, my, mine
3rd person limited
told from the point of view of only one character, only learns about one characters
3rd person ominsicient
told from the point of view of someone outside the story; NOT a character in the story; the most reliable
fact vs. opinion
objective vs. subjective
objective point of view
contains facts
subjective point of view
contains opinions and feelings
author's point of view
deals with the author and his/her attitude about the subject (negative or positive view point)
flat character
a character we know very little about
round character
a character that is well developed and we learn many things about them
dynamic character
a character who undergoes a major change or personal growth because of the conflict
static character
a character that stays the same throughout the story
flashback
A scene that interrupts the normal chronological sequence of events in a story to depict something that happened at an earlier time
foreshadowing
Hints or clues in a story that suggest later events
mood
overall emotion of the story
inference
a general conclusion drawn from information that is given and what you already know ("Reading between the lines")
analogy
word comparison, similar relationship (Dog is to puppy as cat is to kitten)
synonym
A word that has the same or similar meaning (e.g. happy-glad, laugh-chuckle)
antonym
A word that is the opposite of another word (e.g. hot-cold, night-day).
acronym
word formed from the first letters of each word (DoCK = Dover Caring Kids)
bias
attitudes and beliefs that shape a person's thinking in spite of facts
stereotyping
unfair fixed ideas about groups of people
style
author's choice of words, length of sentences, choice of setting that makes a piece of writing "his or her" own
genre
types of reading (fantasy, historical fiction, biography, etc.)
implied
suggested or understood without being directly stated
pseudonym
A fictitious name used by an author; a pen name
context clues
A vocabulary strategy in which the reader looks at the words around an unfamiliar word to find clues to its meaning.
denotation
Dictionary definition of a word
connotation
All the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests