ELA 7 Study GuideMrs. Cooper

1.) Oral tradition - traditions, stories, and history that are passed down by word of mouth

Examples: fables, legends such as

Pocahontas, myths

2.) biography - a story about a person's life

that is written by another person

Ex. Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan (read in

class)

3.) non-fiction - the genre of writing that is

about real people, events and experiences

Ex. Woodsong

4.) autobiography - when an author writes about

his/her personal experiences throughout

their entire life

Ex. The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

5.) memoir - a person that writes a story about one specific

part of his or her own life

Ex. Woodsong

6.) theme - the central message or lesson learned in the story

Ex. Gary's love and passion for dogs

7.) characterization - the author's way of describing

both the character's personality and appearance

Ex. Paulsen characterizes Charley as terrified of war

and that he no longer wants to be a man

8.) direct characterization - when the writer states the

character's traits or characteristics

Ex. "He could read and write, Charley could, though he

hadn't had much schooling." page 8 Soldier's Heart

9.) indirect characterization - when the writer depends upon the reader to draw conclusions based upon dialogue and

actions between the characters

Ex. "... until he was there, in the trees, a large maple at his back, and finally,

sucking air until his lungs seemed to be on fire, finally he stopped and leaned

over, his hands on his knees, and vomited, heaving until he was ampty and then heaving more..." page 26 Soldier's

Heart

character - a person or animal in the story

Ex. Charley in Soldier's Heart,

Obeah in Woodsong

11.) setting - when and where the story

takes place

Ex. Winona, Minnesota, beginning

of the Civil War

12.) point of view - the perspective from which the story is told

Ex. Soldier's Heart is told in third person

13.) first person p. of v. - when a character within the story is telling the story

Ex. Tim tells My Brother Sam is Dead

and therefore it is first person

14.) third person p. of v. - when a story is told by an outside

narrator

Ex. Soldier's Heart is told in third person

15.) antagonist - a character that is in opposition to the main character

Ex. Gahko and Makwa from Echohawk

16.) protagonist - the main character in the

story

Ex. Tim Meeker or Charley

17.) genre - how a work of writing is

classified

Ex. nonfiction, fiction

18.) historical fiction - when a fictional story is mixed with true events, places, or characters in

history

Ex. My Brother Sam is Dead

19.) conflict - the problem in the story

Ex. the Civil War is an example in Soldier's

Heart

20.) internal conflict - a problem within a

character

Ex. Tim Meeker can't decide if he is a Patriot or

Loyalist or whether he sides with his brother,

Sam or his father

21.) external conflict - a problem between a

character and an outside force

Ex. when Gary Paulsen falls over the waterfall and injures his knee

22.) round/dynamic character - a character that changes

throughout the story and you see many different sides of them

Ex. Tim Meeker goes from being confused and interested about

the war to being the head of the household and just wanting the

war to end because he sees it as a waste

23.) flat/static character - a character that is one

dimensional and does not change during the story

Ex. George Hunter remains a ruthless

businessman throughout Kavik

24.) flashback - when a story or play interrupts

the present and takes you into the past

Ex. When Anne remembers her brother

James in The Miracle Worker

25.) drama - a piece of literature that tells

a story and is performed on stage

Ex. The Miracle Worker

26.) dialogue - the words that the

character's speak

Ex. Keller: "I'll see you to your buggy,

Doctor."

27.) playwright - a person that writes a

drama

Ex. Gibson and Shakespeare

Life as We Knew It

Miranda• typical teenager

• does well in school

• loves her family

• brave/courageous

• determined

• caring

Mrs. Nesbitt• like a Grandma to her Miranda and her

brothers

• caring

• enjoys celebrating

• intelligent

• selfless (saves food for Miranda and her family)

• elderly

Mom• gives up her own food and eats less

• injures her ankle• loving and thoughtful

• has a desire to make birthdays and holidays special even in difficult times

• wants her children to learn• works hard

Dad

• loving

• brings food for Miranda and her brothers

• helps chop the wood

• distant from his kids to some degree

Matt• in college at Cornell

• hard worker (chops wood)

• "man of the house"

• protects his siblings

• Miranda finds him easy to talk to

• calm and collected

Johnny• youngest at 13

• loves baseball

• self-centered

• helps chop wood

• wants life to be normal again

Megan and Sammi

• Megan - ultra religious, believes in giving up her food which means she starves herself for God, has values

• Sammi - boy crazy and runs off with an older man to the south

Horton

• cat

• Johnny loves him

• runs away at one point

• makes sure he gets food

The Miracle Worker

Annie Sullivan• determined to teach Helen• 21• inexperienced• inventive• stubborn• strict• likes things her way

Helen Keller• deaf and blind

• learns to communicate

• stubborn

• throws fits

• spoiled

• frustrated that she can't communicate

James Keller• older half-brother

• believes Helen is spoiled

• thinks they need to do something about Helen

• argues with his father

Kate Keller• mom

• spoils Helen • pities Helen because she is blind and deaf

• frustrated that she can't communicate with her own daughter

• determined to find help for her daughter• willing to do anything to help her daughter

Captain Keller• strict

• argues with James

• has a belief in the way women should be treated and behave

• disapproves of Anne and doesn't think she can do it

Jimmy Sullivan

• Anne's brother

• disabled

• in an asylum and died

What is the first word that Annie teaches

Helen?

• Doll

• Water is the first word Helen learns and has a letter/name association for

What is an asylum? Who spent time there? What happened

there?

• asylum - is a place where disabled people were sent

• James and Annie

• James ended up dying

What happens at the garden house?

• Anne takes Helen there so that H. has to rely on her for everything. She teaches H. manners, how to behave and hopes to reach her in order to teach her how to communicate.

Why does Annie take Helen to the garden

house?

• Annie takes Helen to the garden house so that Helen has to rely on her for everything. She also thinks it is the only way that she will be able to get through to Helen.

Woodsong

Obeah

• saves Paulsen after he goes over the water fall

• brings the dog sled team to Gary through the brush and down the bank

• loves and respects Gary

Storm• leader

• determined to work

• honest dog

• wants to carry his weight

• he starts to bleed from the corn based diet cutting his intestines

• when he dies he has the stick in his mouth showing that he forgives Gary when he dies facing the wrong direction

• plays games with Gary with the stick

Columbia• shows a great sense of humor during bone

wars when he puts a bone just out of another dog's reach

• made up the bully and the bone joke

• passive

• teaches Gary about the cruelness of nature and Gary stops trapping

Hawk• banty hen

• motherly

• takes care of the baby grouse and eggs

• attacks Gary's wife

• aggressive

Cookie• Gary's companion

• trusts her to lead during the Iditarod which was a mistake

• follows Gary's commands even when she knows he is wrong just to teach him a lesson

• a sweet dog

Wilson

• is the one that falls asleep while mushing in the Iditarod

Olaf

• dumb

• aggressive

• bully

Who saves Gary when he goes over the waterfall?

• Obeah

Describe Gary's experience level with his dogs at the beginning of

the memoir.• no experience raising or mushing dogs

• ignorant in the ways of dogs

• learns through the many mistakes that he makes

• doesn't feed them the correct diet

• learns from each of his dogs

What mistake did Gary make in feeding the dogs a corn based dog

food?

• When dogs are mushing the corn cuts their intestines like a knife and makes the dogs bleed. This is what happens to Storm when he is bleeding.

What does Gary learn about nature? Is it what he expected it

would be?• Gary learns how cruel nature can be, but that

it can be full of beauty as well.

• He does not expect the cruelness and uncleanliness of nature. He expects more of a Disney version of nature.

• He does notice the beauty of it as well while mushing the Iditarod in Alaska.

Why does Gary go "phony trapping"?

• Gary does "phony trapping" in order to continue running the dogs, but not hurt or take something out of nature.

How was Gary Paulsen ignorant when it came to his

dogs?• He didn't know what to feed and ends up

hurting Storm by mistake.

• He has difficulties when he starts mushing and needs to learn how far he can take them and when to rest.

• He also learns through trial and error about mushing at night.

Soldier's Heart

Charley Goddard• innocent about war

• too young to enlist • hates war when he actually enters battle and

doesn't want to be a man• scared and frightened by war

• doesn't listen to his Mom• provides for his family

Why can't Charley legally fight in the war?

• He isn't old enough (not 18) and his Mom won't sign for him to enlist (and he isn't 17 either.)

What is Soldier's Heart?

• Soldier's Heart is how an individual is different after fighting in the war. It is really the mental damage from the war and how it has changed them.

What is "farming"?

• stealing cattle, chickens, and produce from Confederate farms

What did Charley call the enemy soldiers?

• Rebs or Confederates

From what point of view is the story told?

• third person

Why was it important for the soldiers to care for

their feet?

• They needed to be able to walk and move about. If they couldn't walk than they couldn't run either.

What was Charley's home town?

• Winona, Minnesota

What battle was he wounded in?

• Gettysburg

Why does Charley lie about his age in order to

enlist?

• He can't fight in the war otherwise because he is too young and he wants to fight.