When reading, ask yourself —
How does the time and place of the story affect how a character behaves or reacts to certain events? Would people in a different historical time period or culture behave or react differently?
Would things happen differently in another time and place? Could the same events occur in the past that could happen today? Would or could the same events occur in a different cultural or physical setting?
When reading, ask yourself —
- What words best describe each character?
- Why do characters behave in certain ways?
- How do characters interact with each other, and what does this show the reader?
- How do characters' actions and interactions affect the plot?
- Does a character change throughout the story? If so, in what meaningful ways?
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When reading, ask yourself —
When reading, ask yourself —
- What ideas are bigger than the story itself?
- What can the reader learn from the story?
- What message or messages can the reader infer?
- What evidence from the passage supports the theme(s)?
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REMEMBER: The four story elements of setting, characters, plot, and theme work together to make a complete story. There can be no plot without setting and characters. Without a plot, there is no reason for characters and setting. There can be no theme without plot. When reading, look for these four elements in the story and how they are interconnected.