Interest and suspense are built during which part of the story?

Which list shows the plot elements in the correct order?

Read the passage. Which plot element is shown in the underlined section?

It was dark and a little eerie by the campfire where Jonas and his friends were huddled. They were telling ghost stories, and each boy tried to make his story scarier than the last. Jonas looked around to see if his dad was anywhere nearby. Suddenly, they heard a loud crack and rustling in the nearby woods. "What's that?" whispered Jonas to the boy next to him. He didn't want to admit it, but he was downright scared now. His heart was racing. He could see a large shadowy figure approaching, holding something that looked like a knife. "Thought you might want to toast some marshmallows," said Jonas's father as he stepped into the light of the fire. He held up a bag of marshmallows in one hand and metal skewers - not a knife - in the other. Jonas and his friends breathed sighs of relief. His father taught the group a secret trick for making toasted marshmallows, and they each ate about fifteen.

Read the passage. Which plot element is shown in the underlined section?

The wolf was frustrated that he couldn't blow down the house of the third little pig, so he tried instead to get the pig by climbing through the chimney. Surprise! He fell right into a pot of water that the little pig had on for supper. "Yum!" said the little pig. The pig invited his two brothers over. They ate a delicious wolf stew for dinner and lived happily ever after.

The sequence of events in a story or novel is called the ________.

Read the passage. Which plot element is shown in the underlined section?

It was dark and a little eerie by the campfire where Jonas and his friends were huddled. They were telling ghost stories, and each boy tried to make his story scarier than the last. Jonas looked around to see if his dad was anywhere nearby. Suddenly, they heard a loud crack and rustling in the nearby woods. "What's that?" whispered Jonas to the boy next to him. He didn't want to admit it, but he was downright scared now. His heart was racing. He could see a large shadowy figure approaching, holding something that looked like a knife. "Thought you might want to toast some marshmallows," said Jonas's father as he stepped into the light of the fire. He held up a bag of marshmallows in one hand and metal skewers - not a knife - in the other. Jonas and his friends breathed sighs of relief. His father taught the group a secret trick for making toasted marshmallows, and they each ate about fifteen.

What are character traits?

What can you use to figure out what a character’s traits are?

An author writes, “The girl was very patient.”

This is an example of ________.

An author reveals that a character is courageous through the character’s words, actions and thoughts.

This is an example of ________.

A character, Nicki, is friendly. The author shows this by having Nicki sit down at a lunch table with a group of kids she doesn’t know and introduce herself.

What is the author using to show Nicki’s trait?

A character, Flora, goes on a field trip to an amusement park. She tells her teacher she’s scared to go on the roller coasters. “No way I’m going on those!” she thinks. Flora’s classmates comment on how she’s shaking and looks pale.

Based on this evidence, one trait that describes Flora is ________.

A character, Carson, looks up to his older sister. His sister had an art show coming up. The week before show, she told Carson not to go into her room and peek at her project. Carson followed her rules and didn’t try to go in. “I hope it’s a painting of me!” thought Carson.

What evidence can you use to support the fact that Carson is “respectful”?

Read the following passage from a story.

Mercy snorted. She should have known better than to challenge Victoria. Of all Mercy’s friends, Victoria talked loudest, ran fastest and took the most risks. She bragged about the time she convinced her older brothers to spend a weekend building her a fort. Mercy liked to call Victoria “Buster.” “Because you are always busting things up,” she laughed. Victoria wore the nickname with pride.

Based on the passage, which of the following is one of Victoria’s character traits?

Which of the following is an example of direct characterization?

Read the following passage. Identify what you can infer about the main character.

“We did it! We did it! We did it!” Mei boasted, slapping her hand against the table, scattering toast crumbs, knocking aside teaspoons and almost smearing the butter in her zeal.

“Whoa!” her brother exclaimed, startled. “Well, congratulations!”

Mei stood up and triumphantly strutted around the kitchen, transforming her walk around the breakfast table into a victory parade.

Her brother laughed, surprised and amused. “Who are you, and what have you done with my sister, Mei?” he teased.

Based on the passage, what can you infer about the main character Mei?

True or False: Characters can only be humans.

Read the following sentences from a story. Choose the character trait that best describes Grandpa.

Grandpa was 85 years old and had gone through many experiences in his life. Everyone in Grandpa’s building went to him for advice. He always had the right answers. He helped people with their problems and gave them great recipes to try. “I’ve never met someone who knows as much as you do, Gramps!” exclaimed Simon.

A character, Vishal, wants to be the president of the fourth grade class. He runs in the election and wins. He says, “Not only am I going to lead the fourth grade, I’m going to be president of the United States one day!” Based on this evidence, one trait that describes Vishal is ________.

When a writer TELLS you exactly what the character is like, the method is called __________ characterization.

If the writer SHOWS you through the character's actions, the method is called ________ characterization