Reading Short Stories - Art of Reading [ 2 ]

2- ] Art of Reading .

Reading Short Stories .

The before mentioned reading strategies will be especially useful when you read short stories .

Predict :

Stop every so often to guess what is going to happen next . Then , read to see if the story fits your prediction .

Question :

Ask yourself basic questions and try to answer them : Why did he / she do that ? Where is this scene taking place ? Who is he / she ?

Respond :

It is fun and helpful to put yourself in a story as you read . Would I do that ? What would I like to say to him / her right now ?

Summarize :

Make sure you understand the narrative . Stop every so often to recap what has happened .

Draw Conclusions :

When you draw a conclusion , you put details together to make a general statement about something .

Connect

1-]Great Ideas .

Feel free to borrow ideas from the story .

2-] Lessons Learned .

In a small group , take turns telling something you learned from the story that you can apply to your own family life . Then , work together to write your lessons down as part of a self-help guide .

Literary Element .

Characterization :

The character of …….

1-] What she / he looks like .2-] How she / he acts 3-] What she / he says . 4-] What other characters say about her / him ?

Theme :

It is the central message of a selection . An author might state the theme directly , but more often the theme is implied or hinted at . To discover an implied theme , think about the selection’s plot , characters and setting and ask yourself :What does this story

mean ?

With a small group , come up with four ways to finish the statement in the center of this idea web. Jot your ideas in the outer circles . Discuss the details from the story that support each completed statement . Then , work together to figure out how your four statements are related . What larger message about life do they reveal ? Write that message at the bottom .

Conflict :

Is a struggle between opposing outside forces [ external conflict ]. 1-] Person against person . 2-] Person against nature . 3-] Person against society .  4-] Person against fate .

Internal Conflict :

It is a mental struggle between opposing thoughts or feelings .

Sensory Details .

They are descriptions that appeal to one or more of the five senses . Sensory details make writing come alive by helping readers see , hear , taste , touch or smell what is being described . For example , a writer may describe the wail of a police siren on a pleasant Sunday , helping you to hear , see and feel what is happening in the story .

Foreshadowing :

When an author provides clues that hint at what will happen later in a story , he or she is using foreshadowing . Science fiction writers often use foreshadowing , or clues about future story events to create suspense and excitement as you read .