ELA 7 Study Guide Mrs. Cooper
Dec 15, 2015
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
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
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
18.) historical fiction - when a fictional story is mixed with true events, places, or characters in
history
Ex. My Brother Sam is Dead
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."
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
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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.