Grade 7 ELA

Simile: A comparison between two things using like or as.

i.e. Life is like a box of chocolates.

Metaphor: A comparison between two things that does not use like or as.

i.e. The sea is a hungry dog. i.e. Igor is a monster.

Fill out the graphic organizer in your notes with similes for mysteries.

Inferences: Making judgments, drawing conclusions and reasoning about text.  

Irony: Verbal Irony: When one thing is said and something else is meant.

Situational Irony: When you expect one thing to happen and something else happens.

Dramatic Irony: When one character knows something that another character does not know.

Idiom: is an expression that has a meaning different from the usual meaning of the individual words within it.

What does it mean to make INFERENCES ?

Making Inferences means increasing your understanding my making judgements, drawing conclusions, and reasoning about a text.

You come up with your own ideas about what is happening by reading between the lines.

The ideas that you come up with are not stated in the text.

Be aware!!Not all our inferences are correct! Be

willing to confirm, change, or disregard inferences as you read on…

Example #1 Read the

following paragraph and infer, or draw a conclusion as to what probably happened.

One summer day Joe and Ann were paddling their canoe. They planned to spend the day fishing and looking for wildlife. They had heard that sometimes dolphins swam up the creek. Suddenly there was a big splash in the water in front of their canoe. Then they knew that what they had heard was true.

Can you guess what happened?

What can you infer about Joe and Ann?

Example #2 Read the

following paragraph and see if you can tell what the author wants us to know but isn’t saying…

They made sure everyone was wearing long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and socks before they pulled up at the lodge. They noticed that the two men working on the grounds in front of the lodge were wearing nets around their heads and necks and hands.

How do you make use of Prior Knowledge to infer what is happening in this paragraph?

Pre-reading activity:What do you think

are the most important skills needed by those who solve crimes?

Read the story on page 119 using what you have learned to make inferences along the way. Make inferences by: reading into what the characters say; how other characters react to them; by their actions.

1.Define irony. What is ironic about the title of this selection? Discuss

2.List important skills (Character Traits) needed to solve crimes.

3.How does your background knowledge of crime investigation help you make reasonable inferences when reading mysteries?

1.Irony: An outcome contrary to what was, or might have been expected. Tall tale: a story that’s exaggerated and have to believe.

2. Observant, factual, organized, disciplined, hardworking, etc

We know what CSI’s do, take pictures, look for evidence, etc.

What inferences can we make about Radley, the female detective?

What inferences can we make about Trellis? What inferences can we make about Burton? How are we making these inferences?

Radley Trellis Burton

Observant- she notices that Trellis looks taller than usual and she’s described as having a “mental notepad; sense of humour- she goes along with Trellis’s joking “translation” of what Burton meant to say to her. Must be a good interviewer of suspects because she makes Trellis nervous with her questioning.

We know he is a police technician because he is carrying equipment; Burton is his boss. He sounds casual and lighthearted because he makes jokes; he might be insecure about being shorter than Radley. He seems intimidated by Radley. She makes him nervous with her questioning.

Burton: He’s a bit sarcastic, judging by the way he talks to Trellis. He is observant because he spotted the hair. He is organized because of the way his vest is described. Burton is not very friendly, we can tell this by how he greets Radley. Not very polite: the way he reacts to Trellis’ pun about sole/soul. He is a tough, no nonsense investigator “can we solve the crime first?”

What do you think it’s like to be hunted? Do you remember any chase scenes from movies or TV? How does the victim feel? How does the victim try to stay safe? What happens if the victim is captured? Do students identify more with the chaser or the chased?

Read the title and skim the pages of the story.

What do the background photos suggest about the setting?

What prediction can you make based on the title?

Higher Animals is a vivid, descriptive piece. Jay Henderson uses complex word choices, imagery, and figurative language to give us insight into the characters and make the setting come alive. Choose ten unfamiliar or new words that you need to understand to appreciate the story.

Why does Jay Henderson include the story of the mouse with so much detail?

Where would you place a mouse in nature‘s food web?

How are Skye and the mouse connected?

How does imagining how the characters feel engage you in the story?

It makes me want to keep reading to find out what happens; makes me think about what I would do if I were in that situation; makes me identify with the characters, because I know from playing hide-and seek what it feels like to hide and get caught

Word What I think Synonym Definition

Carnivore Meat-eater an animal that eats flesh.

Fluttered Ruffle to move in quick, irregular motions; vibrate.

Hibernate Hide to spend the winter in close quarters in a dormant condition, as bears and certain other animals.

Word What I think Synonym Definition

Coaxed Lure to attempt to influence by gentle persuasion, flattery

Grim Reaper Angel of death the personification of death as a man or cloaked skeleton holding a scythe.

Kaleidoscope Multicolored a continually changing pattern of shapes and colors.

Word What I think Synonym Definition

Compounded united composed of two or more parts, elements, or ingredients:

Herbivores Plant-eater an animal that feeds on grass and other plants

Omnivores Eater An organism that eats both plants and animals.

What did you think the title “Higher Animals” meant when you began reading? What do you think the title means now?

I thought it meant animals that lived up high, or taller animals, but now I think it means higher intelligence or higher up the food chain,as in grizzlies; maybe the author is asking if humans are higher than animals, because the game might show how we can act like them)

1. How would you feel if you were in Skye’s situation?

Frightened, petrified, scared for my life, exhilarated.

2. What can you infer about the characters?They’re 14, they all go to the same school,

the chasers are vicious bullies, Skye shows bravery by being able to stay still.

3. How does imagining how the characters feel engage you in the story?

Makes me want to keep reading to find out what happens. Makes me think about what I would do. Makes me identify with the characters, because I know from playing hide-and-seek how it feels to hide and get caught.

4. What do you think the title “Higher Animals” meant when you began reading? Who do you think it means now?

I thought it meant animals that lived up high, or taller animals, but now I think it means higher intelligence or higher up the food chain as in grizzlies.

5. What is happening in the story? How do you know (proof)?

Skye and Kevin are being chased in the woods and are covering themselves with leaves to hide. They are recreating how the food chain works. They are playing man-tracker. The conclusion explains the game.

6. Who is chasing whom? Why? The Hasher twins and Todd are chasing Skye and Kevin. It is all apart of the game.

7. What do we know about the characters? Hasher twins (Tracy and Twig): vicious

bullies, malicious, no sympathy, competitive

Kevin and Skye: Brave, courageous, Skye is a leader.

8. What inferences did you make about the characters? (same as #2)

9. What did the author do to create suspense?

10. The end is an example of irony, explain.

11. What is the theme of this story?

Making inferences involve making judgments and drawing conclusions. Was there ever a time when this happened to you. Tell about this incident.

Pages 124-125

Why do brothers and sisters sometimes keep secrets from each other?

How there been fads at your school, when one person brings something and it really catches on?

What kind of games do you play? (Pick-up sticks, checkers, cards, etc)

Have you ever played marbles? Let’s see how it’s played! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewqFhNw9k7g

Novel excerpt: An excerpt is something you excerpt, or pluck out, from a larger piece.

How might the novel excerpt help you as you read the selection?

It says who the main character is; it happened over 50 years ago)

What clues help you infer when the story takes place?

It takes place years ago, when schools had separate entrances for boys and girls.

What inferences can you make about the importance of the game to Elaine and the other players?

They seem to take it really seriously; they all play the same way; they all know the value or the marbles; there’s a code of conduct about how to win the marbles.

What can you infer about the game of marbles?

Players have mixed feelings about it: they really want to keep their prized marbles, but the excitement of the game comes from the threat of losing them to other players. We were able to infer from the following: Elaine feels both “avarice and a pleasurable horror”

What can we infer about Elaine’s brother?

He’s really good at the game, because he has many jars of marbles he’s won. He might be either modest or secretive, because he doesn’t talk about his skill. He doesn’t seem to trust people, not even his sister, and seems afraid that someone will steal from him, because he buries his best marbles; he might like mysteries and puzzles, because of the treasure map he makes.

How are Elaine and her brother similar and different?

Elaine is open, not a good shot, is honest and modest about not being very good, treasures a particular marble, seems drawn by the marbles themselves; brother is mysterious, maybe modest, a great shot, untrusting, also treasures particular marbles)

Now that we’ve discussed ‘The Buried Marbles Mystery’ in great detail, please work quietly on the hand out for this reading.