SPRINGBOARD UNIT 3
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY
ESSENTIAL QUESTION: WHAT ARE
ESSENTIAL CONCEPTS I NEED TO KNOW
IN ORDER TO DO WELL ON MY
EMBEDDED ASSESSMENTS?
WHAT DO ALL OF THESE WORDS HAVE IN
COMMON?
 Convey
 Explain
 Indicate
 Demonstrate
 Suggest
 Inform
 Convince
 Express
 Persuade
 Develop
These words all show ACTION! They indicate that
something is told or shown.
WHAT IS AUTHOR’S PURPOSE?

Authors write because of
PIES…
 Persuade
 Inform
 Entertain
 Share feelings
Dear Diary,
Jan. 5, 2012
It’s been a tough day. Today Steve
broke up with Jessica, and she was
venting during the whole lunch
period. I swear my sweater is soaked
full of her tears. Gross! I can’t wait
till she gets over this! Anyways,
Bobby asked me out last week…
Fire! An Adventure Story
Karina’s heart pounded
with terror when she
realized she could not
escape the raging flames
that were surrounding
her. All of a sudden, she
felt protective arms wrap
around her. From there,
she realized that she was
being led to safety.
MORE PRACTICE
The giant panda
is a bearlike animal
that has thick white
fur with black
markings on its ears,
limbs, shoulders, and
around its eyes. The
giant panda feeds on
bamboo forests at
high altitudes in
western China.
MAIN IDEA AND SUMMARY


Main Idea
One or two sentences
explaining what the
selection’s focus will be.
Think to yourself…
“What is this selection
about?”



Summary
Highlights what happened
throughout the story.
It’s a shortened version
about what happened.
SWBS: Somebody, Wanted,
But, So…
Think about the movie Finding Nemo. Write the
main idea of the story and a summary. What? You
didn’t see that movie? Try The Lion King or Shrek.
Now, in your own words, explain the difference
between Main Idea and Summary.
LITERARY TERMINOLOGY
IRONY



Dramatic Irony occurs when the audience
knows something that a character doesn’t know.
Situational Irony occurs when you expect one
thing to happen but the opposite of what you
expect actually happens.
Verbal Irony occurs when you say one thing, but
you really don’t mean what you say.

* Similar to SARCASM
Do you find the next activities ironic?
RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT

Swanson Wisconsin was a famous child star. She had
several platinum selling albums, her own TV sitcom,
and a series of straight-to-DVD films that received
terrible reviews but sold really well. Swanson
Wisconsin was extremely wealthy and had the respect
and admiration of millions of boys and girls around
the world. She was everywhere. She was even the
face of the antidrug movement. Swanson Wisconsin
appeared on several commercials, billboards, and bus
advertisements telling young people not to use drugs.
All over the country the message was heard: “Be like
Swanson Wisconsin. Think up. Don’t get high.” One
fateful December evening, Swanson Wisconsin
crashed her Bentley into hotdog stand. No one was
injured, but Swanson Wisconsin was extremely
disorientated. At the hospital, blood tests revealed
that Swanson Wisconsin had enough crystal meth,
cocaine, and tranquilizers in her system to murder an
elephant.
GRAND THEFT AUTO

Jack was on his way home from work when his wife Jill
called him. He was in a hurry to get home and watch his
favorite show, COPS, but Jill said that he needed to stop at
the minimart to get some bread for dinner. Jack replied
dutifully to his wife, “Yes, Dear.” When he got to the
minimart, Jack was in such a hurry that he didn’t even pull
into a parking spot. He just pulled up right next to the
door. It was 6:58, and COPS was starting in two minutes,
so Jack just left his car running and ran into the store. He
grabbed the bread from the middle aisle and got in the line
behind a skinny guy wearing a leather jacket. Jack tapped
his foot impatiently as the man purchased lottery tickets.
Finally, the clerk rang up Jack right as Jack’s watch read
6:59. Jack hurriedly completed the transaction and ran
outside. As he went to jump into his car, he noticed that it
was gone. He looked around a bit, but it was no where in
sight. “Great,” Jack sighed. His watch read 7:01. “How
wonderful,” he said to himself, as he reached in his pocket
to call his wife.
EMBEZZLEMENT

Suzy works in a big sky scrapper downtown. She is the secretary for the
regional manager of operations at Bork and Mork’s Corks and Forks. As
the secretary, she was entrusted with a large supply of loose cash called a
slush fund. The slush fund started at around five thousand dollars, but
Suzy has been dipping her hands into the slush fund. It first started
when she forgot her wallet at home. She was really hungry, so she
grabbed a few bucks out of the slush fund for lunch and told herself that
she would pay it back tomorrow. When tomorrow came, she didn’t pay it
back. The next day she decided that she needed to go grocery shopping
after work, but she didn’t get paid until next week and she was out of
money. So Suzy grabbed her grocery money out of the slush fund. Again
she told herself that she would pay it back, and again she did not. This
pattern went on for another week or two, and Suzy bought herself all
kinds of fancy goods and services. With her freshly manicured nails, Suzy
opened the slush found box and found that it was empty. She began to
panic, but was eventually able to block it out of her mind. That afternoon
Suzy’s boss, Mr. Meister, called Suzy into his office. “Suzy,” he said
sternly. “As you may know, my birthday is next Friday. I want you to
throw me the biggest party this office has ever seen.” Suzy gulped as Mr.
Meister went on, “I want an open bar, a clown, seven swans a swimming,
the whole shebang! I want a nacho cheese fountain with at least four
types of cheeses. Spare no expense. Drain every penny from the slush
fund.” Suzy noticed the look of childlike joy and excitement in his eyes as
he imagined the extravagant party that would never happen, and Suzy
shuddered to think of what tomorrow would bring.
FOIL CHARACTERS


A foil is a character who serves as a contrast to
another character, so as to highlight
characteristics of the other character.
Examples:
In The Lion King, Scar would be the FOIL to Mufasa.
 In the Harry Potter, Malfoy would be the FOIL to
Harry.
 In Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio would be the foil to
Benvolio.
 In The Dark Knight, The Joker would be the foil to
Batman.

EPIGRAPH


A motto or quotation at the beginning of a text
(book, or chapter, poem, or essay) that suggests
the THEME of the text.
Examples:
“It was the best of worlds, it was the worst of worlds"
-A Tale of Two Cites
 "Revenge is a dish best served cold." – Kill Bill
 Each book of the Twilight series begins with a
different quote. Twilight has the Bible, New Moon
has Romeo and Juliet, and Eclipse has the Robert
Frost’s poem "Fire and Ice."

FORMAL DICTION IS…
-For scholarly situations: writing, school, elevated
discourse (conversation)
-Consists of sophisticated language. (Think big,
difficult, or obscure words.)
-Makes allusions to books, events, or ideas that are
rarely understood by those who have not had
advanced schooling.
INFORMAL DICTION IS…
Informal Diction (ID) is every day language.
Language for the masses. It’s simplified.

Example: Weathercaster on the evening news.
Colloquial speech is a form of ID. (Speech for noneducated)

Example: The street corner discussions of the
weather.
Slang is another form of ID.
Newly invented words
are not formally recognized by society at large.

In practice, slang as a level of diction is usually
colloquial speech with slang terms mixed in.
WHAT IS A TRAGIC HERO?
Noble Stature-Leader
 Downfall is partially
his/her own fault or
free choice
 Tragedy is triggered
by error of judgment
or character flaw
(hamartia)

 Character’s
flaw
involves hubris
(pride or arrogance)
Hero’s misfortune is
not wholly deserved.
Punishment exceeds
crime.
 Fall is not a pure
loss. A new
awareness occurs,
knowledge, or
discovery.
 Do you know of any
tragic heroes?

ARCHETYPES
Archetypes are models or patterns that span
time, space and culture.
 They are patterns in stories that crop up again
and again across the globe, from the first
civilizations to Today’s NYT Best Seller List.
 They represent a hidden, deeper meaning.

ORAL TRADITIONS & FOLK TALES
An oral tradition is…
 The way information is
passed from one
generation to the next
without writing
information down.
 People chanted, sang, and
came up with various
mnemonic techniques to
help remember history!
 This oral tradition was a
way to keep the history or
culture of the people alive,
and since it was a form of
story-telling, it was a
popular entertainment.
Do you know stories based on
an oral tradition?
Folk tales are…


legends handed down from
generation to generation
usually by oral retelling.
Folk tales often explain
something that happens in
nature or convey a certain
truth about life.
Do you know any folk tales?
SYMBOL

A person, place, thing, or event that stands for
itself and also for a larger idea.
CATHARSIS
Does yelling, swearing, or hitting a pillow make someone less angry or
aggressive?
The thought behind 'catharsis theory' is
that feelings build up and create
pressure if not vented in the same
way air builds up in a balloon until it
bursts. Releasing emotions decreases
the pressure or tension in the person so
they have fewer negative emotions and
are less aggressive.
Catharsis is a Greek word and it means cleansing.
In literature it is used for the cleansing of emotions of
the characters. It can also be any other radical change that
leads to emotional rejuvenation of a person.
ALLUSION

A reference to a well-known person, event, or
place from history, music, art, or another literary
work.
JUXTAPOSITION

The arrangement of two or more things for the
purpose of comparison.
PROVERBS
MOTIF

A recurrent image, symbol, theme, character
type, subject, or narrative detail that becomes a
unifying element in an artistic work.
FORESHADOW

The use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest
future action.