Old Yeller
By Teacher Jasmine
Big Question
How can we help protect those we
love?
Setting
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Time and place in which a story
takes place.
Setting
Determines some events
Influences behaviors
of characters
Plot
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Is the pattern of events in a story,
including a conflict, rising action,
climax, and a resolution.
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literat
ure/course/genre/shortstory/cs13/plot.html
P. 22-23
Vocabulary Words
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Lunging
Nub
Romping
Rowdy
Slung
Speckled
P.24-25
Lunging
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Ways moving forward.
Walking, inching, leaping
Nub
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A small amount of something
Slice, sliver, bit
Romping
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Ways of playing
Frolicking, running, cavorting
Rowdy
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Describe behavior
Calm, loud, polite
Slung
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Ways of throwing
Hurled, flung, tossed
Speckled
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Patterned with round markings
Spotted, dotted, freckled
Explore
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Why do people have dogs as pets?
When a dog is well trained, what
can you expect from him or her?
Do you have or know a dog? If so,
what is the dog like?
Historical Fiction

Is realistic fiction that takes place in
the past. Historical fiction is a
combination of imagination and
fact. Characters are placed in a
factually accurate setting to act out
a fictional plot.
Picture Walk
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Preview the title of the story and
the illustrations.
Predict what you will find out in this
story.
Guide Questions
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What is the setting of the story?
What personal and physical
characteristics would a person need to
survive on Texas frontier in 1867?
On page 29, Travis relates that he spent
more than a week teaching Arliss to kill
snakes. How does this plot even fit with
the story’s setting?
From what point of view is this selection
told?
What effect does point of view have on
the way readers experience the story?
Guide Questions
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What words in pages 30-31 sounds
as though it may be a lie?
What inferences can you make
about the boys’ mother based on
her reaction to Travis?
Guide Questions
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In paragraphs 2-5 on page 32, how does
the author help you visualize Travis’s
actions?
Visualize the last two paragraphs on page
33. What do you see and hear?
What happens on pages 32-33 that
dramatically alters the plot of the story?
What two things are compared in the last
line of the second paragraph on page 33?
What does the smile suggests about the
way Travis is running?
Guide Questions
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What causes Travis to feel a chill clear
through to the marrow of his bones?
What adds to Travis’s fear and
desperation?
Reread paragraph 2 on P. 34. How does
Travis’s description help readers visualize
how fast he is running?
Travis thinks Arliss wouldn’t let go of the
cub’s hind legs because he was to afraid.
Based in what you know about little
Arliss, do you agree with Travis?
Guide Questions
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Use your background knowledge and as
many senses as possible to visualize the
action in paragraph 5 P. 36. What do you
see, hear, feel, and smell?
Based on what you already know about
Travis and what you learn about him from
his behavior on P. 36, what conclusions
can you draw about the kind of person he
is?
How does Old Yeller respond to the bear’s
threat, despite his smaller size?
Guide Questions
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How might the story have ended
differently?
What do Old Yeller’s action tell
about his character?
Compare and contrast the way the
mother bear fights with the way Old
Yeller fights?
How successful is the author at
writing a story to entertain?