What Reading Skills Help You Analyze Plot?
Feature Menu
Making Predictions
Tracing a Sequence of Events
Visualizing
Analyzing Details
Your Turn
Making Predictions
Writers often plant clues about where a story is
heading.
It was the sort of day when
miraculousthings
wonderful
thingshappen.
happen.
For instance,
Tony
and MikeTony
convinced
and Mike
convinced
their
momtheir
to let
mom
them
to go
let
them go camping—without
camping—without
their
their dad—on
dad—on
Dead
Dead
ManMan
Mountain.
Mountain.
As you read, use clues to make predictions about
what’s going to happen.
Making Predictions
To find the clues a writer has planted, look at the
text’s
dialogue
your own life
experience
action
knowledge of how
stories work
Making Predictions
What clues has the writer planted in this passage?
After darkness fell, the two brothers reached camp.
“Mike, go get some firewood while I set up the tent,”
Tony instructed. Mike agreed and disappeared into the
darkness to gather wood.
Twice, Tony thought he heard a rustling noise, but each
time he looked up, all was quiet. Probably his brother
trying to play a trick on him, Tony thought.
“Mike?” Tony called out. There was no answer.
Make a prediction. What do you think will happen
next?
Making Predictions
As you read, also keep your own life experiences
in mind.
Use what you know to make predictions about what
will happen next.
Making Predictions
You can use your understanding of how stories work
to help you predict what’s going to happen.
Most stories follow a plot sequence, like the one in
the diagram below.
3. Climax
2. Rising Action
1. Exposition
4. Resolution
Making Predictions
The scene in which Tony and Mike convince their
mom to let them camp solo is part of the exposition.
1. Exposition
In the scene, we meet the main characters, Tony
and Mike. We also learn their situation: They’re
going camping. Because the boys will be camping
alone, the scene also hints at the main conflict.
Making Predictions
When Tony and Mike are setting up camp, the events
are part of the rising action.
2. Rising Action
1. Exposition
This scene shows the boys’ struggle to achieve their
goal of setting up camp. While Tony sets up the tent,
Mike sets off to gather firewood—alone and in the
dark.
Making Predictions
Where does this passage belong on the diagram?
Tony dove into the water and grabbed for Mike’s arms,
though he couldn’t see a thing. The river was icy cold.
Tony felt a stinging moment of regret for loosening the
lid on Mike’s water bottle. Then, suddenly, he regretted
everything he’d ever done to his brother, even in fun.
3. Climax
2. Rising Action
1. Exposition
4. Resolution
Making Predictions
The passage in which Tony tries to pull Mike out of
the river is most likely the climax of the story.
3. Climax
2. Rising Action
1. Exposition
4. Resolution
As Tony reaches for his brother in the icy water, the
story reaches its highest emotional intensity. Tony
feels regret about how he has treated Mike.
Therefore, this scene is likely the story’s climax.
Making Predictions
All that’s left is the resolution—the events following
the climax. Through the resolution, any remaining
issues or conflicts are resolved.
3. Climax
2. Rising Action
1. Exposition
4. Resolution
What do you think will happen during the remainder
of the story?
Making Predictions
Another way to make predictions is to ask questions
about what happens. Ask yourself
• Why did the author choose this detail?
• Is this detail important?
Making Predictions
Quick Check
We rarely sit down to dinner
together—except on Sundays. But
today is Tuesday, and Mom insisted
that we eat together. She and Dad
came home from work early, and
that never happens.
Use the writer’s
clues, your own
experience, and
your knowledge
of stories to
make a
prediction.
Emily looks over at me, raises her
eyebrows, as if to ask what I know. I
shrug my shoulders in reply.
No one says anything.
[End of Section]
Tracing a Sequence of Events
One reason we keep reading is to find out what
happens to the characters in a story.
To keep track of a character’s
experiences:
• Pause after every few
paragraphs.
• Then, briefly restate what
has happened to the
character.
Tracing a Sequence of Events
You can also use a story timeline to track events.
As you read, fill out a chart like this one:
Story Timeline
Story Event 1
Story Event 2
Story Event 3
Marcus got
ready to
dive into
the water.
He swam with
all of his
effort, edging
out his
strongest
competitor.
Victorious,
Marcus
pumped his fist
in the air.
Story Event 4
Tracing a Sequence of Events
Quick Check
Huddled in the muffling comfort of her
tent, Shawna shivered. Outside, the
trees groaned, their limbs bending in
the wind.
Identify the
sequence of
events in this
passage.
Suddenly, there was a flash of odd,
green light, and before Shawna could
take a breath, an echoing boom
resounded through the trees.
“This weekend,” she muttered, “was a
rotten time to go camping.”
[End of Section]
Visualizing
When you visualize what is happening and where
it is happening, you bring a story to life.
The river, normally clear
and slow-moving, was
swollen and muddy after
the previous week’s rain. Its
brown surface rippled and
swirled as the water rushed
over the rocks beneath.
As you read, create mental images of the story’s
characters, setting, and action.
Visualizing
Try these strategies to improve your visualizing
skills.
1. Read a passage, and then describe what’s
happening—in writing or out loud to a friend.
Visualizing
Try these strategies to improve your visualizing
skills.
2. Pause in your reading to briefly sketch what is
happening and where it is happening.
Visualizing
Try these strategies to improve your visualizing
skills.
3. Read aloud, paying close attention to the
descriptive words the author uses.
Visualizing
Quick Check
Huddled in the muffling comfort of her
tent, Shawna shivered. Outside, the
trees groaned, their limbs bending in
the wind.
Suddenly, there was a flash of odd,
green light, and before Shawna could
take a breath, an echoing boom
resounded through the trees.
Which descriptive
words help you
imagine sounds
in the scene
being described?
“This weekend,” she muttered, “was a
rotten time to go camping.”
[End of Section]
Analyzing Details
Descriptive details and sensory details describe
how something
•looks
•feels
•smells
•sounds
•tastes
Analyzing Details
Analyzing, or studying, details helps you
•understand the plot
•get to know the characters
•and visualize, or picture, the scene
Analyzing Details
Details help the reader get a fuller sense of the
characters, the story’s setting, and the events that
occur.
As you read, use details to help you visualize
the story’s characters, setting, and action.
Analyzing Details
Use a graphic organizer to keep track of details
describing an image.
electric
current
of energy
black-andwhite-speckled
dog
Analyzing Details
Quick Check
Lucy settled onto the bench seat of What details help
you visualize the
the old wooden train. A few lonely
raindrops splatted against the glass scene?
windowpane as Lucy snuggled into
her coat. She was going to visit her
grandmother in the country. The
train whistle sounded as thunder
rumbled in the distance. It was time
to leave the station.
[End of Section]
Your Turn: Apply Reading Skills
Your Turn
Read this passage from “The Sniper,” and identify
details that help you understand the sequence of
events.
Just then an armored car came across the bridge and advanced
slowly up the street. It stopped on the opposite side of the street,
fifty yards ahead. The sniper could hear the dull panting of the
motor. His heart beat faster. It was an enemy car. He wanted to fire,
but he knew it was useless. His bullets would never pierce the steel
that covered the gray monster.
Then round the corner of a side street came an old woman, her
head covered by a tattered shawl.
from “The Sniper” by Liam O’Flaherty
Your Turn: Apply Reading Skills
Your Turn
Now identify details that help you visualize the action.
Just then an armored car came across the bridge and advanced
slowly up the street. It stopped on the opposite side of the street,
fifty yards ahead. The sniper could hear the dull panting of the
motor. His heart beat faster. It was an enemy car. He wanted to fire,
but he knew it was useless. His bullets would never pierce the steel
that covered the gray monster.
Then round the corner of a side street came an old woman, her
head covered by a tattered shawl.
from “The Sniper” by Liam O’Flaherty
Your Turn: Apply Reading Skills
Your Turn
Finally, make a prediction about what will happen based
on clues in the passage.
Just then an armored car came across the bridge and advanced
slowly up the street. It stopped on the opposite side of the street,
fifty yards ahead. The sniper could hear the dull panting of the
motor. His heart beat faster. It was an enemy car. He wanted to fire,
but he knew it was useless. His bullets would never pierce the steel
that covered the gray monster.
Then round the corner of a side street came an old woman, her
head covered by a tattered shawl.
from “The Sniper” by Liam O’Flaherty
The End