ELA 7 Study Guide
Mrs. Cooper
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
6.) theme - the central
message or lesson learned
in the story
Ex. Gary's love and
passion for dogs
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
character - a person or
animal in the story
Ex. Charley in Soldier's
Heart, Obeah in
Woodsong
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
16.) protagonist - the
main character in the
story
Ex. Tim Meeker or
Charley
17.) genre - how a work
of writing is classified
Ex. nonfiction, fiction
18.) historical fiction - when
a fictional story is mixed with
true events, places, or
characters in history
Ex. My Brother Sam is
Dead
19.) conflict - the
problem in the story
Ex. the Civil War is an
example in Soldier's
Heart
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."
27.) playwright - a
person that writes a
drama
Ex. Gibson and
Shakespeare
Life as We Knew It
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
Horton
•
cat
•
Johnny loves him
•
runs away at one point
•
makes sure he gets food
The Miracle Worker
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
Jimmy Sullivan
•
Anne's brother
•
disabled
•
in an asylum and died
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.
Woodsong
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
Wilson
•
is the one that falls asleep while mushing in the
Iditarod
Olaf
•
dumb
•
aggressive
•
bully
Who saves Gary when he
goes over the waterfall?
•
Obeah
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.
Soldier's Heart
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.
What is "farming"?
•
stealing cattle, chickens, and produce from
Confederate farms
What did Charley call the
enemy soldiers?
•
Rebs or Confederates
From what point of view is
the story told?
•
third person
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.
What was Charley's home
town?
•
Winona, Minnesota
What battle was he wounded
in?
•
Gettysburg
Why does Charley lie about
his age in order to enlist?
•
He can't fight in the war otherwise because he is too
young and he wants to fight.