Welcome to Mrs. Carroll's Grade 7 ELA class! You will find listed below the daily homework assignment, important test and quiz dates, and most important class notes. 

-Class notes on "How to..."


locate a prepositional phrase:

1. Find the preposition.

2. Ask whom? or what?  after the preposition.

3. This noun or pronoun is the object of the preposition.

4. The prepositional phrase begins with the preposition and ends with its object.


locate the subject:

1. Put ( ) around each prepositional phrase. Ignore them!

2. Locate the verb (either action or linking) and underline it twice.

3. Ask who or what is "doing" the verb.

4. This is your subject. Underline it once.


locate the direct object:

1. Do all steps necessary to locate the subject.

2. Go back to the verb. If it shows an action, ask  whom or what is receiving the action.

3. This noun or pronoun is the direct object. Circle it and, above it, label it DO .


locate the indirect object:

1. Do all the steps necessary to locate the direct object.

2. Ask whom or what  is receiving the direct object.

3. This noun or pronoun is the indirect object. (It should be located before the direct object within the sentence! )

4. Circle this word and label it IO.


locate the predicate noun (nominative):

1. Do all the steps necessary to locate the subject.

2. Go back to the verb. If it is a linking verb, look for a noun or pronoun in the predicate that links back to the subject and renames it. This is your predicate nominative, also called a predicate noun.

3. Circle it and label it PN.


locate the predicate adjective:

1. Do all the steps necessary to locate the subject.

2. Go back to the verb. If it is a linking verb, look for an adjective in the predicate that links back to and modifies the subject. This is the predicate adjective.

3. Circle it and label it PA.


Look below for notes on LITERARY TERMS. Those that we have covered so far are in red.

EXPOSITION

Exposition: the introduction or the part of the work that introduces the characters, the setting, and the basic situation

ELEMENTS OF PLOT

Plot : the sequence of events in a literary work

Rising action: a gradual building of the tension and excitement leading toward the climax

Climax: a high point of interest or suspense or the turning point in a literary work

Falling action: a quick winding down of tension and excitement as the story comes to an end


CONFLICT

Conflict: the struggle between opposing forces. Conflict is one of the most important elements in stories, novels, and plays because it causes the action.

External conflict: one in which a character struggles against some outside force. Some common types of external conflict are person v. person, person vs. nature, person vs. the supernatural.


Internal conflict: one that takes place in the mind of the character. Person vs. himself would be an example of internal conflict.

SETTING

Setting: the time and place of the action. The time includes not only the historical period (the past, present, or future), but also the year, the season, the time of day, and even the weather. The place may be a specific country, state, community, neighborhood, building, or home. Details such as dialects, clothing, customs, and modes of transportation are often used to establish setting.


FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

Figurative language: writing or speech that is not meant to be taken literally. The many types of figurative language are known as FIGURES OF SPEECH.

Common figures of speech include METAPHOR,

PERSONIFICATION, AND SIMILE.


Metaphor: a figure of speech in which something is described as though it were something else. For example, we call a person who watches a lot of T.V. a "couch potato."

Simile: a figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two unlike subjects by using either LIKE or AS. For example, we may say a vain person is "as proud as a peacock."

Personification: a type of figurative language in which a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics.For example, we might say that the sun looks cheerful.


alliteration: the repetition of a consonant sound, usually at the beginning of words

ex. Six soft sheep slept sweetly.


hyperbole: a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated

ex. I nearly died laughing.


ELEMENTS OF CHARACTERIZATION

Characterization: the act of creating and developing a character

Direct characterization: writing which simply states the character's traits or characteristics

Indirect characterization: writing which depends on the reader to draw conclusions based on the character's words,thoughts, and actions or on what others say to, think about,or do to the character.

Flat character: a character who is often one-sided and stereotypical

Round character: a character who is fully developed and who exhibits many traits, often both faults and virtues

Dynamic character: one who changes in the course of the story

Static character: one who does not change in the course of the story

Protagonist: the main character in a literary work

Antagonist: a character or force in conflict with the protagonist


ELEMENTS OF IRONY

Irony: the general name given to literary techniques that involve surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions

Verbal irony: words used to suggest the opposite of their usual meaning

Dramatic irony: a contradiction between what a character thinks is true and what the audience or reader knows to be true

Situational/Climactic irony: an event contradicting the expectations of the characters, the reader, or the audience

Theme: the central message, concern, or purpose in a literary work. A theme can usually be expressed as a generalization, or a general statement, about human beings or about life.The theme of a work is NOT a summary of its plot. The theme is the central idea that the writer communicates.

MORAL: the practical lesson contained in a fable, tale, or some other work of literature which usually presents what a person should or should not do

Author's Purpose: the goal or aim of a literary work. A writer or speaker may attempt to explain a concept, to tell a story, to describe an event, to persuade the reader to adopt a certain attitude, or merely to entertain. 

Tone: the author's attitude toward the reader or toward himself/herself. Tone can often be described by such words as SERIOUS, SAD, AMUSED, CHEERFUL,PROUD, or MOCKING. The author's choice of descriptive words reveals the tone of his/her literary work.

POINT OF VIEW

Point of View: the perspective, or vantage point, from which a story is told

First Person Point of View: In stories told from this point of view, the narrator is a character in the story and refers to himself or herself with the first person pronoun I.

Third Person Point of View: In stories told from this point of view, a person outside of the story is telling the story.

Omniscient Third Person Point of View: In stories told from this point of view, the narrator knows and tells about what each character thinks and feels.

Limited Third Person Point of View: In stories told from this point of view, the narrator relates the inner thoughts and feelings of only one character, and everything is viewed from that character's perspective.

Objective Third Person Point of View: In stories told from this point of view, the writer is a third person spectator who describes the action but does not tell what any characters think or feel.

Foreshadowing: the use, in a literary work, of clues that suggest events that have yet to occur. Writers use foreshadowing to build their readers' expectations and to create suspense.