E.L.A. Vocab and...

1

Theme
The central message or lesson the author wants you to learn from a story.
Example: The theme of the story is that honesty matters.
Characterization
How an author shows readers what a character is like.
Example: The author uses characterization to show that Maya is brave.

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Symbolism
When something in a story represents something else, like an idea or feeling.
Example: The broken chain is symbolism for freedom in the story.
Narrative arc or plot map
How a story begins, builds, reaches a problem, and ends.
Example: The narrative arc shows the character facing a problem and solving it.
Tone
The author’s attitude toward the subject or characters; it is how the writing sounds (serious, cheerful, angry, etc.).
Example: The tone is serious when the author describes the danger carefully.

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Mood
The feeling a story creates for the reader.
Example: The mood is joyful when the characters celebrate together.
Figurative language
Language that uses comparisons or images to help the reader understand ideas (not meant to be taken literally).
Example: When the author says “time flew,” that is figurative language.
Into the Air
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discourage
To take away hope or confidence.
The coach did not discourage the team after a mistake.
defeat
To prevent a person’s success.
The hard test did not defeat her because she kept trying.
lap
To wash against something gently.
Small waves lap against the side of the boat.

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table
An orderly way to organize information in rows and columns.
We made a table to organize the results.
preserve
To keep something safe or save it.
The museum works to preserve old paintings.
demonstration
A presentation that shows how something works.
The teacher gave a demonstration of the science experiment.
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