Plot: Practice Together
Read “A Walk in the City” again. As you read, listen for events of the plot and tell where they go on this Plot Diagram.
“A Walk in the City”
Character: How It Works
Characters are the people or animals that take part in the plot.
• Each character’s traits, actions, words, and decisions affect what happens in the plot.
• Writers tell readers about their characters by:
• saying directly what the character is like
• showing the characters’ thoughts, words, and actions
• telling what other characters think of him or her.
• These writing techniques are called characterization.
See these techniques in action as the writer characterizes Kit Fox below.
The sun was setting as Kit Fox left her desert den. Hunting had not been good the night before, and she was hungry. She needed to find food, so she trotted off across the dry land hunting for food. Soon, Kit Fox saw Roadrunner with a fresh meal in his beak. Roadrunner looked up nervously. Foxes and birds are usually enemies in the desert.
Telling about the character directly
“Ah, I see that you have a yummy mouse for your evening meal,” Kit Fox said. She eyed the bird’s catch hungrily. “That must have been easy for you to catch. I’ve heard that you are very speedy.”
Character’s words and actions