Morning Traffic

By Teacher Jasmine

Big Question

What obstacles do we face in our daily lives?

Draw Conclusions

• When you draw conclusions you make a reasonable conclusion about something you have read. Drawing conclusions is related to making inferences, or inferring.

• Use what you know about real life to help you draw conclusions. P. 450-451

Vocabulary

• Pawn • Reception • Remote • Resume • Rummage • Rustling • Simultaneously

Pawn

• In chess, one of sixteen pieces of the lowest value

Reception

• The quality of sound reproduced in a radio or other device

Remote

• Far away; distant

Resume

• To begin again; to get or take again

Rummage

• To search in a disorderly way

Rustling

• Moving or acting with energy or speed

Simultaneous

• Existing, done, or happening at the same time

Explore

• How can family members interrupt your plans?

• What is something you tried to accomplish today that turned out to be more difficult than you expected?

Drama

• Is a story written to be performed in front of an audience. Like other forms of fiction, drama includes such elements as characters, setting, plot, and theme. In the text of a drama, the dialogue, or the words the characters say, is labeled with the same name of the character who is speaking. Stage directions, which • usually appear in italics, to indicate where the characters are moving on the stage.

Guide Questions

• Draw a conclusion of why is David capable of finishing his mom’s sentences with the same words she said.

• Why does David’s mother say that her husband is a good liar when he says he is looking forward to the concert?

• When Karen states that Juan Carlos Manuel is the voice of the century, is she stating a fact or an opinion. How can you tell?

• What traits best describe David’s mother, Karen? What clues in the text helped you decide?

• In your opinion, is a drama easier or more difficult to read and understand than a story. Explain

Guide Questions

• Why is Gabe opening cabinets and rustling around the kitchen?

• What do you learn from the exposition about the setting, characters, and the situation in which the story opens?

• What do Gil’s actions reveal about his character? • What does David’s dressing foreshadow about who his guest will be? Explain

Guide Questions

• Are the events on these pages part of the rising action or climax? Explain • What does Gil mean when he says that chess had robbed him of his childhood?

• Consider how you feel when you are trying to accomplish something, and many obstacles get in your way. How do you think David feels at this point of the story?

Guide Questions

• Which event happens first: Johanna plays chess against her computer, or Johanna plays against David? Explain • Why does Gil think that the chess game will be a disaster?

• How Gil’s behavior changed since Johanna arrived?

• Do you think David’s plan to impress Johanna by playing chess with her is a good one? Explain

Guide Questions

• What is David doing just before Uncle Gil grunts disapprovingly? Why he does this?

• To whom do the flowers belong to? How did you come to that conclusion?

• Why does the author include the arrival of additional characters at this point?

• What happens because Gil puts the flowers on the chessboard?

Guide Questions

• Is there any clue that tells how David feels at this point?

• Why does Gabe ask Alison and her children to look for the ticket?

• What can you infer from Alison’s response when Christine activates the model airplane? Explain • To whom is Gil speaking when he says, Hello…?How do you know?

• Describe the rising action that leads to the plot’s climax.

• What is the climax?

• What conclusion can you draw about Johanna based on her response to David’s outburst?

• What do David’s actions throughout the play tell you about him?

Guide Questions

• Why do David, Gil, and Gabe give each other a quick glance as the play ends?

• What do you think was the author’s purpose in writing this play? Does he accomplish that purpose? Why or why not?

• How does the setting of the play contribute the conflict?