Notice and

Note Signposts

These “markers” can help guide you along the path to understanding as you read fiction. When you

notice

them, stop and take

note.

Contrasts and Contradictions The character acts in a way that is contradictory or unexpected compared to how he or she usually acts.

Text Clue:

Author shows actions or feelings we haven’t seen before or doesn’t expect

Question:

Why would the character act (feel) this way?

Memory Moment

The author interrupts the flow of the story by letting the character remember something.

Text Clue:

• “I remember…” • “The memory flooded back…” • “It was a strange memory…” • “She suddenly remembered…”

Question:

Why might this memory be important?

Tough Questions

A character asks himself or a trusted friend a tough question that reveals concerns (internal conflict) the character has.

Text Clue:

• Questions, often asked of self, • that can’t be answered Sometimes offered as statement, “I wonder if…”

Question:

What does this question make me wonder about? What does it tell me about the character?

Aha Moment

The character realizes or comes to understand something that changes his thinking or his actions Text Clue:

• I suddenly realized… • Now I understood why… • It hit me with a force… • I knew what I had to do…

Question:

How might this change things?

Words of the Wiser A wiser —and usually older—character offers advice and insight about life to the main character.

Text Clue:

A wiser, often older, character offers a life lesson, usually in a quiet moment

Question:

What’s the life lesson and how might it affect the main character?

Again and Again

The author keeps bringing up the same image, phrase, or reference Text Clue:

A repeated image, phrase, or reference

Question:

Why does this keep showing up again and again?