Fiction and Drama STAAR 7th Grade Reading

What is the theme of this story?

• Don't be lazy.

• Turtles are faster than rabbits.

• Our friends are always there for us.

• It is better to take your time and do it right then to rush and fail.

Setting tells you where and when a story occurs. Setting includes two things: time and place. Time includes the time period. It can also include elapsed time, or how much time passes for the characters. The place is where a story happens, including details about what that space looks, sounds or smells like or what it is like to live there.

Read the following passage from Alice in Wonderland: 

Once in the wood, she was anxious to get back to her right size again, and then to get into that lovely garden. But how? Peeping over a mushroom, she beheld a large blue caterpillar sitting on the top with its arms folded...

Which detail from the text provides a clue to the place where this passage takes place?

• “Once in the wood…"
• “A large blue caterpillar..”
• “...get back to her right size again...”
• “...with its arms folded”

How do you know what the setting of a story is? Sometimes, a narrator will tell you where and when the story occurs right away. Often, though, you’ll have to look for clues to determine the setting. Try to find words or phrases that tell you what it looks like or sounds like where the characters are. Characters can also give clues about the setting. Be sure that your inferences about the setting are backed up by evidence from the text.

Read the following passage:
As Maribelle hurried down the street, the wind swept the snow along the sidewalk and hid her footsteps, so that it looked as if no one had passed. Above her, the cold, silent skyscrapers of the city loomed. The whole block was eerily silent in the snowstorm, and she pulled her coat tightly around her. Maribelle had only moved here a few months before. She came because she wanted to be a singer. But right now, she was frightened.

Which detail from the passage indicate the setting?

• “Above her, the cold, silent skyscrapers of the city loomed.”
  
• “Maribelle had only moved here a few months before.”
  
• “But right now, she was frightened.”
• “She came because she wanted to be a singer.”
  

Setting can symbolize, or stand for, other elements of a story. For example, when setting changes, a character might change. Setting can also symbolize what a character is feeling in a particular scene. Setting can also help us understand the choices that characters make.

Read the following passage:
Gilberto had been excited to go to the beach but when he got there and saw how crowded it was, he became annoyed. The sun twinkled in the sky, a warm yellow globe. The sound of the ocean drummed in his ears and the sand itched his ankles and feet. Beside him, his sister slurped loudly on an ice cream cone. “Could you not?” Gilberto asked.

Which detail about the setting tells us that Gilberto is annoyed?

• “The sound of the ocean drummed in his ears and the sand itched his ankles and feet.”
• “The sun twinkled in the sky, a warm yellow globe.”
• “Beside him, his sister slurped loudly on an ice cream cone.”
  
• “Gilberto had been excited to go to the beach...”
  

In addition to plot and character, setting can shape the mood of a story. A story’s mood is its general atmosphere or overall feeling. The mood of a story can be energetic, nervous, peaceful or many other feeling words.

Which of the following settings suggest a tense and nervous mood?

• A city playground full of laughing, playing children and parents.
• A long line of people waiting for a few concert tickets.
• A stream running through a quiet, isolated forest.
• An empty mall parking lot early on a Sunday morning.

Setting can often be connected to theme. A theme is a universal message of a story or novel. Themes are about big topics, like exploration, freedom, love and loss. Themes can include morals or lessons. So how is setting connected to theme? Certain times and places lead to explorations of certain big topics. If a novel is set during a war, for example, it might have themes about freedom and loyalty.

Which option is the most likely setting for a story with the theme “humans vs nature?”

• A nursing home
• A middle school
• A forest
• A lawyer’s office

Which description of a setting would best create a mood of loneliness for a story?

• “The sun was bright, and the breeze was warm in the park. In the distance, there was the pleasant noise of children laughing.”

• “The restaurant was packed. The waitress balanced three dishes on her arm and moved carefully around the large, round tables. Everyone’s plates were full.”

• “At the amusement park, the ticket counter hadn’t opened yet. It was still too early. But the warm smell of hot dogs and pretzels was already filling the air with the promise of fun.”

• “The sky was gray that cool November afternoon in the empty playground. The swings were rusted. The wood was rotted. There was silence except for the wind blowing through the dead leaves.”

What can you infer about the setting based on the passage below?

Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer's wife. Their house was small, for the lumber to build it had to be carried by wagon many miles. There were four walls, a floor and a roof, which made one room; and this room contained a rusty looking cooking stove, a cupboard for the dishes, a table, three or four chairs, and the beds. Uncle Henry and Aunt Em had a big bed in one corner, and Dorothy a little bed in another corner. There was no garret at all, and no cellar—except a small hole, dug in the ground, called a cyclone cellar, where the family could go in case one of those great whirlwinds arose, mighty enough to crush any building in its path. It was reached by a trap-door in the middle of the floor, from which a ladder led down into the small, dark hole.

• The story is set in a place where the weather is always mild and pleasant.

• The story is set near a river that sometimes floods.

• The story is set on a farm where only very rich people can afford to live.

• The story is set on a farm where there are sometimes cyclones.

Andre's tiny sailboat capsized, but he was able to swim to a nearby desert island. Has he looked around her realized he would need to find a way to protect his body and skin extreme heat and sun. He also needed fresh water and something to eat. He knew he wouldn't make it very long if he couldn't shelter himself and find food and water.
Which of these BEST describes the conflict in this story?

• Andre's sailboat is not covered by insurance
• Andre capsized his boat because he fell asleep
• Andre must find a way to survive on the deserted island until someone rescues him
• Andre wishes he would've gone on a hiking trip instead

Ulysses spent all of his free time reading books and felt that he was very intelligent. One day a nice student from his class asked him if he wanted to go sledding and Ulysses responded, “I’ve read about sledding in books, and it sounds miserable. No, thank you.” On another day, a different friendly student asked Ulysses if he wanted to go out for hot dogs after school. Ulysses responded, “I’ve read that hot dogs are filled with rat parts and pig bellies. No, thank you.” Nobody asked Ulysses to hang out again, but he did read about friends in his books.  
What is the theme of this story?

• Do not judge a book by it's cover
• Money can't buy happiness
• If at first you don't succeed, try again. 
• Learning from books is not a substitute for real life experience, etc.