Inferences Draw conclusions about setting, characters, and plot based on information and details in the text. Make inferences by evaluating words and phrases in the selection Question: Read the first paragraph and explain what they can infer about the village and its people. The village is small and people likely know one another . Life will continue as normal after the lottery.

Analyze Impact of Word Choice: Tone Tone is the attitude of the narrator towards setting, characters, and the action of the story. Examples of tone include sarcastic, formal, informal, indifferent, sentimental, reverent, irreverent, serious, and humorous Question: Read lines 1-18 and describe the tone The tone is calm and factual. The narrator describes the setting and people in a distant and removed manner

Analyze Character Development Writers develop character through dialogue, direct description, interactions with other characters, etc... Question: Describe Mr. Summers based on his responsibilities and the way others react to him (lines 40-53) He is a leader in the community, and while people are not eager to see him in this capacity, they follow his direction

Analyze Impact of Choice: Tone Writers make deliberate word choices when describing characters, setting, and events in order to create a tone that carries throughout an entire piece. Question: Explain the tone or attitude expressed in lines 59-79 The tone is neutral or detached with actions described in a factual and nonjudgmental manner. The narrator states that the subject of a new box "was allowed to fade off" rather than describe the villagers' reactions to the idea. Details of preparing the box are reported without revealing whether the narrator approves or disapproves.

Identify symbols and theme Represents something and something else used to develop the main idea Question: What might the box symbolize? Cite evidence to support your answer. Lines 59-67 The box represents the past itself, the peoples need to stay connected with their past. The text states that the box has grown shabbier each year and that it has not been replaced or refinished. The poor condition of the box suggests that the villagers have mixed feelings about the lottery.

Analyze author's choice: tension and surprise The pacing of a story is how quickly or slowly the author moves the action along. Changes in pacing affect the story's mood. Question: reread the paragraph and discuss the pacing and its overall effect on the story. Lines 85-104 This section slows the story down by interrupting the flow of events with details about conducting the lottery and Mr. summers. It creates suspense because the reader knows the lottery is important but doesn't know the point of the lottery.

Use Context Clues Words and phrases surrounding a words can be used to determine the meaning of a word sometimes the reader needs to look at a large context, such as a paragraph, or section of text. Question: Read lines 100-104, explain what it means to talk interminably. To talk interminably means to talk endlessly. The phrase "finally left off talking" is a clue to the words meaning.

Language and Style: Colloquialisms Writers use colloquialisms in dialogue to develop characters Colloquialisms are regional expressions that sometimes are not standard English Question: Point out examples of colloquialisms in line 105-115 and explain what they tell the reader about the characters in the story Colloquialisms include "clean forgot," "came a-running." They help place characters in a small rural town, probably not formally educated

Analyze impact of word choice: Tone Words an author uses to describe characters and actions often help to set the tone of a story What an author chooses not to include can also help to set the tone Question: Reread lines 159-168 and describe the tone calm, factual, unsympathetic Question: Cite words that helped you find the tone above The tone is calm and matter of fact. instead of using words with a lot of connotation, the narrator uses spare, neutral language, as if deliberately withholding judgment about what is happening: “most of them were quiet”; “man disengaged himself”; “went hastily”, “stood a little apart”.

Analyze Detail in the Text The views of the characters may reveal the writer’s own viewpoint, possibly in support of the characters or by showing some sort of flaw in the character’s views Question: Use lines 191-204 to cite evidence that show how old man warner feels about the lottery He think sit is important to keep the lottery going because “there’s always been a lottery”. He thinks that giving up the lottery and “listening to the young folks” in the north village will cause their society to decline.

Analyze Author’s Choices: Tension and Surprise A story’s pacing affects the reader’s experience. For example, as the action picks up pace, the reader may become more excited or eager to read more quickly. Question: Use lines 219-225 to cite words or phrases that change the story’s pacing. In lines 219-221, the pace is slow. Evidence: “long pause,” “breathless pause,” “for a minute, no one moved.” The pace quickens at line 222 when the women begin to speak at once.

Analyze Character Development One way to evaluate characters in a story is to note how the author develops the character and how the character's actions develop the theme. Question: Use lines 228-243 to describe Mrs. Hutchinson’s behavior and the reaction from the other villagers. Compare your observations with earlier perceptions of the characters. Mrs. Hutchinson is upset and shouts out that the drawing wasn’t fair. Others act as if they want matters to proceed as in previous lotteries. Even her husband tells her to shut up. People don’t seem as friendly as they did earlier.

Determine Central Idea and Details Writers use precise details to develop a work’s theme Use lines 237-242 to examine the discussion of households and families. Explain what Mr. Summers means when he distinguishes between family and household. The family is a person’s entire lineage, but the household refers to the people who live together. Explain why Jackson chose to include this information Jackson wants the reader to understand exactly how the lottery works. It’s an old-fashioned notion that women go to live with their husbands’ families, and Jackson may want the reader to have that in mine when reading the rest of the story.

Analyze Author’s Choices: Tension and Surprise One way a writer creates tension is to withhold information about the significance of events or characters’ actions Question: Use lines 237-287 to cite examples where Jackson doesn’t explain the action or what characters say or do. Tessie is upset and repeats that the drawing isn’t fair; the Hutchinson household’s papers are collected and put back in the box; each member of the household draws another slip

Analyze Author’s Choices: Tension and Surprise Changing the pacing of the story can create tension or change the overall mood. Use lines 285-306to describe the pacing on this pacing on this page and how it affects the mood. The pacing of the story speeds up. There is no lengthy dialogue or description and the plot actions are happening quickly. The mood changes to a feeling of tension and a sense that something is about to happen.

Denotation and Connotation The author’s specific word choice and the feelings associated with them can affect how readers understand setting, characters, and events. Question: Use lines 300-306 to find words with connotations that affect how the reader sees or understands an element of the story The words “his wife” remind the reader that Tessie is Bill’s wife and not just another villager. The word “forced” shows that Bill takes the paper roughly instead of trying to reason with his wife. Jackson may have wanted to see Bill’s reaction as symbolic of all the villagers—they are accustomed to how the lottery “winners” react.

Analyze Author’s Choices: Tension and Surprise Situational irony is the difference between what a reader expects to happen and what actually happens Question: explain what expectation the reader might have had about the lottery at the beginning of the story. The reader could expect that the lottery is a family-oriented, friendly event that results in a prizewinner. What part of the story changed the expectation? When Tessie begins to act fearfully, the reader suspects that there is something about the lottery that has not yet been revealed. Cite the lines in the story that confirm suspicion that winning the lottery is not good. In lines 311-316, it is explained that the villagers remember to use stones.