1. Notice and Note
Mrs. Seymour

2. What is the purpose of a sign post?
Warm-Up
What is the purpose of a sign post?
What would happen if we didn’t have signs in our everyday life?

3. Activity
You have one minute to write down every sign you can think of AND what they are to signify.

4. Sign Posts in Reading
Remember, everything an author puts into a story is ON PURPOSE…
What do you think are some “sign posts” an author puts into a story?

5. There are Six Signposts in Reading
What do you think they are?
Contrasts and Contradictions
Aha Moments
Tough Questions
Words of the Wiser
Again and Again
Memory Moments

6. Contrasts and Contradictions
What do you think this sign post would be when you are reading?

7. Contrasts and Contradictions
A sharp contrast between what we would expect and what we observe the character doing; behavior that contradicts previous behavior or well-established patterns
CLUE: A character behaviors or thinks in a way we don’t expect, or an element of a setting is something we would not expect
QUESTION THAT FOLLOWS: Why would the character act (feel) this way? (What is the author trying to point out???)

8. Examples?
Turn to your partner and discuss what examples you can think of for this sign post…
Think of books, movies, TV Shows, short stories, etc.

9. Contrasts and Contradictions

10. When you think of an aha moment, what comes to your mind?
Aha Moments
When you think of an aha moment, what comes to your mind?

11. Aha Moments
A character’s realization of something that shifts his actions or understanding of himself, others, or the world around him.
CLUE: Phrases, usually expressing suddenness, like: “Suddenly I understood…” “It came to me in a flash…” “The realization hit me like a lightening bolt…” “In an instant I knew…”
QUESTION THAT FOLLOWS: How might this change things?

12. Examples?
Turn to your partner and discuss what examples you can think of for this sign post…
Think of books, movies, TV Shows, short stories, etc.

13. Aha Moments

14. Tough Questions
Why would tough questions be added to a novel? What purpose could these have?

15. Tough Questions
Questions a character raises that reveal his or her inner struggles.
CLUE: Phrases expressing serious doubt or confusion: “What could I possibly do to…?” “I couldn’t imagine how I could cope with…” “How could I ever understand why she…” “Never had I been so confused about…”
QUESTION THAT FOLLOWS: What does this question make me wonder about?

16. Examples?
Turn to your partner and discuss what examples you can think of for this sign post…
Think of books, movies, TV Shows, short stories, etc.

17. Tough Questions

18. What do you think this sign post could be?
Words of the Wiser
What do you think this sign post could be?

19. Words of the Wiser
The advice or insight a wiser character, who is usually older, offers about life to the main character
CLUE: The main character and another are usually off by themselves, in a quiet, serious moment, and the wiser figure shares his wisdom or advise in an effort to help the main character with a problem or a decision
QUESTION THAT FOLLOWS: What’s the life lesson and how might it affect the character?

20. Examples?
Turn to your partner and discuss what examples you can think of for this sign post…
Think of books, movies, TV Shows, short stories, etc.

21. Words of the Wiser

22. Again and Again
Based on the title of this sign post, what do you think this could be in a story?

23. Again and Again
Events, images, or particular words that recur over a portion of the novel
CLUE: A word is repeated, sometimes used in an odd way, over and over in the story. An image reappears several times during the course of a book.
QUESTION THAT FOLLOWS: Why might the author bring this up again and again?

24. Examples?
Turn to your partner and discuss what examples you can think of for this sign post…
Think of books, movies, TV Shows, short stories, etc.

25. Again and Again

26. What do you think a memory moment could be in a novel?

27. Memory Moment
A recollection by a character that interrupts the forward progress of the story.
CLUE: The ongoing flow of the narrative is interrupted by a memory that comes to the character, often taking several paragraphs to recount before we are returned to events of the present moment.
QUESTION THAT FOLLOWS: Why might this memory be important?

28. Examples?
Turn to your partner and discuss what examples you can think of for this sign post…
Think of books, movies, TV Shows, short stories, etc.

29. Memory Moment

30. Assignment
When you are reading your novel, you are to look for these six sign posts. Each time you find one, you are to complete your graphic organizer.
Add the name of the sign post and where you found it (page and line number, copy it, etc.).
Then, what clued you in that this was a sign post?
Lastly, based on the sign post and the question the author wanted you to consider, what do you think the answer is to the question the author posed via this sign post??