SANTILLANA USA - Anthology Sampler

8 aa 4 Author’s Point of View All stories have a narrator. Sometimes, the narrator is an outside observer and tells the story in the third-person, using pronouns, such as él , ella , se , ellos , and ellas . Sometimes, the narrator is also a character in the story and uses pronouns such as yo , mi , me , and mío . When the narrator is an outside observer, the author is using the third-person point of view to tell the story. When the narrator is a character, the author is using the first-person point of view to tell the story. Guide students to identify pronouns in the selection that show the author’s point of view. Author’s Purpose Authors write stories for a reason. This reason is called author’s purpose . The four main reasons for writing a story are: 1) to inform , or tell about something; 2) to explain , or describe what something is like or how something works; 3) to entertain , or make the reading enjoyable or funny; and 4) to persuade , or convince the reader to do something or to think the way the author does. Sometimes, authors have more than one purpose for writing a story. Ask students to identify the author’s main purpose for writing the selection. Help them to find and name the details that the author uses to accomplish the purpose. Cause and Effect A cause is why something happens. An effect is what happens as a result of that cause. Sometimes, words and phrases such as porque , por eso , desde entonces , por lo tanto , and others, give clues to indicate cause and effect relationships in a story. However, a story may not include these words and Reading Comprehension Skills and Strategies still have cause and effect relationships. Encourage students to find any signal words that may be present in the story and help them to identify cause and effect relationships in the selection. Comparing and Contrasting When we tell how two or more things, events, or characters are alike, we are comparing . When we tell how two or more things, events, or characters are different, we are contrasting . Comparing and contrasting helps us to understand how people, events, or things are alike or different in a story. Have students look through the selection and help them to identify instances in which the author compares and contrasts events, characters, or things. Drawing Conclusions We draw conclusions when we take information about a character or event in a story and then make a statement, or conclusion, about that character or event based on that information. Have students look through the paragraphs they are reading and model how to draw conclusions about the characters and/or events. Echo Reading This reading strategy is ideal for modeling correct pronunciation and intonation of text. Start reading the selection and ask students to repeat after you. Start with words and phrases, and gradually increase to sentences. Be sure to read with emotion and in a lively manner. Avoid correcting students who mispronounce. Instead, encourage them to continue reading, following your lead, as you gradually release more responsibility to them. Program Overview