Second Period Exam Study Guide:

Skins
Analyze Character and Theme
The theme of a short story is a message or lesson about life in the story.
Vocabulary 1
Authenticity (n): real or genuine.
Synonym: originality Antonym: inaccurate
Compel (verb): forced to do something or feel like you must do it.
Synonym: force Antonym: ask, request
Discriminate (verb): to treat someone differently because of prejudice
Synonym: be biased Antonym: impartiality
Eliminate (verb): completely remove or get rid of
Synonym: remove, get rid of Antonym: add, include
Potential (n): natural ability
Synonym: possibility Antonym: inability
Predominate (verb): to be more powerful than the rest
Synonym: overrule Antonym: follow, submit
Racism (n): refers to the belief that one race is better than the other
Synonym: xenophobia, bigotry Antonym: integration
Tension (n): stress, strain or anxiety
Synonym: strain, stress Antonym: comfort, relief
Plot
Freytag Pyramid:
Exposition
Characters:
 Mitchell: protagonist, dynamic, round, humble, honest, introvert
 Jimmy T.: antagonist, dynamic, round, hypocrite, insecure, double sided
 Randolph: secondary character, static, honest
 Uncle Tommy: flat and wise
Setting:
 Long pond Central High School
Period:
 20th century
Time:
 Around Autumn
Mood:
 Tense
Conflict:
 External: Jimmy T and Randolph’s have conflictive personalities.
 Internal: Jimmy T is not proud of his heritage
Rising action
  Jimmy T and Randolph are new kids in school, and Mitchell becomes close with
Randolph
 Mitchell notices tension between the new two kids
 Mitchell asks himself why doesn’t Jimmy T talks to him
Climax:
 Jimmy T and Randolph have a very intense argument
Falling action
 Jimmy T’s dad showed up at the game and yelled at him.
Resolution:
 Jimmy T reveals to Mitchell that he is Hungarian and not Indian. Mitchell gives him and
advice
Theme:
 Whoever you are is real enough, and you should be proud of who you are and your
heritage
Ki/shō/ten/ketzu
Ki (introduction)
 Two new kids arrive to Long Pond High School. Mitchell gets to know Randolph. Later
on, he notices there’s tension between them.
Sho (development)
 During practice Jimmy T and Randolph have a big argument. Everyone notices that
Jimmy T is hiding something. Randolph tells Mitchell Jimmy T’s dad conflictive
relationship with Jimmy T.
Ten (plot twist)
 Jimmy T’s mother reveals to Mitchell that Jimmy T aspires to be like him.
Ketzu (conclusion)
 Jimmy T’s dad gets into a fight with Jimmy T and makes him feel upset. After that he
leaves the game and he went to the locker rooms. Mitchell goes inside and while he
talks to him, he learns Jimmy T is not a real Indian, but Mitchell thinks he should be
proud of who he is.

Nicole
Determine Viewpoint
In a personal narrative, a real person tells the story of events that actually happened to him or
her. The writer speaks in first person (I and me), and he or she gives a viewpoint, or personal
thoughts. A personal narrative may capture the author’s voice, and it may also be told in an oral
history or interview.
Plot
Nicole is an oral history recorded by Rebecca Carroll.
 Nicole is a teen who does not consider herself biracial, but her mother is white, and her
father is black. They discriminate her for being “black”. Nicole does not care what other
people say about her. Nicole has learned to control her reactions towards that, but she
still gets angry.
La Vida Robot
Analyze Nonfiction Text Features
Nonfiction authors may use a variety of text features such as heads, diagrams, labels, photos,
and captions. They show importance and they help clarify the meaning of technical terms or
add information to the tex.
Focus Strategy
Section heads are words set off by themselves in large type. They divide the article according to
main ideas which are supported by details.
Vocabulary 2
Contemplate (verb): to think carefully about something.
Synonym: consider Antonym: ignore
Designate (verb): to point out or show
Synonym: appoint Antonym: displace
Disciplined (adjective): a person who carefully controls his or her behavior
Synonym: chastened Antonym: impulsive
Implement (verb): put a decision, plan, agreement into effect.
Synonym: appliance Antonym: neglect
Innovative (adjective): new and original
Synonym: creative Antonym: boring and unoriginal
Perpetually (adverb): always
Synonym: constantly Antonym: never
Procrastinate (verb): to delay doing something
Synonym: to delay Antonym: finish, proceed
Spontaneously (adverb): to act suddenly, without a plan
Synonym: impulsively Antonym: planned
Plot
 Four immigrant teenagers successfully built a robot that outperformed great colleges
like MIT, and with much fewer resources than them.
 Robot image pg. 144/145: compares Carl Hayden’s robot to MIT’s
 Image pg. 149: the chart describes Carl Hayden’s score in the competition and compares
it with the other schools’ lower performance scores
 Epilogue: After winning the competition the four teenagers got a scholarship fund and
Warner Bros signed with them to produce a movie

Reading, Writing and Recreation

News Feature
A news feature is a special report on a specific topic in the news or in daily life. Writers develop
their ideas by telling who, what, where, when, why, how
Plot
 This news feature talks about extracurricular activities importance and how they can
help you develop new abilities and get opportunities in the future.
My Left Foot
Autobiography
An autobiography is a type of nonfiction in which a real person tells his or her life.
Summary
Summary or short restatement is to state the most important ideas of the text.
Vocabulary 3
Consequence (noun): something that happens as a result of another question
Synonym: result Antonym: cause
Contend (verb): to say you believe something is true
Synonym: declare Antonym: resign, deny
Conviction (n): a strong belief
Synonym: belief Antonym: hesitation
Dictate (verb): to control or determine
Synonym: command Antonym: ask
Endeavor (noun): a serious effort or try
Synonym: attempt Antonym: slacken, chill
Momentous (adjective): great importance
Synonym: important Antonym: small, unimportant
Profound(adjective): filled with deep meaning
Synonym: meaningful Antonym: meaningless
Transition (noun): slow change
Synonym: change Antonym: sameness
Plot
Exposition
Characters:
 Christy: protagonist, dynamic, hopeful, smart, perseverant
 Mother: secondary, caring, persistent, proud
 Society: antagonist
Setting
 Dublin, his house
Period:
 1930
Time:
 Across the span of 50 years
Mood:
 Gloomy, blue, sad
Conflict:
 Internal: Christy struggles to communicate with other people due to his conditions
 External: Man, vs society, Christy struggles with the society that believes he is not
worthy
Rising action:
 Christy’s mother noticed that his body had defects
 Christy’s mother took him to the hospital where he was diagnosed as a hopeless case
  His family gave up on him, but his mother didn’t, and she wanted him to be a normal
person
Climax:
 While his family is gathered around a fire, he is able to grab a stick of chalk from his
sister’s hand with his left foot
Falling action:
 He learned the alphabet and found his love for writing
Resolution
 Christy continued writing and published several novels and poetry collections before he
died in 1981
Success Is a Mindset
Online Magazine Interview
Is a kind of nonfiction where one person gets information from another person. The interview
may take place in person or via email. It may be organized in a question and answer format.
Summary
A good summary of a nonfiction selection is like a news report. The summary briefly tells the
most important information
Analogy
Comparison between tow objects to describe something.
Ex. You are slow as a turtle
Allusion
Reference
Ex. Don’t act like Romeo in front of her
Plot
 Dr. Carson is the director of the pediatric neurosurgeon in John Hopkins University.
When he was in elementary school, he had bad grades and a low self-esteem, but later
he changed into a smart and award-winning student. Everything is thanks to her mom.
 He puts emphasis that changing that success could be achieved through a good mindset
and a positive attitude ignoring outside pressure and overcoming obstacles to become a
better version of themselves. Dr. Carson wrote a book called “The Big Picture” in which
he stated that you must want to succeed to harvest the benefits for themselves.