Guided Reading Part 1- Exposition

Long Way Down​ (Jason Reynolds)

1. What is the first and last name of our narrator?

a. William Holloman

2. From what P.O.V. is this book written?

a. 1st Person

3. Who are the only two people to call Will, William?

a. His mom and brother, Shawn

4. Will writes, “If the blood inside you is on the inside of someone else, you never want to
see it on the outside of them” (Reynolds 5). In your own words, what does this phrase
mean?
a. Answers will vary. When you love someone like family, you never want to see
them hurt.

5. Will uses what metaphor (or comparison) to describe what it feels like to lose
someone? Do you agree with him?
a. Metaphor: Will compares losing someone to a stranger ripping out a tooth. There
is a lot of pain, blood, and an uncontrollable feeling when searching for the
missing tooth with your tongue.
b. Agree/Disagree: Answer will vary.

6. What three things happen when someone is shot (according to Will)?

a. Screaming
b. Sirens
c. Questions

7. According to Will, what makes everybody deaf and blind?

a. Gunshots

8. Before Shawn died, what used to make him feel better? Why?
a. The moon
b. Why? It provided him with comfort. There was something looking down on him.
In other words, he didn’t feel alone.

9. Quote the first time the “F” word is used in the book. Censor your writing (ex. f***) Why
is it used? Be sure to cite your quote correctly (Reynolds #). Do you think it is
appropriate for the author to use the word? Why or why not?
 a. Quote: “Them f***** ain’t even snatch it” (Reynolds 22).
b. Appropriate Yes or No?
c. Why? Yes. Curse words are used to express emotion. Will is in a situation that
warrants the highest level of language.

10. Fill in the following line, “Blood soaking into a T-shirt, blue jeans, and boots looks a lot
like ________________” What type of figurative language is this an example of? How do
you know?
a. Chocolate syrup
b. Figurative Language: Simile
c. Justification: Uses the word like.
11. What is found in Shawn’s hand? What effect does this imagery have on you as a
reader?
a. A plastic grocery bag with THANK YOU written on it.
b. Makes my heart break. I see the irony in the statement and the
mundane/average/ordinary juxtaposed against the unordinary events of the
day.

12. “Beef gets inherited like a trunk of fool’s gold or treasure map leading to nowhere.”
This is an example of what figurative language? How do you know?
a. Figurative Language: Simile
b. Justification: It uses like.

13. “Beef came knocking on my brother’s life, kicked the damn door down and took
everything except his gold chain” is an example of what type of figurative language?
Justify your answer.
a. Figurative Language: Personification
b. Justification: Beef can’t actually come knocking. Will is giving an inanimate
object human like characteristics.

14. Finish this line, “Shawn was zipped into a bag and rolled away, his blood added to the
pavement galaxy of ____________________ stars.” Just take a moment… think on that
imagery. Powerful stuff, huh? Write this sentence without the imagery. In the most basic
terms, what is Will saying? How does this imagery add to your reading experience? Or
in other words how does it enhance the story?
a. Fill in the blank: Bubblegum
b. Phrase Written in Basic Terms: Shawn’s blood was scattered all over the
pavement.
c. How it adds to your reading: It helps create a better visual. It once again takes
an atypical event and inserts itself into an ordinary setting.
15. Finish the phrase, “I felt like crying, which felt like another _____________ trapped
behind my face.” You ever felt this way? How do you keep yourself from crying? Are
you successful?
a. Fill in the Blank: Person
b. Yes or No: Yes/No
c. How? Answers will vary.
d. Successful?

16. What are “The Rules.” Do you think your hometown has similar rules? How so?
a. Rule 1- No Crying
b. Rule 2- No Snitching
c. Rule 3- Get Revenge
d. Similar Rules?

17. What’s an ANAGRAM? Answer using a direct quote from the book + Citation (Author’s
last name AND page number).
a. “When you take a word and rearrange the letters to make another word and
sometimes the words are still somehow connected” (Reynolds 37).

18. What was in Shawn’s middle drawer?

a. A gun

19. Would you want Shawn as an older brother? Why or why not?
a. Yes or No:
b. Why?:Answers will vary.

20. Finish the following sentence, “The middle drawer ___________ to me.” What type of
figurative language is this? Justify your answer.
a. Fill in the Blank: Called
b. Type of Figurative Language: Personification
c. Justification:

21. Is Will positive that Riggs killed his brother? Justify your answer using textual evidence.
a. No. Will thinks he killed him, but he isn’t 100% sure. Will knows that Riggs moved
to a new area and wanted to join a gang. Their territory line was right by where
Shawn purchases his mom’s special soap. He is using what he knows to infer who
the killer is, but he isn’t totally sure.

22. Will compares holding a gun to holding a what? This is an example of what figurative
language? How do you know?
a. A newborn baby.
b. Figurative Language: Simile
c. Justification: Uses the word like.
 23. “I had slept in my clothes, the stench of death and sweat trapped in the cotton like
fish grease.” This line is an example of both a simile and what other literary technique?
Justify or explain your answer.
a. Imagery
b. Justification: It appeals to the five senses to create a more well-rounded
experience.

24. What’s Will’s plan? Any potential problems with this plan?
a. Plan: Wait for Riggs in the morning. Will would hit his buzzer and get him to come
down. Will would pull his shirt over his mouth and nose and then shoot him.
b. Potential Problems: Riggs isn’t home. Riggs knows something is going on. Will
chickens out. Will misses his shot.
________________________________________________________________________________________
END EXPOSITION
Remember that the purpose of an exposition is to introduce the reader to the main
characters, the setting and the overall conflict. That major conflict will propel the plot
forward and ultimately lead to the story’s climax and resolution.

Main Character(s):
Will
Shawn

Setting (Time/Place):
Inner City
Apartment

Main Conflict:
Will’s brother has been killed and according to the “rules” Will is responsible for seeking
vengeance. He has to decide if he is going to kills Shawn’s killer and if so, how.

Predictions:
Answers will vary.
 Guided Reading Part 2- Rising Action
Long Way Down​ (Jason Reynolds)

1. What are the five elevator rules?

a. Rule 1: No talking
b. Rule 2: No looking
c. Rule 3: Stand still
d. Rule 4: Stare at door
e. Rule 5: Wait

2. Have you noticed the time stamps on the top of the pages? What time
is it when the Will asks the stranger on the elevator, “Do I know you?”
a. 9:08:04

3. Describe Will’s reaction when he discovers the stranger is Buck. Why is it

so hard to believe that Buck is in the elevator?
a. Will’s Reaction: He doesn’t believe it. He tries to wake himself up.
b. Why?: Buck is dead. He is talking to a ghost.

4. How does the author, Jason Reynolds, format the dialogue? In other
words, Reynolds doesn’t use quotation marks when a character is
speaker to another character. What does he use instead?
a. Italics

5. What reason does Buck give for being in the elevator?

a. He is checking on his gun.

6. What does “your tail is showing” mean?

a. Your gun is sticking out of the back of your pants.

7. Who gave the gun to Shawn and taught him to use it?
a. Buck

8. When Buck asks Will, “So what you ‘bout to do?” what does Will say?
Answer using a direct quote with citation (Author Last Name and Page
Number)..
a. “I’m about to do what I gotta do. What you woulda done. Follow
the rules” (Reynolds 95).

9. When Will complains about the elevator taking a frustratingly long time,
what does Buck respond with? Answer using a direct quote with
citation (Author Last Name and Page Number). What is significant
about this quote?
a. Quote: “It’s a long way down” (Reynolds 97).
b. Significance: This is the title of the novel.
10. What does Will say is, “just as bad as a bullet’s bang”? What type of
figurative language is this? How do you know?
a. Just as bad: A laugh when it’s loud, heavy and aimed at you
b. Figurative LanguagE: Simile
c. Justification: Uses ‘as’

11. Read this exchange from page 102:

HE ASKED ME

If I had even checked to see if the gun was loaded.

I hadn’t

What does this exchange reveal about Will’s character? Is this an

example of indirect or direct characterization. Explain your answer.

a. Will’s Character: Will is inexperienced. He isn’t a kid that is

prepared physically or mentally to shoot someone. It’s not really
in his nature to act upon the rules.
b. Direct or Indirect Characterization: Indirect characterization.
c. Explanation: I inferred the information based on the text. The story
didn’t come right out and tell me this information.

12. How many slugs were in the clip? How many should there be? What
could you infer or predict based off of this information?
a. Slugs in Clip: 15
b. Should Be: 16
c. Inference/Prediction: Shawn had to have used the gun or there
would have been all 16 slugs. Perhaps he shot someone else and
his killer took revenge on him?

13. Describe the girl who gets on the elevator next using a direct quote +
citation. Is this quote an example of direct characterization or indirect
characterization. How do you know?
a. Quote: “Around my age. Fine as heaven. Flower dress. Low heels.
Light makeup, lip gloss, cheek stuff. Perfume, sweet, fresh, cutting
through the cigarette smoke” (Reynolds 110)
b. Direct or Indirect Characterization: Direct characterization
c. Explanation: The author comes right out and tells you.

14. Make an inference about this girl based off of her description. Is this an
example of direct or indirect characterization. How do you know?
a. Inference: Answers will vary.
b. Direct or Indirect Characterization: Indirect
c. Explanation: I inferred, the text didn’t directly state this
information.
15. Now that the girl has gotten on the elevator, what time is it?
a. 09:08:12 a.m.

16. Can the girl see Buck?

a. Yes

17. Find the page titled, “ME AND MY FRIEND DANI.” Find a simile on this
page and quote it below (remember to cite it using the author’s last
name and page number). Tell me how you know it is a simile.
a. Direct Quote: “Tongue hanging from her mouth like pink candy”
(Reynolds 127).
b. Explanation: Uses the word “like”

18. What happened to Dani?

a. She was shot and killed on the playground.

19. What rule did Shawn teach Will after Dani died?
a. No crying

20. What seed of doubt did Dani plant in Will’s mind. “What if you
___________?”
a. Miss

21. What mood is created using the smoke in the elevator? How does this
mood add to the story? In other words, what purpose does this mood
serve in the story?
a. Mood: Hazy, uncertain, disjointed, foggy, creepy, mysterious
b. Purpose of Mood: It sets the feeling of the story. It makes the
reader feel how Will is feeling. It adds to the mystery of the story.

22. Tell me something about Uncle Mark. Is this an example of direct or

indirect characterization? How do you know?
a. Uncle Mark Detail: Answers will vary.
b. Direct or Indirect Characterization: Answers will vary.
c. Explanation: Answers will vary.

23. A paradox is an idea that contradicts itself. Will says, “It’s weird to know
a person you don’t know and at the same time not know a person you
know, you know?” In your own words, what is he saying?
a. Answers will vary. Example response: It’s an odd feeling in life
when you feel like you know a stranger better than a person
who’s been in your life all along.

24. Uncle Mark has Will run through the scene where Will exacts his
revenge. What happens when Will sees Riggs and pulls the gun out?
What does this reveal about Will?
a. What happens?: He got stuck. He couldn’t finish the story.
b. What is revealed?: Will is having serious doubts. He doesn’t
 picture himself killing another person.

25. What was Uncle Mark’s motivation to sell for just one day? In other
words, what did he want?
a. He wanted to save up enough money to buy a new camera.

26. What ended up happening after that “one day”?

a. Got addicted to the sales. Took ownership of the corner.
Someone came along to claim the turf and shot him.

27. What seed of doubt did Uncle Mark plant in Will’s head? “What
happens next in this movie? It’s never the ____________.”
a. end

________________________________________________________________________________________

Beginning of Rising Action

The RISING ACTION is where the action intensifies. The main
character faces a series of problems on their way to solve their
overall conflict.

Book’s Overall Major Conflict:

Will’s brother has been killed and according to the “rules” Will is responsible for seeking
vengeance. He has to decide if he is going to kills Shawn’s killer and if so, how.

List of minor conflicts in elevator:

Possible Answers Include:
Will discovering who each ghost was and their role in his life story.
Will battling with doubt.
Will battling his own feelings.

How does these minor conflict advance the plot? In other words, how do
they push the story forward? What do they add to the story?
○ These minor conflicts add suspense to the story.
○ They provide more insight into who Will is as a person and what his life story is like.
○ They are bringing Will closer to the moment that we discover the outcome of the
major conflict (Climax).
○ They give the story direction.

Guided Reading Part 3- Rising Action/Climax/Resolution

 Long Way Down​ (Jason Reynolds)

1. What’s odd at the start of #4?

a. There is no smoke even though 3 people are smoking.

2. What time is it now (When his father first arrives)?

a. 9:08:32

3. How did Will’s dad die?

a. Mom says he died of a broken heart. Shawn says he got shot for
killing the man who killed his uncle.

4. Will’s dad shot Mark’s killer several times even though it wasn’t
necessary. Why? Answer using a direct quote + citation.
a. “By the third he was down, but I gave him one more just because
I was angry. So angry” (Reynolds 213).

5. What haunted Will’s dad about the shooting? Hint: “It wasn’t the right
_________.”
a. Guy

6. When Will’s dad hugged him, his dad shockingly did what? What was
Will’s reaction?
a. Will’s Dad’s Action: Pulled out the gun and placed it to Will’s
head.
b. Will’s Reaction: Peed his pants.

7. Why do you think Will’s dad did what he did? In other words, what
message was he trying to send Will?
a. Answer will vary. Possible answer: This isn’t joke or something to be
taken lightly. This is serious stuff; you are contemplating taking
someone else’s life. Also, how is he going to shoot someone else
when he can’t even handle the reversed role. He’s never been
around a gun in this way.

8. What time is it when, “THE THICK PALE DUDE stood staring at his blurry
reflection”?
a. 09:08:47 a.m.

9. Who’s Frick? In other words, how is he connected to the other dead

people on the elevator?
a. He murdered Buck.

10. What’s odd about the interaction between Buck and Frick? What does
this reveal about their characters?
a. Odd: They get along.
b. Character Revelation: They didn’t have bad blood. The murder
wasn’t “personal.” The both knew and understood the rules.
11. Re-read the line, “A dumb thing to say would’ve been to tell Buck how
important that soap was that it stopped Mom from scraping loose a
river of wounds” (Reynolds 255). What is a “river of wounds”? What type
of figurative language is this? Explain.
a. “River of Wounds”:Blood
b. Figurative Language: Metaphor
c. Explanation: Comparing blood to a river without using like or as.

12. When you get to page 272 OR “WHEN THE JOKE WAS OVER” take a
moment and fill in the blanks of this summary.

● Gang violence killed Dani.

● A drug dealer killed Uncle ____________ (Mark) and took his corner.
● Will’s dad killed the man he thought killed his __________ (brother).
● For gang initiation, Frick was charged with robbing __________ (Buck).
The robbery went wrong, __________ (Frick) got scare and killed Buck.
● __________ (Shawn) killed Frick.

13. Why isn’t Tony talking the same as snitching?

a. Tony didn’t tell the police just other members of the community.

14. Why do you think the author refused to have Frick identify Riggs? What
purpose does it serve to the overall plot?
a. Why: It keeps an air of mystery.
b. Purpose: Will still isn’t sure that Riggs killed his brother. It also
makes you wonder if Frick purposely refuses to answer. Maybe he
doesn’t want the cycle to continue OR he no longer feels like
revenge is a necessity.

15. Who enters the elevator on the 2nd floor?

a. Shawn

16. What’s unusual about the interaction between Shawn and Will? Why
would the author do this?
a. Unusual: Shawn ignores him. He can’t see him.
b. Why: Answers will vary.

17. How many cigarettes are burning in the elevator at the end? Who
doesn’t have one?What do you think the cigarettes symbolize?
a. # of Cigarettes burning: 5
b. Doesn’t have one: Shawn
c. Symbolize: Answers will vary.
 18. What are Shawn’s last words?
a. You coming?

________________________________________________________________________________________

CLIMAX/RESOLUTION
The CLIMAX is the highest part of the story. It is the moment that
we get the answer to the overall conflict. Answer the following
questions to unpack the end of the novel.

If the climax is the highest part of the story where we get the answer to the
conflict, what is the climax of our novel?
● The climax is when Shawn asks Will if he is coming. The answer to this
question is the answer to the overall conflict.

What is the resolution? Do we have one? What do you think happens at the
end of the book. Be sure to use textual evidence to support your stance.
There is no resolution. The only resolution is one we create for ourselves using our
powers of inference.

Answers will vary about what happens at the end. If a student uses the clues
from the book, I think it is safe to assume that he doesn't’t go. It is not in his
character or nature to kill someone else. His friends and family have planted
seeds of doubt, and he is beginning to realize this is a cycle, and there is no
reason to let it continue.