THE BREAKAWAY

A SHORT NARRATIVE
READING SKILL SHEET REVIEW

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 THE BREAKAWAY

READ THE SHORT STORY

QUIETLY & INDIVIDUALLY.
THEN, WE READ AS A WHOLE CLASS.

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 THE BREAKAWAY

What does the title mean in

basketball?

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THE fast break

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 Fast Break or Breakaway
When a player separates himself from the rest
of the players down the court and races
towards the basket to score!

A FAST BREAK REQUIRES 2 TEAMMATES TO HELP

EACH OTHER SPEED DOWN THE COURT AND
EVENTUALLY SCORE.

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 THE BREAKAWAY
How does this title CORRELATE to
how Justin’s LIFE changes during the
course of the narrative?

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 Author’s Purpose
The author’s purpose of writing the short
narrative entitled THE BREAKAWAY is to
entertain.

The GENRE is fiction, and the subgenre is

Realistic Fiction.

The narrator’s POV is: 3rd -person limited

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 Author’s Purpose
This story is meant to ENTERTAIN.

The GENRE, meaning the category of writing, is

fiction. FICTION = PRETEND.
The subgenre, a genre(category) within the Genre
of Fiction, is Realistic Fiction.
EVEN THOUGH THIS STORY IS PRETEND, IT HAS A
REALISTIC CONTEXT.

The narrator’s POV is: 3-person limited

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 Author’s Purpose
This story is meant to ENTERTAIN.

The narrator’s POV is: 3RD person limited

THE STORY IS TOLD FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF

A NARRATOR WHO IS NOT PART OF THE STORY
(3RD PERSON).
THE NARRATOR DOES NOT DESCRIBE THE
THOUGHTS OF THE CHARACTERS, SO IT’S
LIMITED.

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 STORYBOARD
PICK 8 SCENES THAT STAND OUT IN THE STORY
IN YOUR MIND.

THIS IS IMAGERY.

DRAW(ILLUSTRATE IT) AND DESCRIBE IT BELOW.

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 SUMMARY OF THE TEXT
USING 8 SENTENCES, ONE PER PARAGRAPH OF
THE STORY, HIGHLIGHT THE KEY EVENTS AND
OVERALL THEME OF THIS SHORT STORY.

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 SUMMARY OF THE TEXT
POTENTIAL KEY IDEAS:
1. Justin was a great basketball player.
2. He had his future planned.
3. He was injured.
4. He fell into a slump; things fell apart.
5. His sister Kiki came home from college.
6. Kiki helps her brother bounce back!

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Storyboard Samples

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Basketball storyboards

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 Setting
Where does the narrative take place?

LOCATION(S) – basketball court, home

ERA (DATE) – present day

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 Setting
Where does the narrative take place?

The setting of THE BREAKAWAY revolves

around the basketball court and Justin’s
home. It takes place in the present or
modern day.

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 How does the story unfold?
The events in a story, from beginning, middle, to
the end, is called THE PLOT.

Many events compose the plot of a story.

We can MAP OUT a Plot with a CHART.

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PLOT CHART

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 Building the PLOT CHART
Fill in the following Chart Template with a
description of:

1. The Exposition (beginning)

2. 3 events (rising action) leading to the climax
3. The Turning Point (climax) – most exciting
4. Identify the CONFLICT (problem) in the story
5. 2 events (falling action) after climax
6. The Denouement (ending)

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 Rising Action: SAMPLE
What 3 events lead to the CLIMAX (most
exciting event or Turning Point) of THE
BREAKAWAY?
1. Just was a really good basketball player.
2. His cousin got him to play a guy who injured
him; this ended his career.
3. Justin fell into a slump.

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 CLIMAX
The most-exciting part of a story (narrative).
A Turning Point

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 CLIMAX
The injury is not the most exciting part of THE
BREAKAWAY.

The Turning Point is when Justin begins to work

with his sister Kiki and turn his life around.

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 “THE BREAKAWAY”
Key Vocabulary

INSISTENT, STUBBORN, INTRIGUE,

DEVASTATED, ASHAMED, ACQUIRED.

You pick 4 TERMS, and complete the VOCAB

MAP IN YOUR ELA NOTEBOOK.

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