PRL – PERSONAL

READING LOG
 Some definitions of short
stories:

 It’s a work of fiction, so it involves the

imagination
 A short story tells of one event in a very
concentrated way.
 It’s about people who don’t really exist
 It describes something at a moment of crisis
 It has a plot and characters who are somehow
connected with each other.
 Some more definitions:
A short story…
 involves chronology, or
sequence of events, and
causation – the fact that events
are somehow connected with
each other, and that one event
may result from another.
Setting Style
5
+l
+l
Writing
Location Elements techniques
& time

Character
s Theme
Plot/
Main or
The people story line recurrent idea
& their (could also be a
relationship Actions and
lesson to learn)
s events
 ELEMENTS
OF A
SHORT STORY
( A REVIEW)
 setting
 Tells the reader where and when the
story takes place. It also refers to the
MODE and TONE of the story.
 Characters and Characterization

 The people, and in some stories,

the animals that take part in the
story.

 The description of the

personalities of the characters in
the story and the way in which an
author reveals their personalities.
Two Identifications of Characters

 Protagonis 

t – the hero of the Antagonist

story – the villain in the
story who is
always opposing
the protagonist
 Methods of Characterization
Creating Believable Characters

 Indirect  Direct
– physical appearance
– the narrator’s direct
– speech, thoughts, comments about a
feelings, or actions of character
the character

– speech, thoughts,
feelings, or actions of
other characters
PLOT

The plot is the sequence or order of events

in a story.
The plot includes:

Exposition Statement
The part of the plot that tells how the story begins.
Rising Action
The action in the story leading up to the climax.
Conflict
The struggles or problems between opposing forces.
Climax
The point of crisis in the plot. It may be the reader’s point of
highest interest.

Falling action
The action in the story after the climax is revealed .

Resolution
The part of the plot that reveals the final outcome.
 Types of Conflict

 -Man vs. Man

 -Man vs. Nature
 -Man vs. Obstacle or Society
 - Man vs. Supernatural Being
 -Man vs. Himself
The structure of a story
 Why learn short story?

Knowledge of text
Respond to texts
•Give opinions features
•Applying knowledge to
•Justify opinions
your writing

Responding to characters
Reading skills •Responding to plot
•Making inferences
•Responding to themes
•Getting the main idea
•(writing, oral,
•Predicting events
performance)
Approach to interpret a short story

1. Understand the features of the

text type
2. Understand the features of the
genre
3. Analyze the text
Stages in working with the text

Integrating and
applying

Understanding
the details

Building up
knowledge of Extension
the topic activities
While-reading /
Pre- reading Post-reading
 PRL – Personal Reading
Log
What?
 It offers you a chance to respond personally to short
stories and to ask questions, ponder, predict, , reflect ,
analyze, interpret and give opinion on plot, setting,
characters, events, themes, language etc.
How?
 An ideal entry for PRL would be between 150 - 200
words. Do not copy from text or write the plot.
What activities?
 This is based on the task given. It can be single question

or a string of questions. It depends on the instructors as a

string of questions can help students struggling with
comprehending PRL.
 Expressions to use if you don’t
know what to write?
 In my opinion…
 I was impressed by…
 I notice that…
 I wonder about…
 This reminds me of…
 I never thought…
 This part of the story makes me feel…
 I predict….

 Remember, there is no one correct answer or response! Each story

yields a different response.
 You are required to reflect on a certain situation/s in the story by
giving your own interpretation. There is no one correct or wrong
answer!

 Now, lets look at a sample short story

 A young and successful executive was traveling down a
neighbourhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was
watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed
down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no
children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door!
He slammed on the brakes and drove the Jag back to the spot where
the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the
car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car,
shouting, "What was that all about and who are you?
Just what the heck are you doing? 
That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot
of money.
Why did you do it?"
The young boy was apologetic. "Please mister ... please, I'm sorry... I
didn't know what else to do," he pleaded.
"I threw the brick because no one else would stop..."
With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth
pointed to a spot just around a parked car.
"It's my brother," he said.
"He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift
him up."
 Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you
please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and
he's too heavy for me."
Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly
swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped
boy back into the wheelchair, then took out his fancy handkerchief
and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him
everything was going to be okay.
 "Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the
stranger.
Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the little boy
push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward
their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The
damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to
repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him
of this message: Don't go through life so fast that someone has to
throw a brick at you to get your attention!
 You can select a few of the 8 given expressions
to answer the questions below.

 1. He is wrong to hit the Jaguar with a brick? Yes or No? Explain

 your answer.
 2. What would you have done in his place? Explain your reasons.
 3. Explain what the line “Don't go through life so fast that
 someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!”
 means based on your understanding of the story?
 4. In your opinion, can this happen in real life and are people kind
 like the Jaguar driver?
  
 Sample response for question No 1.
 The boy wanted help to save his special needs brother who has fallen off
his wheelchair while he was pushing the wheelchair on the pavement. He
tried to stop passing vehicles to get help but none stopped and he himself is
too frail to help his brother. He is left without any choice but to hurl a brick
on an on coming Jaguar with the hope of getting the driver’s attention. I am
most impressed with his ingenious way to get help. Who would have
thought of that! But I guess in times of desperate need, desperate measure is
the outcome. For the sake of love, the boy committed a crime and its most
unfortunate that the car that he hit with a brick happens to be a Jag!. In my
opinion this is a matter between life and death and therefore the boy is not
wrong. He did what needs to be done to save the life of his beloved and
helpless brother. I predict that the Jaguar driver would not be really angry
with the boy’s action of throwing a brick at his car after finding out the
reason for it. The car owner too learned a lesson in life; not to rush along in
life seeking success without a glance around at the realities in life such as
helping others in times of need.
 Interactive Activities
 http://
www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives
/story-30008.html
END OF LESSON