Explaining Relationships or Interactions From Text Worksheets

Related ELA Standard: RI.5.3

Core Standard
Answer Keys Here

When we are reading it can often be confusing as to how relationships evolve over time within the story. As well as keeping track of how a certain interaction led to another one. When one thing move affects an outcome an interaction has taken place. When reading it is often helpful to highlight events and the people that were part of the event. As you read further in, you will need to determine how several events affect relationships of the characters. In this series of worksheets students will be working on understanding events that effect relationships.

Relationships or Interactions Worksheets:

Bears – I never knew that there are only 8 different species of bear out there.

Natural Selection – Darwin and Russel Wallace had similar theories. Wallace just didn't put his ideas out there first.

"Separate but Equal" No More – Justice isn't as deep as we would like it sometimes.

W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington – Two pace breakers that had a huge impact on the American culture.

Humans and the Environment – Do you feel that we respect the Earth as a whole.

The Assassination of Lincoln – Explain the relationship between Samuel Mudd and the other conspirators.

Badgers – What do taxonomists base their classifications on?

The Mastiff of Tibet – What remarkable dogs these guys are. Yes, my neighbor has a Mastiff named "Charles".

The Lemur – What is the relationship between Lemurs and the two families of monkeys (American and Old World)?

An Approach to Natural Science – Describe the relationship between how a human learns things naturally, and how a course of study ought to be conducted.

Habit in Man and Animals – Our habitat dictates how we interact with the environment.

Accusation of Socrates – What was the relationship between Socrates and the people of Athens?

The Death of Socrates – How did Socrates interact with his pupils during his last days?

Supreme Court Chief Justice Taney and Dred Scott – What was the relationship between the Dred Scott case and other slaves/slave-owners?

Inherited vs. Acquired Traits – What is the difference between an inherited and an acquired trait?

How to Explain Relationships or Interactions from Text?


In the English literature, a large number of texts are based on the descriptions of lives and events of few characters that are related to each other. As a reader, one has to find out the nature of relationship between the characters and determine their interactions. It is practically impossible to understand the text and grasp the main idea behind it without working these relations and interactions out.


Here are a few tips that can help you find out and explain the relations or interactions from a text:


Read the Text Profoundly


Reading a text carefully will help you understand and explain to yourself as well as to someone else whatever the nature of relation and interaction between the characters in a text is. Try to pay full consideration whenever a new name comes in the text. Also, try to stay active and pay more attention while reading the initial parts of a text. This can help clarify the interactions from the beginning and makes reading enjoyable.


Make Mind Maps and Annotate


One of the best ways to gain a clearer understanding of the relations and interactions in a text is to make a mind map or note down the names of the characters as you read. This provides a visual description of the relations and interactions and also makes it easier to clear the concepts whenever you feel stuck while reading. This technique had added benefits while reading texts with a lot of characters and a complex plot.


Pay Attention to the Scenarios and Settings


Carefully analyzing the events in which the particular characters interact and come face to face is also a beneficial practice to understand relations and interactions from the text and also makes its further explanation convenient.


How to Analyze the Interactions Between Characters in A Story?


In any story, the characters are the driving force for the plot and the themes being addressed. These characters together create the story and run it smoothly. Every character in the story is influenced by the existence of the other character. To understand a fictional text, it is important to analyze the individual character as well as to analyze each character in relation with the other characters. It is extremely essential to look deeply into the character and study the interactions between them to understand the fictional text even more clearly. Moreover, the deeper analysis of the characters’ interaction with each other provides readers a chance to view how a certain character changes with the development of the plot. To analyze the interaction of characters, following points should be kept in mind:


Introduce The Characters


Before investigating the interactions between two characters, introduce the individual character to yourself. Look at the personality traits of the character, ask yourself if the character is a protagonist or otherwise? Is he or she a minor or a major character in the story? What type of character do they have either round or flat?


Explain The Relationship


Before analyzing the interactions, the most important task for a reader is to explain the relationship between the characters. The relationship between the characters can be anti- or sympathetic. See if both the characters are similar or both have conflicts, are both positive or one is the protagonist and the other is the antagonist, etc.


Analyze the Character's Language


The use of words by a character gives you an insight into the character’s mind. To analyze the interaction between characters, analyze their exchange of dialogues. The words will tell what the characters are plotting and how their actions will change the story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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