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GIRS 1. Right There 2. Think and Search 3. Understand Character Traits 4. Understand Character Motivation 5. Understand Character Relationships 6. Make Predictions BASED ON EVIDENCE 7. Stop for unknown words and USE CONTEXT CLUES 8. Whack! Examine Passages CAREFULLY 9. Examine Author’s Purpose 10. Make Personal Connections and RECONNECT TO THE STORY 11. Have Fun DEFINITIONS/EXPLANATIONS 1. Author tells you information explicitly (directly) in black ink (“right there” on the page) what is happening - surface level reading for comprehension. 2. Think about what you are reading presently and search to connect to something similar (“like evidence”) that you have already read and know from earlier in the story - think “split screen.” 3. Identify character’s personality and physical traits. a. Be on the lookout to learn all character traits. Can help you predict what a character will do in a situation and. 4. The reason WHY a character does what she/he does in the story. 5. Understanding how one character perceives/thinks about/interacts with other characters 6. Making an educated guess as to what might happen next based on looking back on what you already know about the story. a. Forces a reader to review what she/he already knows or doesn’t know 7. Stop for words that are unknown and use other words around the unknown word (in same sentence, before, and/or after sentence) to help figure out the meaning a. The poor boy was curled up in a ball outside his front door quivering for hours as the snow and wind ate him alive. 8. Stop at important parts of the story (WHACK!) and think deeply about the meaning of the passage itself (“break it down” so you understand all parts of the passage) and connect it to other parts of the story to gain a deeper understanding 9. The reason WHY the author wrote something into the story. a. Ask why the author put “something” into the story? Chekhov’s Gun. Purpose? Thinking reader AND WRITER perspective when reading. 10. Connect your own experiences (Text to Self, Text to Text, Text to World) to characters and events in the story. Apply that connection back into the story for a deeper understanding. 11. Enjoy reading! Goof on characters; cheer, laugh, and cry with the story; share related,/or see how a character is changing (dynamic). Character change can reveal theme(s)

The Silk Road was a network of trade routes established during the Han Dynasty that connected the East to the West. Named after the valuable silk traded along the route, other goods like spices, tea, porcelain, and precious metals were also exchanged.