Unit 3

In Units One and Two, you learned about plot and character as parts of the short story. Stop for a moment and try to remember what the word plot means and what the word character means. Can you recall those meanings without looking back to the units?

In this unit, you will learn about a third part of a story. This is setting. The setting is the time and place of the story. It serves as the background for the story. When you describe the setting, you are telling where and when something happened.

Stories can be set in any place and at any time. A story can take place on the streets of a big city or on a lonely farm or high on a mountain. The time can be now or a hundred years ago or in the year 2001. Of course, the setting must fit the characters and plot of the story. We would find a story about cowhands on a trail drive a little silly if it took place in New York City today. The Old West seems to be the right setting for this kind of story. Sometimes a writer will put a character into a setting that does not fit. But this is done for a reason. It may be to make a story funny or to make a certain point. But usually the setting will fit the characters and plot of the story.

The writer may describe the setting at the beginning of the story or just give bits of it as the story moves along. As you read, you should watch for places where the setting is described and try to see the place and time of the story in your mind. This will add color and interest to the stories you read.

The questions listed below will help guide your study of setting. Ask yourself these questions as you read the story in this unit.

1. Where does the story take place?

2. When does it take place?

3. Does the setting fit the events in the story?

4. Why does the setting fit?

You will be asked to write your answers to these questions when you have finished "Sally's First Flight."

Have you ever heard of a hang-glider? Doyou know what it does? A nahg-glider is a large sall with a metal bar connected to it. The wind lifts the sail into the air like a kite and the bar drops down below. By holding on to the bar, a person can fly on the hang-glider and steer it. In this story Sally wants to take a ride on a hang-glider. After you read this story, you may want to try one too.

Sally’s First Flight ________________________________________

Gleann Munson

Sally slammed the screen door. “That Paul Daniel!” she shouted. “I can’t stand that creep!”

Her mother stood by the kitchen counter. She was slicing bread for lunch. She glanced at Sally.

“Now what happened?” she asked.

Sally flopped down on a kitchen chair. “He won’t let me try his hang-glider.” Sally rolled her eyes. “You’d think I wanted to eat the dumb thing.”

Mrs. Hansen laughed. “What do you do with a hang-glider?” she asked. “What is it?”

“Oh, a hang-glider is great, Mom. It’s a big wing made of cloth stretched over a frame. It looks like two sails sewed together.” Sally held her hand flat in the air like an airplane. “There’s a bar that hangs down from the center of it. That’s what you hang on to and steer with.”

Her mother set bread and a jar of peanut butter on the table. “Yes, but what do you do with it?”

“You fly with it, Mom.”

“Fly!” As Sally sliced a banana on her peanut butter sandwich, her mother stared at her. Then she shook her head. “What will the girl think of next?” she wondered.

“It’s really great! You catch the wind and you glide along on waves of air. Just like a bird.” Sally took a big bite of her sandwich. “Paul got his glider a couple of weeks ago. But he won’t let anyone use it.”

Sally finished her sandwich and gulped down a glass of milk. She jumped up from her chair and headed for the door.

“Thanks for lunch, Mom,” she said.

“Where are you going?” her mother asked. “I want you back here by four to help weed the garden.”

“Okay, I’ll be back to help.” Sally opened the screen door. “I’m going to the beach. There must be some way to get a ride on that glider,” she said. The screen door clapped shut behind her.

Sally climbed on her bicycle and rode for ten minutes to the beach. All the way she thought hard. How could she get Paul to let her use his glider?

The road ended in the dunes above the beach. Sally dropped her bicycle in the sand and walked to the edge of the dunes. The land dropped off in a steep slope to the beach below. On most days, the wind came in off the ocean. Blowing across the beach, it hit the sharp cliff and rose higher. This rising air was just right for hand-gliding.

“Oh, no! Are you back?” said Paul. He was standing a little way down the slope.

Sally said nothing. She crossed her legs and sank down to the sand.

The bright blue and green glider lay on the sand next to Paul. He reached down and grabbed the handle. Lifting it to his chest, he swung the big wing up over his head. He pointed it down the slope and began to run.

Sally held her breath. The sail filled with air, puffing up on top. The boy seemed to dive into the air. He was lifted off the ground as the wind caught the hand-glider. And then –he sailed along the slope.

Sally cheered and said to herself, “I just have to do it.”

Suddenly the nose of the sail pointed up. The back dipped low. Paul and the glider dropped down, bouncing on the sand.

Sally grinned as Paul trudged back up the slope pulling the glider behind him. “What happened?” she called out. “Haven’t you learned to fly it yet?”

The sun was beating down. Paul was hot, and he was tired from so much gliding. He didn’t like people watching him. He had had good flights while Sally was away at lunch.

He glared at Sally. “I bet you couldn’t even lift it.”

“What?” Sally shouted.

The boy puffed up the steep slope. “Girls aren’t strong enough,” he said.

Sally ground her teeth. She hated being told she wasn’t strong enough. Or old enough.

The glider dragged to a stop and Paul sat down in the sand.

“Bet I can,” Sally yelled, jumping up. She ran down to the glider, grabbed the bar and lifted. The wing came up off the ground. Sally began running down the slope.

Paul shouted. Sally didn’t hear what he said. The glider wasn’t heavy, bit it tipped to one side. Sally tried to push up harder on that side. She lost her footing and tumbled to the ground. The glider dug into the sand and tipped over on one side.

Sally’s mouth was full of sand. It was in her eyes and hair. She heard Paul laughing from up the slope. He cupped his hands and shouted, “How’s it taste?” He laughed again.

Sally jumped up, brushing the sand from her face. She ran over to the glider.

“Hey, you had a chance! Beat it!” shouted Paul. But Sally had the glider in the air and was running down the slope again. The wind rushed past her face. The ocean roared in her ears. She felt the glider catch the wind and get lighter.

Paul’s voice came after her. “Tear that sail and you’ll pay for it!” he said.

Sally raced down the slope. She was going too fast. Her legs could barely keep up. She started to strumble again. Her arms shot straight out in front of her, pushing the sail ahead.

Suddenly she was flying. It all happened so fast, she didn’t know what she was doing. One second she was stretched out, about to crash to the sand. Then she felt a sudden tug on the handle. She dove after the glider. It seemed to take off. Her feet came off the ground. She was in the air!

The whole world seemed to fall away. Sally floated slowly along the face of the cliff. The ocean’s roar seemed far off. A seagull drifted past right next to her.

Sally leaned toward the ocean side. The wing tipped that way began a slow, silent turn over the beach.

Sally grinned. She could hardly breathe. Her heart pounded. She had never felt so free.

The glider kept turning. Now it was heading straight for the sandy cliff. Sally tried leaning the other way. The sail began turning away from the cliff. But it was too late. The wing tip dug into the sand with a jolt, flinging Sally off. She hit the sand hard, rolling over and over before coming to a stop.

Sally shook her head and opened her eyes. Her side hurt. Slowly, she sat up and looked around.

Paul had run down to his glider, a good way off. He glared at Sally, then turned to check the sail.

Sally got to her feet and started walking the rest of the way down to the beach. She knew Paul wouldn’t give her another try. But she didn’t care now. She had had her first flight with a hang-glider. It wouldn’t be her last.

_____________________________________________________________

dunes –rounded hills of sand heaped up by the wind

trudged - walked slowly because of being tired

glared - stared with anger

jolt –a sudden jerk or bump, a shock

flinging – throwing with force

Activity 1

Fact Questions

1. What does a hang-glider look like?

2. How long has Paul had his hang- glider?

3. Where is Sally going when she leaves her house?

4. How long does it take her to get there?

5. What makes the air at the dunes rise?

6. What two things did Sally hate being told?

7. What drifts right by Sally on her flight?

8. How does Sally feel when she is flying?

9. Where is the glider heading when it crashes?

10. Does Sally think she is ever going to fly again?

Activity 2

Thought Questions

1. What kind of mother is Mrs. Hansen? Do you think she gives Sally enough

freedom?

2. Do you think Paul is a selfish per­son?

3. Do you think Sally should have used Paul's hang-glider if he didn't want her to?

4. How will Sally get another flight with a hang-glider?

5. Do you think Sally would want to try any new sport that she discov­ered?

6. Describe what you would see if you were flying the hang-glider over the beach.

7. Could hang-gliding be dangerous? Why or why not?

Activity 3

Thinking about Setting and Theme in a Short Story

1. Write answers to the four questions you were asked to think about before you read the story.

1. Where does the story take place?

2. When does it take place?

3. Does the setting fit the events in the story?

4. Why does the setting fit?

2. Choose a second title for the story from the list below. Which do you think would be the best choice? Why?

1. "Girls Are as Strong as Boys"

2. "Flying Can Be Dangerous"

3. "Sally Proves She Can Fly"

4. "Sally's Great Crash"

UNIT 4

You know that every story must have plot, characters, and setting. Without these three parts there is no story.

In this unit, we will look at the fourth part. This is the conflict. In every story the main character or characters face some problem. The struggle against this problem is called the conflict. There are three kinds of conflict:

1. The main character may have a problem with another character. This kind of conflict is often used in detective stories when a police officer or a detective is on the trail of a person who has broken the law.

2. The main characters may have to battle some feeling or quality inside themselves. A story about someone who overcomes a drug problem or someone who wins out against some fear has this kind of conflict.

3. The main character or characters may come face-to- face with some danger in nature or some outside force. A story about a town hit by an earthquake or a family lost at sea has this kind of conflict.

What kind of conflict does Neezy face in "The Woods Trap"? What does he learn about himself from this conflict? Keep these questions in mind as you read the story.

In this true story, Neezy, a boy from the city, has come to visit his friend Fred who lives in the country. What happens when Neezy gets lost in the woods and Fred is too sick to help him?