1. NOTICE & NOTE
The Signposts and Definitions

2. Contrasts and ContradictionsContrasts and Contradictions
The Signpost and Definition
A sharp contrast between what we would
expect and what we observe the character
doing; behavior that contradicts previous
behavior or well-establish patterns.

3. Contrasts and ContradictionsContrasts and Contradictions

4. Contrasts and ContradictionsContrasts and Contradictions
Clues to the Signpost
A character behaves or thinks in a way we
don’t expect, or an element of a setting is
something we would not expect.

5. Contrasts and ContradictionsContrasts and Contradictions
The Question That Follows
Why would the character act (feel) this way?

6. Aha MomentAha Moment
The Signpost and Definition
A character’s realization of something that
shifts his actions or understanding of himself,
others, or the world around him.

7. Aha MomentAha Moment

8. Aha MomentAha Moment
Clues to the Signpost
Phrases usually expressing suddenness,
like:
 “Suddenly, I understood…”
 “It came to me in a flash that…”
 “In an instant, I knew…”

9. Aha MomentAha Moment
The Question That Follows
How might this change things?

10. Tough QuestionsTough Questions
The Signpost and Definition
Questions a character raises that reveal his or
her inner struggles.

11. Tough QuestionsTough Questions

12. Tough QuestionsTough Questions
Clues to the Signpost
Phrases usually expressing serious daoubt or
confusion:
 “What could I possibly do?”
 “How could I ever understand why she…?”
 I couldn’t imagine how I could cope with…”

13. Tough QuestionsTough Questions
The Question That Follows
What does this question
make me wonder about?

14. Words of the WiserWords of the Wiser
The Signpost and Definition
The advice or insight a wiser character, who
is usually older, offers about life to the main
character.

15. Words of the WiserWords of the Wiser

16. Words of the WiserWords of the Wiser
Clues to the Signpost
The main character and another are usually
off by themselves, in a quiet, serious moment,
and the wiser figure shares his wisdom or
advice in an effort to help the main character
with a problem or a decision.

17. Words to the WiserWords to the Wiser
The Question That Follows
What’s the life lesson and how might it affect
the character?

18. Again and AgainAgain and Again
The Signpost and Definition
Events, images, or particular words that recur
over a portion of the novel.

19. Again and AgainAgain and Again

20. Again and AgainAgain and Again
Clues to the Signpost
A word is repeated, sometimes used in an odd
way, over and over in the story.
An image reappears several times during the
course of the book.

21. Again and AgainAgain and Again
The Question That Follows
Why might the author
bring this up
again and again?

22. Memory MomentMemory Moment
The Signpost and Definition
A recollection by a character that interrupts
the forward progress of the story.

23. Memory MomentMemory Moment

24. Memory MomentMemory Moment
Clues to the Signpost
The ongoing flow of the narrative is
interrupted by a memory that comes to the
character, often taking several paragraphs to
recount before we return to events of the
present moment.

25. Memory MomentMemory Moment
The Question That Follows
Why might
this memory be
important?

26. Work Cited
Beers, K., & Probst, R. E. (2013). Notice and
Note: Strategies for Close Reading.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.