Liberty by Julia Alvarez

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Libertyby Julia Alvarez
Feature Menu
Introducing the Selection Literary Skills Focus
Plot Conflict and Resolution Reading Skills
Focus Analyzing Details Writing Skills Focus
Think as a Reader/Writer
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Liberty Introducing the Selection
Why might a person or a family need to escape
from their homeland?
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Liberty Introducing the Selection
Click on the title to start the video.
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Liberty Introducing the Selection
When a family gets a new dog, the playful puppy
creates tension. The narrator adores the puppy,
but it annoys her mother.
Still, a bratty puppy is nothing compared to the
big change the narrator and her family will soon
experience.
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Liberty Introducing the Selection
When the narrator is forced to abandon her home
late one night, she is devastated to learn that
she cant take the puppy, Liberty, with her.
Where is the narrator going? And why must she
leave Liberty behind?
End of Section
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Liberty Literary Skills Focus Plot Conflict
and Resolution
A conflict is a struggle.
Two characters sometimes oppose each other.
One character might struggle against a whole
group.
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Liberty Literary Skills Focus Plot Conflict
and Resolution
A conflict can exist inside a character.
A character might struggle with an internal
conflict to overcome fear or to gain confidence.
A character may also struggle with an external
conflict or outside force.
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Liberty Literary Skills Focus Plot Conflict
and Resolution
As a story winds down, the characters problems
are resolved in the plots resolution.
In a mystery
In a fairy tale
In an adventure
the clues are explained.
they all live happily ever after.
the survivors may be rescued.
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Liberty Literary Skills Focus Plot Conflict
and Resolution
Sometimes a storys characters may struggle
against the societal expectations revealed in the
story, igniting conflicts for those characters.
As was the case for most young women in her town,
Erin was expected to join the tennis team.
Instead, she fought to become the first woman on
her high schools football team.
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Liberty Literary Skills Focus Plot Conflict
and Resolution
In the following passage, what social and
historical conflicts are revealed by the story?
Grace pressed her hands on the boardroom table
and braced herself. She was the only woman in the
room. A portrait of the companys first
president seemed to frown at her. Some of the men
seated at the table rolled their eyes, while
others doodled on their notepads. Grace cleared
her throat and began her presentation. Ill prove
them wrong, she thought. Im a mother and a
professional.
Grace pressed her hands on the boardroom table
and braced herself. She was the only woman in the
room. A portrait of the companys first president
seemed to frown at her. Some of the men seated at
the table rolled their eyes, while others doodled
on their notepads. Grace cleared her throat and
began her presentation. Ill prove them wrong,
she thought. Im a mother and a professional.
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Liberty Literary Skills Focus Plot Conflict
and Resolution
Uninterested men sit at a table near a frowning
mans portrait They may consider women like
Grace unimportant or unwelcome.
The story hints that social conditions do not yet
support women in the business world.
What conflicts might the situation create for
Grace?

• She might struggle to overcome biases against
  her.
• She might fight temptations to back down and quit.

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Liberty Literary Skills Focus Plot Conflict
and Resolution
Read, then listen to, the following passage from
Liberty.
The American consul wanted to thank us for all
wed done for him since hed been assigned to our
country. If he wanted to thank us, hed give us
our visas, Mami grumbled. For a while now, my
parents had been talking about going to the
United States so Papi could return to school.
How does the situation spark conflict? What do
you think the resolution will be?
End of Section
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Liberty Reading Skills Focus Analyzing Details
The details a writer uses in a story can tell you
many things.
Details about a situation can
help you understand a characters thoughts or
feelings.
The lights of the Golden Gate Bridge made me
smile.
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Liberty Reading Skills Focus Analyzing Details
The details a writer uses in a story can tell you
many things.
Details about a characters thoughts or feelings
help you understand the conflict.
The doctor has struggled against his fear of
giving bad news.
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Liberty Reading Skills Focus Analyzing Details
The details a writer uses in a story can tell you
many things. Read this passage from Liberty.
The image of the two men in mirror glasses
flashed through my head. So as not to think about
them, I put my arm around Liberty and buried my
face in his neck.
What details does the author use to tell you how
the narrator feels?
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Liberty Reading Skills Focus Analyzing Details
Into Action As you read, create a chart to
record and analyze details in Liberty.
Into Action Details
Detail What It
Tells Me
Papi and Mami look scared when talking about
leaving their country.
The situation is dangerous they are worried
about what might happen.
Mami would rather have visas than a puppy.
End of Section
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Liberty Writing Skills Focus Think as a
Reader/Writer
Find It in Your Reading
In Liberty, Alvarez tells the story through the
voice of a young girl struggling to understand
the events going on around her.
He ate all of Mamis orchids, and that little
hyperactive baton of a tail knocked things off
the low coffee table whenever Liberty climbed on
the couch to leave his footprints in among the
flower prints. He tore up Mamis garden looking
for buried treasure. Mami screamed at Liberty and
stamped her foot. Perro sin vergüenza! But
Liberty just barked back at her.
Note details in the story that suggest the
narrator does not understand everything that is
happening.
End of Section
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Vocabulary
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Liberty Vocabulary
distracted adj. not able to concentrate
unfocused.
admonitions n. scoldings warnings.
impression n. idea notion.
inconsolable adj. unable to be comforted
brokenhearted.
resort v. turn to something when in need.
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LibertyVocabulary
When your friend is distracted, you may have
trouble getting her attention because she is not
focusing on you.
How do you get your friends attention when shes
distracted?
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LibertyVocabulary
Which of the following students appears to be
most distracted during class?
b.
c.
a.
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LibertyVocabulary
Which of the following students appears to be
most distracted during class?
b.
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LibertyVocabulary

• Many parents are known for their
  admonitionstheir scoldings or warningswhich
  they often may repeat.

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LibertyVocabulary

• The basketball coachs admonition to her players
  was to pay attention and learn the plays.

What did her players probably do to deserve the
admonition?

1. They listened carefully.
2. They chatted noisily.
3. They practiced hard.

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LibertyVocabulary

• The basketball coachs admonition to her players
  was to pay attention and learn the plays.

What did her players probably do to deserve the
admonition?

1. They listened carefully.
2. They chatted noisily.
3. They practiced hard.

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LibertyVocabulary

• When you get an impression of someone, you get an
  idea of what he or she is like.

First impressions, however, dont always show all
sides of a person.
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LibertyVocabulary

• Marcus got the impression that his friends were
  avoiding him. What happened that gave Marcus this
  idea?

1. They didnt answer his phone calls.
2. They smiled as he approached their lockers.
3. They invited him to play football.

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LibertyVocabulary

• Marcus got the impression that his friends were
  avoiding him. What happened that gave Marcus this
  idea?

1. They didnt answer his phone calls.
2. They smiled as he approached their lockers.
3. They invited him to play football.

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LibertyVocabulary

• No matter what his friends said to try to comfort
  him, Frank was inconsolable after losing his
  eight-page research paper.
• He knew hed have to start over from the
  beginning.

How is Frank feeling right now?
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LibertyVocabulary
Despite her mothers attempts to make her feel
better, Maria was inconsolable after receiving
her test results.

• How did Maria do on the test?
• She scored higher than shed hoped.
• She scored lower than shed expected.
• She scored as well as shed planned.

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LibertyVocabulary
Despite her mothers attempts to make her feel
better, Maria was inconsolable after receiving
her test results.

• How did Maria do on the test?
• She scored higher than shed hoped.
• She scored lower than shed expected.
• She scored as well as shed planned.

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LibertyVocabulary
Because she wasnt getting what she wanted, Susan
resorted to pouting.
Still, her mother didnt give in.
Why might Susan have felt the need to turn to
pouting to get what she wanted?
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LibertyVocabulary
When Grandma realized that the restaurant was out
of salad, she resorted to ordering chicken.

• Grandma probably
• was a little disappointed.
• felt relieved.
• didnt care either way.

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LibertyVocabulary
When Grandma realized that the restaurant was out
of salad, she resorted to ordering chicken.

• Grandma probably
• was a little disappointed.
• felt relieved.
• didnt care either way.

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The End
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Preview the Selection
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LibertyPreview the Selection
In this story, youll meet an unnamed young girl
who lives with her family in an unnamed island
country that is undergoing political upheaval.
As the family prepares to move, the narrator must
face what she has to leave behind.
End of Section
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QuickWrite
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Liberty QuickWrite
People often have mixed feelings about leaving a
place, even when they are leaving to escape
danger.
Write down some reasons people might have for
leaving their homes, and describe how they might
feel.
End of Section
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Meet the Writer
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Liberty Meet the Writer
When Julia Alvarez was ten years old, she and her
family fled to the United States from the
Dominican Republic. As a student in the U.S.,
Alvarez was inspired by an English teacher who
asked students to write stories about themselves.
Writing helps Alvarez understand both
countriesthe Dominican Republic and the United
States.
More About the Writer
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Build Background
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Liberty
Build Background
Liberty likely takes place in the Dominican
Republic. Julia Alvarez lived there until her
family was forced to leave because of her
fathers opposition to the dictator Rafael
Trujillo.
During Trujillos time in power, Dominicans had
limited civil rights, and the secret police dealt
brutally with anyone who opposed Trujillo.
End of Section