This unit serves as a primer in what it means to participate in an intense reading workshop. It introduces students to a variety of instructional methods and coaches both teachers and students in how to harness those methods to increase reading expertise and independence. Students will grow as readers of narrative texts by learning to consider ways writers reveal complex character traits, investigate how setting can shape characters, and analyze how characters are vehicles for themes. Throughout the unit, students also learn to take charge of their reading lives by annotating the text and jotting notes in ways that deepen their thinking and prepare them for smart literary conversations with other readers.