Students should build a daily habit of reading for a minimum of 15-20 minutes each evening at home. You may read any book you like, but it should be a regular habit. The following resources are available to help you with access to books.
We read daily in class. Students should always have self-selected books on hand. These books may be brought from home or checked out from the Rice MS library, public library, or from teacher's classroom libraries.
Access your Plano ISD library account online:
Library Card ID: Student ID
PIN: network log-in password
Database and ebook login:
Username: planoisd
Password: connect19!
Plano Public Library has many virtual programs going on throughout the fall for students and their families. We are offering curbside hold pick-ups, virtual STEAM workshops, access to FREE online tutoring and much more.
Teen Technology Kits to learn more about coding and robotics (catalog here)
STAAR testing and PSAT resources through Learning Express
Homework review and help with Tutor.com
Take a virtual field trip around the world with one of our librarians to see Machu Picchu, Grand Canyon, Van Gogh Museum and more
Learn Adobe Creative Cloud apps with step by step videos
Things to do from home:
Place a hold for an age appropriate STEAM Kit or Book Bundle
Check out a database to help with virtual schooling: Tutor.com; Learning Express or Pronunciator
Sign up to receive Check It Out, our eNewsletter
Contact the library via phone or email to get connected with more information and resources
Library cards are free for Plano residents and residents of the following reciprocal cities: Allen, Frisco, Garland, McKinney, Richardson, The Colony, and Wylie. Signing up for a library card online is a great step towards lifelong learning at the library.
To access ebooks:
Visit the Rice Middle School Library website.
Select Middle School Resources from the left menu.
Expand the Ebooks category.
Choose an option and follow the directions.
Use Advanced Search to limit your results to Digital Catalog (Middle School) to search for specific titles.
To access our online textbook, go to your PISD Webdesk (webdesk.pisd.edu).
Login using your PISD credentials (first.last.1@mypisd.net)
Click on the PISD Pearson icon.
Allegory: The characters are representative of some larger humanistic trait and attempt to convey some larger lesson or meaning in life.
Allusion: A reference to something in history, culture or literature (especially historical).
Connotation: Implied meaning of the word is the associated meaning that comes from its use in various social contexts; will change over time and vary from location to location.
Diction: the author's choice of words to imply some social or connotative meaning.
Symbolism: A person, place, event or object that has a deeper meaning that its literal meaning.
Imagery: The author's attempt to create a mental picture in the mind of the reader.
Irony: A twist of fate in which the results of action are not the expected results.
Metaphor: A comparison of two generally unlike things meant to illuminate truth.
Motif: A recurring image or idea.
Tone: The author's voice or attitude about what he or she writes
Mood: The feeling a reader gets from a story.
Characterization: The creation and development of the people in a story.
Protagonist: The character the story revolves around.
Antagonist: The force that works against the protagonist.
Flat Characters: Uncomplicated and predictable minor characters who “fill a space” in the story.
Round Characters: Realistic, life-like, complex characters with complicated, multi-faceted personalities.
Static Characters: Characters who do not change throughout the story.
Dynamic Characters: Characters who go through a significant change during the story, usually as the result of a major epiphany.
Primary Characters: The characters most relevant to the story, such as the protagonist and the antagonist.
Secondary Characters: Characters who are part of the story and have an impact on the plot, but who are less significant.
Foil: A minor character who contrasts a major character so that the major character’s qualities are easier to notice.
Plot: The events that occur in a story.
Subplot: A secondary plot strand that is a supporting side story for the main plot.
Structure: The way that the writer arranges the plot of a story.
Point of View: Refers to whether that story is told by a character or an outside observer.
Conflict: The struggle a character must overcome.
Setting: Where and when the action takes place.
Exposition: The background information of a story.
Climax: The point in the story where the conflict is at its peak.
Crisis: A significant turning point in the story that determines how it must end.
Flashback: A strategy of plot sequencing where the author takes the reader back to events that occurred before the present time in the story.
Foreshadowing: Use of clues to suggest something that is going to happen.
Suspense: The tension that the author uses to create a feeling of discomfort about the unknown.
Resolution: The conclusion of the story.
Theme: The central idea or lesson about life that an author conveys.