Teaching for Understanding in Fiction

Teaching For Understanding In Fiction Presented by Angela Maiers Angelamaiers.com Omaha Public Schools January 13, 2009

OR

A Hedge Hog School

Core Competencies

Signature Practices

Reflect Mission

WHAT HOW Assessing the Mission

21 st Century Expectations Code Breaker Text User Meaning Maker Text Critic

Goals:

Reading vs. Understanding

Exploring Plot/ Lit Elements

Planning for Mini Lessons

Fiction 2.0

Fiction is…

All that mankind has done, thought, gained, or been, is lying, as in magic preservation in the pages of a book! ~William Shakespeare~

What makes a Story Good?

Fiction is…

Plot

Characterization

Setting

Point of View

Climax

Resolution

Conclusion

Theme

Understanding of Plot Structure

Variations of Plot- Circular, Parallel, etc…

Identify Problem Resolution, Conclusion

Elements of Plot: Characterization, Setting, Theme

Literary Devices: Foreshadow, flashback, Satire, Irony

Vocabulary Challenges

Language Aspects: Synonyms, Homonyms, Antonyms

Mood

Tone

Character Analysis: emotion, intentions, qualities, actions

Feelings and Traits

Writers Craft

Form, Structure, Genre

Characteristics of Language: rhyme, rhythm, repetition

Figurative Language

Metaphor, Simile, Hyperbole

Identify theme and moral of text

Authors message, purpose, intention

AND SO ON….

AND SO ON….

AND SO ON…

Put the following elements of plot in order by the way they appear in a story: Resolution, Theme, Climax, Conclusion, Falling Action, Introduction, Rising Action, Problem, Mood

What significant information does a reader learn in the introduction of a story, and how does this influence their reading during the rest of the text?

How would you define conflict to your students in a way they could identify it in a story?

Describe the differences between the rising and falling action?

How does a reader identify the climax of the story so that it is not confused with other story events?

How is point of view defined fiction text and what is the significance of it?

7. Define theme and name two ways that writers of fiction leave clues to the theme of the story.

Big Ideas in Fiction

the part of a book, magazine, argument, film, poem, text, etc… that articulates the authors message or ideas about the underlying topic or theme which may or may not be explicitly stated. BIG IDEA…

Inferring Imaging Questioning Monitoring Synthesizing Using Schema Det. Importance

“ Life” Story “ Book” Story (THEME) Fiction = Stories of Life

Considering Genre...

U nderstanding Literary Elements

Plot

Characterization

Setting

Point of View

Climax

Resolution

Conclusion

Theme

C C C C S

P P

CON

R

*

Plot Structure Plot is the literary element that describes the structure of a story. It shows the a causal arrangement of events and actions within a story.

Plot: Introduction: Problem: (Issue, desire, focused interest or character flaw that impacts the main character) * (this will sometimes include elements from the rising action and the climax; when students understand this framework well, then move them to differentiate between rising action and climax) Resolution: (this may sometimes appear on the last page with the conclusion, but it is more common to be before; remember…this is what has transitioned with the problem) Conclusion: (remember – this is the last physical thing you visually available at the end of the text) 2 3 4 5 6 8 7 Characters: Setting: 1

Role Cards for Retelling Plot Structure: Type, Variations, Craft… Characterization: Types, Feelings, Traits Introduction: Chara, Setting, Set Up… Literary Devices Problem /Conflict Explored Viewpoint/Tone Mood Re s olution /Conclusion Language Elements: Word Choices, Style, … I think the author wrote this story to show us... (THEME)

Teaching FICTION

Plot

Characterization

Conflict

Theme

Plot Structure Plot is the literary element that describes the structure of a story. It shows the a causal arrangement of events and actions within a story.

Types of Plots

Plots can be told in…

Circular Episodic Chronological order Flashback In media res (in the middle of things) when the story starts in the middle of the action without exposition

Getting To Know the Character

Character 4-Square

Facts About the Character Actions Conversations Thoughts and Feelings

Book ________________________________ Character_____________________________ Character Evaluation Page # CharacterTraits Like Myself? Like a Friend? Like someone from another story?

Character Sketch Name: Live: Friends/Family Physical Description: What do they want more than anything? ( deep desires) Fears Character Traits

Story Development Chart Chapter___ Chapter___ Chapter___ Chapter___ Chapter___ Characters focused on during this chapter... Techniques used by the author to clarify events or create visual images... Traits and/or feelings revealed about main character... Traits or understandings revealed about others... Conflict or issues revealed... I believe the main problem the character is dealing with is... Purpose of this chapter or the main idea that moves the story forward...

Conflict

Conflict is the dramatic struggle between two forces in a story. Without conflict, there is no plot.

Types of Conflict Person vs. Fate Person vs Nature Person vs Society Person vs Self Person vs Person

1. Below are three boxes that contain the three basic types of fiction. In each box, write anything you know about that genre that makes it different from the other two. Realism Fantasy Traditional Tales 3. Write what you understand about the following terms. Characters: Setting: Plot: Antagonist: Protagonist: Static: Dynamic: 4. What is the difference between the author and the illustrator? 2. Look in the books provided and select one title to represent each type of fiction above. Use a post-it-note to label each book according to the type of fiction. What I Know About Fiction

Koesel 2003 May be copied for classroom use by teachers

Immerse yourself within the genre as an ADULT reader

Read, reflect, and document the essential elements worth pointing out to students

Gather a range of texts and levels for student exploration and practice

Set your goals and map out a plan for the study period

Instead of…

Fiction 2.0

There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories.

-Ursula LeGuin-

It seemed to Myop as she skipped lightly from hen house to pigpen to smokehouse that the days

had never been as beautiful as these. The air held a keenness that made her nose twitch. The

harvesting of the corn and cotton, peanuts and squash, made each day a golden surprise that

caused excited little tremors to run up her jaws.

Myop carried a short, knobby stick. She struck out at random at chickens she liked, and worked out

the beat of a song on the fence around the pigpen. She felt light and good in the warm sun. She

was ten, and nothing existed for her but her song, the stick clutched in her dark brown hand, and

the tat-de-ta-ta-ta of accompaniment,

Turning her back on the rusty boards of her family's sharecropper cabin, Myop walked along the

fence till it ran into the stream made by rooted. Myop watched the tiny white bubbles disrupt the thin

black scale of soil and the water that silently rose and slid away down the stream.She had explored

the woods behind the house many times. Often, in late autumn, her mother took her to gather nuts

among the fallen leaves.

Today she made her own path, bouncing this way and that way, vaguely keeping an eye out for

snakes. She found, in addition to various common but pretty ferns and leaves, an armful of strange

blue flowers with velvety ridges and a sweet suds bush full of the brown, fragrant buds.

By twelve o'clock, her arms laden with sprigs of her findings, she was a mile or more from home.

She had often been as far before, but the strangeness of the land made it not as pleasant as her

usual haunts. It seemed gloomy in the little cove in which she found

herself. The air was damp, the silence close and deep.

Myop began to circle back to the house, back to the peacefulness of the

morning. It was then she stepped smack into his eyes. Her

only when she saw his naked grin that she gave a little yelp of surprise.

He had been a tall man. From feet to neck covered a long space. His head lay

beside him. When she pushed back the leaves and layers of earth and debris

Myop saw that he'd had large white teeth, all of them cracked or broken, long

fingers, and very big bones. All his clothes had rotted away except some

threads of blue denim from his overalls. The buckles of the overall had turned

green.

Myop gazed around the spot with interest. Very near where she'd stepped into

the head was a wild pink rose. As she picked it to add to her bundle she noticed

a raised mound, a ring, around the rose's root. It was the rotted remains of a

noose, a bit of shredding plowline, now blending benignly into the soil. Around

an overhanging limb of a great spreading oak clung another piece. Frayed,

rotted, bleached, and frazzled--barely there--but spinning restlessly in the

breeze. Myop laid down her flowers.

And the summer was over.

Fairy Tale

Characters, which may have magical abilities, often are distinguished as good or evil.

Plot often leads to the defeat of evil.

Setting may take place “long, long ago.”

Theme is often a lesson learned about good and evil.

Realistic Fiction

Characters are fictional, yet could be real.

Plot of the story is fictional, but could happen in real life.

Problems often present modern-day issues.

Settings present real-life times and places.

Historical Fiction

Characters are fictional, but may be based on real people.

Real, famous characters may enter the story.

Plot often includes real events or the past mixed with fictional events.

Setting may be in a known historical place.

An accurate historical time period is portrayed.

Mystery

Characters are all involved with the mystery in some way.

Problem centers on a mystery or a puzzle that needs a solution.

Plot contains clues to lead and mislead the reader.

Setting is realistic and recognizable to readers.

Fantasy

Fictional characters may have magical or supernatural powers.

Plot stretches the reader’s imagination and is not scientifically possible.

Setting is modern and realistic in many ways, although at times it takes a fantastical turn.

Science Fiction

Characters often solve problems through their knowledge and use of science and technology.

Plots revolve around events that may actually happen based on scientific facts, although it is fantasy.

Setting often takes place in the future in a world of modern science and technology.

Fable

Characters are fictional and may be portrayed as animals with human traits.

Plot builds a short tale.

The setting may not be important in order to make the story universal.

Theme presents a moral lesson.

Plot A definition of plot in secondary institutions is more detailed than that of elementary texts. It is much more concrete not only for students, but also for teachers. Plot includes specific elements from beginning of a story to the end – but are labeled more specifically than sequence of events. Below you will find a brief definition of each part of the plot structure. Introduction : Specific things we want readers to notice about the introduction include: who is introduced in the beginning and what the setting is during the opening of this story. Things we can have students reflect on after the reading of the text include analysis of these characters to determine their roles and significance as well as the importance of any other characters introduced later in the text. We can have them also consider the importance of the setting and any changes that occur. Problem: The problem in a text is a conflict or struggle that the main character(s) is(are) facing. It can stem from something that the character desperately wants or could reflect character flaws. The problem in a text usually comes within the first few pages of a picture book or the first chapter of a novel. It is this problem that throws the progression of the rising action into full force. Rising Action: The major events that move the story forward are the events. This is the part of the story in which tension is built. Understanding problem and resolution help a reader determine importance of these events. We must be careful about having students find “three major events”. Putting an exact number on this can give students a false understanding about what they are to identify. They focus on “three” instead of sifting through the information and justifying for themselves what seems to be critical.

Climax: The climax is the “Aha!” or turning point of a story. For students, however, this definition by itself is still intangible. It is the place in the story where they can find the most critical event that creates the environment for the resolution. Resolution: Commonly called the “solution”, although the definition is really a bit deeper than the character’s problem being solved or going away. When we as readers can understand this element of plot on a deeper level, we begin to get a strong sense of the author’s message. Sometimes a problem is solved on a very simplistic scale. This is reflective of some early reader texts. However, more often than not, resolution is about coming to terms with a particular conflict or achieving something that was strongly desired. Stories with good plot structure include characters who walk away from the story changed in some manner. They become more aware of themselves and the relationships they encounter throughout the journey of the text. Conclusion: The conclusion of a story is the last scene within the story. It is the final picture we have before the curtain falls at the end of the performance. There are three basic types of conclusions: closed, open and cliffhanger. Closed Endings: These are the endings that give us the warm fuzzy at the end of a story. There is a definite closure that allows us to leave the book feeling satisfied with the outcome. Open Endings: A story may end without a clear feeling of closure. The reader has to infer the outcomes based on the information given in the book. ? Cliffhangers: We find these endings at the end of chapters or novels that will have a sequel. They abruptly end at a very intense part of the plot, possibly without a clear resolution to entice the reader to want to read more.

Theme: Universal understandings that authors write about in their stories. growing up jealousy making friends success fear siblings romance trickery failure change overcoming injustice power arrogance death superficial love courage acceptance selfishness being ordinary moving on family relationships (beginning, ending, trials within) wealth

Alliteration- repetition of identical consonant sounds. Usually at the beginnings of words - such as “The infamous killer fought for his freedom, wanting not flesh but retreat.” Analogy - a comparison between two things to show their similarities by comparing something unfamiliar to something familiar Anecdote- short account of a true event in a person’s life used to raise points, explain ideas or describe personalities. Antagonist- person or force that opposes the protagonist Autobiography- story of a person’s life written by that person. A diary is a from that gives day by day events. Character- person in a literary work static- remains the same through out the work dynamic- changes due to the influence of events or other people flat - reveals one personality trait round- shows a variety of complex and sometimes contradictory traits. foil - a character that exhibits traits completely opposite of the main character Literary Terms

Characterization- personality of character and the method the author uses to create this personality. direct - writer states facts about the character indirect -character revealed through physical appearance, the way they move, the way they talk, what they say and what other characters say about them. Climax- point of highest tension and excitement in a narrative - the turning point of the story Colloquial language- everyday language used in conversation Conflict - struggle between two opposing forces, center of plot Internal - within a person –person vs. self External - character struggles with an outside force, such as nature, a person, society, and fate Connotation - all suggested meanings and associations a word brings to mind beyond its denotation or literal meaning Literary Terms

Connotation - all suggested meanings and associations a word brings to mind beyond its denotation or literal meaning Description - writing that creates an impression of a person, place or thing to enhance poems, stories, and nonfiction Dialect - type of speech that differs from the standard form of language, occurring in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar Dialogue - conversation between characters in drama, fiction, nonfiction, epic, or dramatic poem—reveals characters’ thoughts nd opinions and allows for interplay of ideas Diary - individual’s personal day-by-day account of impressions of events, may be chronicled in a journal-less intimate than a diary Diction - choice of words to fit a character, theme, setting, or subject of a poem, story, essay, or play—used to express what is intended Figurative Language - language not meant to be interpreted literally, but used in a special way to create a special effect: analogy, hyperbole, metaphor, onomatopoeia, simile, idioms Literary Terms

Flashback - interruption to relate events that occurred earlier, used in stream of consciousness and conventional narratives Foreshadowing - use of clues by the author to prepare reader for events to come Genre - is the French word for the type of literature biography fables fairy tales fantasy folk tales historical non-fiction realistic fiction science fiction fiction legends/myths Imagery- words or phrases that evoke sensory images in the reader’s mind, Visual is most common, but others occur. Interior Monologue- internal speech by a single speaker provided by the narrator to explain a characters’ personalities or to reveal their thoughts. Journal- daily record of events kept by an individual who is a participant or witness in the events - used toe learn about people and history Literary Terms

Lead- opening sentences that introduce a piece of writing and gain the reader’s attention: the “hook” Legend- traditional tale, handed down, that is based on history: King Arthur Mood- emotional feeling and atmosphere in a work of literature, created by description, actions of characters, and setting eerie playful tense mysterious serious exciting sad tumultuous Narrative- writing that tells a story in chronological order, has evolved into the novel Narrator- storyteller stated - announced explicitly implied- revealed indirectly Tone- the attitude the writer expresses towards the subject ad reader. May be casual, angry, amused or indifferent. Literary Terms

Narrative Hook - point in the story, novel or play where the author catches the reader’s attention by presenting an interesting problem or situation that begins the conflict Onomatopoeia - words with sounds that imitate or suggest their meanings: thump, crack Personification -figure of speech where human traits are given to inanimate objects, animals or ideas Plot – structure in which fiction is framed around; relates to the struggles the main character goes through ; begins with introduction , then narrative hook (problem is announced), rising action, climax, falling action and resolution , conclusion Point of View - relationship of the narrator to the story 1st person - story told by one of the characters 3rd person - story told by someone outside of the story omniscient - told as if the writer is able to read the minds of all of the characters Literary Terms

Protagonist - central character of the story who usually receives the reader’s sympathies Style - author’s choice and arrangement of words in any kind of writing to convey individuality, theme and purpose Theme - main idea of story, usually expressed as a statement about life Literary Terms