Chapter 14: Comprehension: Instruction and Assessment - Understanding and Analyzing Narrative/Literary Texts

Question 1

Define the major genres of children’s literature and describe an instructional format for teaching children about these genres.

Answer 1

Genres are categories of literature, Teachers can teach children to better understand the shared characteristics of each genre by focusing on the types of characters, plots, and settings that usually appear in each genre.

1. Traditional Literature or Folktales - trickster tales, oral, exaggeration, explain the world around them
2. Modern Fantasy - stories that play with the laws of nature. Charlotte’s Web. Toys and dolls act like people
3. High Fantasy - struggle between good and evil. Set in fantastic word, quest, hero: Harry Potter
4. Science Fiction - high fantasy with futuristic technology
5. Contemporary Realistic Fiction - present day, Ramona Quimby by Beverly Clearly
6. Historical Fiction - realistic stories set in the past. Island of the Blue Dolphins
7. Biography - informational books that tell the story of a real person’s life
8. Poetry:
   A. Ballad - tells a story set to music, Stanza’s have four lines,
   B. Lyric - expresses personal feelings.
   C. Couplet - pair of lines in a poem that usually rhyme and have same meter (number of syllables)
   D. Epic - long poem telling a story, usually of heroic deeds
   E. Sonnet - form of lyric poetry with 14 lines

Teaching Literary Genres
1. Character - High Fantasy have an experienced wizard or magician and an undiscovered hero

2. Plot-High fantasy - plot struggle between good vs evil.
3. Setting - high fantasy - fake place such as Howard’s
4. Mood - high fantasy - dark and ominous, sometimes good triumphs
5. Theme - high fantasy - nature of good vs evil

Question 2

Describe instructional strategies to teach children about the literary elements.

Answer 2

Know how to describe a lesson using Story Grammar Outlines. If you have a test question in which a child, or group of children, is having difficulty answering literal comprehension questions, describe a lesson using Story Grammar Outlines to teach children to isolate and identify the important events in a story.

Literary Elements: character, plot, setting, mood, theme, style

1. Character - protagonist and antagonist
2. Plot - introduction, rising action, conflict, climax, falling action (denouement)
3. Setting - time and place. Backdrop or integral.
4. Mood - descriptive words, foreshadowing
5. Theme - important message. Explicit or implicit. If a student is having trouble work with fairytales or fables where the theme is more clear
6. Style - how it is I written

Instruction of Literary Elements: Story Maps

• bubbles that branch out to show characters, events, locations etc.
• Star Diagram Story Map: star with what, when, where, why, how, who work in groups to fill out the star map

Instruction in the Elements: Story Grammar Outlines 
Setting:
Characters:
Problem:
A. Event 1
B. Event 2.
C. Event 3
Resolution:
Theme:

Question 3

Define instructional strategies that engage children in literary analysis and literary criticism

Answer 3

While teaching children how to engage in literary analysis and literary criticism is important, your focus should be on Story Grammar Outlines.

1. Identifying the structural elements of a plot: did that make sense?
2. Comparing and contrasting motivations and reactions of characters: Why/how is this character behaving?
3. Evaluating the relevance of the setting: conflict between characters, antagonist, amplify character, establish mood, symbol
4. Identifying recurring themes: comments about human condition

Question 4

Describe oral language activities that can be used with children’s literature.

Answer 4

Think-Pair-Share is a cooperative learning format that can be used repeatedly for oral language activities, You should be able to describe an activity using it.

TPS- think individually about a question about plot, character, setting, theme etc. Pair up and discuss to come up with an answer. S with the whole class.

Question 5

Describe writing activities that can be used with literature.

Answer 5

Many teachers require students to write about their responses to literature in a journal dedicated to just that purpose, these are called literature journals or literature logs.

1. Literature Journals -Quotes and Notes - quote the book and write a response. Double Entry Journals - student comment on one side and leaves space for another student to write a reply
2. Essays
3. Topics: Literary Elements
4. Topics: Features of the Genres - what similarities or differences do you see in the setting of the two high fantasy novels?

Question 6

Differentiate instruction with children’s literature for struggling readers, English learners, and advanced learners.

Answer 6

Whether they are listening to their teacher read aloud or reading a book themselves, English Learners and Struggling Readers will benefit greatly from well-designed vocabulary lessons on key words that will appear in the text.

Struggling Readers

1. Access to grade level text through oral presentation
2. Key elements of Story Grammar
3. Use story Maps - helps understand the relationships
4. Reteaching Skills and Strategies with Concrete Examples - use pictures of the events to be placed in proper order rather then written description

English Learners

1. Clarifying cultural context of text - Charlotte’s Web the beginning Fern challenged her father’s decision to get rid of the runt pig, in some cultures you would never challenge a parent
2. Pre-teaching key vocabulary - even if orally red.

Advanced Learners

1. Advanced texts
2. Building knowledge - create your own Story Grammar Outline instead of using a remade one that the teacher created
3. Extending depth and breadth of assignments - respond to setting and theme, not just character

Question 7

Describe the assessment devices used to asses comprehension of literary texts and literary response skills.

Answer 7

Teachers can evaluate students’ knowledge of literary genres and ability to engage in literary analysis and criticism through oral assessments, which are better for young learners, or through written assessments.

Free and focused - free response “who has something they would like to say about polar express? Focused - we have read two books from Margaret wise brown and two from Dr. Seuss. Do these authors tell their stories the same way? (Based on style)

Analysis of Results:

1. Incorporate all literary elements
2. Make Connections: TT, TS, TW
3. Evidence from Text

Analysis
Standards and why
Class Profile
Individual Profile

Question 8

13.1 Define narrative text

Answer 8

Narrative text - stories written accounts of actual or fictional stories,

Question 9

13.1 Define genre

Answer 9

Genre - category, or type of literature.

Question 10

13.1 Elements of a story grammar

Answer 10

Story Grammar - character, plot, setting, mood, theme, style

Question 11

13.2 Instruction of comprehension of narrative/literary texts

Answer 11

story elements, literal comprehension: story maps - visual representation of certain elements of the story

Question 12

13.3 Assessment for comprehension fo narrative/literary texts

Answer 12

Analysis of discussion and writing: TT TS TW

Question 13

13.4 Differentiation of comprehension of narrative/literary texts

Answer 13

Struggling Readers - focus on key elements of story grammar

EL - clarify the cultural context of a story