Comp 14: Comprehension: Instruction and Assessment- Understanding and Analyzing Narrative/Literary texts

Question 1

Retelling

Answer 1

Students retell a section that has been read to them or read independently. This can be done orally or in writing.

Question 2

Literary Response Journals

Answer 2

After reading, students write their thoughts. Their responses can be open-ended or related to a prompt.

Question 3

Predicting

Answer 3

Using information gathered, say what you think will happen in the next part of the story.

Question 4

Textually Explicit

Answer 4

Information is derived directly from the text.

Question 5

Textually Implicit

Answer 5

the readers need to use their background knowledge to understand what the text is saying.

Question 6

Formative Assessment

Answer 6

Ongoing assessment that is used to inform further instruction.

Question 7

Story Maps

Answer 7

A graphic organizer that helps students identify the elements of a story.

Question 8

Text Structures

Answer 8

The way the author has organized her or his ideas.

Question 9

Story Grammar

Answer 9

Used to help analyze the story in parts, such as characters, setting, conflict, resolution, etc.

Question 10

Character Analysis

Answer 10

The process of identifying specific traits of a character.

Question 11

Plot Analysis

Answer 11

Understanding the connection between major events in the story.

Question 12

Narrative Texts

Answer 12

stories- written accounts of actual or fictional events, including short stories or novels

Question 13

Expository Texts

Answer 13

texts that provide information about a topic. Including textbooks or instructions

Question 14

Literary

Answer 14

having to do with literature

Question 15

Literary Analysis

Answer 15

process of studying or examining a story

Question 16

Literary Criticism

Answer 16

one possible outcome of that analysis, in which a person makes judgements or evaluations about a story

Question 17

Strategies to Help Students Recognize the Structure and Characteristics of Major Genres:

1. Traditional Literature or Folktales

Answer 17

o Also called traditional literature including cumulative tales (The House that Jack Built), pourquoi tales (which explain natural phenomena), trickster tales (such as Brer Rabbit) and fairy tales (stories full of enchantment and magic)
o Also includes tall tales (much exaggeration), fables (teach a lesson) and myths (stories created to explain the world around them)

Question 18

Strategies to Help Students Recognize the Structure and Characteristics of Major Genres:

2. Modern Fantasy

Answer 18

o Stories that play with the laws of nature and have known authors including animal fantasies, where animals can talk (Charlotte’s Web), stories with dolls and toys that act like people and stories with tiny humans

Question 19

Strategies to Help Students Recognize the Structure and Characteristics of Major Genres:

3. High Fantasy

Answer 19

o Has a struggle for good and evil in a fantastic world or a hero/heroine goes on a quest of some sort (Harry Potter, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)

Question 20

Strategies to Help Students Recognize the Structure and Characteristics of Major Genres:

4. Science Fiction

Answer 20

o Similar to High Fantasy but includes features of some “improved” or “futuristic” technology

Question 21

Strategies to Help Students Recognize the Structure and Characteristics of Major Genres:

5. Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Answer 21

o Take place in the present day in the real world and can be humorous of serious (Ramona Quimby, Walk Two Moons)

Question 22

Strategies to Help Students Recognize the Structure and Characteristics of Major Genres:

6. Historical Fiction

Answer 22

o Includes realistic stories that are set in the past (Island of the Blue Dolphins, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry)

Question 23

7. Biography

Answer 23

information books that tell the story of a real person’s life

Question 24

8. Poetry

o Ballad:
o Lyric:
o Couplet:
o Epic:
o Sonnet:

Answer 24

o Ballad: tells a story and set to music, stanzas have 4 lines and can be repeated to act as a chorus

o Lyric: expresses personal feelings (sonnet)

o Couplet: pair of lines in a poem that rhyme and have the same meter

o Epic: long poem telling a story

o Sonnet: 14 lines, strict rhyming scheme and strict internal structure

Question 25

Teaching Literary Genres:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Answer 25

o Build lessons around each genre and read examples of each kind; lessons then show unique characteristics of each genre for each literary element such as:
1. character
2. plot
3. setting
4. mood
5. theme

Question 26

Instruction in the Elements of Story Grammar:

1. Character

Answer 26

o Usually people, older students should be able to note the protagonist and antagonist in the story
o Traits are defined by 1) by what they say, 2) by what they do and 3) by how the author or illustrator portrays them

Question 27

Instruction in the Elements of Story Grammar:

2. Plot

Answer 27

o Introduction, rising action, climax and falling action (denouement); some stories can be out of chronological order or flash-forward or backwards

Question 28

Instruction in the Elements of Story Grammar:

3. Setting

Answer 28

o Both the time and place of a story and can be described as backdrop or integral (or somewhere in between)
o Backdrop Setting: vaguely defined setting and could take place in a number of places or times, like fairy tales
o Integral Setting: fully described in the story and can only take place in that time and place, like historical fiction

Question 29

Instruction in the Elements of Story Grammar:

4. Mood

Answer 29

o Feeling you get when you read the story and can be hinted by colors, vocabulary and foreshadowing

Question 30

Instruction in the Elements of Story Grammar:

5. Theme

Answer 30

o Usually a comment about the human condition and can be explicit or implicit
o Can also be a “moral” of the story, which can be easy to introduce with fables and fairy tales where the theme could be more obvious

Question 31

Instruction in the Elements of Story Grammar:

6. Style

Answer 31

o How it is written, how the author uses words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs

Question 32

Instruction in the Elements: Story Maps

Answer 32

o First teacher models and then provides a “skeletal” map and grammar outlines before moving onto independently completing one
o Story Maps can visually represent certain elements of the story or points such as Who, What, When, Where, Why and How (star diagram)

Question 33

Instruction in the Elements: Grammar Outlines

Answer 33

o Challenges students to identify the specifics of each literary element or could focus on 1 particular element

ex of an outline:
setting:
characters:
problem:
event 1:
event 2:
event 3:
resolution:
theme:

Question 34

Instruction in Narrative Analysis and Literary Criticism

A. Identifying the Structural Elements of a Plot

Answer 34

o Story map where you both list the important events of a story and try to understand how they relate to each other; Did it make sense for the event to take place? Should something have happened sooner or later?

Question 35

Instruction in Narrative Analysis and Literary Criticism

B. Comparing and Contrasting Motivations and reactions of Characters

Answer 35

o Questioning why the characters do the things they do

Question 36

Instruction in Narrative Analysis and Literary Criticism

C. Evaluating the Relevance of the Setting

Answer 36

o How does the setting relate to other elements of the story?
o Older students should know the 5 functions of setting:
1. To provide a basis for conflict between characters
2. To serve as the antagonist
3. To amplify character
4. To establish mood
5. To serve as a symbol

Question 37

Instruction in Narrative Analysis and Literary Criticism

D. Identifying Recurring Themes

Answer 37

o Teachers introduce stories with similar or same themes by reading aloud or planning a unit around a book

Question 38

Instruction in Narrative Analysis and Literary Criticism

E. Identifying Elements of the Writer’s Style: Analyzing Figurative Language
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Answer 38

o Hyperbole, metaphor, personification, simile, symbol, imagery, irony and foreshadowing

Question 39

Oral Language Activities with Literature

A. Plan Discussions About Literature on a Daily Basis

Answer 39

o Facilitate discussion and prompt individual students to respond to the literature; ask specific questions in regard to the elements you want to highlight

Question 40

Oral Language Activities with Literature

B. Book Clubs, Literature Circles and Author Studies (Comp. 1)

Question 41

Oral Language Activities with Literature

C. Questioning the Author
o Works well with literature based discussion (Comp. 12)

Question 42

Oral Language Activities with Literature

D. Think-Pair-Share

Answer 42

o Teacher asks the question about an element, partners share answer and share round-robin fashion

Question 43

Writing Activities with Literature

A. Literature Journals (Literature Logs or Reading Logs)
1. Quotes and notes:
2. Double-Entry Journal:

Answer 43

o Use a variety of prompts to stimulate written response
1. Quotes and notes: Student selects a sentence from text, copies it verbatim and then writes a response underneath

2. Double-Entry Journal: students write a comment about text and leaves space for the teacher or another student to reply

Question 44

Writing Activities with Literature

B. Essays

Answer 44

o older students will be challenged to have topic sentences and supporting details

Question 45

Writing Activities with Literature

C. Topics: The Literary Elements

Answer 45

o Students write about the literary elements and should be planned frequently

Question 46

Writing Activities with Literature

D. Topics: Features of the Genres

Answer 46

o Students write about features or characteristics of a book’s genre

ex: after reading two books their prompt can be on “What similarities do the two settings share? What is different?

Question 47

How to Help Struggling Readers and Students with Learning Disabilities for Comprehension:

Answer 47

o Providing Access to Grade-Level Texts through Oral Presentations:
Let students listen to audio recordings that the class is reading so they can participate in discussions

o Focusing on Key Elements of Story Grammar:
It’s important to highlight key elements so struggling readers understand the roles of the elements; talk about elements the student may not find on their own

o Using Story Maps:
highlight important events in the story and the relationships between the elements while also providing a visual representation

o Reteaching Skills and Strategies/Using Concrete Examples:
If you are using a story map, it would help to place photocopied illustrations of events in the order rather than just a description

Question 48

How to help ELLs on Comprehension:

Answer 48

o Clarifying Cultural Context of Text:
explanations of cultural norms to explain interpersonal relationships

o Pre-teaching Key Vocab:
Well designed vocabulary instruction before reading a text

Question 49

How to Help Advanced Learners in Comprehension:

Answer 49

o Using More Advanced Texts:
engage in literary analysis that may be too challenging for other students; just be sure it is developmentally appropriate for the young, advanced learner

o Building on Current Knowledge and Skills:
After they have worked on story maps and story grammar outlines, students should be encouraged to create their own stories

o Extending the Depth and Breadth of Assignments:
In addition to focusing on characters, advanced learners can be challenged to also analyze the theme or setting

Question 50

A. Formats for Assessment of Comprehension of Literary Texts and Literary Response Skills

Answer 50

o Student Read and Teacher Read Aloud- ask students to analyze both books they have read themselves and books that teachers read aloud

o Oral and Written- For young students its important to assess orally because some students can’t always write down their feelings about a text

o Free and Focused- Free response with open ended prompts (“Write anything you want about The Polar Express”) and focused on literary elements for bases (“How are these 2 characters alike? Different?)

Question 51

B. Analysis of Results

Students should do each of the following in their assessments:

Answer 51

1. Incorporate Literary Elements: Include information from the text to support analysis of literary element
2. Make Connections: Text-to-Text, Text-to-Self and Text-to-World
3. Provide Evidence from the Text: Using text evidence to support a perspective

Question 52

C. Entry-Level, Progress Monitoring and Summative Purposes
o As students respond to prompts, the results should reveal whether the student has met or exceeded expectations in each of the following areas:

Answer 52

1. Recognizing the structure and characteristic of different literary genres
2. Understanding the literary elements that make a story grammar
3. Engaging in literary analysis and literary criticism