Comp 14: Comprehension: Instruction and Assessment- Understanding and Analyzing Narrative/Literary texts Flashcards
Retelling
Students retell a section that has been read to them or read independently. This can be done orally or in writing.
Literary Response Journals
After reading, students write their thoughts. Their responses can be open-ended or related to a prompt.
Predicting
Using information gathered, say what you think will happen in the next part of the story.
Textually Explicit
Information is derived directly from the text.
Textually Implicit
the readers need to use their background knowledge to understand what the text is saying.
Formative Assessment
Ongoing assessment that is used to inform further instruction.
Story Maps
A graphic organizer that helps students identify the elements of a story.
Text Structures
The way the author has organized her or his ideas.
Story Grammar
Used to help analyze the story in parts, such as characters, setting, conflict, resolution, etc.
Character Analysis
The process of identifying specific traits of a character.
Plot Analysis
Understanding the connection between major events in the story.
Narrative Texts
stories- written accounts of actual or fictional events, including short stories or novels
Expository Texts
texts that provide information about a topic. Including textbooks or instructions
Literary
having to do with literature
Literary Analysis
process of studying or examining a story
Literary Criticism
one possible outcome of that analysis, in which a person makes judgements or evaluations about a story
Strategies to Help Students Recognize the Structure and Characteristics of Major Genres:
- Traditional Literature or Folktales
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)
Strategies to Help Students Recognize the Structure and Characteristics of Major Genres:
- Modern Fantasy
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
Strategies to Help Students Recognize the Structure and Characteristics of Major Genres:
- High Fantasy
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)
Strategies to Help Students Recognize the Structure and Characteristics of Major Genres:
- Science Fiction
o Similar to High Fantasy but includes features of some “improved” or “futuristic” technology
Strategies to Help Students Recognize the Structure and Characteristics of Major Genres:
- Contemporary Realistic Fiction
o Take place in the present day in the real world and can be humorous of serious (Ramona Quimby, Walk Two Moons)
Strategies to Help Students Recognize the Structure and Characteristics of Major Genres:
- Historical Fiction
o Includes realistic stories that are set in the past (Island of the Blue Dolphins, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry)
- Biography
information books that tell the story of a real person’s life
- Poetry
o Ballad:
o Lyric:
o Couplet:
o Epic:
o Sonnet:
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
Teaching Literary Genres:
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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
Instruction in the Elements of Story Grammar:
- Character
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
Instruction in the Elements of Story Grammar:
- Plot
o Introduction, rising action, climax and falling action (denouement); some stories can be out of chronological order or flash-forward or backwards
Instruction in the Elements of Story Grammar:
- Setting
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
Instruction in the Elements of Story Grammar:
- Mood
o Feeling you get when you read the story and can be hinted by colors, vocabulary and foreshadowing
Instruction in the Elements of Story Grammar:
- Theme
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
Instruction in the Elements of Story Grammar:
- Style
o How it is written, how the author uses words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs
Instruction in the Elements: Story Maps
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)
Instruction in the Elements: Grammar Outlines
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:
Instruction in Narrative Analysis and Literary Criticism
A. Identifying the Structural Elements of a Plot
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?
Instruction in Narrative Analysis and Literary Criticism
B. Comparing and Contrasting Motivations and reactions of Characters
o Questioning why the characters do the things they do
Instruction in Narrative Analysis and Literary Criticism
C. Evaluating the Relevance of the Setting
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
Instruction in Narrative Analysis and Literary Criticism
D. Identifying Recurring Themes
o Teachers introduce stories with similar or same themes by reading aloud or planning a unit around a book
Instruction in Narrative Analysis and Literary Criticism
E. Identifying Elements of the Writer’s Style: Analyzing Figurative Language
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o Hyperbole, metaphor, personification, simile, symbol, imagery, irony and foreshadowing
Oral Language Activities with Literature
A. Plan Discussions About Literature on a Daily Basis
o Facilitate discussion and prompt individual students to respond to the literature; ask specific questions in regard to the elements you want to highlight
Oral Language Activities with Literature
B. Book Clubs, Literature Circles and Author Studies (Comp. 1)
Oral Language Activities with Literature
C. Questioning the Author
o Works well with literature based discussion (Comp. 12)
Oral Language Activities with Literature
D. Think-Pair-Share
o Teacher asks the question about an element, partners share answer and share round-robin fashion
Writing Activities with Literature
A. Literature Journals (Literature Logs or Reading Logs)
1. Quotes and notes:
2. Double-Entry Journal:
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
- Double-Entry Journal: students write a comment about text and leaves space for the teacher or another student to reply
Writing Activities with Literature
B. Essays
o older students will be challenged to have topic sentences and supporting details
Writing Activities with Literature
C. Topics: The Literary Elements
o Students write about the literary elements and should be planned frequently
Writing Activities with Literature
D. Topics: Features of the Genres
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?
How to Help Struggling Readers and Students with Learning Disabilities for Comprehension:
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
How to help ELLs on Comprehension:
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
How to Help Advanced Learners in Comprehension:
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
A. Formats for Assessment of Comprehension of Literary Texts and Literary Response Skills
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?)
B. Analysis of Results
Students should do each of the following in their assessments:
- Incorporate Literary Elements: Include information from the text to support analysis of literary element
- Make Connections: Text-to-Text, Text-to-Self and Text-to-World
- Provide Evidence from the Text: Using text evidence to support a perspective
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:
- Recognizing the structure and characteristic of different literary genres
- Understanding the literary elements that make a story grammar
- Engaging in literary analysis and literary criticism
