Reading
Narrative
1) Genre and Structure
Common Genres
Traditional: stories that are passed down from one generation to another (folk tales, fairy tales, myths, legends, pourquoi stories, etc.)
Realistic Fiction: can seem to be true but are mostly from the author's imagination
Historical Fiction: a fictional story that takes place in a real setting in the past
Fantasy: has elements that are supernatural or magical
Science Fiction: uses science and technology to drive the plot and is often set in the future
Mystery: a story that has a puzzling event that isn't solved until the end
Horror: has scary characters and situations that often contain fantasy
Types of Structure
Short Stories: are complete stories that are told in between 1-20 pages. They are usually about a very small event or a specific character trait.
Novels: are usually between 100-500 pages. They usually have more events and characters that short stories.
Plays and Scripts: are meant to be performed so they are written in a different way that shows mainly dialogue with only a little description of action and setting.
Graphic Novels: use words and pictures combined to tell a story in panels. There are speech bubbles and thought bubbles as well as text boxes for information and description.
Series: is made of several books or graphic novels which tell a large story.
Memoirs - The Tricky Ones
How do you know if a memoir is real (non-fiction) or imagined (fiction)? It can be tricky. Here are some things to check.
1) Are there any photographs of the author in the book?
2) Are there any newspaper clippings about the author in the book?
3) Is the name of the author the same as the name of the main character?
4) Is it told in the first person (using 'I' and 'my')? Do you only read the inner thoughts of the main character?
5) Is it reasonable for the author to have had those experiences? For example, if the book was published in 2018, but it is supposed to be a diary from 1871, could the author still be alive?
6) Check inside the front and back of the book for the publication information. Sometimes it says if it is fiction or non-fiction.
7) If you are still not sure, you could look up information about the author to check.
Photos from Zlata's Diary that show her daily life in Sarajevo. We can read her thoughts only and she uses "I.' The author's name is Zlata Filipovic.
It is non-fiction.
There are only drawings in the Dork Diaries. The main character's name is Nikki and the author's name is Rachel.
It is fiction.
The Immigrant Diary of Ivy Weatherall really looks like a diary, but the author's name is Sarah, not Ivy. The publication information says it is fiction.
2) Finding Literal Meaning
We can find answers in the text using skimming. Skimming helps us find answers quickly without reading the whole text.
a) Look for key words in the question.
b) Then search the text for those key words. When you find one, read that part. Does it answer your question?
Try finding information in this CBC news story about Trick or Treating.
Next, try it with this excerpt from Loser by Jerry Spinelli.
3) Identifying Story Elements
Look for key words that give you information. The setting is important to the plot and the characters.
Think of Totoro and Spirited Away. What are the settings? Why are they important?
b) Characters: The people in the story.
Main characters have thoughts, feelings, and actions. They change the plot. These characters often develop and change over the course of the story.
The babysitter and the Jack Jack are the main characters.
The protagonist is the leading character. This character can be good or bad.
The protagonist is the babysitter. We are seeing what she is seeing and we are supposed to feel concerned about her.
An antagonist is a person who acts against the protagonist.
Jack Jack is the antagonist. He is making her job difficult.
Minor characters are often in the background.
The parents (on the phone), the interviewer, and the boy are minor characters.
How to Talk about Your Character
Character Description: How the character looks.
Character Traits: The personality of the character.
*Use evidence from the text!
Donald Zinkoff is the protagonist in Loser.
free spirit - He doesn’t like sports that need precision. Also, he doesn’t care which goal is his.
eager - He gets to soccer practice early.
energetic - He never stops running.
enthusiastic - He often misses the ball but he is always chasing it.
good sport - He doesn’t care if he wins or loses. He just loves playing. Also, he cheers for the other team when they win.
people pleaser - He tries to be angry about losing the game to make his friends happy.
clueless - He doesn’t notice when he runs off his soccer field on onto another.
empathetic - He feels sorry for the losing team.
c) Plot:
Exposition: This is where the author introduces the setting & characters, and gives background information.
The other toys are relaxing and having fun. The snowman wants to join them.
Conflict: This is what drives the action in the story. People do things because of the conflict. There are six types of conflict:
person vs person
person vs self
person vs society
person vs nature
person vs supernatural
person vs technology
The snowman can't leave his globe on the shelf. The globe is his environment so it is person vs nature.
Main Events: These are the main things that happen. Ask yourself if it is important before you include it. When you retell them, you must do it in the order that they happened. The climax is the turning point in the story. It is often a dramatic moment in the story.
The snowman tried to break the glass with his igloo, a hammer, a jackhammer, a blow torch, and explosives. The climax was when the globe fell off the shelf and he escaped just before he fell in the fishbowl.
Resolution: This is where the problem is solved or dealt with before the end of the story.
The snowman ends up stuck in his globe in the fishbowl. It is not a happy ending.
e) Big Ideas (message, lesson, theme)
People write to communicate big ideas.
Usually you can say them in just a few words or a sentence.
A theme is not the plot. It does not use the names of characters.
A message is something you learned that you might use in your life.
This Khan Academy video explains what a theme is.
Can you think of the big ideas for these stories?
Shi-shi Etko - It is wrong to take children away from their parents and culture.
The Red Tree - Even when you are feeling your worst, there is always something good there.
For the Birds - It isn't nice to exclude others because they are different.
Jack-Jack Attacks - Baby-sitting a baby with super-powers would be hard.
Knick-Knack - It is often difficult to change your life.
Baseball - childhood passion for a sport
Fresh Eggs - the relationship between his mom and dad
All-Ball - not knowing how to deal with sadness and loss
4) Making an Inference
What is an inference?
It is when you use several clues to understand the story better.
clues from words in text
clues from what you know about about the characters, setting, and plot
clues from your experiences
-it is your best possible interpretation but it is not LITERAL so we don't know for sure
-if we get different information later, we might change our minds
5) Cause and Effect
The cause is the reason. The effect is what happens.
Example 1:
Cause: The goalie was not looking at the ball.
Action: He got hit in the head.
Effect: He cried.
Example 2:
Cause: The girl catapulted the pumpkin.
Action: The pumpkin was smashed.
Effect: Everyone wanted to try.
In books, many things can be the cause of action in the plot. It could be the traits of the character that cause him to react a certain way. It could be a change in the setting. It could be something that happened earlier in the plot. Often, it is many things combined.
Cause: The kid on the doorstep was in a bad mood.
Action: He tore up the letters.
Effect: Donald doubted himself.
How do the different elements of fiction, interact to make the story?
If you changed a shy character into a confident character, would it change the story?
What if you changed the setting? How would that effect the story?
If you changed an important part of the plot, would it change the protagonist?
Could you change the meaning of the story by making one character different?
What are the most important things in the story you are reading?
7) What is the author doing to make you interested?
Authors want you to read their books. They are trying to make their books interesting for you. How are they doing that? Think of the things you have learned in writing class.
1) Good hook at the beginning.
2) Powerful action words.
3) Lots of description and maybe some similes or metaphors.
4) Dialogue to let you feel part of the story.
5) Interesting plot or setting or characters. Maybe the characters change over time.
6) Powerful ending
7) Clear message or big idea.