7 /8 ELA  READING & POETRY Teacher Resources

Genres	Reading Comprehension Strategies
Elements of a Story/Fiction Elements	Critical Thinking and Judgment terms
Literary Terms and Techniques	Poetic Devices
	Poetry

Genres
 

Historical Fiction -- is a type of literature that is set in an historical context. It includes some events and/or characters that were real and others that weren't real.  Some examples of historical fiction novels include Out of the Dust, and My Brother Sam is Dead.
 

Poetry -- is writing which is imaginitive and evokes emotion. It is written with vivid, colorful language that is arranged in an interesting pattern or rhythm. There are many types and forms of poetry. One famous poem is "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," by Robert Frost
 

Realistic Fiction -- is a type of literature that shows life as it is rather than how we'd like it to be. It is not true, but includes events that happen to people in everyday life like getting a new puppy, spilling your milk, or watching TV.
 

Folklore --is the traditional sayings, customs, tales, or art forms that are preserved by a specific people group. It includes legends, myths, tall tales, and folk tales.
 

Science Fiction -- is imaginitve writing that is similar to fantasy, but also contains elements of science or technology. Its setting is often the future and in some imaginitive place.  "Rain, Rain Go Away," by Isaac Asimov is an example of science fiction literature.
 

Non-fiction (Informational) -- is literature that is true.  It is written to inform the reader about a certain topic, event, or issue.
 

Fantasy -- is highly imaginitive writing that contains characters, settings, or events that are not found in real life.
 

Biography -- the writer tells the story of another person's life
 

Autobiography -- the writer's account of his or her own life

Story Elements/Elements of Fiction

Character -- a person or animal who takes part in the action of a story

Setting -- the time and place of the action in the story

Problem -- the conflict which begins the events, or action, in the story

Events -- Also called the plot, it's made up of a series of things that happen in the story.

Outcome -- It is also called the resolution; it's what happens at the end of the story.  It's how the story turns out.

Theme -- the central idea of a work of literature.  Some common themes that are found in today's books are friendship, growing up, war, and adolescence,

Point of View -- the perspective from which the story is told

First Person -- is told from the narrator's perspective who is also a character in the story.  The narrator only knows his or her own motives and feelings, but not those of other characters.

Third Person omniscient -- the story is told by some "all knowing" person outside the story.  The narrator knows the motivation and feelings of all, or at least most, of the characters.

Literary Terms and Techniques
 
 
 

alliteration	allusion	foreshadowing
protagonist	antagonist	irony
biography	autobiography	metaphor
characterization	conflict	mood
dialogue	flashback	personification
plot line	point of view	simile
symbol	tone

alliteration -- the repetition of initial consonant sounds
        (example:  Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.)
 
 

allusion -- a reference made by an author to a famous person, place, thing, or event
 
 

foreshadowing -- the author's hints or clues about what is going to happen in the story
 
 

protagonist -- the main character in the story
 

antagonist --  a character, characters, or force which is in conflict with the main character
 

irony -- using a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal meaning; using contradictions to surprise the reader or to inject humor
 

biography -- the story of someone's life;  it is written by another person
 

autobiography -- the story of someone's life; it is written by that person

metaphor -- a figure of speech that compares two unlike things without using like or as; often describes one thing as being another
 

characterization -- creating and developing the characters in a story
 

conflict -- a struggle between opposing forces in a story. There are several types of conflict.  They are:
man vs. man -- a character in the story has a problem with one or more of the other characters

man vs. himself -- a character in the story has a problem making a decision or struggles with him or herself in some other way; an inner conflict

man vs. nature -- a character in the story has a problem with some force of nature; a storm, extreme cold or heat, no shelter, a tornado, etc.

man vs. society -- a character has a problem with some part of society; the culture, the law, school, people in the town, etc.

man vs. Fate (or God) -- a character has to battle with a problem that seems to be uncontrollable and perhaps unsolvable
 

mood -- the feelings evoked by the work of literature
 

dialogue -- the conversations between characters
 

flashback -- the author goes back to the events of an earlier time
 

personification -- giving human qualities or characteristics to non-human beings or things
        (example -- animals talking in stories)

plot line -- includes exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution

point of view -- the perspective from which the story is told

    First Person -- is told from the narrator's perspective who is also a character in the story.  The narrator only knows his or her own motives and feelings, but not those of other characters.

    Third Person omniscient -- the story is told by some "all knowing" person outside the story.  The narrator knows the motivation and feelings of all, or at least most, of the characters.
 

simile -- the comparison of two unlike things using like or as
            (example: "quiet as a mouse," "
 

symbol -- something that represents, or stands for, something else
 

tone -- the attitude the author takes about the subject about which he or she is writing

Critical Thinking and Judgment terms

Inference -- An inference is a good guess based on known facts or accepted truths.

Judgment -- A judgment is a statement that expresses the value or quality of something.  For example, you may think that a test was difficult while your friend states it was easy.  These are both judgments about the test.

Prediction -- When you make a prediction, you make a good guess about what will happen next.  You base your prediction on what has already happened in the story.

Writer’s Purpose -- The writer's purpose is the reason the writer had for writing the story, essay, book, etc.  The writer may have written something to tell you a story, to teach you about or inform you of something, to entertain you, to describe something, or to persuade you of something.  Often a writer will have more than one purpose in mind when he or she writes.

Time Order -- Also called the sequence of events, time order just means to put events in the order that they happened.

Summarize -- When you summarize, you tell the important events of the story in your own words. If you are summarizing an article or another work of non-fiction, you tell the important points in your own words.

Comprehension Strategies

Clarify -- to make something clear; it may be to define a word, pronounce a word, understand an idea or concept, or explain something in the story that was confusing.

Predict -- to make an educated guess (based on previous events in the story and outside knowledge) about what might happen next in a story

Summarize -- to state, in your own words, the main events that have happened so far in a story

Question -- Think of questions that could be answered from what was read.  They could be as simple as "What was the setting of the first chapter?" or more difficult; "What do you think motivated Charlie to act that way?"

Compare and contrast -- discuss the similarities and differences between two or more things

Using the context to determine word meaning --

Drawing conclusions and Making Inferences -- Inference and conclusion are very similar in meaning. An inference is an educated guess, a conclusion based on known facts.  A conclusion is an idea that seems logical based on the set of events or circumstances that came before it.

Distinguishing between Fact and Opinion --
        *A fact is a statement that can be proved true or false based on evidence.
            example:  Washington, D.C. is the capitol of the United States
        *An opinion is a statement that expresses a person's views or beliefs.  It may reveal how a person feels or what he or she thinks about a certain thing, event, or issue.
            examples: Anne of Green Gables was the best book ever written.
                           We're due for a bad winter this year.
                           Good citizens should never litter.

Identifying the Author's Purpose -- The author's purpose is his or her reason for writing the work.  Some common reasons that author's write are to inform or explain, to entertain, to pursuade, to tell a story, or to describe something.
 

Interpreting Figurative Language -- Figurative language is language that goes beyond its literal meaning.  Interpreting it, or understanding it, requires a person to go beyond its surface meaning.

Poetry

Free verse -- poetry that is not written in any special form and does not need to rhyme
 

Lyric Poem -- A short poem that expresses a personal feeling.
 

Limerick -- A limerick is a humorous verse that has five lines. The first, second and fifth lines rhyme and have three stressed syllables. The third and fourth lines also rhyme, but differently than the first, second and fifth. The third and fourth lines have two stressed syllables.
Example:   There was an Old Man with a beard,
                Who said, "It is just as I feared! --
                Two owls and a Hen, four Larks and a Wren
                Have all built their nests in my beard."
                                                        ~Edward Lear
 

Haiku -- Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry and usually has some part of nature as its theme. It is three lines long. The first line has 5 syllables, the second line has 7 syllables, and the last line has 5 syllables. Example:        Strong oak stands alone
                                    In the vast, deep, snowy field
                                    Awaiting Spring's kiss
 

Poetic Devices

Alliteration -- the repetition of initial consonant sounds
        (example:  Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.)

Imagery -- is the process of forming mental pictures, or images, because of the language the author chooses to use.

Rhyme --
        End rhyme -- the author uses rhyming words at the end of two or more lines
                Example: Hickory, dickory dock
                              The mouse ran up the clock

        Internal rhyme -- the writer uses rhyming words with the lines of the poem
                Example:  Jack Sprat could eat no fat

Rhythm -- The rhythm is the beat, or cadence, of the poem.

Stanza -- A stanza is a series of lines that are arranged together and separated by a space in a poem.