Analyzing Literary Elements in Literary Nonfiction
Analyzing Literary Elements in Literary Nonfiction
Objectives
Students will review literary elements in fiction and learn to analyze literary elements in literary nonfiction. Students will:
- identify elements, focusing on character and events.
- analyze and interpret literary elements to support comprehension of literary nonfiction.
Essential Questions
- How does interaction with text provoke thinking and response?
- How do strategic readers create meaning from informational and literary text?
- What is this text really about?
- How does interaction with text provoke thinking and response?
Vocabulary
- Biography: The story of a person’s life written by someone other than the subject of the work.
- Characterization: The method an author uses to reveal characters and their various personalities.
- Literary Nonfiction: Text that includes literary elements and devices usually associated with fiction to report on actual persons, places, or events.
- Recount: Retell the story in detail.
- Explicit: Clearly expressed through words in the text.
Duration
45–90 minutes/1–2 class periods
Prerequisite Skills
Prerequisite Skills haven't been entered into the lesson plan.
Materials
- Piano Starts Here—The Young Art Tatum by Robert Andrew Parker. Schwartz & Wade, 2008. Note: Any other biography or autobiography at your students’ instructional level may be substituted.
- Alternative books should include literature that has clear literary elements focusing on characters and events. These books should help interpret literary elements to support comprehension of literary nonfiction. Suggested titles include the following:
- The Bobbin Girl by Emily Arnold McCully. Dial Books for Young Readers, 1996.
- Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say. Sandpiper, 2008.
- Examples of the following types of nonfiction texts:
- biographies
- science and social studies textbooks
- memoirs
- TIME For Kids or National Geographic Kids
- various books on science, nature, and places
Teachers may substitute other books to provide a range of reading and level of text complexity.
- student copies of the Events, Feelings, Actions Chart (L-4-1_Events, Feelings, Actions Chart.doc)
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Final 03/01/2013