English Language Arts and Reading.4.8.D

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The student is expected to

explain the influence of the setting, including historical and cultural settings, on the plot.

multiple genres TEKS talk image

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Multiple genres: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts--literary elements. The student recognizes and analyzes literary elements within and across increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse literary texts.

Present a short story to students in which the historical setting directly impacts the story's plot, such as a short story set in San Antonio during the siege of the Alamo. After students read the story, have them work in pairs to examine and explain in writing all the ways in which the setting affects the characters and the plot. Have students address the question How might the plot be different if the story had been set in a different time and place?
 

Further Explanation

Students should be able to draw upon their background knowledge and context clues in the text to determine how the historical and cultural backdrop of a setting affects plot. This example draws upon social studies content that students will have learned at this grade level and will help to provide them with context.

the highest point in the plot where the problem/conflict reaches its peak
the contextual details of the social environment, beliefs, customs, values, and activities of a particular group of people as presented in the particular time and place of the setting
Students should draw upon their background knowledge and context clues in the text to determine how the historical and cultural backdrop of a setting can restrict, impact, or even be the focus of a plot. The time and place in which a story is set has a direct impact on the internal logic and what will be considered plausible for a storyline. For instance, if story is set on a Texas farm in 1935, the characters would most likely experience hardship due to the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. These tragic events might play an important part in how the plot’s conflicts are developed because many people during that time lost their homes and had to migrate to other parts of the country.
the element of plot structure that takes place after the climax and begins to resolve the conflict(s) of the story by decreasing formerly established tension before the story moves towards its resolution
the basic sequence of events in a story that includes the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution
the element of plot structure that contains the conclusion or final outcome in a story and, in some capacity, resolves all problems and conflicts Not all stories have clear resolutions.
the element of plot structure that develops the conflict through a series of events to build interest, suspense, and tension and that propels a story to the climax

Research

Mabry, M., & Bhavnagri, N. P. (2012). Perspective taking of immigrant children: utilizing children's literature and related activities. Multicultural Education, 19(3), 48–54. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1001536.pdf

Summary: This study of promising practices looks at perspective taking and highlights the need for interpersonal understanding, especially in the U. S. with its diverse population. The article focuses on promoting perspective-taking among African-American fourth graders by using children's literature on immigrant families and includes follow up activities. The classroom reads and analyzes several different stories, including Levitin's A Piece of Home and Perez's My Diary from Here to There, seeking to understand the characters and the cultural changes they are experiencing. The historical and cultural setting has an impact on each of the protagonists in these stories.