English Language Arts and Reading.5.8.B

The student is expected to

analyze the relationships of and conflicts among the characters;

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.

When students analyze relationships among characters, they understand what has happened between characters and how these interactions may affect a plot overall. Students should examine how the relationships among characters influence the different plot elements. In some cases, those relationships add to the conflict of the story, whereas in others they contribute to the solution.
an element of plot when the opposition of persons or forces brings about dramatic tension central to the plot of a story that may be internal as a psychological conflict within a character (e.g., man versus himself) or external as a physical or outward conflict between the character and something/someone else (e.g., man versus man, man versus nature, or man versus society)
Conflicts among characters are marked by disagreement or opposition. Students are expected to identify those conflicts, analyze their origin, and anticipate possible solutions. Since conflicts among characters are not always evident or explicit, sometimes they need to be inferred from the characters’ verbal and nonverbal behaviors. For example, a story may depict a group of friends that show a clear disagreement about who should have the starring role in a play or a girl who is struggling to tell her parents that she doesn't really like playing the piano.

Research

1. Dallacqua, A.L. (2012). Exploring literary devices in graphic novels. Language Arts, 89(6), 365-–378. Retrieved from www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/LA/0896-jul2012/LA0896Exploring.pdf

Summary: In this article, the researcher suggests that students can use literary devices as a means to make meaning of text. The article demonstrates how graphic novels can be used to implement multimodal and visual instructional strategies that increase the reading comprehension of students.

2. McConn, M. (2014). Connecting students with the human dimensions in literature: Using Brudern's Modes of Thought to deepen literary appreciation. Texas Journal of Literacy Education, 2(2),106–116. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?q=understanding+meaning+in+literature&pr=on&ft=on&id=EJ1110946

Summary: This article gives teachers a framework to increase students' knowledge of narrative structure, and how it can deepen understanding and lead readers to connections that have meaning in their own lives. Focused on the narrative structure of conflict development—internal conflict and resolution—the author asked students to select a character in O'Brien's The Things They Carried, and determine if the character's conflict was external or internal, using text evidence to support their understanding of the character. Then, students wrote their own narratives, based upon the lessons learned from the reading discussions and personal explorations.