English Language Arts and Reading.7.7.C

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The student is expected to

analyze plot elements, including the use of foreshadowing and suspense, to advance the plot; and

multiple genres TEKS talk image

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Multiple genre: 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.

Have students create a plot diagram of a work of literary fiction with suspense to illustrate elements of the story's plot. It should show how the suspense guides the reader through the plot.

Image: Plot diagram for literary fiction utilizing suspense

 

Further Explanation

For this assessment students should be able to analyze foreshadowing and suspense and the effect these elements have on events and conflict resolution. Student are expected to recognize and analyze the basic components such as setting, plot, characterization, point of view, theme, and tone that are present in a variety of literary works. Students should also be able to differentiate among these components, evaluate their functions in a literary text, and determine how they interact with each other.

A story's plot provides its organizational structure. Although a story can be told in different ways, the plot of any story generally includes the same basic elements revealed in a forward-progressing order: rising action (where the suspense/tension/conflict required in all stories appears), the climax (the decisive point at which the reader knows how the conflict will be resolved), the falling action (where the consequences of how the conflict was addressed play out), and the resolution (how the story ends). Once students understand that each of these structural elements plays a role in developing a story, students can begin examining how these parts were constructed and eventually draw conclusions about why those elements were constructed in that manner. This analysis of plot elements can confirm comprehension of the text or establish the need to review these parts more carefully.
a literary device used when an author provides important hints about future events in the story to help the reader anticipate the/an outcome
feeling of anxiety or anticipation as readers wait for outcome of an event

Research

1. Nampaktai, P., Kaewsombut, R., Akwaree, S., Wongwayrote, U., & Sameepet, B. (2013). Using story grammar to enhance reading comprehension. International Forum of Teaching and Studies, 9(1), 31–38. Retrieved from https://reseachgate.net

Summary: In this study, the story grammar technique—studying the elements of a story—is examined to determine whether the reading achievement and analytical skills of middle school students improves when using it. The study included 20 middle school students who were instructed in the use of  the story grammar technique over a set time period. The study revealed that the story grammar technique significantly improved the students' comprehension and analytical thinking skills.

2. Dallacqua, A. L. (2012). Exploring literary devices in graphic novels. Language Arts, 89(6), 365–378. Retrieved from http://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 way to make meaning of texts. The article demonstrates how graphic novels can be used to implement multimodal and visual instructional strategies that increase the reading comprehension of students.