YA Textbook Reflection Chapter 7

-
Chapter 7: Literary Elements
  • Summary: Literary elements and literary devices are often placed in the same category and can easily be confused with one another.  It is important to be knowledgeable in distinguishing the two from each other. Literary elements are used by the reader to analyze and understand a work of literature.  The components are not techniques used by the writer but are identified and taken out by the reader. Theme, conflict, setting, and plot are some of the many literary elements that can be found in literature.  Literary devices are deliberately used by the writer and is used for expression and bringing words to life. The construction of the text is the main focus to bring about artistic meaning to the work of literature.  Symbolism, hyperbole, metaphor, and Deus ex Machina are a few of the many literary devices in writing.
Theme is an important factor to take into consideration when analyzing literature.  There are certain questions to ask as you search for a theme within all literary works.  
1.  What message is the author trying to convey to the readers? 
2.  Is this message universal; does it apply outside of the story to the world at large?
Theme is not a main idea, topic, summary, an old saying, or a single word.  Yet, it is a message that is stated in a complete sentence that has a global reach and can be demonstrated from the text.  Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak have multiple themes. It’s okay to use your imagination, your imagination can take you places, a mother’s love is unconditional, and it’s possible to confront and defeat your fears are just a few themes found in that one book.

Reflection/Response: Most of the terms from literary elements and literary devices are not new to me.  However, it was a nice refresher of the information so I can adjust how I view the literature in front of me.  So many times I get to the end of a book and realize I could’ve gone deeper to understand more of the story; pick it apart with a fine tooth comb to really appreciate what the author was trying to convey to their audience.  This literary elements chapter was a good reminder on how to not only analyze literature for myself, but also teach my students there’s more to what meets the eye when reading a book. I think equipping my students to properly identify and analyze critical elements within a piece of literature is just another step closer to growing life-long readers.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Videos and QR Codes in the Library

-
Image
So you still want to update your library and freshen up the atmosphere?  Here are a few pieces of technology you can use to stay "hip" with your students!  Below I will talk about YouTube, Animoto, and QR Codes.  I'll give example of each and tell you how they can be beneficial to your library and why they catch the eyes of students. YouTube YouTube is a great way to connect with your students.  They're always on watching videos of random cats and what not...so why fight it?...just go with the flow on this one.  Create your own YouTube channel and get your kids connected to the library through your silly videos.  You can make videos helpful for your students as well as create videos that will bring out the creative side of your students.  Here are a few examples below: NHS Library 1. Most Helpful for Students: 2. Students would like the best: The Unquiet Library 1. Most Helpful for Students: 2. Students would like the best: ...
Read more

YA Textbook Reflection Chapter 15

-
Chapter 15: 10 Questions to Ask about a Novel Summary : Richard Peck was a well known author who made many contributions to the modern young adult literature world.  He composed a list of 10 pertinent questions that can be asked to entice readers to look further into the story being read.  This list allows readers to delve deeper and attain a broader understanding of the piece of literature being read. Here are the ten questions to ask about a novel: What would the story be like if the main character were of the opposite sex? Why is the story set where it is? If you were to film the story, would you use black and white or color and why? If you could not use all of the characters, which would you eliminate and why? How is the main character different from you? Would this story make a good TV series? Why/why not? What one thing in the story has happened to you? Reread the first paragraph of Chapter 1.  What is in it to make you read on? If not...
Read more

Instagram, Facebook "Pages", and Twitter

-
Image
We're all familiar with the big names of social media; Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.  But have you considered one platform might be better than another, based on how you want your information to be perceived to your consumers?  For example, you might be marketing your business, sharing family photos, contributing your political views, or simply forwarding witty memes to your friends.  Whatever your weapon of choice, there's a perfect social media platform to fit your needs.  Keep reading to meet your match! Instagram is extremely popular amongst teenagers.  They mainly use it to showcase their photography skills or share some type of art form with their online community.  They also create bit.ly links that takes their viewers to a YouTube account that has tutorials or silly videos they've produced.  You are only able to post links in the bio section of your profile, so you'll always come across the #linkinbio hashtag for promoting videos (or eve...
Read more