Elements of Story

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Elements of Story

• Keeping track in your Readers Journal

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What is so cool about reading any way?

• The world is your oyster!
• You can travel around the globe
• You can travel to another planet or universe
• You can travel to the future
• You can travel to the past

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And

• You can get to know yourself better
• Ask yourself what would you do?
• Who do you identify with in the story?/Why?
• Who do you like?/Why?
• Who do you dislike?/Why?
• Did the story make you rethink any values,
  beliefs or customs you hold dear?

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Yepthere is more

• Find hidden links
• Experience a new culture or custom
• See how much you have in common with others
• See how different you are from others
• Walk a mile in someone elses shoes

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Im not done yet

• Gain a new perspective
• Literature can allow you to step back and take
  stock of your own experiences.
• Literature can help you make sense of the world
  around you
• Literature gives you something to talk about

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Oh yeahdont forget

• Reading increases your vocabulary
• Makes you look and sound smart
• Actually helps you when you need to take ACT/SAT
  tests
• Better test scores better colleges and bigger
  scholarships
• So open a book and become a smarty pants!

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So what should I pay attention to when I read?
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Diction

• Word choice
• Why saunter instead of walk?
• Why livid instead of angry?
• What do the words the author used tell us about
  the character?
• About the setting?
• About the situation?

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Imagery

• The picture you see as you read
• This is influence by the diction
• By the details
• Can be literal - how the words physically
  describe the object, character, event
• Can be figurative - abstract ideas expressed
  through use of metaphor, personification,
  allusion, symbol, etc.

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Details

• Specific facts concerning
• Character
• Situation
• Object
• Etc.
• Sometimes, the details a writer omits are just as
  important as the ones included.

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Language

• Level or type of diction used
• Formal/informal
• Colloquial speech
• Slang
• Jargon
• Etc.

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Syntax

• Structure of words in a group - or - how the
  author grammatically arranges words within a
  sentence