Southern Nevada Regional
Professional Development
Program
RPDP.net
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Created by Jill M. Leone
Reading Specialist
Copyright © 2007
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Students will:
• identify various
elements of a novel.
• analyze and evaluate
key literary elements.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
They can take you to • places you’ve never been
• times long ago
• times in the future
• into the hearts and
minds of others
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• Keep you company
on a boring day
• Make you laugh or cry
• Help you understand
your own life through
the lives of others
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Characteristics:
• a fictional prose work
• usually divided into chapters
• relatively long and often complex plot
• story traditionally develops through
the thoughts and actions of its
characters
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To understand:
• who is telling the story (point of view)
• where and when the story takes place
• who are the main characters
• what the characters are like
• what happens (plot)
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You should also understand:
• the author’s central idea
or message (theme)
• how the author expresses
his or her ideas (style)
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Preview checklist:
 the title and author
 the front and back covers
 summaries or excerpts from book reviews
 information about author
 introductory material – dedication
 foreword, or introduction
 chapter names and illustrations
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RPDP Secondary Literacy
RPDP Secondary Literacy
RPDP Secondary Literacy
It includes –
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the time and period in history
the place
the atmosphere
the clothing
the living conditions
the social climate
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A story can be set in an
imaginary place, such
as an enchanted
castle, or a real place,
such as New York or
Africa.
The time can be the
past, the present, or
the future.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
The setting of a story
is always important.
It influences the way
characters act and
think and all aspects
of their lives.
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RPDP Secondary Literacy
Mood is the feeling, or
atmosphere, that the
writer creates for the
reader.
The author can use the
setting to create a mood,
which is happy, sad,
exciting, or boring.
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As you read a novel,
pay attention
to how the setting
affects the
mood of the story
and also how it
affects
the lives of the
characters.
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RPDP Secondary Literacy
The narrative perspective
from which events in a story
or novel are told
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When you determine who is telling the story,
you’ve discovered the narrative point of view.
This is important because the narrator controls:
• what and how much is told
• the kind of information given to the reader
• even the shape of the work itself
RPDP Secondary Literacy
This means that the narrator –
• is a character in the story
• describes the action in his
or her own words
What’s shown is limited to the
character's observations and
thoughts.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Events and characters described
by a character outside the action
Third person limited point of view:
• The narrator tells the story from the
perspective of only one character.
• The reader only learns what this
person feels and experiences.
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• Narrator is all-knowing
• Can see into the mind of
more than one character
• Gives reader access to
all characters
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RPDP Secondary Literacy
These are the
people, animals,
or natural forces
represented as
persons in a
novel.
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Authors describe them carefully.
You learn • how they look
• what kind of people they are
• how they act in different situations
• how they change during the story
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• Main characters
• Minor characters
• Static characters
• Dynamic characters
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Main characters - characters who the story
revolves around the most.
Minor characters - interact with the main
characters and help move the story along.
Static characters - stay the same over the
entire course of the story, even though
their situation may change.
Dynamic characters - evolve as individuals,
learning from their experiences and
growing emotionally.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
The main character
is the most
important character.
The action of the
plot and main
conflict revolve
around him or her.
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The main character or hero in a
narrative or drama, usually the
one with whom the
audience identifies
Often referred to as
“the good guy”
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The person, thing, or force that
works against the protagonist
Can be –
• another character
• a family
• a society
• a force of nature
• a force within the main character
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The way the author develops a character is
called characterization.
• Pay attention to these clues from the author:
• Physical appearance and personality
• Speech, thoughts, feelings, and actions
• Interactions with other characters
• Direct comments by the author
RPDP Secondary Literacy
RPDP Secondary Literacy
The plot is the sequence
of events or what
happens in a story.
Many plots contain a
central problem –
something that goes
wrong.
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The characters also usually
have a goal to achieve.
The struggle to achieve this
goal or solve the problem is
the conflict.
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There are different types of
conflicts in a story.
External Forces:
Man vs. man - another individual
or group of individuals
Man vs. nature - something
in the environment
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External Forces:
Man vs. fate – a problem that
seems uncontrollable
Internal Forces:
Man vs. self – a physical, mental
or moral struggle faced by the
central character
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By the end of a story,
the character facing
the conflict succeeds
or fails.
To identify the conflict,
try to find the events
that caused the
problem.
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• Pay attention to how a story ends.
• Many stories end by
resolving their conflicts.
• The way a problem is fixed
or solved is the resolution.
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Plots usually progress
through stages:
• Exposition
• Rising Action
• Climax
• Falling Action
• Resolution
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The exposition provides important
background information and
introduces the setting, characters,
and conflict.
During the rising action, the conflict
becomes more intense and suspense
builds as the main characters struggle
to resolve their problem.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
The climax is the turning point
in the plot when the outcome of the
conflict becomes clear, usually resulting
in a change in the characters or a
solution to the conflict.
After the climax, the falling action
occurs and the conflict is or about to be - settled.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
The resolution is the ending.
The story’s central problem is
finally solved, leaving the
reader with a sense of
completion, although the
main character may not feel
the same way.
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It’s like a map
that tells you
where you are
in the action
of the novel.
Exposition
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Climax
Resolution
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Tone expresses a writer’s attitude.
The tone of a literary work may be one of:
• anger
• approval
• joy
• sadness
• humor
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Writer’s style involves these elements:
• Word choice
• Tone
• Sentence structure and length
• Literary devices, such as figurative
language, symbols, dialogue, and
imagery
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Imagery is the use of words
and phrases that create
pictures in the reader’s
mind.
Details that appeal to your
senses – sight, hearing,
smell, taste, and touch –
make the writing
come alive.
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Figurative Language –
• A special way of using words
• Not meant to be taken literally
• Creates a picture in the minds
of the reader
• Often involves a comparison
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Pay careful attention
to the language and
details a writers
chooses.
They will give you
clues about the
writer’s tone.
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RPDP Secondary Literacy
This is the message
about life from the author
to the reader.
It is like a lesson for life,
something you can learn
from the story and apply
to other life situations.
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• The author usually doesn’t tell you
the theme directly.
• You must figure it out for yourself by
the way the characters act and react.
• Many novels have more than one
theme, some major and some minor.
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• You understand your life through the lives
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of others.
Use your imagination to form mental
images.
Read for pleasure.
Read more quickly.
“Big picture” is more important than details.
Easier to remember than nonfiction.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Good readers anticipate what they’ll
be reading before they get to it.
Our background or prior knowledge
enables us to make these
predictions.
It’s exciting to make predictions and
then confirm how accurate we’ve
been later on throughout a novel.
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Which of the following provides important
background information and introduces the
setting, characters, and conflict?
A. climax
B. exposition
C. rising action
D. resolution
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How did you do?
Which of the following is considered an
internal force in the conflict of a novel?
A. man vs. man
B. man vs. nature
C. man vs. self
D. man vs. fate
How did you do?
RPDP Secondary Literacy
The main character or hero in a novel and
usually the one with whom the audience
identifies is the –
A. antagonist
B. protagonist
C. narrator
D. opponent
RPDP Secondary Literacy
How did you do?
Next time you open up
a novel, think about the
narrator’s point of view,
the characters, the conflict,
the theme, and the writer’s
style and techniques.
You’ll see how they
all fit together and can open
up whole new worlds to you,
the reader.
RPDP Secondary Literacy
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Setting
Mood
Narrator’s Point of View
Character Development
Parts of a Plot
Tone and Style
Theme
RPDP Secondary Literacy
Copyright Notice
Permission is granted to copy (unmodified) all or part
of this PowerPoint for educational, personal, noncommercial use off-line as long as the copyright
message (Copyright © 2007 by Jill Leone) is
maintained on the title page. This material may not
be sold, duplicated on other websites, incorporated
in commercial documents or products, or used for
promotional purposes.
Copyright © 2007 by Jill M. Leone
RPDP Secondary Literacy