Analyzing Fiction - Point of View and Dramatic Irony

Point of view is the perspective from which a story is told. Most stories are told from either first-person point of view or third-person point of view. “Death by Scrabble” is told in first-person point of view. (Remember, "Heading Home" was told in the rarely seen second-person point of view.)

Sometimes, a writer gives the reader more information than the narrator or a character has. By doing so, the writer creates dramatic irony, a forceful contrast between what the reader knows to be true and what the narrator or character believes.

Have you seen The Lion King? It was one of my favorite movies as a kid, and one of those rare Disney movies that my brothers and I all liked (they weren't usually all about the princesses), which means we ended up watching it A LOT. We even bought the soundtrack and made our mom play it over and over again in the car. I can still sing every word to every song from that movie. I'll spare you a concert. :)

What you might not have realized when you watched that movie as a kid is that it's an excellent example of dramatic irony. I know, I know - that's not a term you're familiar with, but just stick with me here. Read this hilarious comic for a definition of dramatic irony:

Source: theoatmeal.com

The comics below are good examples of dramatic irony as well. We (the audience) see and understand what's about to happen, but the characters do not.

So, how does that apply to The Lion King? Watch this:

And then watch this:

Scar tells Simba that he is responsible for Mufasa's death and convinces Simba that he needs to run away and never return. Simba spends the rest of the movie dealing with the overwhelming, soul-crushing guilt that he caused the stampede that killed his father, never knowing that Scar actually murdered Mufasa and scared Simba off so he could be the king. 

That's dramatic irony. The audience knows all along that Scar is the villain, but Simba never figures it out until the end. And that's important because, as everyone knows, Simba is the rightful king and the only one who can take power back from Scar after he's completely ruined the Pride Lands by over hunting to feed his hyena army.

Now that you know all about dramatic irony, head on over to our Google Classroom page for your assignment!

Analyzing Fiction - Suspense

Today in class we read the short story Heading Home by Ramsey Campbell. It's a very short story with a LOT of suspense packed in, and almost all of you were totally surprised by the ending. I love stories like that!

If you've ever watched a scary movie, read a creepy book, walked through the woods in the dark, or have been left home alone at night, you've probably experienced the sensation of suspense. It's that uncomfortable nervous feeling you have when you're not sure what's going to happen next, but you can almost guarantee that it won't be good.

In movies, suspenseful moments are pretty easy to identify. The following movie clips are some of the most famous suspenseful scenes of all time. Cue the foreboding music!

Jurassic Park (1997): Velociraptors want to know, "Why you no want to hang out with us, childrens?"

Jaws (1975): The shark attack that filled my nightmares. Warning: there will be blood.

The Dark Knight (2008): The Joker has a totally psychotic social experiment. Fun on a boat!

 

While movies have the luxury of music, lighting, and set design to create nail-biting, breath-taking, heart-pounding moments, in stories, we depend on the author to provide suspense for us. Not an easy task! So, how do they do it? I'm so glad you asked!

After you've read and annotated the short story Death by Scrabble by Charlie Fish, you will need to visit this website to learn all about how writers create tension (suspense) in a story. Taking notes on that page would be helpful, but is not required. Once you've studied that page closely, head on over to Google Classroom for your assignment!

Analyzing Fiction - Justifying Evidence

Howdy ya'll! Today we're going to be talking about how to justify the evidence you collected to prove your theme. Sound confusing? It's not so bad!

The first thing you need to understand is that not all evidence is created equal. The process you'll go through today will help you identify the information that you want to keep and weed out the stuff that doesn't really help make your case. So, let's talk a little bit about evidence, shall we?

Good evidence...

• directly supports the idea you are presenting.
• is clearly explained on how it supports. (This is what you're doing today!)
• is directly from the text.

Bad evidence...

• somewhat supports your idea, but it's a stretch. Not super clear; feels forced.
• is not explained; just listed. 
• is all summarized and very brief.
• doesn't support the complete idea you're presenting.

Ugly evidence...

• doesn't support your idea at all.
• seems random.
• has no explanation.
• just plain doesn't exist!

In the video below, I'll walk you through my process and then you'll do the same with your story. Remember, to prove a theme, you need to have evidence from throughout your entire story. So, you may have a theme that is strong, but maybe you haven't considered all of the evidence you could include. 

Analyzing Fiction - Finding the Theme

Hey kids! Time for another mini-lesson video from yours truly. Only fifteen minutes this time! Notes are optional but definitely encouraged. Go ahead and watch the video for your next assignment. You will find your actual assignment in Google Classroom. Enjoy!

(Optional) More resources for finding theme:

• This teacher is awesome. Watch his video. It's way better than mine...and shorter! ;) 
• This is a great anchor chart. Feel free to copy it as your notes to keep in your mini-lesson section of your binder.
  

Analyzing Fiction: Explicit vs. Implicit Information

Howdy all! Today instead of just watching or listening to me in a video, I have an activity for you that you'll do with your group. Read the post all the way through, and then get together with your group to complete the activity. If you have any questions, comment below or let me know!

Before we get started, go ahead and get a note page set up to look like this:

An important part of analyzing fiction is being able to use a combination of explicit and implicit information to make an inference.

Yeah, I know. I'm pulling out the big guns with those words. They'll be less confusing once we define them though.

• Explicit – information that is clearly stated so there is no room for confusion or questions. (The prefix ex means OUT. So this is information that's out in the open for anyone to see.)
• Implicit – information that is implied or suggested, but not clearly stated. (The prefix im means IN. So this is information that is hidden in the text.)
• Inference – a conclusion made based on both information/evidence and reasoning.

Now that we've defined those words, let's practice identifying explicit and implicit information with some movie trailers. Movie trailers attempt to balance explicit and implicit information. They reveal enough explicit information to give you a sense of the movie’s premise, yet they rely on implicit information to capture their viewer’s imaginations. If the movie trailer has been successful, the audience will be intrigued enough about the movie to pay to see it.

Watch this trailer of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 and record as much explicit information as you can on the left side of your t-chart.

There's a lot of information there, so watch it a couple of times if you need to. When you are finished recording explicit information, get together with your group and try to brainstorm the implicit information revealed in the trailer.  Any implications about Prim perhaps? Or what Katniss will do to President Snow?

Let's try again with another movie trailer. This time, let's watch the trailer for something less familiar. On your t-chart, write Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials. As you watch it, record as much explicit information as you can on the left side, and then once again, brainstorm the implicit information on the right.

Are you starting to see how the explicit information and the implicit information work together in movie trailers to make you want to see a movie?

And, now for your assignment! It's only a five minute video! ;)

And a quick shot of my example in case you need to refer back to it:

That's it from me! Work with your group and have fun! :)

OPTIONAL - Process for Writing a Reading Response

Hey guys, I thought it might be helpful for you to see the thinking process I use to write a reading response. Check out the video below if you'd like! Below you can see a picture of my completed response. Don't forget that we have Reading Response Organizers that will help you write a great response! See you tomorrow!

My finished response:

 

 

Analyzing Fiction - Making Inferences

Alrighty, here is your next video! Sorry about all of the delays, but I finally have this figured out, and all of the videos will be crystal clear from here on out. Woohoo!

Before you hit play, make sure you have a piece of paper, something to write with, and something to write on. You will be taking notes as you watch.

When you're done, read independently, and don't forget to keep track of your thinking on post its as you go!

Optional:

• Need more help with inferring? This page has some great practice exercises: http://www.laflemm.com/reso/inference.html
• This is a great anchor chart about making character inferences: http://www.clipzine.me/u/clip/66361099411310263987
• Scroll down a bit on this page to see two awesome anchor charts on inferring theme: http://missklohnsclassroom.blogspot.com/2012/10/anchors-away.html

Analyzing Poetry - The ARTWARS Method

Please excuse the goofiness of this video! It's a little silly at times, but the maker of this tutorial has some great ideas about how to analyze poetry. This is one of about a hundred methods that you could use to pick apart a poem to discover its meaning. We'll be watching this as a class next week, but feel free to watch it today to prepare yourselves!

Figurative Language Videos

As you've probably noticed by now, poetry is full of potentially confusing figurative language. Understanding the types of figurative language that poets use most often might help you decipher some of the poems you've been reading. Use the videos below to teach yourself about figurative language!

Similes and Metaphors in pop culture. Hilarious and accurate!

A great video highlighting the difference between personification and anthropomorphism:

Onomatopoeia (sounds represented in word form) is pretty popular in songs, but you might not have noticed before.

Hyperboles are extreme exaggeration, and musicians LOVE to exaggerate. :)