Mr. Duque’s Reading Class

Fables

Fables are a type of traditional literature in which animals are portrayed with human traits and often include a moral or lesson that should be learned.  Some fables are hundreds of years old, or even thousands of years old, in the case of Aesop.  Fables fall under the category of folktales, so many of the characters of these two genres are similar.  Three main characteristics of fables make them different from other narrative structures:

1.                  Fables are short and to the point, probably because they appeal to traditional storytellers around the world.

2.                The main characters are usually animals that possess human-like character traits.  The foibles of these personified animals contain human lessons.

3.     A moral is usually found directly or indirectly at the end of the story.  Fables are poetic, with double or allegorical significance.

Biography

        A biography is the account of one person’s life, written by someone else.  The subject of a biography may be living or dead.  A biography may take on the perspective of the writer.  It chronicles the interesting events of the subject’s life and leads the reader to make judgments about the subject’s persona and think critically about the decisions he/she made throughout his/her life.  There are partial biographies and complete/full biographies.  A partial biography tells about one significant event in the subject’s life, and a complete/full biography provides information about the subject’s entire life.

Autobiography

        An autobiography accounts for a complete account of a writer’s life – a chronicle.  The fact that there are so many events, the writer must decide on the theme or themes that best represent his/her life.  Autobiographies are laid out in a dutiful line from birth to fame, accounting for significant events that relate to the theme.

        As in a biography, the subject of an autobiography experiences overcoming obstacles or problems that arise out of conflicts between people, internal conflicts, and struggles against nature and society.

Memoir

        A memoir is sometimes confused with autobiography.  A memoir is an account of a personal or historical experience – a point in time.  The two major distinctions are 1. An autobiography accounts for a complete account of the writer’s life - a chronicle, while a memoir accounts for a point in time - a snippet of the writer’s life and it is told from that person’s point of view.  2. Autobiographies are laid out in a purposeful line from birth to fame, accounting for significant events that relate to the theme.  A memoir is a sequence of feelings, thoughts, and observations of a specific personal or historical experience; “memoir is not a life; it’s a window into a life.  It’s a perspective on a life” (Calkins, 1994).

Mystery

        Mysteries are a subgenre of realistic fiction.  Within the mystery genre there are different categories in which mysteries can be placed.  They include:

·        Historical mystery takes the reader to another time and place in the past.

·        Detective mystery, traditional private-eye mystery, has the detective using clues to investigate, and a solution that involves punishing the guilty.

·        Fantasy mysteries incorporate the use of ghosts and magic to take the reader out of the real world into the make-believe fantasy world.

·        Problem and puzzle mysteries present a problem and challenge the reader to solve the problem or puzzle by providing clues.  The problem is usually revealed in the first chapters, and the reader is taken through a series of puzzling events until the solution to the problem is revealed.

Mystery stories follow the familiar narrative story structure that includes characters, setting, problems, actions taken to solve the problems, and resolution.  An important characteristic of mystery is suspense.  Suspense builds as the reader wonders if and when the mystery will be solved.  The reader generates questions along the way as the mystery is read, “Who did it?” “What happened?” “Why?”  

Within the mystery, the setting is either integral to the plot or simply a backdrop to the action.  The main characters in a mystery are fully developed and the supporting characters are flat.  The plot of the mystery is complex and includes events, the clues to solve the mystery, and the actions of the characters.

Spelling

        We have a 2-week spelling cycle which will focus on a spelling pattern, sound, or derivative.  Please see the schedule attached to packets for homework activities.

        The exploration of spelling patterns is a major focus for advancing writers.  Explorations of spelling patterns allow writers to focus on groups of letters that represent sounds they hear in words.  Most importantly, an emphasis on spelling patterns assists students in learning to visualize and remember words. 

        Students will develop

·        An increased awareness of visual patterns in spelling which leads to remembering possible spelling of words

·        The understanding that most spelling patterns represent a variety of sounds

·        The knowledge of possible sequences of letters in words

·        The awareness that certain spelling patterns are located in certain places in words

·        The ability to try different pronunciation when reading unfamiliar words