Narrative Reading Unit

Narrative Reading Unit

Academic Terms

Narrative
Elements

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RL.1 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of
what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

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RL.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its
development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the
characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.

●

RL.3 Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or
drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a
decision.

State Standards

The academic terms in this lesson will help students achieve the

following state standards.

Narrative

A narrative is a story. Narratives follow a plot

structure to tell a story. Plot refers to all the events

that make up a narrative from beginning to end.

Fill in the Blank

Fill in the blank: A narrative is a ______.

Multiple Choice

Choose the correct order of a narrative's plot structure:

• Exposition, Rising Action, Falling Action, Climax, Resolution

• Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution

• Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution

• Resolution, Exposition, Rising Action, Falling Action, Resolution

Exposition

Exposition is the
beginning of a story.
In the exposition,
setting, characters,
and point of view are
introduced to
readers.

Who are your
characters, where
are they, who is
telling the story?

Multiple Choice

What is NOT introduced in a narrative's exposition?

• Conflict

• Setting

• Characters

• Point of View

The protagonist is the main
character in a story.

The antagonist is a
character, group of
characters, or event that is
against the protagonist.

Protagonist and Antagonist

Protagonist

Antagonist

Multiple Choice

Fill in the blank: The _______ is the main character in a story.

• antagonist

• villain

• hero

• protagonist

Multiple Choice

Fill in the blank: The _______ is a character, group of characters, or event that is against the protagonist.

• antagonist

• villain

• hero

• protagonist

Characterization

Characterizationis the development of a fictional

character’s personality.

Direct Characterization is how the narrator or

characters describe a character’s personality.

Indirect Characterization is how a character’s

actions, thoughts, statements, and appearance allow the
reader to form an idea about a character’s personality.

Multiple Choice

Identify the type of characterization used in the following excerpt:

"Jeff walked up to Mark and took his sandwich off of his plate without asking. He took a bite, smirked at Mark, and then walked away. As he walked away, he took Mark's unopened juice box."

• Direct Characterization

• Indirect Characterization

Open Ended

Based on the indirect characterization, how would you describe Jeff's character? Use ONE adjective.

"Jeff walked up to Mark and took his sandwich off of his plate without asking. He took a bite, smirked at Mark, and then walked away. As he walked away, he took Mark's unopened juice box."

Multiple Choice

The following excerpt is an example of what type of characterization?

"Diana had long, black hair that glistened in the sun. Her eyes were dark, big, and kind. When she smiled, her face made others smile in return."

• Indirect Characterization

• Sensory Details

• Direct Characterization

• Character Development

Setting

Setting is when
and where a story
takes place. The
setting is explicitly
stated or we must
infer it based on
sensory details.

Open Ended

Think of your favorite setting. Using 2-3 sentences, describe your favorite setting. Sensory details are a great way to describe setting.

Point of View

1st person: The narrator is a character in the story, speaking from
his/her own point of view (words like I, me, and we are used)

3rd person: The narrator is telling the story from an outside
perspective (words like he, she, and they are used)

Multiple Choice

What type of point of view is used in this excerpt?

"I always look forward to my summer vacation at the beach. I like to collect seashells and swim in the ocean."

• First-person point of view

• Third-person point of view

Point of View

THINK:What do you see
in this picture?

Point of view matters
because it affects what
information we receive.

Open Ended

What did you see in the picture?

Multiple Choice

What does first-person point of view allow readers to view?

• The protagonist's thoughts and feelings

• All characters' thoughts and feelings

Multiple Choice

What does third-person point of view allow readers to view?

• The protagonist's thoughts and feelings

• All characters' thoughts and feelings

Conflict

A conflict is a major problem the protagonist attempts to resolve throughout
the course of the plot. There can be multiple conflicts in a narrative, but there
is ONEmain conflictthat is most significant.

Types of Conflict

1.

Internal conflict: a problem a character has within themselves; these can
include emotions (difficult choices, fear, anxiety) or disorders (insanity)

2.

External conflict: a problem a character has with forces in the world
around them; these can include other characters (ex. a villain or monster),
forces of nature (ex. earthquakes, zombies), or problems in society (ex.
racism, poverty)

Multiple Choice

A character trying to survive a hurricane is an example of what type of conflict?

• Natural Disaster

• Complication

• Internal Conflict

• External Conflict

Multiple Choice

A student questioning whether to study for a test versus play video games is an example of what type of conflict?

• Natural Disaster

• Complication

• Internal Conflict

• External Conflict

Complications

Complications are
events that happen in a
story that keep the main
conflict from being
immediately solved.

Foreshadowing

THINK

What words or
phrases might
indicate
foreshadowing in
the following
passage?

Riley gazed, smiling at the tall trees surrounding her. She
breathed deeply the fresh pine scent of the forest.
Closing her eyes, she noted the sound of rushing water
in the creek, chirping crickets in the brush, and a
howling wolf in the distance. Singing a happy tune as she
skipped along in her red jacket, she thought: My
grandmother was so wrong; there is nothing to be afraid
of in these woods.

Foreshadowing is when readers predict future plot events in a

narrative. An author creates foreshadowing by giving is clues as to

what may happen.

Climax

The climax is the high point of
suspense and intensity that all
the other complications have
been building toward.

The climax is usually the
moment at which the main
character must finally deal
with the main conflict.

Fill in the Blank

The _______ is the high point of suspense and intensity that all the other complications have been building toward.

Resolution

The resolution refers to the
ending of a story, when the
main conflict has been
somehow resolved.

The resolution can either mean
a happy ending, or a sad one.

Multiple Choice

What happens in a narrative's resolution?

• The narrative's complications are resolved.

• The narrative's main conflict in resolved.

• The narrative's conflicts are introduced.

• The narrative's comes to a conclusion with a happy ending.

Theme

Theme refers to the major
lesson that a story attempts
to teach readers. There can
be many themes . A theme
is considered correct if you
support it with textual
evidence.

Open Ended

Write ONE of your favorite themes. A theme is written as ONE complete sentence. Use proper grammar and capitalization.