Bringing knowledge to children and children to God
English / Language Arts
LITERARY ANALYSIS
Students that read a literary work only because it was given as an assignment would likely benefit from the realization that a story is more than a mere record of events. Authors usually want readers to take something away from the pieces they’ve created—to leave them with much to think about and remember. Hence, students who read with this attitude miss out on the numerous opportunities provided by quality literature in terms of examining life's important questions and related truths.
No one wants to reduce a pupil's interactions with works of artistic value to mere “message hunting,” but the fact remains that well-written prose offers an abundance of possibilities in terms of growth and understanding. Therefore, learners who view literature as applicable to their own lives, are sensitive to the lessons or messages hidden beneath the surface and seek to determine whether those messages are true and significant, are likely to not only improve their grasp of how the world works, but also create a better life for themselves and those around them.
Accordingly, one of the main goals of this course is to help awaken students to the treasures awaiting those able to extract insight and revelation from the pages of a good book. Our focus will primarily be in the following areas:
1. Characters
2. Setting
3. Theme
4. Plot
5. Point of view
6. Structure
LESSON 1
Analyzing a book is nearly, if not completely, impossible if you can't figure out what it is about. This task is made all the more difficult if you cannot identify the main topic of a paragraph, which is, in turn, a major challenge if you are unable to recognize the subject of a sentence. Consequently, this is where we will begin our instruction.
The first step to identifying the subject of a sentence developing an understanding of the concept of nouns.
Once you know a noun "when you see one" it is time to begin figuring out what is the subject of a sentence.
If a noun is a person, place or thing, you should be able to draw it, which is exactly what we require our students do with any word they say is a noun.
Some students find verbs easier to identify than nouns. For them, it makes more sense to locate the action in the sentence, and then look to see who or what is doing it.
If a verb is an action word, you should be able demonstrate it, which is exactly what we require our students to do...
If your learner has the above skills mastered, he or she should skip to lesson...
This first presentation will...
