For the needs of my seventh grade class, a fully comprehensive coverage of all aspects related to the genre of the short story is not necessary. I will, however, offer many more terms than one might expect of the average seventh grader. My purposes in offering an expanded list of terms in this section are three. First, the list will offer a simpler guide to how far this unit may be adapted to suit the needs of elementary or high school students. Second, it offers a simpler mode of modifying lessons in the classroom for special needs or enrichment purposes. Third, it will offer brief summaries of the terms and suggest how they may be described.
Plot
“Beginning, middle, and end” is the simplest method of describing plot. This way of looking at stories is straightforward and easy for students to grasp. I have found most students are familiar with these terms when I check for prior knowledge at the beginning our short story unit. This is a good point to embark from. I expect all my seventh graders to fully understand the next set of terms for referring to plot.
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“Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution” is a more expanded and detailed way of looking at the components of a story’s plot. There are obvious parallels between the simpler approach above and this one. “Beginning” matches up nicely with “exposition” as does “end” with “resolution.” Exposition is generally when the reader is introduced to the characters, the setting, and often preexisting events or conflicts. Resolution is when there is nothing else left to happen. Resolution is a more precise term to use, because it does not suggest the utter finality that the term “end” does. There are many ways to consider the resolution of a story. A tale can come to complete resolution. This we often refer to as the happy ending. Many stories end without complete resolution, however. This is why it is preferable to refer to the conclusions of stories as coming to a certain degree of resolution.
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The middle of the story can then be separated for more careful inspection into the rising action, climax, and falling action. Rising action begins with the introduction of conflict to the plot. At that point suspense begins to build if we are sympathetic to the characters. Further complications and conflict add to the rising action until the climax brings the action to a high point. Usually, the climax is marked by an event that will change the characters and the direction of the story significantly. Falling action follows. In short stories this aspect of the story is sometimes difficult for readers to pinpoint. The events during falling action show the characters adjusting, or failing to adjust, to the changes that have been brought about in the course of the story.
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There are many terms associated with plot. Any number of them can be incorporated into lessons or extension exercises. I expect my seventh graders to learn the majority of these terms.
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characters- the fictional persons presented in a story
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main character - the character the action of the story centers around
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secondary or supporting characters - characters the protagonist has interactions and conflicts with, but who are not central to the story
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narrator - the voice telling the story, often a character in the story but not always
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protagonist - the main character, also hero and heroine
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antagonist - the character opposed to the protagonist, the villain
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conflict - the difficulties the character(s) confront in the story
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internal conflict - when the character has difficulties with a goal she set for herself external conflict - when conflict is caused by something outside the character’s control; human v. human; human v. nature; human v. technology
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types of stories - tragic, comic, satiric, and romantic
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point of view - first person, third person, omniscient, limited point of view
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sub plot - a second story within the main plot of the story (this is often easier to teach through novels, but many short stories employ sub plots)
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suspense - anticipation built by events in a story and our predictions as to what might happen.
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flashbacks - scenes in a story that recall events that occurred before the exposition of the story began, i.e. scenes from the character’s past
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foreshadowing - clues in the story suggesting what might befall the characters
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symbols - signs the writer uses to represent other ideas or aspects of the story
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prose - the common, ordinary way of writing discourse, not poetry
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fiction - literature which is not factual
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theme - the message behind the story
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motif - a repeating or common device, occurrence, or stock character that is common to many different works of literature (the court jester of many fairy tales for example)
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leitmotif - a repeating saying, image, or symbol that reoccurs within an individual piece of writing
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setting - the location, time, and circumstances of the story
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mood - the overall feeling of the story: happy, tense, suspenseful, joyful, calm