How does knowing about literary elements impact understanding a story?
When I think back to elementary school and the projects and activities that went along with reading a particular book the only thing that comes to mind are worksheets or book jackets where we were told to fill out the basics: characters, plot, setting, and mood. Although these are essential literary elements, we were never encouraged to use them in a way that made the reading as meaningful as possible to us. We were only obligated to scratch the surface of these elements but never truely think about them and their impact in the reading. While reading, the reader should always be thinking about each literary element, character, point of view, time, place, plot, mood, symbol, and theme, however, just thinking about these on the surface is not enough. In order for readers to dive deep into the story being read, thinking, discussing, and connecting these elements needs to be done. In my opinion, discussion is key. This allows students to hear differing points of view on the story and relate them to their own ideas and through this process deeper meaning is drawn from the text and ultimately a stronger understanding of the authors message is achieved.
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