Appreciating Literature- 20 Favourite Audio Books for Children

All stories have a particular structure. Its structure is its literary elements and are presented to the reader, listener, viewer in a particular way.

STORY STRUCTURE AND ELEMENTS

The narrative text structures are the plot and the setting. The plot is the sequence of events that are linked. The plot is similar to the story-line where the story events are organized in a particular manner. The plot shows the cause-and-effect relationship between the events in a story. Observe the events for the Cinderella story:

Thus, with close examination, a narrative is divided into five parts: an exposition (introduction), the rising action, the climax, the falling action and the denouement (conclusion).

The exposition introduces the characters, especially the main character, the protagonist. it shows how the characters relate to one another,

The rising action starts with a conflict. A conflict could be the death of a character, the loss of something, . The rising actions builds up the events which causes the protagonist to go into motion and to take action. At the climax, the protagonist has goals, but is small problems interferes with the protagonist who has to overcome the problems.

Climax is the turning point, the highest point of the story. This is when the protagonist make a big decision that defines what could happen next and show the protagonist character developing. The climax occupies the middle of the story. At this phrase the audience sees the protagonist and antagonist come in conflict.

Falling action consists of events that lead to the ending. The characters are given the upper hand in resolving their problems

Denouement (or conclusion) is the time when both the antagonist and protagonist have to solve the problems they have.

We suggest you use the narrative organizer in your comprehension exercises.

Theme

In literature, the theme is the main idea of a writing, a novel, short story, or literary work. It is sometimes defined as the moral of a story, though not all stories have a moral. The theme of a story is expressed using characters, setting, dialogue, plot or a combination of all these elements.

Some common themes in literature are:

1. good vs. evil,
2. love,
3. redemption,
4. courage and perseverance,
5. coming of age, and
6. revenge.

Here are some short stories with some of these common themes. example: Animal Farm ( Good vs Evil; Enemy Pie (Coming of age); Winnie the Pooh (friendship); Robin Hood ( Characters strive to right wrong); Guji Guji (revenge).

The Importance of Reading

Reading can be a passive activity. It helps you develop your mind and language skills. The more you read, the better you get at expressing your thoughts accurately so others can understand you. Reading also opens your mind to understanding your world, yourself and your purpose in life.

Also, it helps you develop your critical reading skills. These skills helps you:

1. Identify relevant and irrelevant information.
2. Interpret propaganda techniques.
3. Perceive bias.
4. Identify adequacy of materials.
5. Understand reliability of author.
6. Differentiate facts and opinions.
7. Separate real and unreal information.
8. Understand fallacies in reasoning.

Also, reading helps you develop your critical reading skills. These techniques will help you develop this critical reading skill.

Short stories to read

Grades 1-2
Grades 2-3
Grades 4-5
Grades 5-6

Worksheets

Premium Worksheet

View more premium worksheets

There are more information and activities for many of these skills in this lesson.

We encourage you to read everyday. We have also posted a number of audio books for children who visit the site; these books can help them grow to love literature more and more each day. Here are 20 of our favourite books and some other suggestion for children who love to read.