4th Grade Language Arts
Realistic Fiction
Unit 2
Unit 2: Realistic Fiction
Themes
Themes are very key to understand when reading, and here's why.
The theme of a story is what the author is trying to convey — in other words, the central idea of the story or the message. Short stories often have just one theme, whereas novels usually have multiple themes. The theme of a story is woven all the way through the story, and the characters' actions, interactions, and motivations all reflect the story's theme. Themes can often appear as a lesson or message that the reader understands by reading between the lines.
Each topic in this unit are interwoven with each other. You just used a skill learned when inferring to figure out what the themes of stories are!
Let's Practice!
Watch this video and then see if you picked up the important main themes of this story!
The main theme of this book was treat people the way you want to be treated.
The theme of this book was: kindness, courage, and compassion.
The theme was kindness because in the book it shows that even if someone is being mean to you, you should still be nice to them.
The theme was courage because she went to help Ralph even though he was mean to her.
The theme was compassion because Lucy showed compassion to Ralph even though he was being mean to her.
Story Elements
Story elements are just parts of a story or a narrative.
The main narrative elements are:
Characters: what the people or animals a story is about.
Setting: the time and place in which a story takes place.
Plot: tells the events that happen in a story.
Conflict: the problem in the story.
Theme: the message of the story.
Check out this link to learn a catchy song about the elements of a story! https://www.flocabulary.com/unit/fivethings/
Point of View
Point of view refers to the person who is telling the story or “speaking.”
When you write a letter, you are writing in first person, which includes the words I, me, my, we, and our. Second person writing occurs when the author talks about you and yours, and third person includes the words he, she, they, his, her, and their. In third person writing, the author does not put himself in the story.
First Person
In first person, the main character tells the story.
Second Person
In second person, the story is told as though it is happening to you.
Third Person
In third person, a narrator tells the story as if she is watching it happen.