English Literature Review

Admittedly before reading The Norton Introduction to Literature section of our reading homework my perception of literature is mostly based on stereotypes and misconceptions. For instance, I am not sure why despite the fact that I genuinely enjoy reading I have avoided literature to a degree. I am not sure if I thought I might not comprehend the books content or author’s intent. Or because social stereotypes suggest literature to be the property of Harvard elite and English gentleman instead a common man such as myself? Either way after reading the books introduction to literature I now understand how it can reflect perceptions, preconceptions, and most importantly misconceptions in human society from both the author and readers views point.

The Simple View of Reading (SVoR) model suggests that children must have language comprehension and word recognition skills to be proficient readers, Medwell et al (2014). Jim Rose’s report (2006, p. 40) outlined the Simple View of Reading as a useful framework, which would make explicit to teachers what they need to teach about word recognition and language comprehension (see appendix 1). Before the Rose report, reading was defined as decoding black marks, Graham and Kelly (2012). After this the searchlights model suggested that phonics, grammatical knowledge, reading comprehension and graphic knowledge are equally useful tools when learning to read, Ward (2008). The Rose report’s Independent Review of the Teaching of Early reading reconstructed this model and created the SVoR. Rose (2006, p. 38) determines word recognition as a process which allows you to use “phonics to recognise words” and language comprehension as the means by which “word information, sentences and discourse are interpreted.” The SVoR suggests that, to become a fluent reader, the skills of language comprehension and word recognition are equally important and dependent on each other. Gough and Tummer first mentioned this model, as stated that “comprehension is not sufficient, for decoding is also necessary” Wyse et al (2013, p.

Soft moonlight lit the land and sea kindly, almost as if it were giving gentle kisses. It kissed the sea and the waves it formed, it kissed the drowsy ship which laid on said water, it kissed the sand the waves lapped at, it kissed the grassy cliff above the shore, and it kissed the girl who slept on said cliff.

The class I chose to observe was an eighth grade ELA class. There were twenty students in this class, eight of the students were English language learners. The ELL students’ overall WIDA scores ranged from 3.9 to 5.6. A review of the WIDA data indicated that speaking and writing scores for these six students were weaker skill areas in comparison to their overall score, ranging from 3.4 to 4.6.

The Fry Sight-Word Inventory is an informal, criterion-referenced screener which measures high-frequency word achievement. Fry 's Instant Words have been determined as the most common words used in English ranked in order of frequency. Specifically, Fry found that twenty-five words make up approximately a third of all items published, one-hundred words comprise almost half of all of the words found in publications, and three-hundred words make up approximately sixty-five percent of all written material. The first three-hundred words on Fry’s list should be mastered by the end of corresponding grade levels, and lists four through ten should be mastered between fourth and fifth grades. Each hundred words are broken down even further into twenty-five words per list, according to difficulty and frequency, and should be assessed sequentially. The goal of progress monitoring high-frequency word mastery is to increase fluency on high-frequency words in order to further automaticity within our students’ reading, which ultimately impacts overall comprehension.

Thomas C. Foster, in his novel, How to Read Literature Like a Professor, gives many examples of sex being shown symbolically in literature. He imparts in the reader an idea that sex is everywhere in a typical novel, and that many details in a work-- most details, even-- are representative of sex: “Tall buildings? Male sexuality. Rolling landscapes? Female sexuality. Stairs? Sexual intercourse. Falling down stairs? Oh my” (Foster 136). And, yes-- sex is truly everywhere in The Handmaid’s Tale. The importance of sex in the dystopian society known as “Gilead” is huge; sex is what the entire Gileadian regime is based around-- reproduction, more specifically. Symbols of fertility

There are many components to building a student’s reading skill set. One skill that is introduced in preschool and developed through the primary grades is phonemic awareness. The term phonemic awareness is defined as the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate phonemes – individual sounds. The child becomes aware of how sounds are connected to words prior to reading. This awareness creates the understanding of how phonemes explains how the smallest part of sound creates a difference in sound to the meaning of a word. Therefore, the ability to dismantle words, and reassemble them, and then to alter the word into something different explains the concept behind phonemic awareness. It is the primary foundation in which other reading skill sets are according based.

The author describes the purpose for masking sex scenes in literature is to make it a more symbolic event. Simply describing two people taking part in intercourse does not reveal as much as “hidden” intercourse. The author states that coded sex scenes are “more intense than literal depictions.” This may be due to the fact that the words needed to describe the event taking place would be the most intense words. The scene needs to have the same air and effect that intercourse does. Writers take ordinary everyday events and intensifies them in order to get to the intimate level of intercourse. Literal intercourse in literature does not have the same effect as coded intercourse because everyone expects the intercourse as it already is describing.

Throughout the history of English literature there has been a distinguished group of outcasts known as the other. The characters who are typically labeled the others are individuals that are perceived by a larger group as not belonging and are flawed in an essential way. The larger group sets the standards for what is normal and what is not. If a character is not up to par with such set forth standards they are labeled the other. The novels presented in AP English IV have contained multiple characters who became known as the others.

In an age where the printed novel has been somewhat on the decline, and the necessity of readable fiction has almost faded into obscurity. I believe that literature still harbours a crucial part within our society; from the very foundations of most theatrical adaptations, to preserving the culture and encapsulating the feelings of generations past. In this case literature cements itself as one of the most decisive elements of our civilisation, and combining it with history makes it become a testament to who we are as people, as well as the conservation of both our progression and degradation. I have always enjoyed reading literature, from reading J.R.R Tolkien’s classic ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy within my childhood, to perhaps more sophisticated,

Trying to figure out how Flaubert wanted readers to view religion in his short story “A Simple Heart” is challenging at times. Felicite has been misunderstood by many regarding her representation of religion. Her innocence is not to be look at as a burden, it allows her to share a good relationship with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had been reduced to taxidermy as it portrayed as Felicite’s per parrot Loulou. Felicite’s spiritual world had been reduced to something not permanent made the story difficult to evaluate the seriousness in regards to religion. After reevaluating the role Loulou played on Felicite’s life. “A Simple Heart” becomes a spiritual journey. With an open

In conducting the Counterinsurgency agent networks and noncombatant-targeted violence study, researchers attempted to identify how and why recruited foreign agents become subjects of violence. The researchers, also attempt to identifying in what manner and why this transpires is crucial for emerging intelligence methods to improve and implement effective Counterinsurgency standard operating procedures.

In “An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory” Bennett and Royle, explore topics such as subjectivity and ideology. In the Chapters “Me” and Ideology”, Bennett and Royle are able to define the terms as well as suggest how they are interrelated or interconnected. Bennett and Royle contend that literature replicates structures of ideology while encouraging subjects to question personal idenitity. They believe “subjects – people – make their own ideology at the same time as ideology makes them subjects” (Bennett and Royle 202). Stevens exemplifies Bennett and Royles contentions by building his ideologies around his profession as a bulter at the risk of losing himself to the subjection of his ideologies in which he can never be alone and cannot exist without his profession or the justications of his profession.

Oral language is also an important component in reading. When a child enters school, they enter with an amount of oral language and background knowledge that would come from their experiences so far. This knowledge helps them to understand their peers and others around them. The amount of oral language development within is student, directly reflects upon their reading level. The easier it is for a child to speak, the easier it is for them to pick up reading. Reading is not an easy task, but oral language does help with the process. Additionally, oral language would also help with the recognizing and association of words to text that is being read. There may be a situation in which the student is reading about for which they can relate too. This could be due to their prior oral language development. Associating words that are recognized in their vocabulary with words that are in the text creates a link that the student can expand on. This

When data from students who had average accuracy and fluency scores, but lower comprehension scores were compared to data from those with similar accuracy and fluency but average comprehension, the consistent differences were found to be lower oral language and vocabulary skills in the poor comprehenders upon entry into formal schooling. (Nation, Cocksey, Taylor & Bishop) Thousands of dollars each year are spent on intervention, trying to improve the reading of children that show delays. When one reads, the clear goal is comprehension of what is read. Without communication of ideas between the author and reader, decoding texts is pointless. Most intervention programs are focused on phonics and word decoding. Oral language interventions concurrent with vocabulary and comprehension tasks at age eight have been shown to lead to significant improvements in reading comprehension. (Nation, et al., 2010). Reading comprehension is not merely a product of being able to decode words and sentences. How we teach children to process and integrate the ideas found in text can have a large impact on their ability to function in a world of ever expanding knowledge and information.