Literary Elements

5th Grade

y Elements
Literar
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Identify and understand an
author’s purpose for writing,
including to explain, to entertain
or to inform
Identify the speaker and explain
how point of view affects the text
Explain the influence of setting on
the selection
Explain how a character’s
thoughts, words and actions reveal
his or her motivations

What Students Need toKnow:
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author’s purpose

What Students Need to be
Able to Do:

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explain

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identify (author’s purpose, speaker)

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entertain

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understand (author’s purpose)

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inform

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explain (how point of view affects
text, influence of setting on selection,
how character’s thoughts, words and
actions reveal motivations)

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speaker

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point of view

•influence of setting

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character
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thoughts

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words

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actions

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motivations

Important Vocabulary
Point of view—The perspective or attitude of a narrator of a piece of literature

Literary Elements in Fiction
The literary elements power standard includes several concepts. First of all, throughout the year, students should be exposed to a variety of genres — fairytales, folk tales,
poetry, fiction and non-fiction. As each is presented to students, discussion about the
general characteristics of that genre should be discussed. Perhaps, charts might be
made listing the characteristics along with titles of books or selections read which fit
into the genre.
One of the characteristics of fiction is the presence of both characters and setting. Specialattention should be paid to the characters and setting as pieces of fiction are read.
The author’s choice of words greatly influences the reader’s conception of the characters
and setting. Take time to call attention to author word choices as you are discussing
character traits. Talk about what words the author used to help the reader understand
that the character was excited, angry, lonely, etc.Analyzing the literary elements helps readers see so much more in a text, especially as
they reflect and discuss their analyses with others.
We want our students to read beyond the words and literal meaning, to be swept up in
inferences that shape and drive their thinking. We want them to become aware of how
the writer uses language, symbolism, or other literary devices to foreshadow events andoutcomes. High-quality texts offer many levels of meaning. Peeling away the layers
helps students think more deeply about issues and relationships. In this way, literary
experience adds qualitatively to their life experiences.
In their book Guiding Readers and Writers 3-6, Fountas and Pinnell discuss the following elements of fiction. Although all of these are not mentioned in the grade levelindicators, many are implied or appear at later grades. Therefore, knowledge of them may
be beneficial to the teacher.
• characters — people, animals or inanimate objects in a story (WHO)
• plot—the interplay of action and tension in the story (WHAT HAPPENS)
• setting—time and place in which the story takes place (WHERE and WHEN)
• theme—the story message or messages. The big idea — what thestory is primarily
about (NOTE: This literary element is included in the summarizing power standard)
• perspective—the point of view taken by the narrator of the story (NOTE: point of
view if first mentioned at 4th grade indicators)
• style and language—how the author uses language to convey meaning
• illustrations—how meaning is communicated by the art that accompanies the text
• design—theentire visual presentation of the text
Two of the indicators (explain how an author’s choice of words appeals to the senses and
describe methods authors use to influence readers’ feelings and attitudes) address the
issue of style. Style refers to how the author uses language to convey meaning. Style is

now what is not what is said, but how it is said. The author chooses words and...