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Here’s my road to teaching structure in my English classroom:
First 10 years: Didn't know ‘structure’ was a thing I should be teaching. (It was a subconscious act in my own writing.)
Next 5 years: Saw it in the curriculum. Ignored it. (It's probably nothing. There's structure, and there's language. Surely language is the important thing - I'll stick to that, thanks!)
Next 5 years: Guilt. (I think I should be doing something about this but what the heck is structure anyway? I think I'm the only one who doesn't know ... but I think I'm probably doing it accidentally ...right? OMG.)
The last 5 years: Actively thought about it, played with working out what structure is and how to fit it into my programme…but for much of that time I was out of the classroom, so I had time to think. LOL. Cry.
If you’re still in camp "Structure?! Oh, I'll teach letter-writing because letters have a clear structure but OMG do we even write letters anymore?" you’re not alone!
Let’s get this party…structured with a basic overview you can use as your ‘go-to’. So, structure is:
How something is narrated:
First person
Second person
Third person limited – telling the story of one of the characters.
Third person objective – telling the story of all the characters but staying out of their heads.
Third person omniscient – AKA eye of God – sees all, knows all (in the characters’ heads).
Alternating/change in narrator.
The way people's words are woven into the text:
Dialogue
Direct quotation
Paraphrasing.
Punctuation. Especially:
Ellipses (…)
Dashes
Colons
Semi-colons (Remember the rule: have a complete sentence either side.)
Brackets - round or square (they have different purposes)
Sentences:
Syntax – the arrangement of words in a sentence. For example:
The waka moved swiftly through the water at dawn.
At dawn, the waka moved swiftly through the water.
Interesting sentence beginnings. For example, beginning with:
An adverb – Swiftly, the waka moved…
A preposition – At dawn, the waka moved…
A present participle (AKA a verb in the present tense) – Paddling like mad, Sid…
A word ending in …ed – Exhausted, Sid…
The wee words – With… If… As…
Sentence structures. For example:
Your basic simple, compound and complex structures – teach those first for solid grammar. Tip: begin with what a complete sentence needs (a subject and a verb), then extend to object, then teach what a clause (clauses contain a verb) and a phrase is (phrases are verb 'phree'!).
Minor sentences – Nah.
Parallel structures – He waits; he shivers.
Listing
Steam of consciousness – long, rambling things that go on for days without a full stop (like, on purpose - LOL).
Heavy in the adjectival phrase – This device is thin, elegant and sure to impress.
How deeper meanings are shown - Eg:
Allusion
Allegory
Contrast
Extended metaphor (I love Langston Hughes poem, “Mother to Son” for teaching this.)
Juxtaposition
Arrangement (for want of a better word) – This includes:
Narrative structure – this is about IDEAS. Eg:
The structure of an essay paragraph with point, explanation, example, critical thinking.
The structure of a story – the tragedy, the hero’s journey, the twist at the end, beginning with a crisis then multiple crises from there, the basic exposition, middle, satisfactory end, flashback, foreshadowing…
Actual layout on the page – this is about LOOKS (AKA format). Eg:
The layout of a letter with address at the top, date, salutation, body, complementary close etc.
The layout of a script with speakers down the side, stage directions in square brackets/italics etc.
A poem with words written in the shape of a snail.
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There you go – structure in a nutshell! (Tip: I laminate teaching checklists – eg: key steps in reading – and leave them on my desk to refer to. Anything to avoid more thinking, remembering, or reinventing of the wheel!)
For a free printable download of this overview, click here.
Enjoy!
Sue 🌻
Also available in my TPT store here.
This says it's for NCEA 1.3 Writing, but in truth it could be used for Years 10-13!
Also available in my TPT store here.
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