Story Vocabulary

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Story Vocabulary
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Folktale

• A traditional story that was passed down orally
  long before being written down. The author is
  usually anonymous (unknown).
• Folktales include fables, fairy tales, myths,
  legends, parables, and tall tales

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Hero

• A literary works main character, usually one
  with admirable qualities.
• Hero can be a synonym for Protagonist.

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Fable

• A short, usually simple tale that teaches a moral
  lesson about human nature.
• Fables use animal characters.
• Themes of fables are usually stated outright.
  And the moral of this story is
• Example The Tortoise the Hare

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Parable

• A short story that teaches a moral lesson about
  human nature using human characters.
• Example The Bible story of the Prodigal Son

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Legend

• Legends tell stories of amazing events or
  accomplishments.
• A legend is usually exaggerated and gains
  elements of fantasy over the years.
• Stories about Davy Crockett and Johnny Appleseed
  are American legends.

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Myth

• A traditional story that deals with goddesses,
  gods, and/or supernatural events.
• Stories about Hercules are Greek myths.

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Tall Tale

• A wildly imaginative story, usually passed down
  orally, about fantastic adventures or amazing
  feats of folk heroes in realistic local settings.
• Stories about Paul Bunyan are tall tales.

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Biography

• The story of a persons life told by another
  person.
• Example You wrote a biographical paragraph about
  a famous president.

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Autobiography

• The story of a persons life told by that person.
• Example Rosa Parks described her role in the
  Montgomery bus boycott in her autobiography
  called My Story.

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Poetry

• Literature written in verse form.
• Some poetry rhymes, but not all poems rhyme.

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Drama

• Literature written to be performed on a stage (a
  play), on television, on screen, or on radio.

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Fantasy

• A genre of fiction that explores unreal worlds of
  the past, the present, and the future.
• Examples Eragon, the Harry Potter series, the
  Twilight series

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Mystery

• A genre of fiction that deals with a puzzling
  crime.
• Examples Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Scooby Doo

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Science Fiction

• A genre of fiction dealing with the impact of
  real science or imaginary super science on human
  or alien societies.
• Examples Stories about space travel, robots,
  time travel, and technology
• Contagion

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Historical Fiction

• A genre of fiction that sets characters against a
  historical backdrop and contains many details
  about the period in which it is set.
• Example Little House on the Prairie, Titanic

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Dialect

• A variation of language spoken by a particular
  group, often within a particular region. Dialects
  differ from standard language, because they may
  contain different pronunciation, forms, and
  meanings.

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Authors Purpose

• The intention of the writer. For example, the
  purpose may be to entertain, to describe, to
  explain, to persuade, to teach, or a combination
  of these purposes.

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Narrator

• The narrator is the person who tells a story. In
  some cases, the narrator is a character in the
  story.

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First Person Point of View

• The story is told by one of the characters
  referred to as I. The reader generally sees
  everything though that characters eyes.
• Example Max Kane in Freak the Mighty I never
  had a brain until Freak came along, and thats
  the truth.

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Third-Person Point of View

• The narrator reveals only the thoughts of one
  character, but refers to that character as he
  or she.
• Example Victor in Seventh Grade.

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Third-Person Omniscient Point of View

• The narrator reveals the thoughts of several
  characters and refers to all characters as he
  or she.

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Main Idea

• The overall idea of a piece of writing the
  primary message of the writing

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Context Clues

• Information near an unfamiliar word that suggest
  that words meaning.
• Juliet was so devastated when Romeo broke up with
  her that she cried for eight days.

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Fact

• A fact is something that is known to be true,
  something that actually occurred or can be
  proven.
• Example George W. Bush is a former President of
  the United States.

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Opinion

• An opinion is the view that a person takes about
  an issue. It is based on personal judgment.
• Example Abraham Lincoln was the greatest U.S.
  President.

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Fiction

• Fiction is a made up story that comes from the
  imagination of the writer.
• Example I wrote a story about what it would have
  been like to meet James K. Polk, the eleventh
  U.S. President.