Lecture Notes: Significance of Literature and Types of Literature for Children

Fill-in-the-blank style flashcards covering key concepts from Pages 26-42, including literacy-literature definitions, traditional literature, poetry forms, fiction/non-fiction genres, and documentary/infographics.

Literacy

is the ability to decode text and to produce text to make meaning.

Literature

is the art of reading and writing.

traditional literature, poetry, fiction, and non-fiction.

The four major literary genres introduced in this module

Traditional literature

is a literature that has no known author and stories handed down orally.

Folktales

are stories from the common folks and sometimes talking animals and usually happen in a village.

Fairy tales

have characters of nobility and royalty and occur in palaces/ kingdoms.

Myths

expresses and confirms society’s religious values and norms. It is closely linked to religion.

Epics

are heroic tales of extraordinary mortals and generally feature humans as their main character doing extraordinary deeds to save humanity.

Legends

are stories that talk about origins, explaining why something is the way it is.

Fables

originated from the Panchatantra and are stories with moral standards taught to the young princes of India.

Parables

are taken from the Bible , specifically the New Testament.

Tall tales

are stories that are told as if true but contain exaggerated or unbelievable parts; they often combine fact and opinion.

Folk songs

are songs sung by common folks and used to describe one’s way of life.

Riddle

is a statement, question, or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. It is usually spoken in Mother-tongue.

Chant

is the iterative speaking or singing of words, often with the Babaylan known chanters when doing healing

Poetry

is the art of expressing ideas and feelings through a rhythmical composition of words chosen for their sonorous effects.

Nursery rhymes

are the simplest type of poetry for children and root firmly planted in mother goose rhymes.

A limerick

is a five-line humorous poem with the pattern a-a-b-b-a

Narrative poems

Tells stories in verses. Many of them are ancient and originally intended to be recited to audiences

Lyric poetry

typically describes the poet’s innermost feelings and evokes a musical quality in its sounds and rhythms. It can be sung.

Haiku

is a lyric, unrhymed poem of Japanese origin with seventeen syllables divided into three lines.

Cinquain

is a five-line stanza apparently of medieval origin, often with two, four, six, eight, and two syllables respectively in the five lines.

Acrostic poems

take their structure from the letters of a word representing the theme.

Concrete poetry

is described as having words of a poem arranged to form a pictorial representation of the poem’s subject.

Free verse

adheres to no predetermined rules

Didactic poem

Usually preaches and gives a serious and formal tone. It usually has a four-line stanza with patterns such as , a-b-a-b, a-a-b-b, or a-b-b-a.

Fiction

is a deliberately fabricated account of something based on imagination rather than fact.

Adventure fiction

usually presents a or provides the reader with a sense of excitement danger

Science fiction

imaginative content based on science

Historical fiction

presents a story set in the past

Realistic fiction

resembles real life and features characters who react similarly to real people.

Growing-up stories

can be classified under realistic fiction and show painful challenges and hopeful futures; these are often considered as stand alone.

Romance story

are meant for young adult

Animal stories

can be grouped into three types: animal as an animal, animal as a talking animal, and animal as people.

Non-fiction

purports to represent truth and accuracy regarding information; it may sometimes take the form of a story.

Biography

portrays all events occurring in a person’s life, mostly in order.

Autobiography

tells the life story of its author

Memoir

a collection of memories that an individual writes about moments or events, public or private, that took place in the author's life.

Essay

Short piece of writing outlining the writer’s perspective or story. Often considered synonymous with a story or a paper, or an article.

Documentary genre

Broad term to describe a non-fiction movie that in some way documents or captures reality.

Poetic, expository, observational, participatory, reflexive and performative.

Six suggested modes of documentary

Reference books

Book with academic or formal tone that aimed to impart knowledge

How-to-do-it books

Self-help books that instruct how to do something

Concept books

Best as board books for infants and toddlers and are meant to teach concepts like letters, numbers, shapes, and colors.

Infographics

Graphic visual representation of information, data, or knowledge intended to quickly and present information.

Pure myth

Talks about God's and goddesses