Toward a Hierarchy of Skills in the Comprehension of Literature

Abstract

I was recently approached by a publisher who requested that I develop a scope and sequence outline for tenth grade literature anthology. I was given a list of thirty-five of literature which the anthology should establish in the minds of the students. The first eight elements were character, theme, setting, plot, conflict, climax, suspense, and foreshadowing. In addition, I was given a list of genres: short story, essay, novel, play, epic poetry, lyric poetry, narrative poetry, and so forth. The proposed anthology should teach students how the various of literature operate within the genres. From the point-of-view of a text salesman, such lists make perfectly good sense. They reflect precisely what is to be found in course syllabus after course syllabus for tenth grade English (or for ninth grade English, or eleventh, or twelfthstudents never seem to learn their elements). Apparently, the assumption is that if the elements appear at every grade level they must be basic and thus in keeping with the back-tobasics movement.