LESSON 1: Writing a Close Analysis and

Critical Interpretation of Literary Texts 8. Sir Allan emphasized that this approach is
Applying a Reading Approach important for students to read effectively. He is
talking about _________.
a. extensive reading
1. It is an approach wherein students are
demanded to read more to improve knowledge? b. scanning
a. skimming c. reading approach
b. scanning d. skimming
c. extensive reading
d. reading approach 9. Daniela wanted to see Sakura Festival. Which
country is she going to visit?
a. Singapore
2. It is an activity to read shorter texts to extract
accurate detailed information. b. Thailand
a. reading approach c. Japan
b. skimming d. Brunei
c. extensive reading
d. scanning 10. The Philippines is on the Asian continent. If the
Philippines is part of it, which specific region on
Asia does the Philippines belong?
3. It is quickly reading a text to get the summary of
a. Southeast Asia
it.
b. West Asia
a. skimming
c. Central Asia
b. reading approach
d. South Asia
c. extensive reading
d. scanning

READING APPROACH
4. It is sometimes called Free Voluntary Reading.
a. extensive reading  This approach is one way of solving
b. scanning student’s reading problems.
c. skimming  Students are demanded to read more to
d. reading approach improve their knowledge and get new ideas.
 Inferencing, guessing and predicting are
5. Alyssa wants to answer questions quickly, so important skills developed in reading.
she looked for key words in the selection. She used  By reading, students will know about the
________. different of culture by reading across
a. scanning cultural understanding, and they will learn
b. extensive reading how to pronounce the words correctly.
c. reading approach  In reading approach, students are expected
to improve their English skills.
d. skimming

SKIMMING
6. Abigail listed down words that she didn’t know
the meaning and searched for it in the dictionary. • In skimming, the main idea of a text is
She is using ________. quickly identified.
a. scanning • The goal is to read shorter texts to extract
b. extensive reading accurate detailed information.
c. reading approach • Skimming is done at speed three to four
d. skimming times faster than regular reading.
• People often skim when they have lots of
7. Daniel identified the main idea of the text she is material to read in a limited amount of
reading. She used ______. time.
a. scanning
b. extensive reading
c. skimming
d. reading approach
 • Some students will read the first and last
paragraphs using headings, summarizes Here are some of the features of graphic fiction or
and other organizers as they move down the graphic novel according to Singh (2012).
page or screen.
1. Autographic forms are the marks of
• Some might also read the title, subtitles,
author’s handwriting which creates an
subheadings, and illustrations. Other
impact that the whole novel is a manuscript
people consider reading the first sentence of
and thus provides a sense of intimacy.
each paragraph.
2. Graphic novels encourage interactivity in
• Skimming works well to find dates, names,
the minds of the reader as he fills in the
and places. It might be used to review
blanks between image panels.
graphs, tables, and charts. This technique
3. Filling in the blanks between image panels
is useful when you are seeking specific
makes the reader imagine the actions
information rather than reading for
portrayed in the story.
comprehension.
4. The language, syntax and meaning of a
graphic novel spring primarily through the
SCANNING
relationship between images than words.
• Scanning is quickly reading a text to get the 5. Graphic fiction combines book and screen.
summary of it.
Example of graphic novels:
• It is a technique wherein students search
1. “In the Shadow of No Tower: 9/11” by
for keywords or ideas.
Art Spiegelmen in 2004 which tells the
• Scanning involves moving eyes quickly
story about the terrorist attack on
down the page seeking specific words and
September 11 in America. This also depicts
phrases.
the traumatic and tragic experiences of
• Scanning is also used for the reader to find American people during the 9/11 terrorist
answers to questions. attack.
• Once a student scanned the document, 2. “The Barn Owl’s Wondrous Capers” by
they will go back and skim it. Sarnath Banerjee in 2009 portrays 18th
century Calcutta exploiting the myth of the
EXTENSIVE READING “Wandering Jew”.
• Extensive Reading is the free reading of 3. “Louis Riel” by Chester Brown in 2003 is a
books and other written material that is not fictionalized violent rebellion in the 19th
too difficult for readers. Century on the Canadian praire who led by
• Extensive Reading is sometimes called Free Riel.
Voluntary Reading.
FLASH FICTION
• It is an imaginative literature of extreme
LESSON 2: Differentiating 21st Century brevity. It could range from a word to a
Literary Genre thousand (Gacusan 2018).
• It is known as micro stories, postcard
GRAPHIC FICTION fiction, nanotales and short shorts.

• or a graphic novel is a comic book According to Sustana (2020), most of the flash
narrative that is equivalent in form and fictions have these common characteristics.
dimension to the prose novel (Campbell
200, 81). The pictures are arranged in
1. Brevity. Flash fiction presents the story
sequenced in image panels and dialogues
with fewest words as possible.
are written in speech bubbles. The
illustrations allow the readers to imagine 2. Complete plot. Flash fiction emphasizes
and experience the characters and events in the development of plot. It has a beginning,
the story. middle and ending of the story.
3. Surprising ending. The successful
hallmark of a flash fiction is its twist at the
end of the story.
Examples of Flash Fiction:

1. “Angels and Blueberries” by Tara

Campbell is a story of various explanations
for the color of the sky that involves angels MULTIMEDIA AND ITS CONCEPTS
and blueberries.  A multimedia is any electronic application
First lines: “Why is the sky blue?” you ask. used to teach lessons or to further educate
Well, it all depends on who’s learners on a particular topic. It is a
answering. presentation of material that uses both
words and pictures in a combination of
2. “Taylor Swift” by Hugh Behm-Steinberg text, voice, picture or video. Using
tells a weird story of how anyone can order interactive digital tools to tell a story is
a perfectly clone of Taylor Swift at his called digital storytelling and often uses a
doorstep. combination of multimedia venues to
complete the task. The use of multimedia
First line: You’re in love; it’s great, you allows educational ideas and materials to
swipe on your phone and order: the next be presented in a more artistic, inspired
day a Taylor Swift clone shows up at your and engaging way.
house.
Uses of Multimedia and its Formats
3. “Unnecessary Things” by Tatyana Tolstaya
is a story of finding an old and torn teddy  There are many uses of multimedia for a
bear, “unnecessary things” (items that do deeper understanding of a lesson.
not serve any useful purpose), that she Audiobooks are ideal for second-language
adored as a child. learners. Song files and music videos can be
used to compare social norms in different
First lines: This Teddy bear once had eras. Multimedia can offer students a better
amber eyes made from special glass — each understanding of the lesson.
one had a pupil and an iris. The bear itself
was gray and stiff, with wiry fur. I adored  The multimedia formats from various
him. media includes: text and graphics for
slideshows, presentations, diagrams and
infographics. Audio has podcasts and
recordings. Screen captures, lecture
LESSON 3.1: Literary Genre on Creative
captures and animation are examples of
Multimedia Presentation
video components of multimedia. Other
multimedia components include blogs,
vlogs, webinars and other interactive
PAULO COELHO (The Story of the Pencil) content.
 The pride of Brazil whose novel, The  Multimedia applications include the
Alchemist, became a worldwide interaction of different media types like
phenomenon; one of the best-selling books animation, video, text and sound. It has
in history with 190 million copies sold and become a part of our lives as soon as we
translated into 80 languages entered the digital age. Before the modern
 Musician and lyricist prior to pursuing a technology, there are tools helping us
writing career as a novelist appreciate some of the types of multimedia
 Published 30 books, majority of which are such as videos on television.
novels
 Recipient of international awards, among VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF
these awards are: MULTIMEDIA
• Spain’s Elle- Best International
1. VIDEOS - Digital video is a primary
Writer (2008)
component in multimedia, especially
• Denmark’s Hans Christian
those that appear online and on
Anderson Award (2007)
television. The different formats of
• Mexico’s Las Pergolas Prize (2006)
these types of multimedia include
• American Wilbur Award (2006)
wmv, avi, mped and flash.
 photographs than one that contains only
text elements. Familiar image formats
include jpeg and png. These formats permit
editing. Images are created by graphic

FORMAT FILE DESCRIPTION

.mpg MPEG. Developed by the Moving Pictures Expert Group. The first

MPEG .mpeg popular video format on the web. Not supported anymore in HTML.

AVI (Audio Video Interleave). Developed by Microsoft. Commonly used in

video cameras and TV hardware. Plays well on Windows computers, but not in
AVI .avi web browsers.

WMA (Windows Media Audio). Developed by Microsoft. Plays well

WMA .wma
on Windows computers, but not in web browsers.

swf (small web Flash Video is a container file format used to deliver digital video
flash
file} content over the Internet using Adobe Flash Player version 6 and newer.

MP3 files are actually the sound part of MPEG files. MP3 is the most popular
format for music players. Combines good compression (small files) with high
quality. Supported by all
MP3 .mp3
browsers.

MP4 is a video format, but can also be used for audio. Supported
MP4 .mp4
by all browsers.

designers using various software.

2. ANIMATIONS - Animation is a form of art

for most people, especially those that are in
the business of producing animated movies.
Flash is the most common platform for 5. AUDIO - Voiceovers comprise a tremendous
animation, and using this component, the number of the types of multimedia
interactivity of animation is enhanced. components. Audio files include
background music and special effects. Any
3. TEXT - Text has always been and will
audio in an application is designed to
always been the most common among the
improve a user’s experience.
types of multimedia components in different
applications. Text in combination with CHARACTERISTICS OF A MULTIMEDIA
other media components can make any
application more user-friendly. By using  Multimedia can be used in the
text, interactivity is increased. Text presentations, making them more fun and
elements are particularly important for interesting.
accessibility purposes. Users of an  A multimedia presentation has various
application need to input text for the viewing options such as projector or a
system to identify them. Text is also used to media player and the like.
create a digital signature, such as in
passwords.  You can also download the multimedia
presentation or play it live.
4. IMAGES – Digital image files are needed to
create videos and animation. A user would
sooner go to a website filled with colorful
  The technology of multimedia can also be flow (i.e. its plot). Without the conflict, then you
used to make the information be conveyed have no story.
more easily to the user.
5. CLIMAX - The climax is the most exciting part
 Multimedia technology has improved the of a story. It is when the conflict is about to or is
learning experience by combining various getting resolved.
forms of media together.
6. THEME - This element refers to the topic that
the writer writes or comments on in his or her
writing. The theme is the motif of the story, that is,
it permeates the whole story and recurs
throughout the narrative.

An example of a theme is the topic of "bravery" in

Harry Potter.
BENEFITS OF USING MULTIMEDIA

 Digital storytelling allows students to

improve their knowledge about a specific FLASH FICTION AND STORY PLOT
subject and increases skills such as
A flash fiction, one of the genres of fiction, is a
writing, researching and reading.
short story with much lesser words. Typically, a
 Using multimedia improve a learner’s flash fiction story has no longer than 1000 words
overall academic performance. In in length. Some literary writers find writing a flash
particular, multimedia in the classroom is fiction extremely difficult because they have to
used for self-directed learning or SDL. cover the beginning, rising action, climax, and
conclusion of the story with very few words.
 Students manage their time and assess Despite this challenge, many flash fiction stories
what needs to be included in their learning still possess those elements, all within the strict
activities. This style of learning is used word count. The word limit provides a very creative
mostly with older students who already challenge.
know how to manipulate many of the
multimedia venues available to them. Story plot, an important element of a story, is also
present in flash fiction. Plot tells the reader how
the story goes. It is basically the sequence of the
events in the story. It is important to remember
ELEMENTS OF A SHORT STORY
that the plot is what carries the readers thoughout
THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF A SHORT STORY the story therefore, the plot should be related in
sequence and every event must be connected to the
1. CHARACTER - The character element is the previous or the next one.
person or people in a story. Sometimes the
characters are not human, some may be animals
or spirits. Incidentally, even when non-human
FLASH FICTION
characters are used, they tend to have human
characteristics. A flash fiction, also known as short-short story,
typically contains less than 1000 words which is
2. SETTING - The first important element of a
most often used to describe short casual written
short story is the setting. The setting refers to the
works. Although a flash fiction may be written in
time and place that the event(s) in the story take
any genre, the most famous ones are in romance,
place.
thriller, horror and sci-fi. Even with only a number
3. PLOT - The plot refers to the flow of events in of words, a flash fiction also bears the essential
the story. Essentially, the plot refers to what is elements of a short story. The paramount of all the
happening in the story. elements for this type of literature is the plot.

4. CONFLICT - The conflict or complication refers A Flash fiction is similar to a short story is some
to the tension, the fight or the struggle between the ways. Both tell a complete story with a beginning,
various characters or forces in the story. This middle and end with the elements of storytelling in
actually gives fuel to the story and influences its place. However, they, too, have differences.

FLASH FICTION
  Is significantly shorter than a novel
 Consists of 1000-10, 000 words in length 4. DESCRIPTION: One may think that flash
 Has a fleshed-out plot. Well-rounded fiction stories are short on description to
characters, and a developed setting and save space. However, a strong piece can
theme. balance vivid descriptions with a quick-
 Has one or a few characters and one or a moving plot. Stories that lack description
few settings (limited in place and time, such are not satisfying to read, and a flash
as a day or a couple of weeks) and fiction piece should feel complete.
expresses a single theme, or message.
 Generally, is more flexible. There is more
space to develop ideas, plot, character and
theme; there is at most, one plot and a
small subplot or a plot and a half.

FLASH FICTION
THE PLOT
 is a much shorter version of a short story.
 Composed of 100-1000 words in length Every written story has a plot- the series of events
 Has a well thought out plot and great and characters’ actions that includes a beginning,
characters, but they don’t necessarily need a middle and an end. Also, every written story has
to be fully developed a plot structure or a narrative arc. Although it is
 Shouldn’t be more than one plot and one important for a story to have all its essential
theme. elements, the plot is the major element of all as it
 Is punchy and to the point, a story of is what the story is all about. The plot is the actual
extreme brevity with the plot pared down to story, without it, a writer has not penned anything
the core of the story. Every detail, every
TWO TYPES OF PLOT
character gesture, every description counts;
each word has its place. Take one word A writer can create story using one of the two types
away and the meaning is lost. of plot - a unified plot or an episodic plot. A unified
plot has a story that is realistic with a central
CHARACTERISTICS OF FLASH FICTION
character and action and the story happens in one
When writing a flash fiction story, it is important to place during a short span of time- a day, several
know how they are similar and different to longer hours or even just for an hour. An episodic plot, on
stories. Flash fiction is shorter, but it should not the other hand, has a story that happens in a
feel too short. Here are some traits of strong flash much extended period of time. A writer who
fiction stories. employs the episodic plot frequently uses the
technique of flashback’ to lay out background
1. STORY STRUCTURE: A flash fiction story details of the story. But similar to the unified plot,
is not the shortened version of a longer an episodic plot also has a central character,
story; it still follows the elements of plot, setting and action.
including a beginning, middle and end as
well as a conflict and satisfying resolution. There are three other ways to write a plot. A plot
may be written as a movement in casualty, a
2. SETTING: Most flash fiction stories take movement in time and a movement in dramatic
place in one setting, as moving between tension.
locations uses up too much space. It allows
PLOT - A MOVEMENT IN TIME
the writer and reader to focus on the plot.
The plot is a movement in time when the story
3. CHARACTERS AND BACKSTORY: Flash transpires on a particular period of time such as
fiction pieces are plot-driven and include no an hour, a day, a week, a month or even a year
more than three or four characters. They
may include some character development, PLOT - MOVEMENT IN CASUALTY
but too much backstory can use valuable
The plot is a movement in casualty when the story
space
is established on a series of casual events that
happen one after another. Here, the writer is to
create a story based on the principle of cause and
effect that is, the first event sets off the second and
the second event sets off the third and so on.
Hence, every new event has a casual relationship
to the old ones.

PLOT - A MOVEMENT IN DRAMATIC TENSION

The plot is a movement in dramatic tension when

the story has dialogue, action, details, descriptions
and scenes that amplify the tension and persuade
the reader to turn the page and continue reading.
The techniques of foreshadowing, flashback and
epiphany are oftentimes employed in this type of
plot.

THE FOLLOWING ARE THE COMPONENTS OF A

PLOT STRUCTURE OR PARTS OF THE
NARRATIVE.

a. EXPOSITION - This is the beginning of the

story, also known as the inciting incident. This is
where the author introduces the characters,
identifies where the story is happening, and
establishes the main conflict. This includes events,
actions or even decisions that build conflict,
pressure or disturbance to the main character.

b. RISING ACTION - This is also known as the plot

complication where the writer fully introduces the
conflict or the obstacle that will prevent the main
character, the protagonist, to achieve his goal.

c. CLIMAX - This part is considered as the most

exciting part of a story. This part has the most
tension or most exciting event compared to all
other events in the story. Also, this is where
important decisions are made or important things
are discovered.

d. FALLING ACTION - This point occurs after the

climax as the problems in the story start to work
themselves out. The excitement becomes less and
less as the conflict is resolved.

e. RESOLUTION/END - This is the solution to the

problem in a story. When a writer brings resolution
to end the story, he can end the story with either
an open or closed ending. When a writer uses a
closed ending, the resolution is done by answering
all unanswered questions that were implied or
explicitly stated. A death is an example of a closed
ending. When a writer uses an open ending, he
leaves the readers to think, wonder or speculate
what happens after the story has ended.