Literary Terms List |

Learning terms and definitions by themselves doesn’t provide much value to kids, but they need to know, and be able to use, certain terms in order to discuss and understand what they read about literature – story elements, types of figurative language, vocabulary terms, etc. What other categories of terms do you teach to your middle grade students throughout the year? And how do you group them?

Here is the list of terms that I’ve chosen to include in my Literary Terms slide presentation. It’s a long PowerPoint that I’ve recently posted in my TPT store with the idea that teachers could pull it out throughout the year as they introduce various literature topics.

Genres

poetry

drama

speech

novel

graphic novel

short story

essay

article

Fiction

realistic fiction

historical fiction

mysteries

science fiction

myth

legend

fable

folktales

fairy tales

tall tale

Story Elements

character

setting

plot

conflict

theme

Plot Elements

exposition

initiating event

rising action

climax

falling action

resolution

prologue

epilogue

Characters

characterization

protagonist

antagonist

stock character

dialog

narrator

dynamic character

static character

flat character

rounded character

Conflicts

internal conflict

external conflict

person vs person

person vs nature

person vs society

person vs technology

person vs the supernatural

Point of View

first person

third person

limited

omniscient

Figurative Language

simile

metaphor

personification

hyperbole

imagery

Literary Devices

irony

flashback

foreshadowing

suspense

symbol

symbolism

Non-Fiction

biography

autobiography

narrative non-fiction

informational text

how-to article

Vocabulary

synonyms

antonyms

connotations, denotations

analogy

alliteration

onomatopoeia

Text Features and Text Structures

text features

text structures

Voice and Tone

voice

tone

If you could use a copy of just the list, you can download a free copy here:
Literary Terms – list

In the PowerPoint, most terms are introduced one per slide with definitions and good examples. I chose the examples from a variety of sources – most of them literature, of varied types, that kids will recognize. At the end of the presentation, there is also a full list of the terms with definitions ready to print out for your kids.

The second slide presentation, Poetry Terms focused on things like types of poems, sound elements, and figurative language that apply especially to teaching poetry.