Fantastical Literature!

Fantastical Literature: Includes folklore, fantasy, and science fiction derived from traditions, myths and legends to explain and explore mysteries of world. History: Fantastical novels started with Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) & Through the Looking Glass (1871) by Charles Dodgson, while flourishing in 20th Century (while sub-genres grew in the 21st century) Types of Fantasy: High Fantasy Low Fantasy Hard Science Fiction Soft Fiction Fantasy novels, one of my favorite genres (why I chose it for my presentation), are great for students of all ages. I would use many fantastical genre books in my classroom such as: Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg, Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass by Charles Dodgson, Nim's Island by Wendy Orr, The Secret Tree by Natalie Standiford, and all Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Fantasy books often include magic, another world other than our own, universal themes, heroism, talking animals, fantastical characters (witches, fairies, etc.), and fantastic objects. All of these motifs make fantasy the distinctive genre that it is. To teach elements of fantasy, I would use a literature circle. I would put my class into small groups. Each group will be given a fantasy picture book such as: The Rainbow Fish, Jumanji, and Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. Each group would read their picture book and look for the elements of fantasy we have just learned. I would have the student's pair up and talk about the following questions: "Why is this a fantasy story?", "Was magic involved? How?", "How did the plot make it a fantastical book?", "Was there another world other than our own? What was it like?"