Literary Elements
Literary Devices can be found in novels and poetry. Even movies sometimes make use of some of these devices (in their scripts or the structure of their plots).
The Dart, Arrow, Boomerang, and Slingshot all deal with literary devices in a more systematic way, for those who want that kind of support in teaching them to their kids. One of the benefits of knowing the literary devices and then calling attention to them with your kids is that these devices help writers become intentional about how they craft their thoughts into words.
Too often, parents and educators focus on improving writing through better punctuation, grammar, or format. What they neglect to suggest (and what would improve the writing far more efficiently) is to show aspiring writers how to use literary techniques/devices used in the writing they enjoy reading.
These devices help writing spring to life:
- alliteration (repeated initial consonants),
- assonance (repeated internal vowel sounds),
- consonance (repeated internal consonant sounds),
- onomatopoeia (words that sound like the sounds they describe: cock-a-doodle-do),
- vivid verbs,
- the principle of "show, don't tell"
- and so on.
These are elements of excellent writing. They're more important than paragraph structure. They're more important than spelling.
The beauty of learning literary devices and recognizing them in the writers you read is that it's entirely possible to learn to use them yourself. There's no mystery here. As you read E. B. White, you and your kids will notice his effective use of alliteration or "show, don't tell," and you'll all find yourselves even more pleased with his writing . . . and wanting to achieve the same effects.
Our Elementary Writing: Animal Stories class deals specifically with literary devices. It helps kids to recognize specific devices that authors use as well as teaches kids how to intentionally reproduce those devices in stories of their own. The power of using literary devices is akin to giving someone a Kitchen Aid mixer to make whipped cream after having only ever beat cream with a hand-held whisk. The writer will find themselves jazzed that a conscious use of the tool produces such a satisfying result!
For more help with literary devices, check out the Literature Singles collection! (Use the Search and Sort Lit Singles spreadsheet to match devices with books you are reading!)
Or you can do an internet search and find loads of lists that include literary devices to explore and notice in the books you read aloud at home.