Blog 8

My super sentence definition of contemporary realistic fiction is... "a genre that is comprised of a plot, characters, and a setting that is realistic but the storyline remains fictional; the super natural and unimaginable does not exit in contemporary realistic fiction."

Contemporary realistic fiction books were commonly used in my middle schoool through high school classes. I can vagely remember some activities we completed concerning this genre. In my classroom I would have my students identify with a character in a class-read book and make a diary, placing themelves in the character's position. I would have them consider questions such as:

How do you think the character feels?
What emotions would the character bear"
What could be affecting them internally?

After considering these questions I would encourage them to "become" the chracter and write in their diaries for every chapter in the book. This is an activity will assist them in identifying with a specific character, so that they could involve themselves in the book and emerge into the situation. Not only will they gain a better understanding of the book, but it would teach them how to deal with situations they have never encountered, in which they might encouter in the future.

Introducing contemporary realistic fiction to a classroom is important because children are enlightened to another world that may seem foriegn to them...the world of realism (whether it be pleasant or saddening).