warm-up dramatic structure in monster

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Warm-Up Dramatic Structure in Monster

Lesson Goals

Read Monster by Walter Dean Myers.

Compare thestructuresof drama and

narrative .

Analyze functions ofdi�erent structures.

structures .of a dramatic text.

features

Learn the

? Lesson Question

How does Monster use two different structures to tell a story?

Words to Know

Write the letter of the definition next to the matching word as you work through the lesson. You may use the glossary to help you.

D perspective A. the way something is built, arranged, or organized

C point of view B. a story told like a theatrical performance

B drama C. who tells a story and how it is told

A structure D. how something or someone is mentally viewed

WK2


Warm-Up Dramatic Structure in Monster

Looking from Another Perspective

Sometimes it is helpful to look at a situation from a different perspective.

Benefits:

• You might be too close to the situation physically and emotionally to understand the big picture.

• If you step away from the situation and view it from a greater distance, you might get a new perspective on the situation.


Dramatic Structure in Monster

2Slide

Features of Drama

A drama is a kind of structure for a story in which the story is told like a

theatrical performance.

Features include:

• being written as a script .

• giving directions for making an actual movie or play.

• using dialogue and stage directions.

Comparing and Contrasting Dialogue

Narrative Drama

• The story is told mostly through narration. Dialogue helps add

detail .

• Dialogue tags are part of the sentence and come before or after the dialogue.

• “Let’s go to the party,” said Ellie.

• The story is told mostly through

dialogue . Actions on stage

help show what is happening.

• Dialogue tags come before

the words an actor says.

• Isaac: Can I drive the car tonight?

InstructionPart 1



Slide

2 Noticing Dialogue Tags

4 Comparing and Contrasting How the Scene Is Set

STENOGRAPHER

I hope this case lasts two weeks. I can sure

use the money.

GUARD 1Six days – maybe seven. It’s a motion case.

They go through the motions; then they lock

them up.

–Monster, Walter Dean Myers

• Dialogue tags come before

the words.

• No quotation marks are used.

• The speaker is capitalized .

Narrative Drama

• Setting and characters are

described throughout the story.

• You learn about characters

directly through what you are told about them.

• Stage directions describe the setting or set on a stage.

• Stage directions tell the

characters how to move and act.

InstructionPart 1



4Slide

Point of View

Point of view refers to who tells the story and how it is told.

7

Stage Direction Terms for a Screenplay

Because parts of Monster are written as a screenplay, some of the directions

show what a camera filming the script would do.

• Cut to – A transition

• Exterior – Outside

• Fade In or Fade Out – Camera cues for dissolving to a black

screen

• Interior – Inside

• Voice Over (VO) – Used after a character’s name; the character’s

voice is heard, but the face is not shown

First-person point of view Third-person point of view

• A story is told by one character using the pronoun “I.”

• The reader experiences everything through this person’s eyes.

• The story is told by an outside narrator using pronouns “he,” “she,” and “they.”

• The reader may experience

thoughts and feelings of more than one character.

InstructionPart 1



Revealing Perspective with a Camera

A screenplay tells which kind of camera shot to use, which gives a

perspective on people and places. Monster includes different types of camera shots.

• Long shot (LS) – The camera looks from afar.

• Medium shot (MS) – The camera gets closer.

• Close-up (CU) – The camera zooms in.

Walter Dean Myers (1937–2014)

• Was born in West Virginia and grew up with foster parents in Harlem , New York

• Discovered a love for writing in school

• Has written numerous award-winning books for children and young adults

Using Perspective to Understand Setting

FADE IN: INTERIOR: Early morning in CELL BLOCK D, MANHATTAN

DETENTION CENTER . Camera goes slowly down grim, gray

corridor. There are sounds of inmates yelling from cell to cell;

much of it is obscene.

–Monster, Walter Dean Myers

10Slide

12

InstructionPart 1



2Slide

Comparing and Contrasting How the Scene Is SetMonster’s Two Structures

Narrative Structure in Monster Dramatic Structure in Monster

• Tells the story through Steve’s point of view

• Shows Steve’s inner thoughts and fears

• Includes Steve’s writing about

himself in the first person

• Shows how people around Steve are acting and what they are saying

• Allows Steve to write about the situation as though he were an

outsider

• Includes Steve’s writing about himself in the third person

InstructionPart 2


Summary Dramatic Structure in Monster

Lesson Question How does Monster use two different structures to tell a story?

Answer

Monster pairs a narrative journal structure with a dramatic screenplay structure to show Steve’s story from his point of view and more objectively from an outside perspective.

Use this space to write any questions or thoughts about this lesson.

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warm-up dramatic structure in monster

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