anticipatory stories focus on the skill of predicting what comes next
Goals
For the learner to have an opportunity to . . .
- Assess prediction as a comprehension strategy.
- Recognize patterns in the values or habits of a story character
- Assess the need for consistency in developing story elements
- Identify the nature and elements of a storyline puzzle
- Identify distractors and their role in enhancing storyline
Content
An anticipatory story is about finding patterns to predict outcomes.
- For instance, understanding a protagonist’s values and priorities to predict his or her future choices.
- Or understanding how things work in order to apply the principle in other circumstances.
Anticipatory stories are paced by puzzles.
- A puzzle is anything that suspends progression of the storyline. It might be unlocking a door, finding a pattern, asking another character the right question, and so on.
- When the narrative pauses, predict what the main character will do or how the principle applies. It’s also possible to read the tale by totally ignoring the choices. That itself is a choice.
This module presents a couple anticipatory stories with an adventure theme.
- In an iQuiz, distractor choices disappear when selected.
- In these anticipatory stories, distractor choices are replaced with narrative detail. That detail might be a humorous result or a clue to the choice that will advance the storyline. In any case, there is no penalty; simply a slightly longer narrative path.
What do you Think?
- The stories have a similar structure, so how do they belong to different genre (adventure, mystery)?
- Suppose distractors disappeared in an anticipatory story, like they do in an iQuiz. How would that change a reader’s sense of being in the story?
