Response Activities for Fantasy Literature
- One way to respond to literature is through the study of characters. A common theme in fantasy is good versus evil. Students can respond to the piece of literature through comparing and contrasting two characters -- one good and one evil. Many characters in fantasy are not real -- including fairies, witches, dragons and warlocks. Students can dress as a character and other students can interview him. The student should answer questions from the point of view of the character.
- Retelling the story is a good way for students to demonstrate comprehension of the text. Readers can respond in a written way, by retelling the story in another form, such as a song. Fantasy literature, with its visual imagery and interesting characters, lends itself well to creating an illustrated children's or comic book. Students also can choose to respond to literature by retelling the story physically. They can act out a portion of the story, retelling the story from one character's point of view (while dressed as the character), or they could put on a puppet show.
- Some learners prefer to use other mediums to process what they have read. Fantasy literature is rich with symbols and metaphors that can be explored on multiple levels. Students can respond to this or other themes in the book by creating collages, paintings, murals or dioramas. Students could create a sequenced timeline, illustrated with important events from the story. This response works well with fantasy books from a series, and helps students document events from more than one work.
- Logical thinkers may want to document important facts from what they have read. One way to respond to literature in this fashion is to create a crossword puzzle about the story. Students could also make a word search using vocabulary word from the book. Students also could create a board game based on the story. They could use characters as pieces, and places in the book as locations on the board. Questions about the story should be used while playing.
