Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What characteristics define a novel in the fantasy genre? Consider elements like setting, characters, magic, plot structure, and common themes. Name 3-5 examples of fantasy works and explain what makes them part of this genre.

Teaching Suggestion: Students might begin by brainstorming specific examples of fantasy stories, then draw from those titles to list common characteristics of the genre. It may be helpful to use an example with which most students are familiar to analyze the different elements of fantasy in a chart or table. After a whole-class discussion of a common example, students could work individually or in pairs to analyze a story of their own selection. Depending on the background and interest level of the class, students might also explore the differences between subgenres in the fantasy family such as high or epic fantasy, low fantasy, urban fantasy, magical realism, and contemporary fantasy.

• “What Is the Fantasy Genre?” - This link from MasterClass provides a history of the genre, describes the elements of a fantasy story, and explains the distinctions between fantasy and other genres.