This course is designed to expose students to a variety of texts in order to practice reading comprehension, vocabulary strategies, and literary analysis. This work will help prepare students for the Keystone Exam. Part 1 of Keystone Literature focuses on elements of fiction. Throughout this part, students read a wide selection of fiction, including short stories, drama, and poetry – three types of literature covered on the Keystone Exam. The lessons in this part cover a variety of literary elements, including plot, setting, characters, irony, dialect, figurative language, imagery, mood, and conventions of drama. Part 2 of Keystone Literature focuses on the elements of nonfiction. Throughout this part, students read a wide selection of nonfiction, including newspaper articles, speeches, essays, and excerpts from an autobiography. The lessons in this part give students the opportunity to practice identifying and evaluating nonfiction texts. Students learn to identify main ideas and supporting details, examine rhetoric and language in a persuasive work, and evaluate an author’s purpose




