Narrative Elements
Name a story you have read or seen and identify both parts the setting.
Think of a story we’ve read. What comes first, middle, and last? Why is this sequence important?
Students break down a story into its main events and explain why the order matters.
What is a noun? Give three examples of nouns from a story we’ve read.
A noun is a person, place, thing, or idea. Examples might include “Tom,” “house,” and “ball.”
Choose a main character from any story we’ve discussed - are they the protagonist or antagonist, and why?
Students describe a character and explain how that character’s actions identify them as the protagonist or antagonist.
Create a sequence of three events from a well-known story we’ve discussed. Then, explain how each event leads to the next.
Students pick three events from a story and explain the cause-and-effect relationship between them.
What is a verb?
A verb is an action word.
Think of a story you really like. What is the conflict in this story?
Answers will vary.
Create a short story with three events. Explain why you chose to put the events in this particular order.
Students create and justify the sequence of events in their story.
What is an adjective? Think of a character we’ve read about and describe them using three adjectives.
An adjective is a word that describes a noun. For example, describing a character as "brave," "tall," and "thoughtful" helps us understand their personality and appearance.
What would happen if you took away the problem from a story we’ve discussed?
The students need to show how essential conflict is to driving the story and how its removal would impact the story’s outcome.
What happens if you tell a story out of order (e.g., start at the end)? Does it change how we understand the story? Why or why not?
How are nouns and characters the same? How are they different?
Both nouns and characters can be people, but a noun is any person, place, thing, or idea, while a character is a person (or animal) in a story with specific traits and actions. A noun can refer to objects and ideas, while a character has more depth, like thoughts, feelings, and decisions.
Create a character with three unique traits and explain how their traits would affect their actions in a story.
Students create a new character and explain how the character’s personality would shape their decisions and behavior.
What would happen if an important event was taken out of the sequence of a story? Pick an event from a story and explain what would change if it didn’t happen.
Students select an event and explore how its removal would impact the rest of the story, including the characters and resolution.
In stories, characters and settings are described with adjectives. Create a sentence that describes both a character and the setting using at least one adjective.
Students create a sentence like
"The tired boy walked through the cold night."
"Brave Alice went to wacky wonderland."