Story Elements

​Setting

• Setting is all about “when” and “where.” Location time of day are all part of a story’s setting.

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Multiple Choice

Read the following passage:

It was my first day walking the tightrope at the circus. As I stood on the platform, high above the audience’s heads, I felt a slight, cold breeze from the open flap of the circus tent. Up that high, I could only faintly smell the popcorn and cotton candy for sale down below. I heard the crowd chanting for me to begin, and I stuck one toe out to feel the thin tightrope wire. I took a deep breath and let the air fill my lungs. I stepped out on to the wire.

What line from this story tells you the setting?

• "I could faintly smell the popcorn"

• "I heard the crowd chanting"

• "It was my first day walking the tightrope at the circus"

• "I felt a slight cold breeze"

​Plot

• Plot is the term for the events that take place in a story and how they relate to each other. When we summarize a story we’re usually describing its plot.

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Multiple Choice

Read the following fairy tale.

A young boy named Jack trades his only cow for beans that he’s told are magic. When he brings the beans home, his mother doesn’t believe that they are magic and becomes angry with Jack. Against his mother’s advice, Jack plants the beans. A huge beanstalk grows. Jack climbs it and finds a giant’s house full of treasure. He takes the treasure from the house and runs away as the giant chases him down the beanstalk. Jack reaches the ground and is able to chop down the beanstalk. He keeps the treasure.

Choose the best summary of the plot of this story

• After climbing a magic beanstalk, Jack takes treasure from a giant’s house, is chased down a beanstalk and chops it down before the giant can catch him

• Jack’s mother sends him out to sell their only cow, becomes angry that her son trades the cow for beans and scolds him.

• Jack trades his only cow for magic beans and plants them. They grow into a beanstalk.

​Conflict

• A conflict is a problem in a story. There are the things that the main character wants or needs to do, and then there are the things that get in the way of what he or she wants to do. That’s usually the conflict.

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Multiple Choice

Read the following passage:

Sylvia found her Aunt Caroline especially aggravating. So when Sylvia was told she would have to spend Thursday afternoon with her aunt, she was peeved. She had wanted to go skating. Sylvia had been looking forward to it all week, yearning to glide and spin around the rink, hearing only the sound of the blades of her skates over the ice. “But Aunt Caroline never has visitors,” Sylvia’s mother reminded her, and Sylvia supposed this was true. Aunt Caroline’s house was large and drafty with a big, overgrown garden at the edge of town.

What best describes the CONFLICT of this story?

• Aunt Caroline is often lonely.

• Sylvia would like to go ice skating but has to visit Aunt Caroline.

• The ice skating rink is closed

• Sylvia's mother is m

​Theme

• The theme of a story is an author’s message about the world. This is the subject of the story.

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Multiple Choice

Read the following summary of a story:

After they lose their parents in a tragic shipwreck, three children are orphaned and go to live with their strange aunt in a small town in Nebraska. At first, they feel lost and lonely, but eventually, they come to understand their aunt and each other.

Which statement best describes the theme of this passage?

• Childhood is a time of great imagination.

• Success requires hard work as well as luck.

• With the love of family, we can overcome grief.

• Face your fears and you can defeat them.

Draw

Use the Vocabulary Terms to Fill in the Chart Below: