Setting in Fiction Books

Setting tells you where and when a story occurs. Setting includes two things: time and place. Time includes the time period. It can also include elapsed time, or how much time passes for the characters. The place is where a story happens, including details about what that space looks, sounds or smells like or what it is like to live there.

Read the following passage from Alice in Wonderland:

Once in the wood, she was anxious to get back to her right size again, and then to get into that lovely garden. But how? Peeping over a mushroom, she beheld a large blue caterpillar sitting on the top with its arms folded...

Which detail from the text provides a clue to the place where this passage takes place?

• "Once in the Wood..."

• "A large blue caterpillar..."

• "...get back to her right size again..."

• "...with its arms folded"

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How do you know what the setting of a story is? Sometimes, a narrator will tell you where and when the story occurs right away. Often, though, you’ll have to look for clues to determine the setting. Try to find words or phrases that tell you what it looks like or sounds like where the characters are. Characters can also give clues about the setting. Be sure that your inferences about the setting are backed up by evidence from the text.

Read the following passage:As Maribelle hurried down the street, the wind swept the snow along the sidewalk and hid her footsteps, so that it looked as if no one had passed. Above her, the cold, silent skyscrapers of the city loomed. The whole block was eerily silent in the snowstorm, and she pulled her coat tightly around her. Maribelle had only moved here a few months before. She came because she wanted to be a singer. But right now, she was frightened.

Which detail from the passage indicate the setting?

• “Above her, the cold, silent skyscrapers of the city loomed.”

• “But right now, she was frightened.”

• “Maribelle had only moved here a few months before.”

• “She came because she wanted to be a singer.”

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Setting can also affect the plot, or the events that make up the story or novel. Some plots can take place only in certain times and places.

Which option describes a plot that can only take place in a specific setting?

• A young woman falls in love with her family’s enemy.

• A poor, hardworking woman becomes a successful chef.

• A ship’s captain chases a whale across the sea.

• A selfish child tries to be a better person.

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What kind of setting would NOT be appropriate in the Harry Potter Universe?

• Diagon Alley

• Hogsmeade Village

• Forbidden Forest

• Space Station

From this passage in A Shelter in Our Car, what does the author mention that makes the story authentic?

As soon as we check into our room, I dash inside the bathroom and turn on the shower. The Water tickles my back. "Oh Mama, warm water feels sooo good! I wish I could have a shower every day." When I jump into bed, I stretch out, wiggle my toes and bring the clean sheet up to my nose.

• Motels would only have cold water

• Motel would have warm water

• Motel would have clean sheets

• Motels would not have sheets available

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Why is it important in historical fiction to have an authentic and believable setting?

• It makes the story sound unfortunate

• It's useful information

• The story is based in the past, so events should be accurately researched and represented

• It makes the story fun

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