Activities for Teaching Setting of a Story

Teaching Finding the Setting of a Story

Have you ever thought about how a story’s setting can dramatically change its direction? The setting can shape a character’s story, whether it’s the eerie, fog-covered streets of London or a vibrant summer camp. With these activities, your students will learn the power of the setting of a story in literature!

The Importance of Setting in a Story

The setting of a story includes the time and location in which the story takes place. While many students can quickly identify where and when a story occurs—be it a beach, the moon, or Alaska—they might not realize that the setting also provides essential clues to the plot and character development.

Deepening Character Understanding Through Setting

Setting and Attitude

Where characters live often contributes to their personalities and actions. Different settings influence a character’s values, attitudes, and challenges. Consider these examples:

    • Historical Fiction: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 would not be the same story if set anywhere other than the 1960s American South.
    • Historical Fiction: Sweep: The Girl and Her Monster could only be set in Victorian England, where children were forced to clean chimneys.
    • Dystopian Literature: Would Jonah from The Giver be chosen as the receiver of memories in any setting other than a dystopian future?
    • Fantasy: Would the journey in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe be as magical if it were set in a modern city instead of Narnia?
    • Science Fiction: Could Ender’s Game unfold as it does without the unique setting of Battle School in space?

Encourage your students to relate the settings in literature to real-world locations or historical events. Ask them how the setting of their favorite book compares to a place they’ve visited or studied in history.

How Setting Influences Conflict

In many novels, the setting is crucial in creating the conflict. Think of these examples:

    • Survival: Would Gary Paulsen be telling a survival story if Brian had reached his father in the oil fields instead of crash-landing in the Canadian wilderness in Hatchet?
    • Historical Impact: Would Sadako from Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes be faced with leukemia if she didn’t live in 1955 Hiroshima, Japan?
    • Daily Struggles: If Naya from A Long Walk to Water didn’t live in Southern Sudan, would she spend her days traveling to and from a water hole?

Add examples from the novels your students have read to make these connections more personal and impactful.

Lesson Handout

This handout includes printables and instructions for all activities listed in this post. 

Free Teaching Ideas and Printables for Teaching Setting

Here are several activities to help your students understand and analyze the setting in the stories they read:

Activity #1: Anchor Charts for Setting of a Story

Teaching Finding the Setting of a Story

Use these free “Printable Charts for Setting” to guide students in analyzing the setting. The charts include sections for the setting’s location, time, importance, and mood. Print them on standard 11 by 8.5-inch paper or as posters for classroom display. You can use these charts with any story. Detailed printing instructions are in the handout.

Activity #2: Matching Setting Devices to Definitions

Teaching Finding the Setting of a Story

In this activity, students explore time and how it influences the plot. They match definitions to terms like “an unanswered question,” “a ticking clock,” and “a ray of hope.” For example, they might match “an unanswered question” to the description: “The reader wants to keep reading to discover how an event will turn out.”

Both printable and digital versions of this activity are available.

Activity #3: Exploring Story Settings with Videos

Teaching Setting Video
Play Video about Teaching Setting Video
Teaching Setting Video
Play Video about Teaching Setting Video

Visual learning can be a powerful tool for understanding literary concepts, and these two short videos are perfect for helping students grasp the significance of a story’s setting. The first video is an animated cartoon that introduces the elements of time and location as components of a story’s setting. The second video takes this a step further, showing how the setting impacts not just the backdrop but also the characters and events within the narrative—a crucial aspect emphasized by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.

These videos offer a fun and engaging way to reinforce setting concepts, making them an excellent addition to your lesson.

Activity #4: Vivid Imagery in Setting

Teaching Setting in Literature Activity

This activity allows students to actively explore vivid imagery within different settings. Students analyze three short passages from Owl Moon, Charlotte’s Web, and Because of Winn-Dixie using a handout. They pull phrases from the passages and add them to a vivid imagery chart, categorizing sensory details like sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.

Activity #5: Exploring Genre Through Setting

Teaching Setting in Literature Activity

Students use a chart to analyze how different genres dictate the settings of stories. The first column contains an image, such as a ship on fire, which students identify as part of the historical fiction genre. They then complete the chart by adding the genre definition, location, time period, and literature examples. For instance, for the image of a ship on fire, students would label it as historical fiction, define it as a story blending historical facts with fiction, identify the location as real, the time as past, and provide examples like Number the Stars or The Whipping Boy. This chart covers eight different genres.

Activity #6: Clues to the Setting

Teaching Finding the Setting of a Story

Students learn how authors may reveal the setting in a story through dialogue, descriptive passages, and character actions. An infographic guides students in identifying these clues, helping them understand how the setting shapes the narrative.

Reflecting on the Importance of Setting

Close your lesson with a discussion on the importance of setting in storytelling. Consider sharing an inspiring quote with your students:

 

“The setting of a story is more than just a backdrop; it’s the heart that drives the plot and shapes the characters.”

 

Please encourage your students to look beyond the obvious and discover the hidden influences of the settings they read about.

Gay Miller

Permanent link to this article: https://bookunitsteacher.com/wp/?p=405

16 comments

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    • Jenny on July 29, 2015 at 7:29 am

    Thank you so much for the terrific blog post with printables. I printed out the anchor charts and had my students complete them in small groups based on picture books we had read during the past month. I followed this activity with a whole class discussion where students shared their completed charts. My students loved the activity and learned a lot. Keep up the great job.

    • Celina on August 1, 2015 at 7:41 pm

    WOW just what I was looking for.

    • Tricia A, on January 7, 2025 at 7:09 am

    This blog post came at the perfect time. Our focus right now is on writing, Helping the students understand how important the setting is to their stories is very helpful. This explains the way they should approach choosing the best setting for their own story in a way that is simple and meaningful to them. Thank you for your continued dedication to helping us reach our students in ways that are perfect for them to understand.

    1. I’m delighted to hear that the blog post was timely for your writing focus! It’s wonderful to know that the resources are helping your students understand the importance of setting in their stories. Thank you for your kind words and for your dedication to your students’ success!

    • Meis on January 7, 2025 at 7:30 am

    Thank you for sharing this. I teacher 3rd grade, but I think a more in-depth look at settings would be helpful for my learners. Since I have a few who aren’t strong readers, the video is a big help.

    1. I’m so glad you found the resources useful for your 3rd graders! It’s great to hear that the video will be helpful for your students. Thanks for your feedback and for making a difference in your students’ learning experiences!

    • Debbie on January 7, 2025 at 7:41 am

    Thanks so much for this blog post and printable hand-outs. I look forward to using these with my students.

    1. You’re very welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed the blog post and handouts. I hope your students find them engaging and informative!

    • Stacy Dibble on January 7, 2025 at 10:38 am

    Great resources! Thank you!

    1. Thank you so much! I’m thrilled to hear that you find the resources helpful. Your support means a lot!

    • Karen Winford on January 7, 2025 at 12:59 pm

    I’ve followed you for a long time because I admire your teaching style and your resources. Although I have a new title (elementary interventionist/Title I teacher), I still read your emails and many of your blogs. You have such well-designed resources, and this one looks valuable for teaching setting.

    1. Thank you so much for your kind words and for following my journey! It means a lot to hear that you admire my teaching style and resources. Congratulations on your new role as an elementary interventionist/Title I teacher! I’m delighted to know that you continue to find my emails and blog posts valuable. I hope this resource on teaching setting will be a great addition to your toolkit. Your support and feedback truly inspire me to keep creating helpful resources. Thank you for being a part of this community!

    • minswap on January 8, 2025 at 2:15 pm

    The information shared is of top quality which has to get appreciated at all levels. Well done…

    1. Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m thrilled to hear that you found the information valuable and of top quality. Your appreciation means a lot and motivates me to continue providing useful resources.

      Thanks for your support, and happy teaching!

    • Teryl on January 14, 2025 at 10:41 am

    Reading your blog post has given me so many new ideas on how to make the setting more real. I can’t wait to try the activity where we can explore how setting changes with the genre. I am so glad I found your blog.

    1. Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m thrilled to hear that my blog post has sparked new ideas for you. Exploring how the setting changes with the genre can truly transform how students engage with a story. I’m excited for you to try out the activity and see the impact it has in your classroom.

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