Tag: Story Elements

Teaching students to summarize text can be one of the most difficult skills you tackle during this school year. This post offers six summarizing strategies to try. It also contains some general rules for students to follow as well as stem questions to look for on tests.

Be sure to download the free printable resources to teach summarizing strategies.  Continue Reading

Teaching students to find the theme of a book can be both fun and frustrating. Some students understand the concept immediately. For others, it can be a real challenge.

General Summarizing Rules

This anchor chart hangs in my classroom when I first introduce a lesson on finding the theme. The steps are really simple, but I often hear students quoting the 4 ideas for finding themes, so I know it is helpful. You’ll find these 4 ideas in the printable. Continue Reading

Plot development is often compared to climbing a mountain or riding a roller coaster. Students really relate to the roller coaster analogy. Here is how it works:

The Plot Development Roller Coaster

Exposition

When you first get on the roller coaster a voice over a loudspeaker gives background information such as when the coaster was built, how long the ride will last, or how high or fast you will be traveling. The exposition also gives background information. It is the introduction of the story. The exposition contains the setting and introduces the main characters. Readers need this information to understand a story. Continue Reading

The setting of a story includes the time and location in which the story takes place. Most students can easily say this story takes place at the beach or the moon or Alaska or wherever. Many students can also pinpoint the time: the past, present, or future. However, often students do not realize that the setting also provides important clues to the plot.

 Information to Use in Classroom Discussions

Setting and Attitude

Where characters live often contributes to their personalities. Different settings influence a character’s values or attitude. Continue Reading

Teaching character traits is a must. When students know what details to look for in characters in literature, they will better understand the text and will become better writers as well. This post provides student-friendly definitions. It also gives some teaching ideas with handouts to try out in the classroom.

Defining Characters

When writing a story, an author usually begins with physical descriptions of the characters. The author must then go a step further to describe the personality of each of the characters. The characters need to have both positive and negative qualities to make them seem realistic. Good authors do not simply list character traits. They show the personalities of the characters through actions. Continue Reading

Although teachers often use the terms point of view and perspective interchangeably, there are differences.

The point of view focuses on who is the narrator of the story. Continue Reading

Story mapping is a strategy that uses graphic organizers to help students break down the text of a novel or short story. These visual representations help students examine different components of the story. Creating a story map improves students’ comprehension because they can more easily visualize the framework of a story.

Common Core

Creating a story map helps students practice a large number of Common Core skills as well. Continue Reading