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Story Elements: grade reading and language arts

Plot Diagram

Plot:

The sequence of events in a story.

Exposition

Exposition:

the author introduces the characters , creates the setting , and introduces the conflict .

Exposition Setting:

Setting:

Includes where and when the story takes place.

How setting is expressed:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Place Time of day Weather Seasons Type of People Kinds of clothing Smells, sounds

Exposition Conflict:

Conflict:

A struggle or clash between two opposing forces.

Rising Action & Climax

As they say in writing and reading circles . . . the plot thickens!!!

Plot Diagram: Rising Action

Rising Action:

a series of crises, events or turning points that build tension towards the climax.

Plot Diagram: Climax

Climax Climax:

The most intense or crucial moment or event when the tension reaches a peak.

Rising Action:

The stairs leading up to the top. There are many stairs that lead there.

Climax:

You have reached the top of the stairs after a long climb. This is the highest point with the most excitement.

Falling Action & Resolution

Plot Diagram: Falling Action

Falling Action:

The story examines the consequences or outcomes of the climax and the tension fades.

Plot Diagram: Resolution

Resolution:

How the story’s main problem or conflict is resolved; bringing the conflict to an end.

Falling Action:

After reaching the climax, the stairs lead back down. There may be many stairs or just a few that lead there.

Resolution:

The problem or conflict is solved. The last puzzle piece is put into place.

Plot Diagram

Climax Rising Action Falling Action Exposition Resolution

Point of View

Perspective from which the story is told.

1 st person

: In the first person point of view, the narrator is a character in the story. He/She will use pronouns like “I” “we” “. When reading stories in the first person, we need to realize that what the narrator is recounting might not be the objective truth. We should question the trustworthiness of the accounting.

3rd Person :

voice.

Here the narrator does not participate in the action of the story as one of the characters, but lets us know exactly how the characters feel. We learn about the characters through this outside

Exposition Character:

Character:

Person, animal, or imaginary creature that plays a role in the story.

Types of Characters:

Protagonist:

main character in the story, hero(ine).

Antagonist:

character that causes the initial conflict . . . The bad guy or gal

Character Classification

Round:

character with many personalities. He/she has many strengths and weaknesses.

Flat:

this character usually has one kind of personality, such as only good or only evil. Often, less important in the story.

Character Classification

Dynamic:

this character changes because of what happens to him or her in the story. Often this character learns as a result of an event in the story.

Static:

This character stays the same throughout the story.

Exposition Conflict:

Conflict:

A struggle or clash between two opposing forces.

Conflict:

Internal Conflict:

Struggle occurs

within

the character

Man vs. Self

External Conflict:

Struggle occurs

between

the character and an outside force.

Man vs. Man Man vs. Society Man vs. Nature

Dialogue

Dialogue

refers to the actual words that characters speak. The central conflict of the story can be powerfully dramatized in the story’s dialogue.

The way individuals speak can also be an important clue to what they’re like.

Authors use dialogue as one effective technique for portraying character.

Dialogue is set aside by the use of quotation marks and a short explanation of who spoke the words.

Characterization

How the authors communicates or tells the reader about the characters in the story.

Direct characterization

Occurs when the author tells readers about a character directly:

Dr. Smith was the meanest man in town.

Indirect characterization

Lets readers draw their own conclusions from clues in the story, such as a character’s appearance, tone of voice, or behavior:

Dr. Smith laughed meanly and kicked a stray dog out of the way as he walked down the street.

Theme

Theme

is the “message” the author intends to communicate by telling the story. A story’s themes are often universal truths, which are suggested by the specifics of the story.

Some common themes in short stories: The struggle between

good and evil

The differences between

nature and civilized society

The conflict between the

individual and the community Love

conquers all If you

work hard

, good things will happen

Motive

Motive

is the reason behind a character’s actions.

What motivates or drives the character to do something?

Always wants to win?

Selfish or mean?

Loves someone/something?

Is angry at someone or the world?

Wants to live a better life?

Suspense

Suspense

involves techniques that authors use to keep the reader wondering what will happen next….. don’t go down the stairs!!!

Suspense

can be created using the following techniques:

Foreshadowing

is a technique used to give readers clues about events that will happen later in the story.

Example

:

a dark cloud gathering in the sky, could be introduced to suggest that the light mood of the story is about to change

.

Flashback

is action that interrupts to show an event that happened at an earlier time which is necessary to better understanding.

Suspense continued

Dramatic irony

is another technique that increases suspense by letting the reader know more about the present situation than the character might know.

Example

:

the reader might know that there is a bomb in a character’s briefcase when the character himself does not know.

Tone expresses

the writer’s attitude toward characters, setting, or situation. Tone can range from playful or humorous to serious or tragic.

Example

:

It was a dark and stormy night….