Transcript Story Elements PowerPoint

Story Elements
What elements does a story
need to have in order to be
a well-written story?
Story Elements for the Aesop fable,
“The Peacock”
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characters
conflict
plot, including resolution
setting
character
A character is a person or an animal in a
work of literature.
Examples:
• August Pullman in Wonder
• Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer’s Stone
• Greg Heffley in Diary of a Wimpy Kid
conflict
The conflict is the major struggle between characters or
between opposing forces. A conflict may be external or
internal. Some stories have both kinds of conflict.
• External Conflict: The main character struggles with
another person or with an outside force, like the sea.
• Internal Conflict: The main character struggles with
opposing ideas or feelings within his or her own
mind, like wanting to make friends at a new school
but also being very shy.
plot
The plot is the series of related events that make up the story. Most plots go
this way:
• exposition-The beginning of a story, including who the main characters are
and what the main conflict is.
• rising action- The series of events where the conflict is presented and
complications arise as the plot moves towards the climax.
• climax-The most exciting part of the story where the main character faces
and/or makes a huge decision which solves the conflict. Also usually the
most suspenseful part of the story.
• falling action- The section after the climax where the action begins to drop
off and the events of the plot become clear or are explained in some way,
leading toward the resolution.
• resolution-Occurs at the end of the story. The writer tells what the main
characters feel or do now that the conflict is settled.
plot
setting
The setting is the time, place, and atmosphere in which a story’s
events occur.
• Time is the period during which all events, conditions, and
actions happen.
• Place is the location or area. In literature, place is also known
as the physical setting.
• Atmosphere is the general feeling or mood in a work of
literature. Writers create atmosphere by using imagery and
descriptions. Readers can describe atmosphere in just a word
or two-for example, “A scary poem,” “an exciting scene,” “a
story filled with sadness.”