jElements of a story

Fiction: tells a story about imaginary events and imaginary characters ( unreal events
and characters ).

Fiction has these elements:

 Characters: made up people or animals.
 Setting: is the time and the place of the story.
 Narrator: is the person who tells the story.
 Point of view: is the point of view of the narrator who tells the story.
First person point of view: A story told by a character inside the story.
Third person point of view: A story told by someone outside the story.
 Theme: is the lesson learned from the story.

Read the following stories and fill in the missing information.

All the short sentences below have at least one character. Circle the letter of the
character or characters in the sentence.
1. Lou ran past the trees to the house.
a. Lou b. trees c. house
2. Later that night the owl left its nest.
a. night b. owl c. nest
3. Susan and John played in the sand on the beach.
a. Susan b. sand c. John
4. The dish ran away with the spoon.
a. dish b. away c. spoon
5. As the rain fell, Joe’s mother closed the window.
a. rain b. Joe c. mother

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For each passage below, fill in the missing information.

As the night ended, the sun splashed across Casey’s bed. He opened his eyes slowly. The
first thing he saw was the beautiful blue ribbon on his bookshelf.

1. The character(s): _________________________________________________________

2. The setting:
a. place: ________________________
b. time: ________________________
3. The narrator: 1st / 3rd (circle)

I ran as fast as I could down the path. There were trees in front of me, trees behind me,
and trees on both sides. While the snow was falling heavily in the valley, only a few
snowflakes made it to the ground around me. I kept hearing my mother’s voice calling,
“Jenny, Be careful!”

1. The character(s): _________________________________________________________

2. The setting:
a. place: ________________________
b. time: ________________________
3. The narrator: 1st / 3rd (circle)

Kwamba the lion cub rolled around near her mother’s feet. Her mother would be leaving soon
to start to hunt. While humans could not see in the darkness, it was easy for lions. Kwamba
hoped her mother would get a gazelle. Those were her favorite dinners

1. The character(s): _________________________________________________________

2. The setting:
a. place: ________________________
b. time: ________________________
3. The narrator: 1st / 3rd (circle)

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 PLOT ELEMENTS
. Plot: is the order of events in a stoy

:The plot includes six elements *

1. Exposition: The beginning of the story where the characters and the setting
is revealed.

2. Conflict: The story problem, or struggle.

3. Rising Action: events that increase the story’s excitement and tension.
4. Climax: the most difficult, exciting or important event.
5. Falling Action: events that follow the climax to bring the story from climax to
a resolution
6. Resolution: The end, the solution: happy or sad

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Exercise: Read the following short story then write the elements of the plot.

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep
pit. When the other frogs saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that
they were as good as dead. The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up
out of the pit with all their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that
they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs listened to what the other frogs
were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.

The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs
yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it
out. When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained
to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

1. Exposition:
______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

2. Conflict:
______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

3. Rising Action
____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

4. Climax:
____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

5. Falling Action:
____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

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 6. Resolution:
____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

Put the Plot in Order

The nurse helps George into 2. Beth and George

the office walk to school.

3. Beth comes out and

says hello to George. 4. George leaves his house.

6. George gets ready

5. George falls on the
to walk to school
icy school steps.

7. George walks to 8. Beth runs to the school

Beth’s house. office for help.

The correct order of the plot is:

______________________________________________

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 Vocabulary

No Word Meaning
1. treat v. deal with
2. mourn v. feel very sad for losing someone dear to you
3. wrestle v. fight
4. cliff n. a high area of rock with a very steep side
5. tracks v., n. foot marks
6. cubs n. baby bears
7. offers v. asks
8. shadow an area of darkness, caused by light being blocked 
9. meanwhile at the same time
10. searching v. looking for
11. trackers n. Followers
12. trail n. marks/tracks
13. cave n. a hollow place under the ground or inside the
mountain
14. approvingly adv. with support, thinking it is good
15. nudge v. hit/push gently
16. creep/crept v. moved slowly
17. grab v. take something quickly
18. scent n. smell
19. growl v. (for animals) to make a low, rough sound, usually
in anger
20 medicine man wise man
21. neglect v. ignore
22. a change of heart ph. change his mind
23. responsibility n. something that it is your job or duty to deal with
24. blind adj. unable to see
25. sorrow n. Sadness
26. tracks v. follows
27. refuses v. doesn’t allow
28. attack v. to try to hurt or defeat using violence
29. harm v./n. hurt
30. violence n. actions meant to hurt someone
31. beehive n. the place where bees live
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Vocabulary exercise:
Choose the word that completes the meaning of the following sentencesL:
a. I don’t like movies that are full of ( violence , violent)
b. The mother ( grabs, refuses) the hand of her son .
c. The mother bear protects her ( cubs, tracks)
d. The lion ( growls, creeps) angrily when he saw us
e. We ate our lunch, ( meanwhile, approvingly) our father was taking
a shower.

The Bear Boy

Joseph Bruchac

1 Long ago, in a Pueblo village, a boy named Kuo-Haya lived with his father. But his father
did not treat him well. In his heart, he still mourned the death of his wife, Kuo-Haya's
mother, and did not enjoy doing things with his son.

2 Kuo-Haya's father is always too busy to teach the boy to wrestle or to run. Kuo-Haya
becomes shy and lonely because he doesn't know how to play with the other boys.

3 Soon the boy is ready to become a man. One day, he walks out to some cliffs where the
bears live. He follows the bear tracks and finds some bear cubs.

A. Answer the following questions.

1. Where did Kuo-Haya live? ___________________

2. Did he live with his parents? Give evidence from the 1 st paragraph.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

3. What Kuo-Haya’s conflict?

________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

4. Kuo-Haya didn’t have any friends. Write down the sentence that shows this.
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

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 5. Why didn’t he have any friends?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

6. How old is Kuo-Haya? How would you know? _____________________________

7. What did young boys do in their free time?
________________________________________________________________________________

8. Which animal is he interested in? Give evidence.

________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

9. Find out a word that means: to feel very sad to lose someone close to you.
____________________________________

A prediction is your best guess about what will happen in a story. You predict according
to what you know.

Think about what you know about bears. Predict what could happen to a boy who
follows their track.
______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

4 At first, the bear cubs run away from Kuo-Haya. Then the boy offers to play with them
and promises not to hurt them.

5 Soon the boy and the bears were playing together. As they played, however, a shadow
came over them. Kuo-Haya looked up and saw the mother bear standing above him.

6 Meanwhile, the people in the village notice that Kuo-Hay is missing. The boy's father and
other people in the village go searching for him. The best trackers from the village
follow the boy's trail to the bear's cave.

Choose the correct answers.

1. At first, the bear cubs __________.
a. attacked Kuo-Hayab b. loved Kuo-Haya c. were afraid of Kuo-Haya

2. When did the cubs accept Kuo-Haya as a friend?

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 a. Because he ran after them and played with them.
b. Because he had a knife.
c. Because he offered to play with them and promised he won’t hurt them.

3. What do his father and the people of the village do when they notice that he is missing?
a. They started searching for him.
b. Nothing. They know he’d be back soon.
c. The villagers went to look for him but not his father.

4. Where do they find Kuo-Haya?

a. in the bear’s cave
b. in the village playing with the bear cubs
c. at home sleeping after playing for a long time

PREDICT
What do you think the mother bear does to Kuo-Haya? Why do you say that??
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________

7 In front of a cave, they saw the boy playing with the bear cubs as the mother bear
watched them approvingly, nudging Kuo-Haya now and then to encourage him.

8 The trackers crept close, hoping to grab the boy and run. But as soon as the mother bear
caught their scent, she growled and pushed her cubs and the boy back into the cave.

Are the following sentences true or false?

1. The underlined pronoun, they, refers to the boy and bear cubs. ______________________

2. The mother bear encouraged Kuo-Haya to play with her babies. ______________________

3. The word ‘nudging’ means that the mother bear was worried about Kuo-Haya playing with
her babies. ______________________
4. The trackers found Kuo-Haya. ______________________
5. The wanted to take him in front of the mother bear. ______________________

Answer the following questions.

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 1. In the following quotation, the author uses certain words to draw a picture and give an
idea. What picture does the author try to give?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

2. Explain the sentence “But as soon as the mother bear caught their scent, she growled and
pushed her cubs and the boy back into the cave” using your own words.

________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

3. Why did the bear push Kuo-Haya into the cave with her cubs?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

Compare and Contrast

4. Kuo-Haya doesn't play with other children. How is Kuo-Haya's life with the bears
different from his life in the village?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

9 The trackers return to the village. They tell the medicine man where they found Kuo-
Haya. The medicine man tells Kuo-Haya's father that he has neglected his son. He has
not taught the boy what he needs to know to be a man. The mother bear is doing a
better job than Kuo-Haya's father has done. The medicine man says that the father is
the only one who can get his son back-but only if he loves his son.

Answer the following questions.

1. What is a medicine man?
____________________________________________________________________________

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 ____________________________________________________________________________

2. The medicine man blames the father for losing Kuo-Haya. Do you agree with him? Explain.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

3. What advice does the medicine man give to Kuo-Haya’s father to get his son back?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

4. Predict: What would Kuo-Haya's father do?

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

5. find out a word which means : a wise mam __________________

Kuo-Haya's father finally has a change of heart and realises his responsibility.
He began to realize that he had been blind to his son's needs because of his own sorrow. "You
are right," he said. "I will go and bring back my son."
Kuo-Haya's father tracks his son to the bears' cave and watches the boy playing with the
bears. Then he calls out to his son.
"Kuo-Haya," he shouted. "Come to me." The boy looked at him and then just walked into the
cave.
The mother bear refuses to let the father come any closer to Kuo-Haya. The father gets very
angry. He goes home and begins gathering his weapons so that he can attack the bears.

Choose the correct answers,

1. What does Kuo Haya do when his father came to rescue him?
a. He runs to his father and apologizes for not going back home.
a. He is afraid of the mother bear as she doesn’t allow him to go back home.
b. He chooses the mother bear over his father.

2. If you have “a change of heart”, this means

a. Your feel pain in your heart
b. you change your opinion or the way you feel about something:
c. your heart is still mourning someone.

3. ‘To be blind to his one's needs’ means that

a. You neglect their needs.
b. You take care of their needs.
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 c. You understand them and do your best to satisfy them
4. Has the father learnt his lesson?
Yes, he went to get his son back.
No, he wanted to hurt the mother bear to get his son back.
No, he was angry with his son for not going back home with him.

14 The medicine man tells the father to stop. The bears are teaching Kuo-Haya the way
that people should care for each other. The father must not harm the bears.
"You must get your son back with love, not violence."

Kuo-Haya's father prays for help. Then he gets an idea after a bee flies past his face.

Answer the following questions

1. Why shouldn’t the father harm the bears according to the medicine man?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

2. “Then he gets an idea after a bee flies past his face. “ What is the relation between the
bee and the bears? What might the father’s idea be?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

15 He goes to a beehive, makes a fire and blows smoke into the hive. The smoke puts the
bees to sleep. He then takes some honey from the hive. He remembers to leave gifts
for the bees to thank them for their honey.

16 The medicine man who was watching all this, smiled again. Truly the father was beginning
to learn.

1. How do the Red Indians treat animals? Give evidence from the text.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. “Truly the father was beginning to learn.” Do you agree? Give examples from the text.
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 ____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

17 Kuo-Haya's father goes back to the bears' home. He watches how lovingly the mother
bear treats his son. Then he offers the honey to the bears. The bears accept his gift,
and the father then goes to talk to his son.

"Kuo-Haya," he said, putting his hands on his son's shoulders, "I have come to take you
home. The bears have taught me a lesson. I shall treat you as a father should treat his
son."

18 Kuo-Haya says he will come home, but only if his father promises to always stay friends
with the bears. The father agrees. He takes his son home and begins to teach him and
to show his love. Kuo-Haya becomes the best wrestler and the best runner in the village.
His story is still told today. It reminds parents how important it is to show their love for
their children.

1. Bears accept his gift, and the father then goes to talk to his son."
f. What was the gift? _______________________
g. How is giving a gift related to talking to his son?
__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

3. The conflict is the struggle in a story. The story's conflict has been resolved. Which
details show this?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

4. What is the importance of The Bear Boy.

_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________

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 The Bear Boy
1. Characters

2. Setting

3. Point of view

4. Exposition

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

5. Conflict 1

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

6. Rising Actions __________________________________________________________________

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 __________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

7. Conflict __________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

8. Climax __________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

9. Falling Actions __________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

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10. Resolution __________________________________________________________________

rising Action__________________________________________________________________
falling action exposition Theme conflict

Resolution Climax
__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Decide the part of plot represented in each of the following quotations:

1. “Long ago, in a Peublo village, a boy named Kuo-Haya lived with his father.”
___________________.

2. “He takes his son home and begins to teach him and to show his love.” ________________.

3. “One day, he walks out to some cliffs where the bears live.” ________________________ .

4. “Then he offers the honey to the bears. The bears accept his gift, and the father

then goes to talk to his son.” _____________________.

5. “Kuo-Haya’s father prays for help. Then he gets an idea after a bee flies past his

face.” ____________________.

6. “The mother bear refuses to let the father come any closer to Kuo-Haya.”

___________________.

7. “I have come to take you home. The bears have taught me a lesson.”

__________________.
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8. “But his father didn’t treat him well.” ________________________.

“It reminds parents how important it is to show their love for their children.”
______________________.

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