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Mrs. Rimes
 Elements of a Story:
1. Setting – The time and place a story takes
place.
2. Characters – the people, animals or creatures
in a story.
3. Plot – the series of events that make up a
story.
• Conflict – a problem or struggle between two
people, things or ideas.
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 Elements of a Story:
4. Theme is the central idea or belief in a story.
It is illustrated by the events of the story and
the moral or lesson that you get relates
directly to the theme.

5. Point of View tells how a story is told. It may

be in the first-person, second, third person
point of view or omniscient point of view.

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 Setting
• The setting describes where Details can describe:
an when the story takes place. ✓ Time of day
• It helps build background and ✓ Time of year
✓ Time in History
create images in the mind.
✓ Scenery
• It helps set the tone or mood ✓ Weather
of the story. ✓ Location

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 Using the Five Senses
• A good setting helps • SIGHT
the reader visualize • SMELL
the places in the • TASTE
story.
• FEEL
• A good author
• SOUND
includes
descriptions of the
setting using the five
senses…

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 Take a Look…Which is better?

The castle
was beside
the water.

OR…

The waves crashed loudly against the shoreline. The fog

lifted lightly and the medieval castle came into view. It
was a beautiful site! The fog brushed my face and I
could smell the smoke from the fire in the distance and
taste the sea salt on my lips. Walsh Publishing Co. 2009
 Your Turn…
• On the next slide, there is a picture of a setting.
• In your own words, write a detailed description of the
setting in your picture. Include many adjectives and
don’t forget to include descriptions for each of the five
senses: see, hear, feel, smell, taste
• Extension: Draw your own setting and then write
about it.
• Extension: Your teacher will give you a magazine to
look through. Find a picture that could be a setting for
a story.

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 Alex shut the lid to his laptop with a loud
clap. Some of the people sitting at the tables
near him looked up from their books and gave
him annoyed looks. Alex realized that he had
disturbed them and held up his hand
apologetically. The librarian turned toward him
and shushed him loudly, perhaps louder than
the noise that he had made. Alex put the laptop
in his bag and began walking toward the door.
He held his head down low.
  Crack! The storm raged as the men scrambled
around the deck, bracing equipment. The pirate
captain wrestled with the wheel. The mighty ocean
tossed them to and fro. He began yelling at the men
over the noise of the storm, "Argh! We must bring
down the sails men! You and you… bring them
down!" He called out to a pirate wearing a stripped
sweater and another one with a bandanna. The
pirate with the bandanna began shimmying up the
mast to the crow's-nest. The pirate wearing the
stripped sweater put his sword in his belt and began
climbing up behind him.
 Janet sliced the onion on the cutting board
over the sink. As the fumes from the onion
rose, her eyes began to water. She was
listening to some popular jazz music on the
radio when a voice broke in, "This just in!
Pearl Harbor has been attacked! Much of the
American naval fleet in the Pacific has been
destroyed. Will this attack bring the U.S. into
the Second World War? More details to
follow." Janet dropped the knife and covered
her mouth. She remembered the first war. She
was just a child at the time but she could never
Characters

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 Every story needs
Characters…

People Animals Or Creatures

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 Characters most often are
people or animals. Writers use
characters to perform the
actions and speak the dialogues
of a story. They move a story’s
plot forward. They are the who of
a story.
The protagonist is the “good
guy”
 Protagonist/Hero- is the
chief male or female
character in a book, play, or
movie, who is typically
identified with good
qualities, and with whom
the reader is expected to
sympathize.
The antagonist is the “bad
guy” or force
The antagonist is the “bad
guy” or force
 Antagonist/Villain is
also another character
from the story. This often
refer to as the evil from
the story
Write Hero if the dialogue shows of good
character and Villain if it does not.
 

1. “Whatever happens, we never give up and

we never ever steal.”
2. “It is good to have a beautiful mind. Even
greater gift is to discover a beautiful heart.”
3. “If someone hates you for no reason, give
that jerk a reason.”
4. “Do what you think will make him suffer.”
5. “They may take our lives, but they will
never take our freedom.”
 6. “As long as we live, we must
remain true to ourselves.”
7. “When the sun sets tomorrow,
we’ll get everything they have!”
8. “I have always depended on
the kindness of strangers.”
9. “Now that you’ve just pissed
me off I’m going to finish her
nice and slow.”
10.”That’s for me, as I am a fox!”
1. Batman 6. Simba

2. Joker 7. Cinderella

3. Superman 8. Witch

4. Darna 9. Harry Potter

5. Cardo ang 10. Valentina

Probinsiyano
 Read each passage from the
different narratives. Identify the
characters and the setting.
Write your answers on your
answer sheet.
1. Two young boys, Kenneth,
and Kit, pitched Little League
Baseball one summer. Kenneth’s
curve wasn’t easy to hit and
Kit’s fastball was really a
hummer.
Character: Setting:
2. It was strange to see elephants playing in the
zoo, and to hear them both greeted with cheers.
But it merely confirmed the old saying- Little
elephants really do have big ears.
Character: Setting:
3.Samantha was a good girl, who always
tried to do her duty. She did the cooking and
the sweeping, while sister Grace was
upstairs sleeping in her room, until a jaguar,
for his dinner, devoured Grace that lazy
sinner. Then Samantha forced to dine alone.
Character: Setting:
4.Young Erwin was a busy waiter who worked in
New Normal’s Diner. He served the customers all
day and thought his job was finer.
Character: Setting:

5.Harry the handsome man loved a dentist, and

so to her office he went, gave her flowers and
said, “I’ve a toothache!” and considered the
money well spent. But she said, “I’ll not treat your
toothache!"
Character: Setting:
 Characterization
Characterization is the
way in which an author
shows the personality of a
character

Characterization is a
technique writers use to
make characters “come to
life.”
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 Think about your favorite book,
movie or TV character…
• How can you describe his/her appearance?
• What kind of personality does he/she have?
• What kinds of things does he/she like?
• Make a list of character traits for this character.
 Characterization
Characters are people or animals in a story.
A writer can tell you directly about a character…
(Freddy was very competitive)
Or
A writer can tell you indirectly about a character…
(Two days before the game, Freddy gathered his
teammates and laid out his plan. Then he looked at them
and said, “We are going to win this one. No excuses.”)
 Direct Characterization
• Direct Characterization • “The patient boy and the
tells the reader the quiet girl were both well
personality of the behaved and did not
character. disobey their mother.
• Direct Characterization is
obvious to the reader and
“spells” it right out.
 Indirect Characterization
• Indirect The boy sat next to his
Characterization shows sister as she poked him
things that reveal the and teased him. He did
personality of the not react. He carefully
character. picked up her doll from
• Speech the floor and placed it
• Thought on her lap saying gently,
• Effect on Others “Here you go, why
don’t you play with your
• Actions
doll?
• Looks
 Indirect Characterization
☻What does the character say? How does the character speak?
☻ What is revealed through the character’s private thoughts
and feelings?
☻ What is the character’s effect on others? How do other
characters feel or behave in reaction to the character?
☻ What does the character do? How does he/she behave?
☻ What does the character look like? Dress like?
 Character Traits
Character Traits are descriptive adjectives
that tell us specific qualities of a character

•Humble
•Honest •Excited •Bright •Ambitious
•Unselfish •Friendly
•Light-hearted •Studious •Courageous •Able
•Self-confident •Short
•Leader •Inventive •Serious •Quiet
•Respectful •Adventurous
•Expert •Creative •Funny •Curious
•Considerate •Hard-
•Brave •Thrilling •Humorous •Reserved
•Imaginative working
•Conceited •Independent •Sad •Pleasing
•Busy •Timid
•Mischievous •Intelligent •Poor •Bossy
•Patriotic •Shy
•Demanding •Compassionate •Rich •Witty
•Fun-loving •Bold
•Thoughtful •Gentle •Tall •Fighter
•Popular •Daring
•Keen •Proud •Dark •Tireless
•Successful •Dainty
•Happy •Wild •Light •Energetic
•Responsible •Pitiful
•Disagreeable •Messy •Handsome •Cheerful
•Lazy •Cooperative
•Simple •Neat •Pretty •Smart
•Dreamer •Lovable
•Fancy •Joyful •Ugly •Impulsive
•Helpful •Prim
•Plain •Strong •Selfish •Loyal
•Simple-minded •Proper
 Factors in Analyzing
Characters
➢Physical appearance/what they look like
➢Personality & Character Traits
➢Background/personal history
➢Motivation/why do they act?
➢Relationships
➢Conflict or struggles
➢Does the character change?
➢What do they think and feel?
➢How do others feel about them?
 Character Motivation
• Character Motivation is the driving force behind why
the character does what he/she does. (Reasons for
character’s actions)
• What does the main character want more than
anything else (main goal)?
• What do secondary characters want more than
anything else (main goal)?
• What potential conflicts or struggles might exist
between the characters?

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 Snow White:
•
Character Motivation
Character Motivation. Why does the queen’s heart turn
against Snow White?
• Character Motivation. Why do the dwarfs allow Snow
White to stay with them?
• Character Motivation. Why does the queen disguise herself
as an old peddler woman?
• Character Motivation. Why does the queen give Snow
White the poison apple?
 Your Turn…Think of a character from a
book, a movie or TV…
• Who is the character? From what story?
• What does he/she want?
• What does he/she need?
• What is his/her motivation?
• What does he/she do to get what they need?
• How does the character change during the movie,
book or TV show?
 Character Poem Example of poem
First name ________________________ Snow White,
Four traits ________________________
Beautiful, giving, loving, unhappy
Related to:________________________
Cares deeply for _____________________
The Queen, her wicked stepmother
Who feels ________________________ The seven dwarfs
Who needs ________________________ Safe in the forest
Who gives _________________________ The love of a Prince
Who would like to see __________________ Love to the seven dwarfs
Resident of ________________________ Goodness throughout the kingdom
The forest.

Identifying Character Traits Worksheet: http://www.readwritethink.org/lesson_images/lesson175/RWT186-2.pdf

Plot

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 Plot

Plot - the events that take place in a story. Every story

needs a plot! The plot has different “parts…”
 Plot Components
Climax: the turning point, the most
intense moment—either mentally
or in action

Rising Action: the series of Falling Action: all of the

events and conflicts in the story action which follows the
that lead to the climax climax

Exposition: the start of the story, Resolution: the conclusion, the

before the action starts tying together of all of the threads
The climax is the most exciting
part!!
 Special Techniques of Plot…
➢Suspense- excitement or tension
➢Flashback- interrupts the normal sequence of
events to tell about something that happened
in the past
➢Surprise Ending- conclusion that reader does
not expect
➢And…Foreshadowing…
A hint about what will happen next is
called foreshadowing

For example, if you hear this:

Then you know someone’s about to get eaten!

 Your Turn…
• You will be given a short story to read.
• Once you’ve finished reading, fill out the plot diagram for the
story.
Conflict

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 Conflict
• Conflict is the
“battle” between
two forces.

• Conflict isn’t always

bad..sometimes it
helps to create
change.
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Conflict
Conflict is the struggle between two
forces in a story. Without conflict,
there is no plot.
 Types of Conflict
Character vs. Character

Character vs. Nature

Character vs. Society

Character vs. Self

Character vs. Technology

Types Of Conflict…a deeper look
1.Character vs.
Character
(problem with another
character)
2. Character vs. Nature
(problem with force of nature)

3. Character vs. Society

(problem with the laws or beliefs of a group)
(character vs. community, society or culture)

4. Character vs. Self

(problem with deciding what to

do or think; “inner conflict”)

 Your turn…
What’s a well-known
movie that has…
Character vs. Character Conflict
Character vs. Nature Conflict
Character vs. Society
Character vs. Self
Character vs. Technology