Story Element Lesson Ideas Keeps Learning Interesting

By the time students arrive in sixth grade, they are already familiar with the concept of story elements, and are now required to use and expand their knowledge.  For example, students are required not only to identify, but to explain and describe the importance of setting in a story, as well as describe the techniques that authors use to convey characters' thoughts and feelings. The quandary then becomes how to provide the opportunities to elevate student knowledge to the next level, without the information seeming boring and repetitive to students. My approach is to construct an environment which allows students to explore and become engaged with the literature in order to effectively acquire and expand their knowledge.

One way I do this is by providing students with an assortment of short story collections, picture books, and novels for students to choose while studying a specific reading concept. A majority of the time, students are able to choose whatever interests them, however, given time constraints at certain times of the school year, I may ask students to stay within a certain length or genre, depending on the topic. I prefer students to always have a book available to refer to during class (e.g. describing the setting of their independent book for a class journal or activity). I find this helps maintain student interest, and provides a good way to have students discuss their reading with the rest of the class.

In addition to using books students have chosen, I always begin teaching concepts, such as story elements, by reading a short story to the class in order to provide a common platform and class example for beginning class instruction and discussion. Customarily, I choose a picture book to read aloud to the class, however, I have found that students enjoy online versions of picture books as well. When I am attempting to maintain student interest, I use either the Children's Books Online website or the Storyline Online website. I find this is a nice way to change the routine, and students seem to enjoy the experience.

Activities that I incorporate into instruction include: having students design a different setting for a story, creating a character guessing game, or a character poem. As a whole class activity, we play a game using Nathan Levy's "Stories with Holes" series. The setting design includes having students change the setting for their independent book by drawing a map or creating a diorama. Students then present the project to the class with an explanation of the differences that would occur in their story due to the change in setting. The character guessing game is used with a group of short stories that the entire class has read. Each student chooses a story and a partner, and together they fill a paper bag with items that are clues to a character from their chosen story. I ask students to link the character clues to events from the story, and choose items that accurately reflect the author's description of the character. In addition to the game, I also assign an independent assignment where students are required to write a poem about a character in a chosen class story. The poems focus on the physical and personality traits described by the author. Students are first given a graphic organizer to sketch out their ideas and the information provided within the story. Finally, as a review of story elements, I read the class Nathan Levy's "Stories with Holes". This is a collection of very short descriptions of a situation. A basic story element is left out, which makes the story seem more like a riddle to solve. I have the class divide into teams and I read aloud a short story. After I read the story twice, each team has to guess the missing element and solve the riddle.  Students often enjoy this activity, and I prefer to include it as a class wrap-up during the course of study. Eventually, I have students create their own story element riddles to share. This is normally a humorous assignment that students are excited to share with the rest of the class.

When teaching students to expand a concept, such as story elements, it can be a challenge to maintain student interest. The following are additional lesson ideas for teaching students to explain and describe story elements by utilizing technology, popular culture, and cooperative learning techniques.

Story Element Lesson Plans:

Twisted Tales: In this lesson students learn the significance of point of view through rewriting a well-known children's story from a different perspective. After reading a related article and evaluating characters from student chosen stories, students learn point of view by focusing on the character of Disney's Tarzan.

Let's Get Critical: After reading a novel or short story, students evaluate the elements of plot in a letter to a classmate. The letter's purpose is to recommend the story to others based on the specific story elements presented in the novel. Students share their letters with the class.

Show Me the Story: This lesson teaches the element of plot by using comedian Chris Rock and his sitcom "Everybody Hates Chris." After students read and discuss a review of the television sitcom, students focus on the story elements in order to create a new sitcom based on their lives. Online resources are available to aid students through the lesson activities.

PowerPoint Short Story Report: Through cooperative learning students form groups of four to six in order to create a PowerPoint based on a selected short story. The PowerPoint is a summary of the short story that identifies all six story elements. There are online resources, as well as handouts, to guide students through mapping the story and creating the PowerPoint.