Detailed Explanation of Story Elements 📚✨

When you are asked to identify story elements in a text, you are looking for the key parts that make up a story. These story elements help you understand what happens and why. Knowing how to identify story elements is an important skill for Year 6 students following the National Curriculum because it helps with reading comprehension and writing.

What Are Story Elements? 🧐

Story elements are the main parts of a story that work together to create the plot and meaning. The most important story elements are:

  • Characters: These are the people, animals, or creatures in the story. You can find out who they are by reading about their actions, feelings, and what other characters say about them.
  • Setting: This tells you where and when the story happens. It can be a place like a forest, a city, or even a different world, and a time such as the past, present, or future.
  • Plot: This is what happens in the story. It usually includes the beginning (introduction), middle (problem or conflict), and end (resolution).
  • Problem or Conflict: This is the main challenge or struggle that the characters face. It makes the story interesting.
  • Resolution: This tells you how the problem is solved or how the story ends.

How to Identify Story Elements in a Text 🔍

  1. Look for the Characters: Start by asking, “Who is the story about?” Notice the names and descriptions.
  2. Find the Setting: Look for descriptions of places or hints about the time when the story happens.
  3. Follow the Plot: Pay attention to what happens first, next, and last. Think about the big event or conflict in the story.
  4. Spot the Problem: Ask yourself, “What challenge do the characters face?”
  5. See How It Ends: Look for the part where the story’s problem is fixed or the conclusion is given.

Tips for Identifying Story Elements 💡

  • Use highlighters or underline sentences that tell you about characters or settings.
  • Summarise the plot in your own words by writing down the main events.
  • When reading, pause and ask questions about what you have read, such as “What is the problem here?” or “Where does this story take place?”

By practising these steps, you will become confident at recognising story elements, which will help you understand and enjoy stories more! 🎉

20 Examination-Style Questions with Answers on Story Elements 📝✅

Questions ❓

  1. What is the setting of a story?
  2. Who is the main character in a story called?
  3. What is the plot of a story?
  4. What is a climax in a story?
  5. What do we call the person or thing that causes a problem for the main character?
  6. Describe what the resolution of a story is.
  7. What is the difference between a protagonist and an antagonist?
  8. What type of story element is the point of view?
  9. What is a theme in a story?
  10. What do we call the events that lead up to the climax?
  11. Why is the setting important to a story?
  12. What is a flashback?
  13. How can dialogue help to understand the characters?
  14. What does the mood of a story mean?
  15. Name two different types of conflict in stories.
  16. What role does the narrator play in a story?
  17. How can you identify the theme of a story?
  18. What does the introduction of a story usually include?
  19. What is the difference between first-person and third-person point of view?
  20. What is the purpose of the ending of a story?

Answers ✔️

  1. The setting is where and when a story takes place.
  2. The main character is called the protagonist.
  3. The plot is the sequence of events in a story.
  4. The climax is the most exciting or important part of the story.
  5. The person or thing that causes trouble is called the antagonist.
  6. The resolution is how the problem or conflict in the story is solved.
  7. The protagonist is the main character trying to solve a problem, and the antagonist is the person or force causing the problem.
  8. The point of view is the perspective from which the story is told.
  9. A theme is the main message or lesson of a story.
  10. The events before the climax are called the rising action.
  11. The setting helps create the mood and influences the characters’ actions.
  12. A flashback is when the story shows something that happened earlier.
  13. Dialogue shows how characters speak and what they are feeling.
  14. The mood is the feeling or atmosphere the story creates for the reader.
  15. Two types of conflict are person vs person and person vs nature.
  16. The narrator tells the story to the reader.
  17. You can identify the theme by thinking about what the story teaches or what the characters learn.
  18. The introduction usually includes the setting and main characters.
  19. First-person point of view uses “I” and shows one character’s thoughts, while third-person uses “he,” “she,” or “they.”
  20. The ending finishes the story and often shows how the characters have changed.