Working on Story Structure

On Tuesday the class began its study or story structure (also known as plot).  Just like the walls of a house provide structure, all good literature has a structure.  The four major elements of story structure we are studying are:

• Setting-Where the story takes place?
• Character-Who is the story about?
• Problem-What major problem does our character(s) face?
• Solution-How did the character(s) solve the problem?

We started our story reading one of my favorite childhood stories, The Story of Ferdinand.  In the story Ferdinand the Bull is accidentally picked to go to the bullfights in Madrid.  Ferdinand, being a peaceful bull doesn't want to fight.  The students and I then identified the story elements together using a strategy called "story mapping".

Next, the students read a story on their own, The Dragon of Krakow.  They then completed a story map on their own.  With that activity I will be able to assess our next steps as we learn more about story structure.

Keep reading :)

Mr. Nix