Stories are built in much the same way that houses are. Just as houses have floors, walls, and a roof, stories have some basic parts. Every story has characters (the people or animals in the story), a setting (the time and place the story occurs), a problem (a difficulty that the character(s) have to overcome and solve), and a resolution (a solution to the difficulty or problem). Knowing the parts of a story helps children understand the whole story.
What you'll need:
* A brief story or a fable.
What to do:
* Choose a short story, fable, or fairy tale for your child to read. You may want to read the story ahead of time to make sure it works for this activity.
* Make an outline on lined paper with the following parts:
Title: _____________________________________
Main character: _____________________________
_________________________________________
Setting: ___________________________________
__________________________________________
Problem: __________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Resolution: ________________________________
___________________________________________
* Ask your child to read part of the story and to identify the character(s). Say, "Is Molly a character in the story? Is she a main character? Yes, the story is mostly about Molly and her science project. Let's write that on the sheet where it says main character."
* Then ask your child to tell you where and when the story takes place (a town or city, state or country, today or in the past). This is the setting of the story.
* Then, after your child reads about half of the story, stop and say, "What is the problem the main character of this story is facing or having? Let's write that on the sheet where it says problem."
* When your child finishes the story, ask the child how the problem in the story was worked out. Say, "That is the resolutionof the story. Let's write that on the sheet."
READ*WRITE*NOW Activities for Reading and Writing Fun - May 1997
