There are many aspects to the science of reading. In the elementary grades, when students are just learning how to read, the five pillars of literacy are the primary focus: phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. As students reach the upper grades of elementary school, things shift from learning how to read to reading for meaning. It’s the beginning of a new era for English Language Arts (ELA) students, and elements of fiction are now the main focus.
Third grade is the beginning of high-stakes standardized testing that continues through high school graduation. At this stage of ELA education, a deep understanding of the elements of fiction is crucial for students. The six elements of a novel are character, plot, point of view, setting, theme, and conflict resolution. Each helps students deepen their understanding of text as they analyze and synthesize information. Let’s learn more about each and how to combine them in a fun way to teach them to your students.
6 elements of a novel
- Story Map: Have students draw events in order to create an event map. There are many ways to do this using different types of ready-made graphic organizers.
- BME Identification: Ask students to write a few sentences for each of the three main parts of the story (beginning, middle, and end).
- Sequence activity: Provide sentence strips or cards containing different events in the story. Students then place them in order of occurrence.
- Plot Chart: Make a chart to show the rise and fall of a plot. Label it the five key stages of a story: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Use the Plot Pyramid template to draw out your story structure, or use mountain or roller coaster shapes for an artistic flair.
environment
Setting is where and when the story takes place. It’s important to identify it from the beginning because it sets the tone and builds understanding of the other elements.
Teaching setting ideas:
- Time Period Research Project: Identify the time period of the story and have students research trends, events, and other interesting facts.
- Setup Map: Create a map showing different locations (real or fictional) where the main events took place.
- Travel brochure: Create a travel brochure based on the background of the story. Include landmarks, top things to do, important locations in the story, and other highlights that will attract others to visit.
- Set Switch Rewrite: Students rewrite a story (or major scene) in a completely different time and/or place. Students then analyze their own (or a classmate’s) writing, comparing and contrasting it with the original version.
theme
The theme is the central idea, message, or lesson of the story.
Teaching theme ideas:
- Analyze fairy tales and folktales: Both genres are great because they are short stories and the characters usually learn their lesson by the end.
- Cross-Text Theme Search: Compare two or more texts (stories, poems, or songs) with similar themes and discuss how each text conveys the theme in a different way.
- Theme Tracking Chart: Students individually or in groups review the text and record evidence that supports the theme. For example, as the characters grow and change, the themes also develop. How did it all come to an end?
- Make a thematic collage: Students create a digital slideshow or draw a poster that contains different images that support the theme of the story.
point of view
Point of view refers to how a character feels and how the story is told. This can also refer to the perspective of the storyteller.
Teaching ideas:
- Reader’s Theater: Students are assigned different roles to act out a story. They express their perspective on events based on how their characters view them.
- Point of View Rewriting Activity: Students rewrite a short story or scene from another character’s perspective or as a narrator.
- Create a Journal Entry: Students pretend to be a character in the story and write a journal entry describing a major event in the story. Students should learn more about the background, feelings, relationships to other characters, and more.
- Narrator Voice Comparison: Reading two versions of the same event from different perspectives. Use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast each narrator’s point of view. Fractured fairy tales are a great vehicle for exploring perspectives because they take a different angle on the original story.
conflict resolution
Conflict in a story refers to the problems that characters face in the story. The main types of conflict are: character versus self (internal conflict), character versus character, character versus society, character versus nature, character versus technology, character versus supernatural. A solution is a way to solve a problem.
Ideas for Teaching Conflict Resolution:
- Conflict Type Sequencing: Provide students with different scenarios or story excerpts. Students identify types of conflict: character vs. character, self, society, nature, technology, or supernatural.
- Conflict Timeline: Students record the development of the conflict over time from the beginning to the end of the story. Students analyze the characters’ reactions to each event.
- Conflict Resolution Match: Write the conflict situation on an index card. Make a matching card for each possible solution. Students pair them up and provide a reason for them to be together. These cards can have multiple answers, providing a fun and creative way to solve the problem!
- Make connections: Compare the conflict in the text to another situation. Connections can include text-to-text connections, text-to-self connections, or text-to-world connections. Determine how the scenarios are similar and propose a solution that applies to both examples.
Elements of a Novel Anchor Chart
If you need anchor charts to help teach elements of fiction to your students, look no further! Check out these examples and recreate your favorites for your classroom.
More English Language Arts Resources for Teachers
Please visit our English Language Arts page for additional resources for each grade level.
