ALEX Resources

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (3) 22 :

22. Describe literary elements within a story, including setting, plot, characters, and themes.

a. Describe in detail the characters' behavior, emotions, and traits and explain how their actions influence events in the story.

b. Explain how the characters' actions and dialogue contribute to the meaning of the story.

c. Identify the central message, theme, or moral in a story, including myths, fables, and folktales, and explain the meaning conveyed in the passage.

d. Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots from two texts.

[ELA2021] (4) 15 :

15. Analyze in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.

a. Identify and explain attitudes and influences of multiple characters within a text.

b. Explain how the main character changes throughout the story, using explicit evidence from the text.

c. Make an inference about a character's behavior, the setting, and/or specific events, using explicit details from the story.

[ELA2021] (5) 19 :

19. Interpret how authors use literary elements throughout a text, including character, setting, conflict, dialogue, and point of view.

2018 Arkansas Teacher of the Year, Randi House, discusses how authors reveal personality and physical traits to help us learn more about the characters in stories. Ms. House shares an example of how she might be described if she were the character in a story and encourages students to think about words that might be used to describe themselves. The worksheet that accompanies this video provides a space for students to describe a character’s thoughts, speech, attitude, and actions, as well as a place for students to illustrate the character’s physical appearance. This worksheet can be used in conjunction with any novel or short story.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (3) -1 :

R5. Utilize a writing process to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish writings in various genres.

[ELA2021] (3) 22 :

22. Describe literary elements within a story, including setting, plot, characters, and themes.

a. Describe in detail the characters' behavior, emotions, and traits and explain how their actions influence events in the story.

b. Explain how the characters' actions and dialogue contribute to the meaning of the story.

c. Identify the central message, theme, or moral in a story, including myths, fables, and folktales, and explain the meaning conveyed in the passage.

d. Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots from two texts.

[ELA2021] (3) 26 :

26. Use text comparisons (text to text, text to self, and text to world) to make meaning.

a. Use prior knowledge to determine similarities between texts they are reading and texts they have previously read.

b. Compare different versions of the same story.

[ELA2021] (3) 38 :

38. Compose and develop a well-organized paragraph with a topic sentence, details to support, and a concluding sentence.

[ELA2021] (4) -3 :

R4. Utilize a writing process to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish writings in various genres.

[ELA2021] (4) 15 :

15. Analyze in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.

a. Identify and explain attitudes and influences of multiple characters within a text.

b. Explain how the main character changes throughout the story, using explicit evidence from the text.

c. Make an inference about a character's behavior, the setting, and/or specific events, using explicit details from the story.

[ELA2021] (4) 32 :

32. Respond in writing to literature and informational text, including stories, dramas, poetry, and cross-curricular texts, both independently and with support, demonstrating grade-level proficiency.

[ELA2021] (5) -3 :

R4. Utilize a writing process to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish writings in various genres.

[ELA2021] (5) 19 :

19. Interpret how authors use literary elements throughout a text, including character, setting, conflict, dialogue, and point of view.

[ELA2021] (5) 32 :

32. Respond in writing to literature and informational text, including stories, dramas, poetry, and cross-curricular texts, independently and with grade-level proficiency.

Students explore picture books to identify the characteristics of four types of conflict: character vs. character, character vs. self, character vs. nature, and character vs. society. Next, students write about conflict in their own lives and then look for similarities among all the conflicts shared by the class, ultimately classifying each conflict into one of the four types. Finally, after investigating the compare and contrast format, students conclude with a compare and contrast essay that focuses on two conflicts—one from their own experience and one from a picture book or story that they have read.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (3) -5 :

R1. Utilize active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings, following agreed-upon rules for participation.

[ELA2021] (3) 1 :

1. Contribute meaningful ideas to discussions with groups and peers utilizing agreed upon rules.

a. Elaborate on responses in conversations and discussions.

Examples: use precise, descriptive language; build upon previously expressed ideas

[ELA2021] (3) 18 :

18. Demonstrate content knowledge built during independent reading of informational and literary texts by participating in content-specific discussions with peers and/or through writing.

[ELA2021] (3) 22 :

22. Describe literary elements within a story, including setting, plot, characters, and themes.

a. Describe in detail the characters' behavior, emotions, and traits and explain how their actions influence events in the story.

b. Explain how the characters' actions and dialogue contribute to the meaning of the story.

c. Identify the central message, theme, or moral in a story, including myths, fables, and folktales, and explain the meaning conveyed in the passage.

d. Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots from two texts.

[ELA2021] (4) -6 :

R1. Utilize active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings, following agreed-upon rules for participation.

[ELA2021] (4) 14 :

14. Demonstrate comprehension of literary and informational text by utilizing its content when discussing or writing in response to the text.

[ELA2021] (4) 15 :

15. Analyze in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.

a. Identify and explain attitudes and influences of multiple characters within a text.

b. Explain how the main character changes throughout the story, using explicit evidence from the text.

c. Make an inference about a character's behavior, the setting, and/or specific events, using explicit details from the story.

[ELA2021] (5) -6 :

R1. Utilize active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings, following agreed-upon rules for participation.

[ELA2021] (5) 16 :

16. Demonstrate comprehension of varied literary and informational texts by utilizing its content when discussing or writing in response to the text.

[ELA2021] (5) 19 :

19. Interpret how authors use literary elements throughout a text, including character, setting, conflict, dialogue, and point of view.

[ELA2021] (6) -6 :

R1. Utilize active listening skills during discussion and conversation in pairs, small groups, or whole-class settings, following agreed-upon rules for participation.

[ELA2021] (6) 3 :

3. Explain how authors use setting, plot, characters, theme, conflict, dialogue, and point of view to contribute to the meaning and purpose of prose and poetry, using textual evidence from the writing.

Collaborative groups will read a variety of American tall tales, then report elements of their story to the whole class. Students add story information to a collaborative, whole-class character study matrix that summarizes all the stories. In a writing activity, students compare two characters of their choice. Support for English Language Learners (ELLs) is embedded in the guided collaborative process, while the content of the stories adds to all students' knowledge of American culture and history. The stories used in the lesson include well-known and lesser-known diverse characters. The lesson process is applicable to any set of related texts.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ARTS] VISA (3) 2 :

2) Demonstrate skills using available resources, tools, and technologies to investigate personal ideas through the art-making process.

Examples: Choose from a variety of resources and materials to create a work of art.
Use books Imagine That by Joyce Raymond or Dinner at Magritte's by Michael Garland.

[ARTS] VISA (4) 3 :

3) Generate ideas and employ a variety of strategies and techniques to create a work of art/design.

[ARTS] VISA (5) 3 :

3) Communicate personal ideas, images, and themes through artistic choices of media, technique, and subject matter.

[ARTS] VISA (6) 2 :

2) Formulate an artistic investigation and discovery of relevant content for creating art.

Example: Make, share, and revise a list of ideas and preliminary sketches.

[ELA2021] (3) 27 :

27. Read prose, poetry, and dramas, identifying the literary devices used by the author to convey meaning.

Examples: personification, imagery, alliteration, onomatopoeia, symbolism, metaphor, simile

[ELA2021] (3) 33 :

33. Write personal or fictional narratives with a logical plot (sequence of events), characters, transitions, and a sense of closure.

[ELA2021] (4) 16 :

16. Describe how authors use literary devices and text features to convey meaning in prose, poetry, and drama.

a. Identify clues in the text to recognize implicit meanings.

b. Apply prior knowledge to textual clues to draw conclusions about the author's meaning.

c. Make an inference about the meaning of a text and support it with textual evidence.

[ELA2021] (4) 32 :

32. Respond in writing to literature and informational text, including stories, dramas, poetry, and cross-curricular texts, both independently and with support, demonstrating grade-level proficiency.

[ELA2021] (5) 19 :

19. Interpret how authors use literary elements throughout a text, including character, setting, conflict, dialogue, and point of view.

[ELA2021] (5) 32 :

32. Respond in writing to literature and informational text, including stories, dramas, poetry, and cross-curricular texts, independently and with grade-level proficiency.

[ELA2021] (6) 4 :

4. Describe the use of literary devices in prose and poetry, including simile, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, tone, imagery, irony, symbolism, and mood, and indicate how they support interpretations of the text.

This lesson is not about markers over pencils; it is about developing a relationship between students and media and how such nurtured connections can support students' ideas in what they write and how they write it. Through in-class discussions about writing/drawing materials and carefully observing how an illustrator uses media to communicate ideas, students will see how materials can extend knowledge. This lesson provides opportunities for students to explore and experience the meaning potential of everyday writing and drawing tools in their own writing. The lesson can (and should be) adapted for older students.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (3) -1 :

R5. Utilize a writing process to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish writings in various genres.

[ELA2021] (3) 22 :

22. Describe literary elements within a story, including setting, plot, characters, and themes.

a. Describe in detail the characters' behavior, emotions, and traits and explain how their actions influence events in the story.

b. Explain how the characters' actions and dialogue contribute to the meaning of the story.

c. Identify the central message, theme, or moral in a story, including myths, fables, and folktales, and explain the meaning conveyed in the passage.

d. Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots from two texts.

[ELA2021] (3) 33 :

33. Write personal or fictional narratives with a logical plot (sequence of events), characters, transitions, and a sense of closure.

[ELA2021] (4) -3 :

R4. Utilize a writing process to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish writings in various genres.

[ELA2021] (4) 15 :

15. Analyze in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.

a. Identify and explain attitudes and influences of multiple characters within a text.

b. Explain how the main character changes throughout the story, using explicit evidence from the text.

c. Make an inference about a character's behavior, the setting, and/or specific events, using explicit details from the story.

[ELA2021] (4) 35 :

35. Write personal or fictional narratives using a logical plot, transitional words and phrases, sensory details, and dialogue, and providing a sense of closure.

[ELA2021] (5) -3 :

R4. Utilize a writing process to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish writings in various genres.

[ELA2021] (5) 19 :

19. Interpret how authors use literary elements throughout a text, including character, setting, conflict, dialogue, and point of view.

[ELA2021] (5) 34 :

34. Write personal or fictional narratives incorporating literary elements (characters, plot, setting, conflict), dialogue, strong voice, and clear event sequences.

In this free resource from ReadWriteThink, students work together to craft a list of common fairy tale elements in order to determine what makes a fairy tale a fairy tale. They then explore and analyze a variety of tales, recording their information using a story map. The story map becomes a launching point for students' own fairy tales. Students use the characteristics of a known tale and change one of the literary elements to create a new tale, which includes a different set of characters, has a new setting, or includes a changed conflict or resolution. Finally, students publish and illustrate their new “fractured fairy tales” for others to enjoy.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (3) 22 :

22. Describe literary elements within a story, including setting, plot, characters, and themes.

a. Describe in detail the characters' behavior, emotions, and traits and explain how their actions influence events in the story.

b. Explain how the characters' actions and dialogue contribute to the meaning of the story.

c. Identify the central message, theme, or moral in a story, including myths, fables, and folktales, and explain the meaning conveyed in the passage.

d. Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots from two texts.

[ELA2021] (3) 33 :

33. Write personal or fictional narratives with a logical plot (sequence of events), characters, transitions, and a sense of closure.

[ELA2021] (4) 15 :

15. Analyze in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.

a. Identify and explain attitudes and influences of multiple characters within a text.

b. Explain how the main character changes throughout the story, using explicit evidence from the text.

c. Make an inference about a character's behavior, the setting, and/or specific events, using explicit details from the story.

[ELA2021] (4) 35 :

35. Write personal or fictional narratives using a logical plot, transitional words and phrases, sensory details, and dialogue, and providing a sense of closure.

[ELA2021] (5) 19 :

19. Interpret how authors use literary elements throughout a text, including character, setting, conflict, dialogue, and point of view.

[ELA2021] (5) 34 :

34. Write personal or fictional narratives incorporating literary elements (characters, plot, setting, conflict), dialogue, strong voice, and clear event sequences.

Knowing the elements of a story aids students in their understanding of what is taking place in the book or novel. When students comprehend the story elements of characters, setting, problems, events, and solutions, they become more involved in the story and take a greater interest in details. In this lesson, students use a six-paneled comic strip to create a story map, summarizing a book or story that they've read either read as a class or independently. The story strips that result provide a great way to evaluate students' understanding of important events and elements in a novel. The students enjoy the artistic aspect as well!

This lesson plan uses Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are as an example to model the process of creating the story map comic strips; however, any book you and your students have explored recently that demonstrates the elements of character, setting, problem, events, and solutions will work.