ALEX Classroom Resources

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (1) 23 :

23. Identify and describe the main story elements in a literary text.

a. Describe the characters and settings, using illustrations and textual evidence from a story.

b. Retell the plot or sequence of major events in chronological order.

[ELA2021] (2) 23 :

23. Identify the main story elements in a literary text.

a. Explain the plot of a narrative, using textual evidence to list the major events in sequence.

b. Describe the characters' traits, feelings, and behaviors in a story.

c. Describe the setting of a narrative, using textual evidence.

d. Identify the central message or moral of a story.

e. Identify the theme in myths, fables, and folktales.

[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.

A storyteller uses the elements of a story: who, what, and where, to create a rap. After watching the video, students use story elements to write and perform their own raps. Identifying story elements, such as the setting, characters, and motivation, helps readers interpret and respond to a text. Focusing on key details of story elements supports the understanding of the author's message and purpose.

A storyteller uses the elements of a story: who, what, and where, to create a rap. After watching the video, students use story elements to write and perform their own raps.

Identifying story elements, such as the setting, characters, and motivation, helps readers interpret and respond to a text. Focusing on key details of story elements supports the understanding of the author's message and purpose.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (1) 23 :

23. Identify and describe the main story elements in a literary text.

a. Describe the characters and settings, using illustrations and textual evidence from a story.

b. Retell the plot or sequence of major events in chronological order.

2018 Arkansas Teacher of the Year, Randi House, shares the story “Little Red Riding Hood” and helps students determine the main and supporting characters, the setting of the story, the problem the main character faces, and the solution to the problem. Accompanying this video are discussion questions that will guide students to use what they have learned and apply those skills to another well-known story, “Rumpelstiltskin.”

This resource will support students as they identify the setting and characters in a story.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (0) 27 :

27. Identify and describe the main story elements in a literary text.

a. With prompting and support, retell a text orally, including main character(s), setting, and important events in logical order.

[ELA2021] (1) 23 :

23. Identify and describe the main story elements in a literary text.

a. Describe the characters and settings, using illustrations and textual evidence from a story.

b. Retell the plot or sequence of major events in chronological order.

[ELA2021] (2) 26 :

26. Compare and contrast important details presented by two texts on the same topic or theme.

a. Compare and contrast different versions of the same story by different authors, from different cultures, or from different points of view.

Examples: The Three Little Pigs and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs; Cinderella and The Rough-Face Girl

b. Compare and contrast story elements of literary texts.

Examples: characters, settings, sequence of events, plots

The Story Map interactive includes a set of graphic organizers designed to assist teachers and students in prewriting and post-reading activities. The organizers are intended to focus on the key elements of character, setting, conflict, and resolution development. Students can develop multiple characters, for example, in preparation for writing their own fiction, or they may reflect on and further develop characters from stories they have read. After completing individual sections or the entire organizer, students have the ability to print out their final versions for feedback and assessment. The versatility of this tool allows it to be used in multiple contexts.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (0) 2 :

2. Actively engage in teacher-led reading experiences and collaborative discussions with peers to build background knowledge needed to be successful as they learn to read and, later, read to learn.

[ELA2021] (0) 4 :

4. With guidance and support, ask and answer questions to seek help, get information, or clarify information presented orally, through text, or other media.

Example: Use interrogatives who, what, where, when, why, and how to ask questions.

[ELA2021] (0) 15 :

15. Orally read and reread grade-appropriate decodable texts smoothly, accurately, and expressively, at an appropriate rate to support comprehension.

[ELA2021] (0) 33 :

33. Express ideas orally and connect these ideas through drawing and emergent writing.

[ELA2021] (1) 23 :

23. Identify and describe the main story elements in a literary text.

a. Describe the characters and settings, using illustrations and textual evidence from a story.

b. Retell the plot or sequence of major events in chronological order.

[ELA2021] (2) -1 :

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

This unit introduces the concept of cause and effect with Trinka Hakes Noble's books about Jimmy and his boa constrictor. Each lesson begins with the teacher reading a new story about Jimmy and his boa and the chaos they bring to each place they visit. Class discussions about each event and its cause are followed by tasks for the students to help illustrate understanding of the concept. Students create cause-and-effect pictures, puzzles, and flow charts as they explore the genre. As a culminating activity, students write their own book with causes and effects, which are assessed with a rubric.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (0) -1 :

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

[ELA2021] (0) 2 :

2. Actively engage in teacher-led reading experiences and collaborative discussions with peers to build background knowledge needed to be successful as they learn to read and, later, read to learn.

[ELA2021] (0) 3 :

3. Actively participate in teacher-led choral and shared reading experiences.

Examples: reciting nursery rhymes, songs, poems, stories

[ELA2021] (0) 27 :

27. Identify and describe the main story elements in a literary text.

a. With prompting and support, retell a text orally, including main character(s), setting, and important events in logical order.

[ELA2021] (0) 28 :

28. With prompting and support, use text clues to determine main ideas and make predictions about an ending in a literary text.

[ELA2021] (0) 37 :

37. Actively participate in shared and independent writing experiences, for varied purposes and audiences, across different genres.

a. Actively participate in shared writing experiences to create messages, lists, and labels for a drawing or illustration.

b. Actively participate in shared writing experiences to create narratives with the events in chronological order and share feelings about the story, using drawing, dictating, and/or writing.

c. Actively participate in shared writing experiences to create opinion pieces about a topic or text, state the opinion, supply a reason for the opinion, and provide a sense of closure, using drawing, dictating, and/or writing.

d. Actively participate in shared writing experiences to create explanatory texts or provide factual information about a topic, using drawing, dictating, and/or writing.

e. With prompting and support, compose writing for varied purposes and audiences, across different genres.

[ELA2021] (1) -1 :

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

[ELA2021] (1) 2 :

2. Actively participate in shared reading experiences and collaborative discussions to build background knowledge and learn how oral reading should sound.

Examples: read-alouds, oral dramatic activities

[ELA2021] (1) 23 :

23. Identify and describe the main story elements in a literary text.

a. Describe the characters and settings, using illustrations and textual evidence from a story.

b. Retell the plot or sequence of major events in chronological order.

[ELA2021] (1) 27 :

27. Make predictions using information found within a literary text.

[ELA2021] (1) 34 :

34. With prompting and support, write a narrative that recounts two or more appropriately sequenced events using transitions, incorporating relevant details, and providing a sense of closure.

[ELA2021] (2) -1 :

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

[ELA2021] (2) 23 :

23. Identify the main story elements in a literary text.

a. Explain the plot of a narrative, using textual evidence to list the major events in sequence.

b. Describe the characters' traits, feelings, and behaviors in a story.

c. Describe the setting of a narrative, using textual evidence.

d. Identify the central message or moral of a story.

e. Identify the theme in myths, fables, and folktales.

[ELA2021] (2) 27 :

27. Identify the text structures within literary and informational texts, including cause and effect, problem and solution, and sequence of events.

[ELA2021] (2) 40 :

40. Write a personal or fictional narrative using a logical sequence of events, including details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings and providing a sense of closure.

After exploring a variety of circle plot storybooks, students identify, explore, and apply the elements of circle plot structures to their own stories. "Reading like writers," students will explore the ways that stories are structured; then, "writing like writers," students explore organizational structures in their own writing. Students first examine the attributes of circular shapes and brainstorm things with a circular pattern, such as seasons. After exploring how Cynthia Rylant's Long Night Moon might be a circular story, students listen to a circle story read aloud. Students discuss why the story is called a circular story and make connections to Rylant's book. They then read several more examples and, using circle plot diagrams as their tools, students write their own circular plot stories. Finally, students share their work with peers, revise their work using a checklist for self-evaluation, and compare their self-evaluation to teacher assessment.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [ELA2021] (1) -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] (1) 8 :

8. Apply previously-taught phoneme-grapheme correspondences to decodable words with accuracy and automaticity, in and out of context.

[ELA2021] (1) 21 :

21. Identify the main topic and key details of literary and informational texts.

[ELA2021] (1) 23 :

23. Identify and describe the main story elements in a literary text.

a. Describe the characters and settings, using illustrations and textual evidence from a story.

b. Retell the plot or sequence of major events in chronological order.

[ELA2021] (2) 13 :

13. Read grade-appropriate poetry, noticing phrasing, rhythm, and rhyme.

[ELA2021] (2) 23 :

23. Identify the main story elements in a literary text.

a. Explain the plot of a narrative, using textual evidence to list the major events in sequence.

b. Describe the characters' traits, feelings, and behaviors in a story.

c. Describe the setting of a narrative, using textual evidence.

d. Identify the central message or moral of a story.

e. Identify the theme in myths, fables, and folktales.

Comprehension is an essential component of successful reading. Through modeling and progressive levels of independent work, students become aware of the importance of retelling and essential story elements. Students demonstrate their understanding of stories through the use of online interactive graphic organizers and present story elements of an individual book through a book talk.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] LWT1 (1) 6 :

6 ) Compare ways individuals and groups in the local community and state lived in the past to how they live today. (Alabama)

•  Identifying past and present forms of communication

Examples: past—letter, radio, rotary-dial telephone

present—e-mail, television, cellular telephone

•  Identifying past and present types of apparel

•  Identifying past and present types of technology

Examples: past—record player, typewriter, wood-burning stove

present—compact diskette (CD) and digital video diskette (DVD) players, video cassette recorder (VCR), computer, microwave oven

•  Identifying past and present types of recreation

Examples: past—marbles, hopscotch, jump rope

present—video games, computer games

•  Identifying past and present primary sources

Examples: past—letters, newspapers

present—e-mail, Internet articles

[SS2010] LWT2 (2) 3 :

3 ) Use various primary sources, including calendars and timelines, for reconstructing the past.

Examples: historical letters, stories, interviews with elders, photographs, maps, artifacts

[SS2010] ALA (4) 6 :

6 ) Describe cultural, economic, and political aspects of the lifestyles of early nineteenth-century farmers, plantation owners, slaves, and townspeople.

Examples: cultural—housing, education, religion, recreation

economic—transportation, means of support

political—inequity of legal codes

•  Describing major areas of agricultural production in Alabama, including the Black Belt and fertile river valleys

[ELA2021] (1) 23 :

23. Identify and describe the main story elements in a literary text.

a. Describe the characters and settings, using illustrations and textual evidence from a story.

b. Retell the plot or sequence of major events in chronological order.

[ELA2021] (2) 23 :

23. Identify the main story elements in a literary text.

a. Explain the plot of a narrative, using textual evidence to list the major events in sequence.

b. Describe the characters' traits, feelings, and behaviors in a story.

c. Describe the setting of a narrative, using textual evidence.

d. Identify the central message or moral of a story.

e. Identify the theme in myths, fables, and folktales.

[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.

In this learning activity, students read Dakota Dugout by Ann Turner. They look at an object that would have been important to a woman living in a sod house and try to determine what the object is.