Readers identify common elements of a story as they read, including plot, character, setting, and theme. Considering how the author uses these devices as a framework to organize narratives helps readers understand and appreciate the text.

If you see readers who . . .

• have basic recall of the text without understanding the deeper meaning.
• may not understand that stories follow a structure or framework.
• are encountering more sophisticated texts and are ready to learn other literary elements.

Identifying and understanding the main literary elements of a story such as character, setting, plot, and problem/resolution gives readers a process for sorting, understanding, and remembering what the story is about.

When you read narrative texts, remember to pay special attention to the literary elements and how they work together to form and enhance the story.

Teaching literary elements does not happen in one lesson. We start teaching them to our youngest learners and revisit them more deeply over the years. To lay a strong foundation, we begin with the most common elements.

Literary Elements

• Characters: Who or what the story is about, based on the actions or words used.
• Plot: The important events in the story, which include the conflict, or problem, of the story, and the resolution, or how the problem was solved.
• Setting: Where and when the story occurs.
• Theme: The underlying message, or meaning, of the story, which is often inferred.

We start with the most common elements such as foreshadowing, flashback, point of view, irony, symbolism, and figurative language and add others as readers become more sophisticated.

Through reading and thinking aloud, we identify each of the elements of the story. We begin with basic identification, but quickly move to integrating them to enhance comprehension. For example, over time we transition from Who are the characters? to more sophisticated questions that ask readers to consider how characters have changed during the story.

Suggested language:

• Does the character change during the story? Give examples.
• What is the setting in the story? Is it stated or do you have to infer?
• How is the mood described in the story based on the setting?
• What is the problem of the story? Give text evidence to support this.
• How has the problem been resolved? Support your thinking.

Possible ways to differentiate instruction:

• Ask the students to tell you how they determined the literary elements in the story by giving details from the story to support their thinking.
• A story map can help students visually organize a story's elements.
• As readers become more proficient, invite them to think about the role the elements play in the story, effects they might have, and how they enhance understanding.

Reconsider materials, setting, instruction, and cognitive processes.

These strategies may provide support before, during, and after teaching this strategy:

• Infer and Support with Evidence
• Compare and Contrast Within and Between Texts
• Retell; Include Sequence of Main Events