Elements of a Story

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Elements of a Story

• Inha TESOL

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Why extensive reading?

• Krashen and others have argued that language
  acquisition comes from exposure to comprehensible
  input.
• They also recommend extensive reading as an
  important source of comprehensible input.
  Materials for extensive reading can come from
  many sources including story books, which are
  some of the most enjoyable and accessible
  extensive reading materials available.

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• And so, as language teachers we should constantly
  be encouraging our students to read longer works.
  
• This means that, as language teachers, one task
  we will be confronted with is talking about
  stories, which is the goal of todays class.

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Goal

• To be able to describe the elements of a
• story using natural flowing English.
• This language can be used to discuss novels,
  plays, fairy tales, short stories, and even
  movies.

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What are the elements of a story?

• (1) Artists
• (2) Genre
• (3) Setting and Mood
• (4) Character
• (5) Plot
• (6) Climax Resolution

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The Artists

• When discussing the people who have worked on a
  story we often use the passive voice
• It was written by . . .
• It was illustrated by . . .
• It was directed by . . .

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Genre

• There are many different story genres. Here are
  some
• science-fiction, mystery, western, crime,
  detective, romance, adventure, fantasy,
  historical fiction, horror, biography, comedy,
  action, war, satire, fairytale, folktale, and
  drama.

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Setting

• Setting tells us the time and place.
• It answers the questions when and where.

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Language Focus Setting

• There are several formulaic ways to talk
• about the setting of a story
• The story begins (time and/or place).
• The story starts off (time and/or place).
• The story takes place (time and/or place).
• The story is set (time and/or place).
• The story happens (time and/or place).

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The story begins
The story begins in a classroom in a small
elementary school in the country on the last day
of school
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The story starts off

• The story starts off in the country in the middle
  of winter

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The story takes place

• The story takes place on an alien world in the
  future.

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The story is set

• The story is set during the American Civil War.

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The story happens

• The story happens in a an old house on the top of
  a hill on a stormy Halloween night

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Character

• Characters are the people (or personified
  animals, robots, aliens, ghosts etc.) that
  experience the events in the story.
• They provide the action and dialogue within the
  story.

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Heroes

• The main character of a story is called the
  protagonist.
• Some people refer to the protagonist as the hero
  of the story, though protagonists are often not
  heroes or even heroic. The protagonist can even
  be evil.
• Many people refer to the main character of a
  story as simply the main character.

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Villains

• The character that comes into conflict with the
  protagonist is called the antagonist.
• Some people refer to antagonists as the villain,
  though not all antagonists are villains or even
  bad.
• In some stories there is no antagonist to
  confront the protagonist.

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Language Focus Character

• There are several standard ways to introduce
• a character
• The main character is . . . named (name)
• Often character and plot can be introduced
• at the same time.
• The main character is . . . who (situation)
• The story is about . . . who . . . (situation)

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The main character is . . .named

• The protagonist is a firefighter named John.
• The hero is a young boy named Harry Potter.
• The main character is a woman named Tiffany.

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The main character is . . . who

• The protagonists are three orphan children who
  are forced to live with her evil Uncle.
• The hero is a detective who solves unusual crimes
  in 19th century London.
• The main character is a stingy old man who is
  visited by three ghosts on Christmas eve.

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Plot

• We often use character plus a relative clause to
  introduce the plot.
• Its about a (character) who (plot) . . .

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Movie Variations

• With movies we can include another element the
  actor.
• . . . is in it.
• . . . stars in it.
• Its starring . . .

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Combining Actor with Other Elements

• We can combine actor with plot, character, and
  genre when talking about movies.
• Its a (genre) starring (actor). He/she plays
  (character) who (plot).

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• Its a sci-fi action movie starring Will Smith.
  He plays a detective who hunts aliens.

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Its about . . .

• Its about a young boy who sees dead people.
• Its about a whaling captain who hunts a great
  white whales.
• Its about a young boy who sails down the
  Mississippi River on a raft with a runaway slave.

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Climax and Resolution

• The climax is often the big final confrontation
  or struggle in the story. It is the point where
  the tension that is building finally bursts.
• The resolution is how the struggle ends or the
  problem is solved.

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Language for Discussing Climax and Resolution

• In the end . . .
• In the end, the family of superheroes saves the
  world from the evil robot.
• In the end, the count escapes from the dungeon.
• In the end, the boy gets the girl.
• In the end, the detective catches the thief.