1. Elements of a Story

2. THEME The main idea of a story. What the author wants you to learn.
Subject + Opinion
Example: “Forgiveness is the key to true happiness.”
Can you think of some examples?
Finding Nemo
Harry Potter

3. SETTING
The time and place in which the story is set.

4. CHARACTERS Stories tell us what human beings are like.
Characters show us how different people live. We can look through someone else's eyes.

5. PLOT The order of events in a story Suspense builds
The plot includes the following (4) parts:

6. CHRONOLOGICAL PLOT DIAGRAM
Climax
Rising Action
Conflict
Falling Action
Exposition
Resolution

7. 1. Basic Situation/Exposition
Exposition –How the story begins. The character, conflict, and setting are usually introduced.
Example ~ Cinderella
The basic situation shows us Cinderella, a beautiful and good heroine, in a conflict with her evil stepmother and nasty stepsisters.

8. 2. Rising Action
The part of the story in which the main character takes some action to solve the conflict and meets with problems or complications: danger, fear, etc.
Example ~ Cinderella
Cinderella wants to go to the ball. Her stepmother says “No,” but a Fairy Godmother promises to get her to the ball if she obeys one rule: “Be home by midnight.” Cinderella goes to the ball, the Prince falls in love with her, she flees at midnight, and she loses one of her glass slippers.

9. 3. Climax Climax: the KEY scene of the story
That tense or exciting moment when we realize what the outcome of the conflict is going to be.
Example ~ Cinderella
The Prince makes a house-to-house search for the foot that fits the slipper and finds that foot on Cinderella.

10. 4. Falling Action(s) All of the action which follows the climax
Example ~ Cinderella:
Cinderella and the prince make preparations for their wedding.

11. 5. Resolution
The final part of the story. You learn how the conflict is resolved and what happens to the characters.
Example ~ Cinderella
Cinderella marries the Prince and they live happily ever after. In the original Girmm story, you also learn that ravens peck out the eyes of the evil stepmother.

12. Conflict = Struggle

13. Conflict External Conflict:
Conflict between a character and another person OR a character and something non-human.
- Man vs. Man
- Man vs. Society
- Man vs. Nature

14. Conflict Internal Conflict:
Conflict takes place inside a character’s mind
Man vs. Himself (fears, self-doubts, etc.)