4.3.R.3 ​

Students will find examples of literary elements: 

• setting

• plot

• characters (protagonist, antagonist)

• characterization

• conflict 

• Students find textual evidence or examples of the setting.

• Students find textual evidence or examples of the plot (exposition, rising action, climax, falling actions, and resolution or beginning, middle, and end). 

• Students find textual evidence or examples of a character’s traits, attitudes, beliefs, and/or personality (characterization) in a story.

• Students find textual evidence or examples that  describe characters, with a focus on the protagonist and the antagonist of a text.

• Students find textual evidence or examples of the conflict in a text.  

• Teachers review and model how to describe the setting of a text (where and when it takes place, or description).

• Teachers provide opportunities for students to describe the setting of a text.

• Teachers review and model how to describe the plot (sequence of events or actions) of a text.

• Teachers review the basic understanding of plot (i.e., beginning, middle, and end), but spend most of the instructional focus on a more complex understanding (e.g., exposition, rising action, climax, falling actions, and resolution)

• Teachers provide opportunities for students to describe the plot of a text by using examples from the text.

• Teachers explain and model how to identify and describe characters.  Introduce the terms protagonist (the central character) and the antagonist (a character who stands directly opposed to the protagonist) of a text.

• Teachers provide opportunities for students to describe the characters (protagonist/antagonist) of a text.

• Teachers review what characterization in a text is  (describes a character’s traits, attitudes, beliefs, and/or personality in a story).

• Teachers model how to describe characterization in a text.

• Teachers provide opportunities for students to describe characterization in a text.

• Teachers explain that a conflict is a struggle or clash between opposing characters, forces, or emotions. 

• Teachers will model how to find examples of conflict in a text. 

• Teachers will provide opportunities for students to find examples of conflict in a text. 

• Teachers provide opportunities for students to receive feedback as they look for examples of literary elements in a text. 

When students struggle to identify a setting, teachers can..

• develop anchor charts with the students, including words and pictures to remind them of the definition of setting. 

• create physical motions for the definition of setting to help students remember setting.  

• For example: setting is the time- have students point to an imaginary watch on their wrist, then create a motion for daytime/nighttime. Create a motion for the past, present, and future. Then create a motion for place. This cements the elements they must think of when defining a setting.  This also allows the teacher a way to give a student a wordless, visual clue when attempting to scaffold their thinking.   

• use printed text to have the student highlight textual evidence of setting. 

• scaffold reasoning during the reading and identification of the setting when the setting is not explicit.

• For example, the story may not explicitly say that it is summer but may mention a character sweating or getting a sunburn. Teachers may have students underline or highlight the text evidence. 

When students struggle to identify the plot, teachers can

• develop anchor charts with students defining the structure of plot with a basic explanation (e.g., beginning, middle, and end) and a more complex explanation (e.g., introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, conclusion).

• use visualization of a roller coaster or mountain to help students remember the order and role of each element of plot. 

• use familiar stories, or movies to introduce plot structure. 

• use printed stories and have the students highlight or underline as they identify each element of the plot in different colors.

When students struggle with identifying characters or characterization, teachers can…

• develop anchor charts with the students to understand the definition of characterization.

• develop anchor charts of possible character personality traits for students to refer to.

• use a visual aid such as an outline of the character and have the students identify the direct personality trait the author shares.

• add thought bubbles to the visual aid to record the characters’ thoughts that help identify a character trait

• add a speech bubble to record the characters’ words that help identify a character trait 

• have the students use a printed text and highlight or underline the personality traits the author shares with the reader directly in one color and the indirect character traits in another.

When students struggle with finding the conflict in a story, teachers can…

• develop anchor charts with the class defining internal and external conflict for the students to refer to.

• use movie clips or excerpts from familiar stories to illustrate or give examples of the types of conflict.

• develop task cards or a matching activity where the student matches an example of a conflict to the definition card.

• have the students use a printed text, and highlight or underline text evidence used to determine the type of conflict present in the story

• Characterization: the process by which a writer reveals the personality of a character.

• Direct: the author shares the character’s personality trait(s).

• Indirect: the character’s thoughts, actions, speech, etc. reveal personality.

• Conflict: a struggle or clash between opposing characters, forces, or emotions.

• External: a character’s struggle with an outside force such as another person, nature, disease, etc.

• Internal: a character’s opposing or incompatible emotions, choices, etc.

• Plot: the sequence of events or actions in a literary text.

• Setting: the time and place in which events in a literary text take place.

• 4.2.R.3:  Summarize and Sequence a Story

• 4.3.R.4: Literary Devices

• 4.3.W.1: Narrative Writing

• 4.8.R:  Independent Reading

• 4.8.W: Independent Writing