Character, setting, narrator, ending, moral
Every story has parts. The characters are the people or animals in the story. The setting is where and when it happens: a village by the river, in the morning. The narrator tells the story. Sometimes the narrator is a character and says I; often the narrator tells about he or she. The ending is the last part, and the moral is the lesson. Many stories also have a first event, the first important thing that happens. People have told stories for thousands of years. Goha is a funny character in many folk tales from Arab countries: you can read a Goha tale with a grown-up. Let us look at the parts of a short story we invented.
| Part | Our story: ‘Nada’s Kite’ |
|---|---|
| Characters | Nada and her grandfather |
| Setting | a windy beach, one afternoon |
| Narrator | a person who tells it about Nada (he / she) |
| First event | Nada’s kite flies away |
| Ending | her grandfather helps her find it |
| Moral | ask for help when you need it |
Who are the characters in your favourite story, Adel?
A little camel and an old farmer. The setting is a desert village.
Who is the narrator?
Somebody outside the story tells it: he and she.
And what is the moral?
Be patient. Good things take time.
Story notes. The child chooses a favourite story from home or school and fills in a table with six rows: characters, setting, narrator, first event, ending, moral. Then the child tells the story in four sentences without looking at the book.