Parts of a story: setting, characters, conflict, solution
Every story has four main parts. The setting tells us where and when it happens. The characters are the people or animals. The conflict is the problem that the characters must solve, and the solution tells how it is solved. Many stories also give a moral, a lesson. There are different types of stories: fiction (invented), non-fiction (real facts), folk tales, adventures, fables and historical stories. To find the parts, ask: Where? Who? What is the problem? How is it solved? To retell a story, tell the events in order with words such as First, Next, Later and In the end, and use the past simple: The donkey’s cart got stuck. The bee showed him the dry path. Then draw a story map, a table with the four parts. Your book has a short fable on page 90: read it after this lesson and fill the four parts of a story map for it. Here we practise with our own fable.
| Part | Question | In our fable |
|---|---|---|
| Setting | Where and when? | A quiet valley |
| Characters | Who? | A donkey and a bee |
| Conflict | What is the problem? | The donkey’s cart is stuck in the mud |
| Solution | How is it solved? | The bees show the dry path |
In a quiet valley lived a donkey and a bee. The donkey was strong and the bee was small. One day the donkey’s cart got stuck in the mud, and he said proudly, “I do not need help from a little bee.” He pulled and pulled, but the cart did not move. At last the bee said, “I cannot pull, but my friends and I can show you the dry path around the mud.” The donkey agreed. The bees showed him the dry path, and the donkey pulled the cart out easily. After that the donkey said, “Everybody has something to give.”
| Type | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| fiction | an invented story | a story about a talking donkey |
| non-fiction | a text about real facts | an article about bees |
| folk tale | an old story passed on by people | a tale told by a grandfather |
| adventure | a story full of exciting events | a journey through a desert |
| fable | a short story with animals and a moral | a donkey and a bee |
| historical | a story set in the past | a story about a market long ago |
Pass the story. Sit in a circle or with a partner. One person starts a new fable with the setting and two characters. The next person adds the conflict, the next adds the solution, and the last says the moral. Then someone retells the whole story with First, Then, After that and In the end. Draw the story map together.