Home›Lesson Plans›English Language Arts›Reading: Literature · Grade 3

Story Elements: Characters, Setting & the Problem to Solve

Students take apart a short story to find the pieces every story shares — who it’s about, where it happens, what goes wrong, and how it gets fixed.

Grade 3Story Elements45 minutes1 class periodReading WorkshopExplicit teaching4 StandardsCommon Core
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Identify the characters and setting of a story.
  • ✓Find the story’s problem and solution.
  • ✓Describe how a character responds to the problem.
  • ✓Use story elements to retell the story.
Essential Question

Every story — from a picture book to a movie — is built from the same few parts. What are they, and how do you find them?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Story Map · Interactive

The Story Map

Project the story and tap each element. Watch the sentences that show the characters, setting, problem, and solution light up as you go.

🗺️ Tap an element — find it in the storyTry it

The Lesson · Reading Workshop (Mini-Lesson · Practice · Share)

45 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Connect — Story Pieces

5 min

Name a favorite story — who’s in it? Where?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Ask students about a story they love.
  • Draw out who/where/what-went-wrong.
  • Set the goal: find the story elements.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name characters and setting of a known story.
  • Recall the problem in it.
  • Predict the elements list.
2

Teach — Model the Map

10 min

Teacher maps a short story.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Read the story aloud.
  • Label characters, setting, problem, solution.
  • Show how the problem drives the story.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Follow along.
  • Mark each element.
  • Explain the problem and solution.
3

Active Engagement — Map Together

12 min

Class uses the Story Map.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Tap through each element in the tool.
  • Have students find the sentences.
  • Discuss how the character solved the problem.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Tap each element.
  • Point to the matching sentences.
  • Retell using the elements.
4

Independent Practice — Your Turn

13 min

Students map a new short story.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Give a fresh short story.
  • Ask for all four elements.
  • Add: how did the character respond?

🎒 Student Actions

  • Identify characters and setting.
  • Find the problem and solution.
  • Describe the character’s response.
5

Share — Retell It

5 min

Students retell using elements.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Invite a retell using the map.
  • Confirm all elements are included.
  • Hand out the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Retell the story with its elements.
  • Include problem and solution.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.

CCSS
RL.3.3

Describe characters in a story and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.

CCSS
RL.3.1

Ask and answer questions, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

CCSS
RL.3.5

Refer to parts of stories using terms such as chapter, scene, and stanza; describe how parts build on each other.

CCSS
SL.3.4

Report on a topic or recount a story with facts and relevant details, speaking clearly.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Story-element picture icons (person, house, lightning, check).
  • Sentence frame: “The characters are ___. The setting is ___.”
  • Retell with picture cards before words.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Focus on characters and setting first.
  • Provide a pre-filled story map to complete.
  • Use a very short 3-sentence story.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Add “theme” or “lesson” to the map.
  • Compare the problem/solution in two stories.
  • Write a new solution to the same problem.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Projector / board
  • 📓Reading notebooks
  • 💻The Story Map
  • 📚Short stories / picture books
  • 🖼️Story-map organizers
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

characterwho the story is aboutsettingwhere and when it happensproblemwhat goes wrong in the storysolutionhow the problem is fixedplotthe events of the storyeventsomething that happensretelltell the story again in orderstory mapa picture of the story elements
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
What are the characters and setting of a story?
Characters are who the story is about; the setting is where and when it takes place.
QUESTION 2
In the puppy story, what was the problem and the solution?
Problem: the ball rolled into the neighbor’s yard and Lena couldn’t reach it. Solution: she asked the neighbor, who tossed it back.
QUESTION 3
Why is the problem such an important story element?
The problem is what the story is really about — it drives the events until the characters find a solution.

Going deeper? Map a whole book.

Have students complete a story map for a book they’re reading and use it to retell the story to a partner. A printable story-map organizer is in the ELA library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Story ElementsFlip
Card 1
Term
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Meaning
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Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Story ElementsQuiz
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Question 1
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Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Story ElementsPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: character, event, plot, problem, retell, setting, solution, story map
  1. where and when it happens
  2. something that happens
  3. how the problem is fixed
  4. tell the story again in order
  5. a picture of the story elements
  6. what goes wrong in the story
  7. the events of the story
  8. who the story is about

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What are the characters and setting of a story?
  2. In the puppy story, what was the problem and the solution?
  3. Why is the problem such an important story element?
Answer key — Part A: 1) setting · 2) event · 3) solution · 4) retell · 5) story map · 6) problem · 7) plot · 8) character
Part B: 1) Characters are who the story is about; the setting is where and when it takes place. 2) Problem: the ball rolled into the neighbor’s yard and Lena couldn’t reach it. Solution: she asked the neighbor, who tossed it back. 3) The problem is what the story is really about — it drives the events until the characters find a solution.