What Makes a Story?

Overview

In this first lesson of Stories We Tell, students explore what makes a text imaginative. Through shared reading and discussion, they identify characters, settings and key events, and notice how stories are organised into beginnings, middles and endings.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• explore the purpose of imaginative texts
• identify characters, settings and events in a familiar story
• discuss how a story is organised into a beginning, middle and ending
• share personal responses to a story using evidence from the text

Success criteria

• I can explain that an imaginative text tells a story.
• I can identify the characters and setting.
• I can retell the important events in order.
• I can describe what happens at the beginning, middle and ending.

Curriculum links

• Literature: discuss plot, character and setting as features of stories.
• Literature: discuss literary texts and share responses by making connections with personal experiences.
• Literature: orally retell a familiar story using plot, characters, vocabulary and text structure.
• Language and Literacy: explore how texts are organised according to their purpose and describe differences between imaginative, informative and persuasive texts.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook: Story or information? Teacher displays two contrasting covers or images: one showing a fictional animal adventure and one showing an informational animal book. Open with the story-or-information hook slide and ask, “Which one would tell us a story? How do you know?” Students turn and talk, then share clues such as characters, events, pictures or facts.

2. 5–12 min · Purpose and features. Teacher explains that imaginative texts are made to entertain, engage our imagination or tell a story. Use the imaginative-text teaching slides to introduce the words character, setting, event and plot. Students help create a class anchor chart by suggesting what each word means. Clarify that characters are who the story is about, the setting is where and when it happens, and events are what happens.

3. 12–25 min · Shared reading. Teacher reads aloud a short familiar picture book with clear characters, setting and a simple problem and solution. Pause at selected points and use the shared-reading discussion prompts to ask: “Who is in the story?”, “Where are they?”, “What has happened so far?”, “What might happen next?” Students listen, make predictions and discuss answers with a partner before sharing.

4. 25–33 min · Sequence the story. Teacher revisits the book and models organising events as beginning, middle and ending: the beginning introduces the characters and setting, the middle develops an event or problem, and the ending shows how the story finishes. Display the beginning-middle-ending model and complete one example orally. Students work with a partner to recall one important event for each part, using drawings or key words on the beginning-middle-ending story worksheet.

5. 33–41 min · Partner retell and response. Teacher models a brief retell using the prompts, “At the beginning…”, “In the middle…” and “At the end…”. Students use their worksheet to orally retell the story to a partner, then answer: “Which character did you like or dislike? Why?” Encourage students to connect the character or event to something they have experienced. Invite two or three students to share.

6. 41–45 min · Plenary and exit check. Teacher displays the plenary questions and asks students to complete the sentence, “A story needs…” Students contribute one feature and explain it. For an individual check, students draw or write one character, one setting or one event from the shared story on the final box of the story features check before handing it in.

Resources

• the complete story features slide deck
• the beginning-middle-ending story worksheet
• A familiar picture book with a clear narrative structure
• Whiteboard and markers
• Class anchor-chart paper
• Pencils, crayons and erasers
• Visual word cards for character, setting, event and plot

Assessment

• Listen during partner talk and shared reading for students who can identify characters, setting and events.
• Check whether students place events logically in the beginning, middle and ending sections of the worksheet.
• Use the final worksheet response to identify students needing further support with story features or sequence.

Differentiation

• Support students with picture prompts, gesture and repeated oral sentence starters: “The character is…”, “The setting is…”, “At the beginning…”.
• Pair students strategically and allow drawing, oral retelling or labelled key words instead of requiring full sentences.
• Pre-teach vocabulary and provide home-language discussion opportunities for EAL learners where possible.
• Extend confident students by asking them to identify the story’s problem and solution, describe how a character feels, or suggest a different ending.
• For students requiring additional support, reduce the task to identifying one character, one setting and one event, with adult scribing if needed.