Crafting Fictional Narratives: Characters & Settings

Grade 3 Writing Lesson Exploring the Elements of Fictional Stories

Writing Warm-Up: Identifying Nouns and Verbs

Read this sentence: 'The dog wagged its tail.' Find the NOUNS (naming words) Find the VERB (action word) Share your answers with a partner

Adding Descriptive Words

Rewrite the sentence: 'The dog wagged its tail.' Add an ADVERB to describe HOW the dog wagged Add ADJECTIVES to describe the dog and tail Make your sentence more interesting!

Today's Learning Goals

Review what makes a fictional narrative special Learn about characters, settings, and problems Choose elements for our own fictional story Practice identifying story elements in books

What Types of Writing Have We Done?

Think about our writing this year What different kinds of stories have we written? Turn and talk with your neighbor

Fictional vs Personal Narratives

{"left":"FICTIONAL NARRATIVES\nMade-up stories\nImaginary characters\nCreated settings\nFantasy problems","right":"PERSONAL NARRATIVES\nTrue stories\nReal people\nActual places\nReal experiences"}

What Makes a Story Fictional?

All fictional narratives are MADE-UP stories Characters can be people, animals, or creatures Settings can be real or imaginary places Problems can be realistic or fantastical

Picture Book Model: After the Fall

Let's examine this fictional story together Look for: Main character, Setting, Problem Notice how the author created this story

Story Elements Hunt

Work with your small group Use the book provided to your group Find: Main Character, Setting, Problem Record your findings on the worksheet

Story Planning Organizer

Teacher Model: My Story Plan

Watch as I choose my story elements Character: A brave young astronaut named Zara Setting: A space station near Jupiter Problem: The station's power is failing!

Plan Your Fictional Story

Use your story planning organizer Choose an interesting main character Pick an exciting setting Think of a problem to solve Be creative - it's your imagination!