Narrative Elements Teaching Resources
Are you teaching narrative elements and looking for worksheets and activities to get students excited about tone, narration, plot and a host of other elements to writing a great story? Wondering how to engage primary students on the concept of character traits and make plot development as exciting as recess?
The English teachers on the Teach Starter team have done just that with a collection of printable worksheets and digital activities built around this core reading standard. Aligned with the Australian English curriculum, each narrative elements activity in this collection has undergone a careful review by a member of our teacher team to ensure it's ready for your lesson plans and your students.
Explore our teacher team's guide to learn more about the various narrative elements and how to bring them to life in your classroom!
Is this your first year teaching about these story elements? Or the first year in a while? Our teacher team has put together a quick refresher to get you ready to rock and roll in the classroom, including a way to explain what narrative elements are.
What Are Narrative Elements? A Kid-Friendly Definition
First thing's first: Let's talk about the definition.
Narrative elements are the basic components of writing that the author uses to share the story with the reader. Without them, the narrative falls apart!
They are sometimes referred to as story elements or literary elements. No matter what you call them, these elements give a piece of writing structure and help the author convey information to the reader.
On the reading side, literary elements are also key to breaking down a story to understand better what the author is trying to say.
What Are Examples of Narrative Elements? 8 Examples That Can Help Your Students
There are eight main examples of narrative elements that students will encounter in narrative texts:
1. Setting
This element is crucial for developing a story as it provides the time in which the story takes place as well as where it takes place. Setting helps ground the story.
2. Plot
The plot is the way a story unfolds. It's essentially a pattern for the text.
3. Conflict
Conflict helps move a plot forward as it offers the reader a climax to move toward as they read.
4. Characterisation
This element of writing covers the way characters are developed within a story.
5. Point of View
Also called narration, this literary element is the perspective from which a story is told, such as first person or third person.
6. Tone
The tone of a story can be boiled down to the author's attitude about the subject of the story.
7. Genre
Genre covers the type of story written, such as realistic fiction, science fiction or even magical realism.
8. Figurative Language
Similes, metaphors and onomatopoeia are just some examples of the figurative language students may encounter in a text.
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Create a Silly Story – Sorting Activity
Explore story characters, settings, problems and solutions by creating a silly story!
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Character Appearance, Traits and Feelings - Worksheet
Explore and describe a character's personality, feelings and appearance with this differentiated worksheet to be used with any text.
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Story Beginning, Middle and End - Graphic Organiser
Help your students write and draw about the beginning, middle and end of stories with this set of differentiated graphic organisers.
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Beginning, Middle and End Mini-Book - The Three Little Pigs
Teach your students about the beginning, middle and end of a story with this mini-book retell of The Three Little Pigs.
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Character Profile Flip Book - Upper Primary
Explore how authors use language to describe characters with this versatile flipbook template.
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5 Finger Retell Teaching Slides
Teach your students about the 5 finger retell strategy with this set of teaching slides.
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Story Elements Worksheets – The Goose and the Golden Egg
Practise identifying the story characters, settings and main events with this set of worksheets based on a traditional tale.
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Story Elements Cut and Paste Worksheets – Jack and the Beanstalk
Explore story characters, settings and main events with this set of cut-and-paste worksheets based on a well-known fairy tale.
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Guided Reading Groups - Retelling a Text Template
Use this template during a guided reading session for a scaffold to help your students retell a text.
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Three Little Pigs – Sequencing Worksheet
Identify the story beginning, series of events and ending with this narrative text sequencing activity.
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Read and Roll - Comprehension Dice Game
A fun reading comprehension strategy game to play in the classroom during literacy groups.
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Detailed Character Profile Worksheet
A worksheet for students to use when building a character for a story.
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Retelling a Story Workbook
Help your students retain the elements of a retell with this printable retelling stories student workbook.
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SCOOP Retelling Poster
Display this SCOOP retelling poster to help students remember how to give an effective retell.
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3 Billy Goats Gruff Retelling Activity Cards
Teach your students about retelling with this set of sequencing cards for 3 Billy Goats Gruff.
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Story Retell Interactive Activity
Use this Interactive activity to practise retelling stories.
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Story Elements Worksheets – The Ants and the Grasshopper
Practise identifying the story characters, settings and main events with this set of worksheets based on a traditional tale.
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Inside Trait or Outside Trait? Interactive Game
Explore the internal and external traits of story characters with this interactive digital game.
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Comparing Characters - Graphic Organisers
Encourage your students to compare story characters with this set of differentiated graphic organisers that can be used with any text.
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Internal and External Character Traits - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Explore the internal and external traits of story characters with this differentiated cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Character Traits, Motivations, and Feelings - Worksheet
Analyse character traits, feelings and motivations with this two-page worksheet.
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Story Setting or Not? - Sorting Activity
Explore the difference between story settings and non-settings with this hands-on sorting activity.
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Beginning, Middle and End Mini-Book - The Three Bears
Teach your students about the beginning, middle and end of a story with this mini-book retell of The Three Bears.
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Narrative Settings Teaching Presentation - Hey Diddle Diddle
Engage young readers in texts and learn about setting with an instructional slide deck featuring the Hey Diddle Diddle rhyme.
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Character Analysis Task Cards
Use these task cards to practise analysing characters within any fictional text.
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Explore a Dreaming Story – Worksheet
Use this template to explore First Nations’ Dreaming stories and unlock how they connect to Country.
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The Enigma of AX29 - Narrative Plot Worksheet
Explore the features of narrative plot structure with this gripping science fiction story.
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Reading Response Character Report – Template
A comprehension template for students to write a character report about the text they have been reading.
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Character Profile Flip Book - Lower Primary
Explore story characters with this flipbook template for lower primary students.
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Literature Study Task Cards (Lower Primary)
Explore the wonders of children's literature with this set of 12 literature study task cards for lower primary students.
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Literary Mood – Teaching Presentation
An editable PowerPoint presentation to use when teaching mood.
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Mood - Literary Element Poster
A poster with a description and example of mood, a literary element.
- Narrative Elements Worksheets
- Narrative Elements Templates
- Narrative Elements Teaching Presentations
- Narrative Elements for Foundation Year
- Narrative Elements for Year 1
- Narrative Elements for Year 2
- Narrative Elements for Year 3
- Narrative Elements for Year 4
- Narrative Elements for Year 5
- Narrative Elements for Year 6