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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Narrative Elements - Worksheet
Practise identifying characters, settings, problems and solutions in fictional texts with this set of worksheets.
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Story Settings - Flipbook
Teach your students about story settings with this hands-on flipbook.
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Beginning, Middle and End Mini-Book - Itsy Bitsy Spider
Teach your students about the beginning, middle and end of a story with mini-book retelling of The Itsy Bitsy Spider.
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Beginning, Middle and End Mini-Book - Jack Around Town
Teach your students about the beginning, middle and end of a story with this narrative mini-book.
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Little Miss Muffet - Story Elements Worksheet Pack
Identify characters, setting and parts of a story with early years reading worksheets featuring the Little Miss Muffet nursery rhyme.
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Little Miss Muffet - Sequencing Cards
Read and retell the story within the tale of Little Miss Muffet with a set of retelling sequencing cards.
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Jack Be Nimble - Sequencing Cards
Read and retell the story within the Jack Be Nimble tale with a set of retelling sequencing cards.
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Jack Be Nimble Worksheets
Identify characters, settings and parts of a story with early years reading worksheets featuring the Jack Be Nimble nursery rhyme.
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Narrative Sequencing Teaching Presentation - Jack Be Nimble
Engage young readers in texts and learn about narrative sequencing with an instructional slide deck featuring the Jack Be Nimble nursery rhyme.
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Hey Diddle Diddle Sequencing Activity Cards
Read and retell the story within the Hey Diddle Diddle tale with a set of retelling sequencing cards.
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Elements of a Story Activity Workbook
Explore the different elements of a narrative story with this student mini workbook.
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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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Hickory Dickory Dock Sequencing Activity Cards
Read and retell the story found within the nursery rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock with a set of retell sequencing cards.
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Humpty Dumpty Sequencing Activity Cards
Read and retell the story within the Humpty Dumpty tale with a set of retelling sequencing cards.
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Story Basics: Narrative Features - Teaching Presentation
Use this interactive teaching presentation to introduce your early years students to the basic features of stories.
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Character Analysis Task Cards
Get your students to perform a character analysis for any fictional character using this set of 20 task cards.
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Problem and Solution Interactive Peg Cards
Practise identifying problems and solutions with an interactive peg card activity.
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Story Elements Interactive Activity
Introduce your kindergarten and first-grade students to the elements of a story using this interactive digital activity.
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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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Fairy Tale Setting and Book Characters Classroom Display
Teach fairy tales and narrative structure with a printable fairy tale setting poster and book characters for a classroom display.
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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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Character Emotions Worksheet
Make inferences about character's feelings with this one-page worksheet.
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Literature Task Cards
A set of 30 literature tasks to assist your students with examining and responding to literature.
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Why Bears Have Stumpy Tails – 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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Little Red Riding Hood Story Video
Introduce a fresh version of the Little Red Riding Hood story to your students with this animated video perfect for younger students.
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Alice in Wonderland Story Video
Introduce the story of Alice in Wonderland to your students with this animated fairy tale video perfect for younger students.
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Goldilocks and the Three Bears Story Video
Explore the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears with your students using this animated fairy tale video perfect for younger learners.
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The Gingerbread Man Story Video
Introduce the story of The Gingerbread Man to your students with this animated fairy tale video perfect for younger students.
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The Three Little Pigs Story Video
Explore the story of The Three Little Pigs with your students using this animated fairy tale video perfect for younger learners.
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Jack and the Beanstalk Story Video
Introduce the Jack and the Beanstalk story to your students with this animated fairy tale video perfect for younger students.
- Narrative Elements Worksheets
- Narrative Elements Templates
- Narrative Elements Teaching Presentations
- Narrative Elements Games
- Narrative Elements Posters
- 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