Literary Elements Teaching Resources
If you're teaching literary elements this school year, chances are pretty good that you're on the hunt for ways to get students excited about tone, narration, plot, and a host of other elements to writing a great story. But how do you engage elementary students about character traits and make plot development as exciting as recess?
The ELA 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. Explore their guide to learn more about the various literary elements and how to bring them to life in your classroom!
Is this your first year teaching this sector of ELA? 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!
What Are Literary Elements?
First thing's first: Let's talk about the definition. Literary elements are the basic components of writing by which the author relates the story to the reader. Without them, the narrative falls apart!
Sometimes referred to as narrative elements, 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 better understand what the author is trying to say.
What Are Examples of Literary Elements?
There are 10 main examples of literary elements that students will encounter in narrative texts:
- 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.
- Plot — This is the way a story unfolds — essentially a pattern for the text.
- Conflict — Conflict helps move a plot forward as it offers the reader a climax to move toward as they read.
- Characterization — This element of writing covers the way characters are developed within a story.
- Point of view — Also called narration, this element is the perspective from which a story is told such as first person or third person.
- Tone — The tone of a story can be boiled down to the author's attitude about the subject of the story.
- Genre — Genre covers the type of story written such as realistic fiction, science fiction, or even magical realism.
- Figurative language — Similes, metaphors, and onomatopoeia are just some examples of the figurative language students encounter in a text.
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Literary Plot Elements - Graphic Organizer
Familiarize students with finding the 5 elements of plot in a literary text.
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Story Elements Graphic Organizers – Portrait
Encourage your students to write and draw about various story elements with this set of differentiated graphic organizers.
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Free Character Traits List
Teach your students to analyze characters more effectively by providing them with a list of character traits.
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My Mini Book Report
Have students write about their favorite literature with this fun-sized mini-book.
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Character Anchor Charts - Traits, Feelings, and Appearances
A set of 3 posters depicting words and phrases that can be used to describe a character traits, feelings and appearance.
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Reading Response Template – Retelling Important Events
Help students retell important events in a piece of text with this one-page template.
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Halloween Reading Comprehension Passage and Task Cards - The Curious Crusader
Practice reading comprehension skills with an exciting Halloween reading comprehension activity for 4th graders!
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Finding the Theme Worksheet
Identify and explain the theme in 3 short story paragraphs provided in this worksheet.
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Character or Not? Cut and Paste Worksheet
Explore the difference between characters and non-characters with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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5 Finger Retell Worksheets
Guide your students through using the 5 finger retell strategy with this set of worksheets.
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Story Retell Graphic Organizers (Differentiated)
Help students confidently retell a story with this set of differentiated graphic organizers.
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Character Traits, Motivations and Feelings Worksheet
Analyze character traits, feelings and motivations with this two-page worksheet.
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Readers' Theater - Itsy Bitsy Spider Read and Retell Activity
Engage young readers in texts with a dramatic reading of “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” and accompanying story retelling activity.
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Retelling Stories Wheel Template
Explore story retells with this engaging story retell wheel template.
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Google Slides Interactive - Story Retell Activity
Use this Google Slides Interactive activity to practice retelling stories.
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Three Little Pigs Retelling Activity Cards
Teach your students about retelling with this set of sequencing cards for The Three Little Pigs.
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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 Analysis Task Cards
Use these task cards to practice analyzing characters within any fictional text.
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Character Development - Worksheet
Describe how characters in a story develop in response to major events and challenges with this 3-page character development worksheet.
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Character Emotions Worksheet
Make inferences about character's feelings with this one-page worksheet.
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Robot-Themed Retelling Writing Template
Explore the elements of a retell with this cute robot-themed retell writing template.
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Hansel and Gretel Retelling Activity Cards
Teach your students about retelling with this set of sequencing cards for Hansel and Gretel.
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5 Finger Retell Classroom Posters
Guide students through the 5 finger retell process with this set of classroom posters and individual student guide.
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Story Elements Worksheets – The Ants and the Grasshopper
Practice identifying the story characters, settings and main events with this set of worksheets based on a traditional tale.
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Story Elements Worksheets – The Fox and the Grapes
Practice identifying the story characters, settings and main events with this set of worksheets based on a traditional tale.
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Character Traits Anchor Charts
Remind your students about the difference between external and internal character traits with this set of three classroom anchor charts.
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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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Exploring Story Characters - Worksheets
Explore the defining features of story characters with this differentiated worksheet.
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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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Story Elements Anchor Charts - Sloth-Themed Posters
Display these cute sloth-themed story elements anchor charts when learning about narrative texts.
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Character Traits: Interactive Activity
Analyze text and identify character traits of characters with a Google Slides Interactive activity.
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Literary Element Task Cards - Upper Elementary
Explore the wonders of children's literature with this set of 14 literature study task cards for upper elementary students.
- Literary Elements Worksheets
- Literary Elements Templates
- Literary Elements Games
- Literary Elements for Kindergarten
- Literary Elements for 1st Grade
- Literary Elements for 2nd Grade
- Literary Elements for 3rd Grade
- Literary Elements for 4th Grade
- Literary Elements for 5th Grade
- Literary Elements for 6th Grade