Examples of Story Settings Ready to Explore!

There are many common story settings that reappear in children’s literature. These settings provide the backdrop that shapes the events and characters’ experiences. Settings contribute to mood, influence the plot and help readers imagine the world of the story.

This comprehensive 30-slide teaching presentation has been created by our team to introduce your students to ten of the most common story settings found in children’s literature. Each setting is explained with clear examples, relatable visuals and discussion prompts to spark curiosity and comprehension.

The examples of story settings included in this presentation are:

• The Magical World
• The Hidden Place
• The Dangerous Land
• The Castle or Fortress
• The Island Adventure
• The Haunted Place
• The Alien Planet
• The Dystopian Future
• A Past Era
• The Lab or Workshop

This resource downloads as a Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides file. By engaging with this resource, students can share ideas, make connections to books they’ve read and become inspired by potential settings for their own stories.

More Ways to Explore Story Settings Examples

Once students have engaged with this presentation, teachers extend learning by engaging students in a number of related activities. These activities allow students to apply their understanding and reinforce their grasp of how settings shape stories.

• Class Map – Have the students work collectively as a class to create a large story map depicting the setting of a class novel recently read. Students could label key landmarks and write a paragraph to describe the archetype features of the setting.
• Compare and Contrast – Explore how the same setting can shape the atmosphere of a text in very different ways, depending on the story. For example, a forest could be a magical land in one story but a dangerous land in another. 
• Book Brainstorm – Place the students in small groups, the provide each group with an example story setting. See how many texts (books or movies) the students can list that are set in that particular environment.

Download to Investigate Narrative Setting Examples

Use the dropdown menu on the Download button to access your preferred version of this teaching presentation about story settings. (Note: You will be prompted to make a copy of the Google Slides presentation before accessing it.)

Designed for ease of use, it can be projected on a smartboard, shared on student devices or printed as discussion prompts. However you choose to use it, this presentation is a flexible tool for any elementary teacher looking to boost engagement when teaching setting examples in stories.

This resource was created by Kaylyn Chupp, a teacher in Florida and a Teach Starter collaborator.

Complement This Story Settings Resource

Looking for more time-saving materials to use in your literature unit? Click below to browse more curriculum-aligned, teacher-created resources from the Teach Starter team.

[resource:5169833] [resource:5169123] [resource:5169577]