 Story Elements is useful when your class has read a story. It uses a simple chart to help students identify the important parts of the story. As an example, we will use the story The Ugly Duckling. The Ugly Duckling was very sad. Everyone made fun of him because he did not look like his brothers and sisters. So he ran away from home. The Ugly Duckling wandered for a whole year and was always unhappy. One day he saw a flock of beautiful swans. He approached them, even though he was sure they would reject him too. To his surprise, the swans welcomed him. Then he saw his reflection in the water and realized that he was now a beautiful swan. Now let's see how a story elements chart can be used with this story. Let's begin. First, draw a chart with four boxes. Label the boxes characters, setting, problem, and resolution. Write the story title at the top. Ask the students to identify the main characters in the story. Write their answers in the characters box. The Ugly Duckling, the Duck Mother, and the Ugly Duckling's brothers and sisters. The setting includes both location and time. Have the students talk about where and when the story took place. And note those in the setting box. A barnyard out in the country. It took about a year for him to grow up. Next, ask the students what problem the main characters faced. Write it in the problem box. All the barnaddle animals made fun of him because he was ugly. Last, ask your students what the resolution was. How was the problem solved? Write that in the resolution box. He grows up and he finds out he's not a duck, but he's a beautiful swan. Story elements allow students to demonstrate their ability to retell the story in a condensed version. This enables the teacher to check their comprehension of the story. There are several variations to this strategy. For young students, it's best to introduce the chart by doing it as a group, at least a few times. After they've learned how it works, you can have them each fill in their own chart individually. For very young students who don't know many words yet, you can have them draw pictures to represent each part of the story. Let's review the key ideas to remember. Story elements is useful when your class has read a story. It uses a simple chart to help students identify the important parts of the story. Have fun using story elements with your students.