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Learning to identify who is in a story and where the story takes place.
Imagine you open a magic book and jump inside! Who would you meet first, and would you be standing on a sandy beach or a snowy mountain?
Every story has someone to follow. These are called characters. A character is a person, an animal, or even a talking object that does things in the story. Think of your favorite cartoon. The person you see most is the main character. They have feelings, they talk, and they move! If a story has brave knight and dragons, that story has characters in total.
1. Read this sentence: 'Barnaby the Bee flew to a flower.' 2. Ask: 'Who is this about?' 3. The answer is Barnaby. He is the character!
Quick Check
If a story is about a talking toaster named Toasty, who is the character?
Answer
Toasty the toaster is the character.
Now, look around! Where is the character? The setting is the place where a story happens. It also tells us when the story happens, like 'a long time ago' or 'on a sunny morning.' Is the story in a school, a dark cave, or under the sea? That is the setting! A story usually has main setting where most of the action takes place.
1. Read this: 'Lily played on the swings at the park during lunchtime.' 2. The where is the park. 3. The when is lunchtime. 4. The setting is the park at lunchtime!
Quick Check
If a story happens in a 'cold, snowy forest,' what is the setting?
Answer
The cold, snowy forest.
It is easy to tell them apart! A character is a 'who.' They can walk, talk, and make choices. A setting is a 'where.' It is the world around the character. You can't talk to a setting, but a character can live in it! Think of it like this: and .
1. Story: 'Zelda the Alien lived on the Moon.' 2. Character: Zelda (She is the 'who'). 3. Setting: The Moon (It is the 'where'). 4. Zelda is the person, and the Moon is the place!
Which of these is a character?
Which of these is a setting?
The setting can tell us if a story happens at night or during the day.
Review Tomorrow
Tomorrow morning, look at the cover of a book. Can you point to the character and describe the setting?
Practice Activity
Draw a picture of yourself (the character) in your favorite place (the setting), like the beach or your bedroom!