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An introduction to the basic elements of a narrative and the role of a storyteller.
Imagine you are sitting around a campfire. Someone starts to speak, and suddenly, you aren't in the woods anymore—you are sailing on a pirate ship! How does a simple group of words turn into a whole new world?
A sentence is a single thought, like 'The cat is orange.' It tells us a fact, but it doesn't take us on a journey. A story (also called a narrative) is a group of sentences that work together. A story needs a character, a place, and something that happens! Think of a sentence as a single brick, while a story is the whole house. To be a story, we need to see how things change from the start to the finish.
Quick Check
If I say 'The sun is hot,' is that a sentence or a whole story?
Answer
It is a sentence because it is just one thought and doesn't have a beginning, middle, and end.
Every great story is like a sandwich with three layers. The Beginning introduces the characters and the setting (where the story happens). The Middle is the biggest part! This is where a problem happens or the characters go on an adventure. Finally, the End tells us how the problem was solved and how the characters feel now. Without all three parts, the 'sandwich' falls apart!
1. Beginning: A thirsty crow finds a pitcher of water, but the water is too low to reach. 2. Middle: The crow drops small stones into the pitcher one by one to make the water rise. 3. End: The water reaches the top, and the crow drinks happily.
Quick Check
In which part of the 'Story Sandwich' does a character usually face a problem?
Answer
The Middle.
Every story needs a voice to tell it. This person is called the narrator. The narrator is like a tour guide for the story. Sometimes the narrator is a character inside the story using words like 'I' or 'me.' Other times, the narrator is an outside teller who knows everything happening to everyone, using words like 'he,' 'she,' or 'they.' The narrator's job is to make sure the reader understands what is happening.
Scenario A: 'I put on my red cape and walked into the woods.' (The narrator is the main character). Scenario B: 'Little Red Riding Hood put on her cape and walked into the woods.' (The narrator is an outside teller).
Quick Check
What do we call the person who tells the story to the reader?
Answer
The narrator.
Let's find the parts in this short narrative: 1. Beginning: Beep the Robot lived in a shiny garage. 2. Middle: One morning, Beep's leg fell off, and he couldn't walk to the oil station! 3. End: His friend Rusty used a screwdriver to fix the leg, and Beep danced a happy jig.
What part of the story tells us where the characters are?
If a story says, 'I went to the park,' who is the narrator?
A story must have a beginning, a middle, and an end to be complete.
Review Tomorrow
Tomorrow, try to explain the 'Story Sandwich' to a friend or family member. Can you remember all three parts?
Practice Activity
Pick your favorite bedtime story. Can you point to the page where the 'Middle' (the problem) starts?