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Practice putting story events in the right order by following the character's journey from start to finish.
Imagine you are building a giant Lego castle, but you lost the instructions! How would you know which block comes first or how the story of your castle ends?
Every great story has a Beginning. This is where we meet our Character (the person or animal the story is about) and see the Setting (where and when the story happens). Think of the beginning as the foundation of a house. Without it, the rest of the story has nowhere to stand! At the start, we also learn what the character wants or what their life is like before the adventure begins. Usually, the first or events of our five-step sequence happen here.
Quick Check
If a story starts with 'Luna the Space Cat lived on the Moon,' who is the character and what is the setting?
Answer
The character is Luna the Space Cat and the setting is the Moon.
The Middle of the story is where things get exciting! This is where the character faces a Problem or a challenge. They might have to go on a journey, solve a mystery, or learn a new skill. In our sequence of events, the middle usually makes up steps , , and . This is also where the character starts to feel differently. They might move from being scared to being brave, or from lonely to friendly.
Let's put these events in order: 1. Leo the Lion is afraid of heights. 2. Leo sees a bird's nest falling and catches it. 3. Leo feels proud and is no longer afraid.
Quick Check
In the middle of a story, does a character usually stay exactly the same or do they start to change?
Answer
They start to change as they face challenges.
Sequence these events for Sammy the Squirrel: 1. Sammy finds an empty oak tree in the park. 2. Sammy realizes he has no acorns for winter. 3. Sammy asks his friends for help gathering food. 4. Sammy and his friends fill the tree with acorns. 5. Sammy feels thankful and shares his warm home.
Using the Squirrel story, let's write a summary: Character: Sammy the Squirrel Setting: The Park Action: Gathering acorns with friends. Final Summary: Sammy the Squirrel lived in the park and worked with his friends to gather acorns so they would have food for the winter.
What are the three things you need to write a story summary?
If a character is 'shy' at the start and 'makes three new friends' at the end, how did they change?
The 'Resolution' of a story is usually found at the very beginning.
Review Tomorrow
In 24 hours, try to remember the 'Summary Equation': What are the three ingredients needed for a short summary?
Practice Activity
Pick your favorite bedtime story and try to list exactly main events in order on a piece of paper!