What are the main events in this story?” Have students use the words and illustration in the story to identify three or four key events. Say, “The plot is the sequence of events in a story. Say, “Sometimes there are many characters in a story, but we are going to pick out the main ones, the ones that are most important.” Encourage students to use the words and illustrations in the text to identify the main characters. Write the setting on the story map.Īsk, “Who are characters in a story?” (the people or animals in the story) “Who are the characters in this story?” (Swimmy, the red fish that are his friends, and the giant black fish that are eating the little fish) Write the characters on the story map. Guide students to identify the literary elements in the story Swimmy.Īsk, “What is setting?” (where and when a story happens) “What is the setting in this story?” (in the sea during the day) Encourage students to support their answer with words or illustrations in the text. Then display a copy of the story map of your choice on an overhead projector ( L-2-2_Story Maps.doc). Plot: The sequence of events in a story.ĭisplay the anchor chart for student reference and save it for use in Lesson 2.Setting: The time and place in which a story happens.Characters: The people or animals in a story.Record the definitions on an anchor chart: As each literary element is identified, record it on the board/interactive whiteboard or list it on an anchor chart to hang in the classroom.īriefly review each element and help students recall the definitions. Have students take turns fishing for a literary element by using the fishing pole to catch a fish or by drawing a fish out of a bowl. Before we begin, we will review literary elements.

Say, “Today we are going to read a story about fish. Have students sit in a circle around the fish. As an option, you may use a fishing pole with a string and magnet attached and put the fish cards with magnets attached in an imaginary “pond” on the floor. Focus Question: How does identifying literary elements help the reader better understand the story?īefore the lesson, place fish cards with literary elements written on them in a bowl ( L-2-2-1_Fish Template.doc).

Swimmy by leo lionni read aloud