How to Effectively Teach Plot Structure to Elementary Students

Understanding the plot elements in a story is vital to developing reading comprehension skills. When we finish a picture book or read aloud, we often summarize the key story elements to recommend it to others. Sharing details about the characters, setting, main events, and even a hint of the problem and its solution helps convince others that it’s a great book worth exploring.

A solid grasp of plot structure and its connected elements is essential for students to understand and enjoy fictional texts. Once students master the structure of a plot, they unlock the ability to read and appreciate numerous picture books and read-alouds.

So, what exactly is plot structure? It refers to how the author crafted a story, and most picture books and read-aloud follow a similar plot structure. The story begins with a hook or exposition to engage readers. Next, the author introduces a problem the main character must grapple with, leading to the rising action. The climax is the most exciting point in the story, where the character faces the problem head-on. Afterward, the story winds down with the falling action and concludes with the resolution.

Even if you’ve never explicitly taught the elements of plot in a story, I’m sure this overview reminds you of many picture books and read-alouds you’ve enjoyed with your students.

Now, why is it so important to teach the elements of plot in a story? Well, it provides students with a framework for understanding fictional narratives. It acts as a roadmap that helps them predict story developments, make connections between different stories, and effectively summarize what they read.

Moreover, understanding plot structure allows students to connect with other essential story elements. Plot structure forms the story’s backbone, connecting the characters, setting, problem, solution, and theme. As students become familiar with the basic plot elements in a story, they start recognizing similar story arcs across various texts. Since most picture books and read-aloud follow a similar plot structure, enhancing students’ understanding of the plot will significantly benefit their experiences with other fictional works.

Now, let’s consider what you should teach during your plot unit. When planning your lessons, it’s essential to consider what your students already know and what they need to learn to comprehend the picture books and read-alouds you’ll explore throughout the year. It’s also helpful to consider any plot-related questions that appear on end-of-year standardized tests.

A suggested timeframe for covering plot-related objectives is around two weeks. Here are some objectives you might want to include in your unit on the plot:

1. Identify the key story elements in most picture books and read-aloud, such as characters, setting, problem/solution, and theme.
2. Introduce the Story Mountain as a tool for structuring and organizing a story.
3. Teach the elements of plot: Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution.
4. Help students use events already occurring in the story to predict future developments.
5. Explore the presence of a problem and its solution in fictional stories.
6. Develop students’ ability to infer possible solutions and support their thinking with evidence from the text.
7. Discuss different types of conflict experienced by characters (man vs. self, man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. society).
8. Introduce flashbacks as a narrative technique authors use to provide additional information about characters or events.
9. Explain foreshadowing as a literary device authors use to hint at future plot developments.
10. Emphasize that only some problems are resolved by the end of a story.
11. Teach students to use the Story Mountain or key elements to summarize fictional stories effectively.

Remember, you may only need to cover some of these objectives, and teaching them all at once is unnecessary. If foreshadowing or flashbacks are not commonly found in the picture books or read-alouds you use, you can save those objectives for when they naturally arise later in the year.

Some objectives may require more time for students to grasp and master fully. These objectives involve academic language connected to understanding fictional texts, so it’s understandable if students don’t master them after a single lesson.

As a side note, if you plan to cover all the listed objectives, I highly recommend finding resources supporting these objectives on Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) at my store Got to be LIT. Most of my book companions discuss plot structure.

When teaching plot, it’s immensely beneficial to incorporate mentor texts—especially picture books or read-alouds—that demonstrate the traditional plot structure. Selecting short picture books with identifiable characters, settings, problems, solutions, and theme helps students recognize the various elements of the plot. Here are some of my favorite mentor texts for this purpose:

• “The Name Jar” by Yangsook Chai
• “Each Kindness” by Jacqueline Woodson
• “A Bad Case of Stripes” by David Shannon
• “Enemy Pie” by Derek Munson
• “Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse” by Kevin Henkes

For your unit on elements of plot in a story, choose one or two picture books as mentor texts to use throughout your lessons. For example, you could read “A Bad Case of Stripes” aloud on Monday and revisit the same text from Tuesday to Friday, modeling and teaching students how to make predictions, infer solutions, use the Story Mountain for summarizing, and more.

Now, let’s break down the components of a plot structure lesson:

1. Whole group mini-lesson: Introduce the objectives with a whole group lesson. Use an anchor chart or visual aid to help students understand the objectives. Show an example or model connected to the goals using the mentor text. During the mini-lesson, focus on the relevant part of the text rather than reading the entire story. Conclude the whole group lesson by discussing and reviewing what students learned. Give students a smaller version of the anchor chart to glue into their reading journals.
2. Encourage independent practice during reading: Stress the importance of applying the skills learned during the whole group lesson to independent reading. Offer resources such as mini anchor charts, strategy cards, graphic organizers, question or thinking stems, and stop-and-jot sticky note templates to support students in identifying plot elements on their own.
3. Reinforce in small groups, if necessary: It’s important to remember that not all students may master the plot elements in a story after the whole group lesson. Consider pulling a few students for a small group session to review specific plot objectives and provide additional support.
4. Spiral review and ongoing practice: Continuously reinforce and review the elements of plot in a story throughout the year. Consider the following activities or ideas to keep plot structure at the forefront of students’ minds:
   • Incorporate plot structure into your daily routine by using a “picture of the day” to review plot elements as part of the reading warm-up or spiral review.
   • Include plot-related activities in your reading workstations or literacy centers.
   • Whenever you read a fictional text to your students, identify and discuss the elements of plot with an anchor chart that stays up all year.
   • Communicate the concept of plot structure to parents and enlist their support in helping their children understand the plot at home.

By following these steps, you can effectively teach the elements of plot in a story, providing elementary students with a strong foundation for comprehending and analyzing fictional texts. Click the link to find book companions with plot lessons already written.