Summary
In this lesson, students learn about the literary elements of character, setting, and plot while reading and exploring several stories: "Love Monster" by Rachel Bright, "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak, "I Need My Monster" by Amanda Noll, and "How To Catch a Monster" by Adam Wallace and Andy Elkerton. Students conclude the lesson by composing their own stories that employ each of the three literary elements.
Essential Question(s)
How do authors include literary elements, such as setting, plot, and main characters, to help “paint a picture” in a story?
Snapshot
Engage
Students participate in a Honeycomb Harvest activity in which they sort literary elements into categories.
Explore
Students identify and discuss literary elements in the book "Love Monster" by Rachel Bright.
Explain
Students identify characters in the book "I Need My Monster" by Amanda Noll, setting in the book "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak, and plot in the book "How To Catch a Monster" by Adam Wallace and Andy Elkerton.
Extend
Students write their own narratives about a monster, making sure to include characters, setting, and plot.
Evaluate
Students read a classmate's narrative to identify the story elements that are present and provide feedback.
Materials
Lesson Slides (attached)
Honeycomb Harvest cards (attached, one set per group of 2-3 students)
Envelopes or paper clips
Chart paper
Anchor Chart Build Kit (attached, one copy; optional)
Markers
Four colors of sticky notes
Pens and pencils
Love Monster by Rachel Bright
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll
How To Catch a Monster by Adam Wallace and Andy Elkerton
Monster Pictures (attached, make enough copies to have one picture per student)
Cognitive Comics template (attached, one per student)
Writer's Sheet template (attached, one per student; optional)
Student devices with Internet access (optional)
Engage
Display slide 2. Students will begin by engaging in a Honeycomb Harvest activity to "harvest" their understanding of the logical relationships between words and concepts.
Organize students into groups of 2-3, and provide each group with a set of Honeycomb Harvest cards. Give students 10-15 minutes to sort the hexagon-shaped cards into categories. The hexagons contain text, definitions, and concept headers. As students are analyzing and sorting the cards, they should connect related cards together to create a honeycomb shape.
When you notice that students are finishing up, engage them in a discussion about how they grouped their cards.
Before continuing with the lesson, share the essential question and learning objectives on slides 3 and 4, and then ask students what they believe the different concept categories are that you will be focusing on today. Their responses will provide you with an indication of how much scaffolding you will need to include throughout the lesson.
Explore
Anchor Charts are posters that are made "in the moment" with your students' input and are later hung on the wall for continuous reference. Display slide 5 and inform students that over the next few days they are going to learn about and explore the different literary elements that authors use to write stories. While they are learning about these elements, they will help you compile a class Anchor Chart and update information on the chart as their understanding of the concept grows. The chart will serve as a tool that they can refer to throughout the school year.
Display slide 6. Introduce the books that students will be using to help them learn about the different literary elements:
Love Monster by Rachel Bright
I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
How To Catch a Monster by Adam Wallace and Andy Elkerton
Display slide 7. Tell students that you are now going to read the book Love Monster by Rachel Bright, and whenever they hear something that they believe is related to one of the literary elements (characters, setting, or plot) they should raise their hand.
Begin reading, and as students share out things that they notice, write them down on individual sticky notes. (Choose a different color of sticky note for each of the four stories that you read.) Have students place these notes in the related section of the Anchor Chart.
When you're finished reading, review the responses that students provided throughout the story. Remind them that these responses may change as you proceed through the lesson, and that's okay.
Explain
Share with students that you will be reading them three different stories over the next three days in order to explain the different literary elements that are present in stories. Each day, you will introduce a different element.
Ask students how they would define characters. Allow a few students to share out before you share the definition on slide 8.
Display slide 9. Have students turn to an Elbow Partner and talk about the characters in the book Love Monster.
Are there characters listed that aren't characters at all?
Which ones should stay, and which ones should be removed?
Display slide 10. Once students have had some time to discuss, have them come back to the whole group and share out their thoughts and conversations. Adjust the Anchor Chart accordingly.
Display slide 11. Introduce the story I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll. Tell students that this story has a lot of different and unique characters to look at and talk about. As students hear mention of a new character during the reading, they should raise their hands. Write down what students share on a new color of sticky note, and have students add the notes to the class Anchor Chart. Remind students that you are focusing only on characters right now.
Ask students how they would define a story’s setting. Allow a few students to share out before you share the definition on slide 12.
Display slide 13. Have students turn to their Elbow Partners and talk about the setting of the book Love Monster.
Are there settings listed that aren't settings at all?
Which ones should stay, and which ones should be removed?
Display slide 14. Have students come back to the whole group and share out their thoughts and conversations. Adjust the Anchor Chart accordingly.
Display slide 15. Ask students to now turn and talk with their Elbow Partners about the book I Need My Monster. Pairs should decide together what the setting of this story is.
Display slide 16. Introduce the story Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. This story has a unique setting for you to discuss. As students hear mention of a new setting during the reading, they should raise their hands. Write down what students share on a new color of sticky note, and have students add the notes to the class Anchor Chart. Remind students that you are focusing only on setting right now.
Display slide 17. Now that you have discussed setting as it applies to the books, Love Monster, I Need My Monster, and Where the Wild Things Are, take a moment to review and reflect on the characters in Where the Wild Things Are. As students share out information about the characters, write it down on sticky notes and have students add them to the Anchor Chart.
Ask students how they would define plot. Allow a few students to share out before you share the definition on slide 18.
Display slide 19. Have students turn to their Elbow Partners and talk about what the definition means and how it applies to the book Love Monster.
Are there elements of plot listed that aren't part of the plot at all?
Which ones should stay, and which ones should be removed?
Display slide 20. Once students have had some time to discuss, have them come back to the whole group and share out their thoughts and conversations. Adjust the Anchor Chart accordingly.
Now, ask students to turn and talk with their elbow partners about the plots of the books I Need My Monster (slide 21) and Where the Wild Things Are (slide 22). As a class, discuss what the plots of the stories are, and add notes to the class Anchor Chart.
Display slide 23. Introduce the story How To Catch a Monster by Adam Wallace and Andy Elkerton. This story has a fascinating plot for you to explore. As students hear new information related to the plot during the reading, they should raise their hands. Write down what students share on a new color of sticky note, and have students add the notes to the class Anchor Chart. Remind students that you are focusing only on plot right now.
Display slide 24. Take a few minutes to wrap up your discussion of How To Catch a Monster by reflecting on the characters and setting in the story. Write down the information that students share out on sticky notes, and have students add them to the class Anchor Chart. The chart should now look something like the one shown below.
Extend
Now that students have had the opportunity to practice looking for characters, settings, and plot in four different stories, it is time for them to practice writing their own stories using these literary elements.
Display slide 25. Provide students with copies of the Cognitive Comics template, and then give each student an opportunity to choose one of the Monster Pictures. The pictures will serve as inspiration to help spark students' imaginations as they write.
Students will create Cognitive Comics to express their understanding of literary elements artistically, with the comic template serving as a scaffold to help them tell their story. Students can start by drawing the important parts of their story, and then add in words, descriptions, and speech bubbles later.
As students are writing, consider providing them with prompts to help them along the way. Several of these prompts are included on slides 26-28.
Slide 26 includes sentence starters designed to help students begin their writing by presenting the setting and characters:
One day
One night
On a ________ day
I was with my monster [monster's name]
We were
I was
My monster [monster's name]
Slide 27 includes sentence starters designed to help students explain what happened in sequential order:
Then
After that
At last
Next time
Slide 28 includes sentence starters designed to help students to end their stories by incorporating feelings:
I felt _____, because
My monster felt _____, because
It was
I hope
I was thinking
I was sad
I saw
I heard
My monster was thinking
My monster was sad because
My monster saw
My monster heard
Evaluate
Display slide 29. When students have finished writing, have them switch papers with a classmate. Using Two Stars and a Wish, students will offer feedback to their peers and reflect on their own learning. As they read their classmate's story, students should try to use the information provided (text and images) to identify the literary elements of characters, setting, and plot. Ask students to provide feedback by calling out two things that their classmate did well (two stars) and one area that could be improved (a wish).
Provide your students with time to discuss the feedback with their partner and make any revisions they would like to.
Resources
K20 Center. (n.d.). Anchor charts. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/64f2b35101a470dda36d44421900af08
K20 Center. (n.d.) Cognitive comics. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/fe96d3de46cfdc1f385aab7e7500a422
K20 Center. (n.d.). Elbow partners. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/ccc07ea2d6099763c2dbc9d05b00c4b4
K20 Center. (n.d.) Honeycomb harvest. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/6f19b778b73e4c339d1a7d9653001825
K20 Center. (n.d.) Two stars and a wish. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/7b4de59085f566aa097814b8c0037751