Most stories contain five basic components. These can be seen in books, movies, and television shows. Not all digital stories have to include all of these components, but it is good to review them. This also demonstrates how storytelling can be used to teach basic language arts concepts.
Content on this page is “borrowed” from a great resource from annenberg on short stories.
Plot – A plot is a causal sequence of events, the “why” for the things that happen in the story. In the Western tradition of storytelling the plot often follows the cycle of exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and finally resolution.
Setting – The location of a story’s actions, along with the time in which it occurs, is the setting.
Character – Memorable characters come alive for us
Point of view – This angle of vision, the point of view from which the people, events, and details of a story are viewed, is important to consider when reading a story.
Theme – The theme of a fable is its moral. The theme of a parable is its teaching. The theme of a piece of fiction is its view about life and how people behave.
Now stories can also be descriptive, biographical, autobiographical. Heading down these paths allow the teller to not be confined by a traditionla plot line or story structure. But the story still must have a beginning, midle and end. Characters must still be developend and the stage must still be set, a thought must be conveyed. Take a look at the following simple story and think about the message.
This is a wonderful story from the Capture Wales project, an amazing storytelling project sponsored by the BBC. Read the story and then watch the movie. Close the window to return to this page.