Story Elements
1. Setting:
When and Where did the story take place?
Time and Place
2. Characters:
Who?
Person, animal or thing participating in the story
3. Plot:
What?
Events or sequence of events that make up the story
4. Theme:
General message, main idea, moral, lesson.
5. P.O.V:
 1st person – (I, me) This is usually a character in the story. 1st person perspective is
limited.
 3rd person – (he, she, they) This is an outside narrator, not a character. It is all
knowing, not limited.
6. Style / Techniques:
Does the author use any of the following techniques?
 Suspense – excitement, tension, curiosity
 Foreshadowing – hint or clue about what will happen (Ex. dark clouds foreshadow
something bad happening)
 Flashback – interrupting the normal sequence of events to tell something that
happened in the past
 Symbolism – use of specific object or images to represent ideas (a window
symbolizes new opportunities)
 Personification – giving human characteristics to things, ideas or animals
 Surprise ending – a conclusion that the reader does not expect