2nd Grade Reading & Literature:
Identifying Story Elements for
Student Comprehension
Megan Boosinger
March 6, 2015
Introduction and Summary
Today we will be discussing the elements of a story. We will revisit
the three stories we already know, (Three Little Pigs, Little Red
Riding Hood, and Three Billy Goats Gruff), as well as introduce a
new story titled “Miss Nelson is Missing”. We will practice
identifying characters, setting, and plot of each story with a main
focus on “Miss Nelson is Missing”. We will learn how to use
illustrations as a guide, and engage in a writing prompt where we
will practice putting these elements into our own stories.
Identifying Characters
Webster’s Dictionary defines a
CHARACTER as:
one of the attributes or features that
make up and distinguish an individual
-ora feature used to separate
distinguishable things into categories
(Merriam-Webster).
The definition we will use is:
A person, or people, mentioned
throughout the story.
Miss Viola Swamp is a character in our story
for today. Use this as an example for
identifying others when we read the story
together!
Identifying Setting
Webster’s Dictionary defines a
SETTING as:
the time, place, and
circumstances in which
something occurs or
develops (Merriam-Webster).
The definition we will use is:
The place in which the story
takes place.
Miss Nelson’s classroom is one of the
settings in the story we will be reading
today. Use this as an example to look for
others!
Identifying Plot
Webster’s Dictionary defines a
PLOT as:
the plan or main story (as of a
movie or literary
work) (Merriam-Webster).
The definition we will use is:
The events that happen
throughout the story. Cause and
Effect.
The class acts up causing Miss Nelson to go missing,
and Miss Viola Swamp to substitute. Use this as a guide
to find other examples of plot throughout the story!
Now that we have gone over what to look for, please pair up with
your assigned reading buddy and follow along in your books while
we listen to “Miss Nelson is Missing”. Be sure to help your partner
if they are struggling!!
Miss Nelson is Missing (Read by Ms. Rachel Orrico)
Now that we are finished reading “Miss Nelson is Missing”, please work with your
reading buddy to identify characters, plot, and setting for all four stories. Once
you are finished, we will review your findings as a class, and compare them to the
charts I have made. Think about the following questions while you are working.
1) How many characters are main characters?
2) How many characters are considered “other” characters?
*If there are no “other” characters, just write ‘none’.
3) How many settings can you find in each story?
4) What is the plot of each story?
5) What have you learned from each story?
Draw a four column, five row chart with the title of each story at the top of each
column like the example below. Make sure you title all of your charts (you should
have 3 charts total) as either “Character” “Setting” or “Plot”
Three Little Pigs
Little Red Riding Hood
Three Billy Goats Gruff
Miss Nelson is Missing
Time to Practice!!!
Identify the Characters
The Three Little Pigs
Little Red Riding Hood
Three Billy Goats Gruff
Miss Nelson is Missing
Big Brother Pig
Little Red Riding Hood
Billy Goat Gruff 1
Miss Nelson
Middle Brother Pig
Red Riding Hood’s Mother
Billy Goat Gruff 2
Miss Viola Swamp
Little Brother Pig
Red Riding Hood’s
Grandmother
Billy Goat Gruff 3
Detective McSmogg
Big Bad Wolf
Big Bad Wolf
Big Ugly Troll
Miss Nelson’s Class
Kind Woodcutter
Time to Practice!!!
Identify the Setting
The Three Little Pigs
Little Red Riding Hood
Three Billy Goats Gruff
Miss Nelson is Missing
Little Brother Pig’s Hay
House
Mother’s House
Under the bridge where
the Troll lives
Miss Nelson’s Classroom
Middle Brother Pig’s Stick
House
The Woods
Over the bridge
Miss Nelson’s House
Big Brother Pig’s Brick
House
Grandmother’s House
The hill across the valley
where the Billy Goats
went to get fat.
The Police Station
Woods where Big Bad
Wolf Lives
The School
Time to Practice!!
Identify the Plot
The Three Little Pigs
Little Red Riding Hood
Three Billy Goats Gruff
Miss Nelson is Missing
The three pigs set out on
their own
Mother sends Riding Hood
to Grandmothers
The Billy Goats wanted
food from the other side
of the valley
Miss Nelson’s Class was
acting up
The three pigs gather
materials to build their
houses
Red Riding Hood enters
the forest and encounters
the wolf
The Billy Goats came to a
bridge that they need to
cross
Miss Nelson went missing
and Miss Viola Swamp
came to substitute
The three pigs build their
houses
The wolf tricks Red Riding
Hood (dresses like
grandma)
The bridge is guarded by
an ugly troll that lives
beneath.
The students thought they
could act up
The big bad wolf blows
down the houses made of
hay and sticks…
The wolf tries to eat Red
Riding Hood…
The troll encounters each
pig one by one, being
tricked by the first two…
Miss Swamp was very
strict and did not put up
with any nonsense…
Writing Prompt: You come to school and
your teacher is missing, what do you do?
Please take the next 20 minutes to write three to four
sentences (or more) in response to the prompt above. Once you
are finished, draw a fun illustration to go along with what you
wrote. I expect to see capital letters at the beginning of
sentences, as well as proper punctuation at the end. Make sure
all three elements that we discussed in our lesson are present
in your writing. Please use this time to practice using commas
too! Once you are finished, you are permitted to grab a pair of
headphones and tablet and quietly play one of the following
learning games at your seat.
2Bee or Nottoobee
Word Confusion
Construct A Word
Picture Match
References
Allard, H., & Marshall, J. (1977). Miss Nelson is missing! (pp. 1-32).
Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin.
B., A., & W., A. (2012, September 27). Naptime Tales: How Much Milk Should Baby Be
Drinking? Retrieved from
http://www.naptimetales.com/2012/09/how-much-milk-should-baby-bedrinking.html
Boosinger, M. (2015). Chart 1: Example. Created using Power Point.
Boosinger, M. (2015). Chart 2: Identifying Characters. Created using
Power Point.
Boosinger, M. (2015). Chart 3: Identifying Setting. Created using Power
Point.
Boosinger, M. (2015). Chart 4: Identifying Plot. Created using Power Point
References
Galdone, P. (1970). The three little pigs (pp. 1-48). New York, New
York: Houghton Mifflin/Clarion Books.
Hyman, T., & Grimm, J. (1983). Little Red Riding Hood (First ed.).
New York, New York: Holiday House.
Orrico, R. (2013, April 17). Miss Nelson is Missing. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtcrd0oCbWc
Page, N., & Page, C. (2006). Three billy goats gruff ([Level 2]. ed.,
p. 1-12). Berkhamsted, Herts (England): Make Believe Ideas.
Pearson. (2015). 2Bee or Nottoobee. Retrieved from
http://www.funbrain.com/verb/
References
Pearson. (2015). Word Confusion. Retrieved from
http://www.funbrain.com/whichword/
ReadWriteThink: Student Materials: Picture Match. (2008). Retrieved from
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/picturematch/
ReadWriteThink: Student Materials: Construct-a-Word. (2008). Retrieved from
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/construct/
S., S. (2013, February 11). Miss Nelson is Missing! - Stacking Books. Retrieved from
http://www.stackingbooks.com/?p=1514
Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (11th ed.). Springfield,
Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster.
**The photo of Miss Viola Swamp was a still frame taken from the YouTube video cited on
Reference page 2. The other two were taken from the last citation on this page.