Literary Elements Teaching Resources
Are ou teaching literary elements and looking for worksheets and activities to get students excited about tone, narration, plot and a host of other elements to writing a great story? How do you engage elementary students on the concept of character traits and make plot development as exciting as recess?
The ELA teachers on the Teach Starter team have done just that with a collection of printable worksheets and digital activities built around this core reading standard. Aligned with both TEKS and the Common Core English curriculum, each literary elements activity in the collection has undergone a careful review by a member of our teacher team to ensure it's ready for your lesson plans and your students.
Explore our teacher team's guide to learn more about the various literary elements and how to bring them to life in your classroom!
Is this your first year teaching this sector of ELA? Or the first year in a while? Our teacher team has put together a quick refresher to get you ready to rock and roll in the classroom, including a way to explain what literary elements are to students.
What Are Literary Elements? A Kid-Friendly Definition
First thing's first: Let's talk about the definition.
Literary elements are the basic components of writing that the author uses to share the story with the reader. Without them, the narrative falls apart!
They are sometimes referred to as narrative elements. No matter what you call them, these elements give a piece of writing structure and help the author convey information to the reader.
On the reading side, literary elements are also key to breaking down a story to understand better what the author is trying to say.
What Are Examples of Literary Elements? 8 Examples That Can Help Your Students
There are eight main examples of literary elements that students will encounter in narrative texts:
1. Setting
This element is crucial for developing a story as it provides the time in which the story takes place as well as where it takes place. Setting helps ground the story.
2. Plot
The plot is the way a story unfolds. It's essentially a pattern for the text.
3. Conflict
Conflict helps move a plot forward as it offers the reader a climax to move toward as they read.
4. Characterization
This element of writing covers the way characters are developed within a story.
5. Point of View
Also called narration, this literary element is the perspective from which a story is told, such as first person or third person.
6. Tone
The tone of a story can be boiled down to the author's attitude about the subject of the story.
7. Genre
Genre covers the type of story written, such as realistic fiction, science fiction or even magical realism.
8. Figurative Language
Similes, metaphors, and onomatopoeia are just some examples of the figurative language students encounter in a text.
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Story Elements Graphic Organizers – Portrait
Encourage your students to write and draw about various story elements with this set of differentiated graphic organizers.
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Character Development – Fakebook Page Worksheet
Use research and creative writing skills to design a social media profile for fiction or nonfiction persons.
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Literary Plot Elements - Graphic Organizer
Familiarize students with finding the 5 elements of plot in a literary text.
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My Mini Book Report
Have students write about their favorite literature with this fun-sized mini-book.
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Free Character Traits List
Teach your students to analyze characters more effectively by providing them with a list of character traits.
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Internal and External Character Traits - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Explore the internal and external traits of story characters with this differentiated cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Character Anchor Charts - Traits, Feelings, and Appearances
A set of 3 posters depicting words and phrases that can be used to describe a character traits, feelings and appearance.
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Character Traits Graphic Organizer
Describe the most notable mental and moral qualities of a real or fictional person.
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Story Problem and Solution Matching Activity
Match problems with their solutions to enhance your students' knowledge using this problem and solution matching activity.
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Character Profile Template Pack
Explore the personality, appearance, feelings and actions of a character with printable character profile templates.
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Story Characters - Mini Book
Teach your little learners about the various types of story characters with this fun-sized mini-book.
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Basic Elements of a Story Spinner Template
Learn the basic elements of a story using this fun and engaging story spinner template for your students.
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Beginning, Middle End Worksheets
Explore the main structure and story elements in a short story with these beginning, middle and end worksheets.
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5 Finger Retell Graphic Organizers
Help students sort out their thoughts during retelling with this set of three 5 finger retelling graphic organizers.
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Character Appearance, Traits and Feelings - Worksheet
Explore and describe a character's personality, feelings and appearance with this differentiated worksheet to be used with any text.
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Character Traits: Interactive Activity
Analyze text and identify character traits of characters with a Google Slides Interactive activity.
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Elements of Plot Teaching Presentation
Teach them to your students with a Plot Elements Teaching presentation.
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Reading Response Template – Character Report
Analyze a character in a piece of text with this one-page reading response template.
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Movie Day Activity Menu
Turn a movie day into a learning experience with our printable Movie Day Comprehension menu.
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Retelling a Story Workbook
Help your students retain the elements of a retell with this printable retelling stories student workbook.
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Character Traits Anchor Charts
Remind your students about the difference between external and internal character traits with this set of three classroom anchor charts.
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Character Profile - Graphic Organizers
Explore the internal and external traits of story characters with a set of differentiated graphic organizers.
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Character Analysis Task Cards
Use these task cards to practice analyzing characters within any fictional text.
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What's the Theme? - Graphic Organizer
Outline and determine the theme of a text with this 1-page graphic organizer worksheet.
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Novel Study – Character Map Worksheet
Explore and analyze the characters in your class novel with this set of three worksheets.
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Guided Reading Groups - Retelling a Text Template
Use this template during a guided reading session for a scaffold to help your students retell a text.
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Character Emotions Worksheet
Make inferences about character's feelings with this one-page worksheet.
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Character Interview Task Cards
Use these book character interview questions to extend your students' learning about the narrative elements.
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Beginning, Middle and End of Story Poster Set
Remind students of the elements that make up the beginning, middle and end of a story with this set of three posters.
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Story Structure Sentence Strips
Explore sentences that form the beginning, middle and end of 5 short stories with this sorting activity for younger year levels.
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Story Retelling Strips
Explore a story with your students with this story-retelling cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Story Retell Brochure Template
Explore retelling a story with this brochure template covering the major elements of a retell.
- Literary Elements Worksheets
- Literary Elements Templates
- Literary Elements Games
- Literary Elements for Kindergarten
- Literary Elements for 1st Grade
- Literary Elements for 2nd Grade
- Literary Elements for 3rd Grade
- Literary Elements for 4th Grade
- Literary Elements for 5th Grade
- Literary Elements for 6th Grade