Story Elements Questions Stems | Short Stories PDF

Story Elements Questions Stems with a collection of 62 classic short stories | One, Two and Three Page Printable Short Stories PDF and doc | Grade K-12th CCSS ELA Reading Literature: Story Elements | Text-Based Questions Stems DOK Level 2 and Level 3 Depth of Knowledge (DOK) | Amazing collection of printable short stories, fairy tales, and fables | Story Elements Questions Stems!

1. Who are the main characters (protagonist and antagonist) and identify the character traits the make them good or bad? 
2. How does the author use settings to and major events to move the plot forwards? 
3. Describe the characters moods, feelings, and motivations! 
4. Does the author use the settings to create a mood or tone in the story? 
   
5. What are the major events in the plot? 
6. What are you learning about plot, mood, theme, character, setting and dramatic conflict/problems? 
7. How would you describe the character? (mood, motivations, appearance, thoughts, feelings, speech) 
8. How does the character change and feel throughout the story? 
9. What do the characters think about the other characters? 
10. How does _____(protagonist/antagonist) respond to _______(event/challenge/conflicts)?
11. What do you infer or what conclusions can you draw from the characters (actions, mood, motivations, appearance, thoughts, feelings, speech)?
12. Who are the most important characters in the story? 
13. Why is the protagonist important to the plot of the story? 
14. Who are the major and minor characters in the story? 
15. Describe/Define the major plot events or conflicts/challenges in the story.
16. How do the (major/minor) protagonist/antagonist characters react to the conflicts in the story? 
17. What effect do the events in the story have on the characters?
18. Why do the characters react differently to conflicts and problems? 
19. How does the character change over the course of the story? 

An antagonist is a character, group of characters, institution, or concept that stands in or represents opposition against which the protagonist(s) must contend. In other words, an antagonist is a person or a group of people who opposes a protagonist

The climax (from the Greek word meaning "staircase" and "ladder") or turning point of a narrative work is its point of highest tension and drama, or it is the time when the action starts during which the solution is given. The climax of a story is a literary element.

The conflict In literature, the literary element conflict is an inherent incompatibility between the objectives of two or more characters or forces. Conflict creates tension and interest in a story by adding doubt as to the outcome. A narrative is not limited to a single conflict. While conflicts may not always resolve in narrative, the resolution of a conflict creates closure, which may or may not occur at a story's end.

Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. 

Direct or explicit characterization The author literally tells the audience what a character is like. This may be done via the narrator, another character or by the character themselves.Indirect or implicit characterizationThe audience must infer for themselves what the character is like through the character's thoughts, actions, speech (choice of words, way of talking), physical appearance, mannerisms and interaction with other characters, including other characters' reactions to that particular person.

Dramatic ironyThis type of irony is the device of giving the spectator an item of information that at least one of the characters in the narrative is unaware of (at least consciously), thus placing the spectator a step ahead of at least one of the characters. 

Dynamic vs. static Dynamic characters are the ones who change over the course of the story, while static characters remain the same throughout. 

Narrative exposition is the insertion of important background information within a story; for example, information about the setting, characters' backstories, prior plot events, historical context, etc.[1] In a specifically literary context, exposition appears in the form of expository writing embedded within the narrative.

Falling action During the falling action, the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist unravels, with the protagonist winning or losing against the antagonist. The falling action may contain a moment of final suspense, in which the final outcome of the conflict is in doubt.

A first-person narrative is first person point of view a story from the first-person perspective: the viewpoint of a character writing or speaking directly about themselves. In films, videos, or video games, a first-person perspective may also mean that the narrative is shot or presented as if directly coming from a character's in-body point of view, portraying exactly what the character sees or experiences 

Round vs. flat characters: Flat characters are two-dimensional, in that they are relatively uncomplicated. By contrast, round characters are complex figures with many different characteristics and undergo development, sometimes sufficiently to surprise the reader.

Irony (from Ancient Greek (eirōneía), meaning "dissimulation, feigned ignorance"), in its broadest sense, is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or event in which what appears, on the surface, to be the case, differs radically from what is actually the case. Irony may be divided into categories such as verbal, dramatic, and situational.

Mood is one element in the narrative structure of a piece of literature. It can also be referred to as atmosphere because it creates an emotional setting enveloping the reader. Mood is established in order to affect the reader emotionally and psychologically and to provide a feeling for the narrative.

Plot refers to the sequence of events inside a story which affect other events through the principle of cause and effect. 

A protagonist (from Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής (protagonistes), meaning "player of the first part, chief actor") is the main character in any story, such as a literary work or drama.

The protagonist is at the center of the story, should be making the difficult choices and key decisions, and should be experiencing the consequences of those decisions.

Exposition The first phase in Freytag's pyramid is the exposition, which introduces the characters, especially the main character, also known as the protagonist. It shows how the characters relate to one another, their goals and motivations, as well as their moral character. During the exposition, the protagonist learns their main goal and what is at stake.

Conflict, conflict refers to the second act in a five-act play, a point of time in which all of the major characters have been introduced, their motives and allegiances have been made clear, and they have begun to struggle against one another.

Rising action Rising action is the second phase in Freytag's five-phase structure. It starts with a conflict, for example, the death of a character. The inciting incident is the point of the plot that begins the conflict. It is the event that catalyzes the protagonist to go into motion and to take action. Rising action involves the buildup of events until the climax.

In this phase, the protagonist understands his or her goal and begins to work toward it. Smaller problems thwart their initial success and their progress is directed primarily against these secondary obstacles. This phase demonstrates how the protagonist overcomes these obstacles.

ClimaxThe climax is the turning point or highest point of the story. The protagonist makes the single big decision that defines not only the outcome of the story, but also who they are as a person. Freytag defines the climax as the third of the five dramatic phases which occupies the middle of the story.

At the beginning of this phase, the protagonist finally clears away the preliminary barriers and engages with the adversary. Usually, both the protagonist and the antagonist have a plan to win against the other as they enter this phase. For the first time, the audience sees the pair going against one another in direct or nearly direct conflict.

This struggle usually results in neither character completely winning or losing. In most cases, each character's plan is both partially successful and partially foiled by their adversary. The central struggle between the two characters is unique in that the protagonist makes a decision which shows their moral quality, and ultimately decides their fate. In a tragedy, the protagonist here makes a poor decision or a miscalculation that demonstrates their tragic flaw.

Falling action According to Freytag, the falling action phase consists of events that lead to the ending. Character's actions resolve the problem. In the beginning of this phase, the antagonist often has the upper hand. The protagonist has never been further from accomplishing their goal. The outcome depends on which side the protagonist has put themselves on.

Resolution In this phase the protagonist and antagonist have solved their problems and either the protagonist or antagonist wins the conflict. The conflict officially ends. Some stories show what happens to the characters after the conflict ends and/or they show what happens to the characters in the future.

Setting In works of narrative (especially fictional), the literary element setting includes the historical moment in time and geographic location in which a story takes place, and helps initiate the main backdrop and mood for a story. 

Situational irony This is a relatively modern use of the term, and describes a sharp discrepancy between the expected result and actual results in a certain situation.

Theme In contemporary literary studies, a theme is the central topic a text treats.Themes can be divided into two categories: a work's thematic concept is what readers "think the work is about" and its thematic statement being "what the work says about the subject"

Third-person, subjective OR third person limited The third-person subjective is when the narrator conveys the thoughts, feelings, opinions, etc. of one or more characters. If there is just one character, it can be termed third-person limited, in which the reader is "limited" to the thoughts of some particular character (often the protagonist) as in the first-person mode, except still giving personal descriptions using "he", "she", "it", and "they", but not "I". 

Third-person, omniscient Historically, the third-person omniscient  A story in this narrative mode is presented by a narrator with an overarching point of view, seeing and knowing everything that happens within the world of the story, including what each of the characters is thinking and feeling.

tone, In literature, the tone of a literary work expresses the writer's attitude toward or feelings about the subject matter and audience.

verbal irony, The contrast between what is said and what is actually meant.

Fairy Tales from Jean LEMAUFF website! Amazing collection of printable short stories with Audio Book links to read and listen!

http://www.lemauff.fr/short_stories/

1. THE GOLDEN BIRD.doc  3 p. 
2. HANS IN LUCK.doc  3p. 
3. JORINDA AND JORINDEL.doc 2p. 
4. THE TRAVELLING MUSICIANS.doc  2p. 
5. OLD SULTAN.doc 1p. 
6. THE STRAW.doc 1p. 
7. BRIAR ROSE.doc  2p. 
8. THE DOG AND THE SPARROW.doc  2p. 
9. THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES.doc  2p. 
10. THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE.doc 3p. 
11. THE WILLOW WREN AND THE BEAR.doc  1p. 
12. THE FROG PRINCE.doc  2p. 
13. CAT AND MOUSE IN PARTNERSHIP.doc 1p. 
14. THE GOOSE GIRL.doc  4p. 
15. THE ADVENTURES OF CHANTICLEER AND PARTLET.doc 3p. 
16. RAPUNZEL.doc  2p. 
17. FUNDEVOGEL.doc  1p. 
18. THE VALIANT LITTLE TAILOR.doc  4p. 
19. HANSEL AND GRETEL.doc  4p. 
20. THE MOUSE, THE BIRD, AND THE SAUSAGE.doc  1p. 
21. MOTHER HOLLE.doc 2p. 
22. LITTLE RED-CAP (LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD).doc  3p. 
23. THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM.doc 2p. 
24. TOM THUMB.doc - 3p. 
25. RUMPELSTILTSKIN.doc  2p. 
26. CLEVER GRETEL.doc  1p. 
27. THE OLD MAN AND HIS GRANDSON.doc 1p. 
28. THE LITTLE PEASANT.doc 3p. 
29. FREDERICK AND CATHERINE.doc  3p. 
30. SWEETHEART ROLAND.doc 2p. 
31. SNOWDROP.doc  4p. 
32. THE PINK.doc  2p. 
33. CLEVER ELSIE.doc  2p. 
34. THE MISER IN THE BUSH.doc 2p. 
35. ASHPUTTEL.doc  4p. 
36. THE WHITE SNAKE.doc 2p. 
37. THE WOLF AND THE SEVEN LITTLE KIDS.doc 2p. 
38. THE QUEEN BEE.doc  1p. 
39. THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER.doc 1p. 
40. THE JUNIPER TREE.doc 6p. 
41. THE TURNIP.doc 2p. 
42. CLEVER HANS.doc 2p. 
43. THE THREE LANGUAGES.doc 1p. 
44. THE FOX AND THE CAT.doc  1p. 
45. THE FOUR CLEVER BROTHERS.doc 2p. 
46. LILY AND THE LION.doc 3p. 
47. THE FOX AND THE HORSE.doc  1p. 
48. THE BLUE LIGHT.doc  2p. 
49. THE RAVEN.doc  3p. 
50. THE GOLDEN GOOSE.doc  2p. 
51. THE WATER OF LIFE.doc 3p. 
52. THE TWELVE HUNTSMEN.doc 2p. 
53. THE KING OF THE GOLDEN MOUNTAIN.doc 3p. 
54. DOCTOR KNOWALL.doc 1p. 
55. THE SEVEN RAVENS.doc  2p. 
56. THE WEDDING OF MRS FOX.doc  2p. 
57. THE SALAD.doc 3p. 
58. THE STORY OF THE YOUTH WHO WENT FORTH.doc
59. KING GRISLY.doc 2p. 
60. IRON HANS.doc  4p. 
61. CAT SKIN.doc  3p. 
62. SNOW WHITE AND ROSE RED.do 3p.