What’s your favourite story?

Fiction stories have a plot, setting, and characters that come from the imagination.

Nonfiction stories are about real people and true events.

Do you have a favourite story? What is it? Think about what makes a story your favourite.

• Is the story made up of fiction or nonfiction (real life)?
• Is it a story with interesting characters?
• Is the story easy to read or listen to and understand?
• Does the story have pictures?

There are many different kinds of stories. Some stories are short and others are long. Some stories are funny and some stories are meant to teach. Some stories are fiction and others are non-fiction.

There are many different ways to tell a story. A story can be written or told in pictures. A story can be told out loud or in a song.

The following video tells a story too! Let’s explore this episode, “Three Little Pigs,” from Numberblocks.

In this learning activity, we are going to learn how to write our own stories.

Narrative story

A story with a problem and a solution is called a narrative story.

A narrative story has:

• a beginning, middle, and end
• characters and setting
• problem and solution

Think back to your favourite story. Is it a narrative story?

Let’s sort some of our favourite stories.

Which stories are fiction? Which stories are nonfiction?

Beginning, middle, and end

Every story has to have a beginning, middle, and an end. It is important for a story to be told in the right order to make sense.

Elements of a narrative story

There are 4 elements of a narrative story:

Searching for elements in a story

Let’s explore the following story, "Monster Story," by Lily to identify the characters, setting, problem, and solution.

Now try to answer the following questions:

• Who are the characters?
• What is the setting?
• What is the problem?
• What is the solution?

How to tell the story

The way a narrative story is organized is called the plot. A plot can be thought of as a roller coaster ride! First, the plot starts at the beginning or the bottom of the hill. Then from the middle to end of the roller coaster, the character fixes a problem. Finally, it’s time to get off the roller coaster. Do you want to ride it again?

Your turn!

Let’s join Bebe and Mo from Canada Crew as they learn about the weather and seasons.

Follow the writing process to write your own narrative story.

Choose one of the following topics to focus on your writing:

• the rained-out picnic
• lost in the fog
• too hot for my snowman
• your weather story idea

Before going through the steps in the writing process, brainstorm ideas for the writing process with your teacher and peers.

Revising: focus on content

When revising your work, you want to:

• read your work out loud
• find other words you might want to use
• make other changes so the writing is just right
• stay on one topic

You may also use the following checklist to help you with the revision process.

Editing: focus on conventions

To help you move through the writing process, the following editing checklist may be helpful as you check your work.

Complete the Editing Checklist in your notebook or use the following fillable and printable document to help your revision process.

Reflection

How do you feel about what you have learned in this activity?  Which of the next four sentences best matches how you are feeling about your learning? Press the button that is beside this sentence.

Now, record your ideas about your feelings using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.