3rd grade · English Language Arts · Unit 2 of 13
Story Elements
Characters, settings and plots
What your child practices
Naming the characters, setting, problem and solution of a story, describing how characters feel and what they are like, and finding a story's lesson.
Arizona Academic Standards learning standard: 3.RL.3; 3.RL.5 · characters, settings and plots
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- Characters are who the story is about. The setting is where and when it happens.
- The problem is what goes wrong. The solution is how it gets fixed.
- Clues about what characters say and do tell you how they feel.
Example: A rabbit keeps eating Lena’s lettuce, so Lena and her mom build a fence. What is the solution? The problem is the rabbit eating the lettuce. The fix is what stops it. Answer: Lena and her mom put a fence around the lettuce.
Story Elements in Arizona
In the Arizona Academic Standards, this is unit 2 of 13 in 3rd grade English Language Arts, after Read and Think and before Word Jobs.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
- 3rd grade guide for Arizona parents
- Printable 3rd grade English Language Arts sheet
- Arizona report cards explained
Source: Arizona Department of Education
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
How is the problem solved?
Lena grew lettuce in her backyard garden.
One morning, she found that half of the leaves had been nibbled away.
She waited quietly by the window and spotted a hungry rabbit hopping out of the garden.
Lena and her mom put a small fence around the lettuce.
The lettuce grew big and leafy again, and Lena planted some clover near the back fence just for the rabbit.
- Lena stopped growing lettuce.
- Lena chased the rabbit every day.
- Lena and her mom put a fence around the lettuce.
Lena and her mom put a fence around the lettuce.
Hint: The solution is how the problem gets fixed. Look near the end of the story.
Question 2
What is the problem in this story?
Lena grew lettuce in her backyard garden.
One morning, she found that half of the leaves had been nibbled away.
She waited quietly by the window and spotted a hungry rabbit hopping out of the garden.
Lena and her mom put a small fence around the lettuce.
The lettuce grew big and leafy again, and Lena planted some clover near the back fence just for the rabbit.
- Lena's mom did not like lettuce.
- A rabbit was eating Lena's lettuce.
- Lena's lettuce needed more sun.
A rabbit was eating Lena's lettuce.
Hint: The problem is the trouble a character needs to fix. It usually shows up near the beginning.
Question 3
What is the setting of this story?
Lena grew lettuce in her backyard garden.
One morning, she found that half of the leaves had been nibbled away.
She waited quietly by the window and spotted a hungry rabbit hopping out of the garden.
Lena and her mom put a small fence around the lettuce.
The lettuce grew big and leafy again, and Lena planted some clover near the back fence just for the rabbit.
- At a busy grocery store
- In a school classroom
- In Lena's backyard garden
In Lena's backyard garden
Hint: The setting is where and when a story happens. Look for clues about the place and the time.
Question 4
What is the problem in this story?
On a sunny afternoon at the park, Ana tried to ride her bike without training wheels.
She wobbled and tipped over again and again.
Her friend Jay held the back of her seat while she pedaled.
After many tries, Jay let go, and Ana rode all the way to the pond by herself!
- Ana kept tipping over on her bike.
- Ana could not find the park.
- Ana's bike had a flat tire.
Ana kept tipping over on her bike.
Hint: The problem is the trouble a character needs to fix. It usually shows up near the beginning.
Question 5
What is the setting of this story?
On a sunny afternoon at the park, Ana tried to ride her bike without training wheels.
She wobbled and tipped over again and again.
Her friend Jay held the back of her seat while she pedaled.
After many tries, Jay let go, and Ana rode all the way to the pond by herself!
- At the beach at night
- At the park on a sunny afternoon
- At school on a snowy morning
At the park on a sunny afternoon
Hint: The setting is where and when a story happens. Look for clues about the place and the time.
Question 6
How did Ana most likely feel at the end?
On a sunny afternoon at the park, Ana tried to ride her bike without training wheels.
She wobbled and tipped over again and again.
Her friend Jay held the back of her seat while she pedaled.
After many tries, Jay let go, and Ana rode all the way to the pond by herself!
- Proud
- Bored
- Grumpy
Proud
Hint: Ana finally rode all by herself after many tries. How would you feel?