2nd grade · English Language Arts · Unit 3 of 12
Story Builders
Characters, settings and order
What your child practices
Reading short stories, then naming the character and setting, explaining why things happened, and retelling events in order.
Maine Learning Results learning standard: Reading 6; Reading 8 · characters, settings and the order of events
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- The main character is who the story is mostly about.
- The setting is where and when the story happens.
- Events happen in order: beginning, middle and end.
Example: Jay forgot his lunch at school. His teacher shared her apple. Where does this story happen? Look for place words. The story happens at school. Answer: at school
Story Builders in Maine
In the Maine Learning Results, this is unit 3 of 12 in 2nd grade English Language Arts, after Sound Detectives and before Word Power.
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.
- 2nd grade guide for Maine parents
- Printable 2nd grade English Language Arts sheet
- Maine report cards explained
Source: Maine 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
Who is the main character in this story?
Noah and Zoe built a fort out of blankets.
They put pillows inside to make it soft.
Then it started to rain outside.
The two friends read stories in their cozy fort.
- 🧒Noah and Zoe
- 👷a builder
- 💧a raindrop
🧒 Noah and Zoe
Hint: The main character is who the story is mostly about.
Question 2
Where does this story happen? (the setting)
Noah and Zoe built a fort out of blankets.
They put pillows inside to make it soft.
Then it started to rain outside.
The two friends read stories in their cozy fort.
- 🏊in a swimming pool
- 🏕️inside a blanket fort
- 🚏at a bus stop
🏕️ inside a blanket fort
Hint: The setting is where a story happens. Look for clues in the first sentence.
Question 3
Why did Noah and Zoe stay inside?
Noah and Zoe built a fort out of blankets.
They put pillows inside to make it soft.
Then it started to rain outside.
The two friends read stories in their cozy fort.
- 😢They had no friends
- ☀️It was sunny
- 🌧️It was raining
🌧️ It was raining
Hint: Read the third sentence to find what started outside.
Question 4
Tap what happened, from the beginning to the end.
Noah and Zoe built a fort out of blankets.
They put pillows inside to make it soft.
Then it started to rain outside.
The two friends read stories in their cozy fort.
- They read stories.
- They built a fort.
- They added pillows.
- It started to rain.
They built a fort. → They added pillows. → It started to rain. → They read stories.
Hint: Read the story again from the top. What happened first?
Question 5
Who is the main character in this story?
Ana's grandmother taught her how to bake bread.
They mixed flour, water and yeast.
The dough rose in a warm bowl.
Ana's whole family ate fresh bread for dinner.
- 🧑🌾a farmer
- 🍞a toaster
- 👧Ana
👧 Ana
Hint: The main character is who the story is mostly about.
Question 6
Where does this story happen? (the setting)
Ana's grandmother taught her how to bake bread.
They mixed flour, water and yeast.
The dough rose in a warm bowl.
Ana's whole family ate fresh bread for dinner.
- ⛵on a boat
- 🛝at a playground
- 🍳in a kitchen
🍳 in a kitchen
Hint: The setting is where a story happens. Look for clues in the first sentence.