ELEMENTS OF FICTION
The main ingredients of a good story.
Grade 8
FOUR TYPES OF FICTION
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Historical Fiction – a made up story that uses real people,
events, or others things from the past.
Novel – A long work of fiction, contains many chapters.
Short Story – a short work of fiction, often with no chapters
or only a few chapters.
Novella – A work of fiction that is shorter than a novel, but
longer than a short story.
AUTHOR’S PURPOSE FOR WRITING
FICTION
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To Entertain
SETTING
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Time when the story occurs
May be specific – December 25th, 2013
 May be vague – A long time ago…
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Location where the story occurs
May be specific – NY City
 May be vague – The north woods
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POINT OF VIEW
First Person – a story is told by someone who is inside
the story.
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Uses I, me, myself
Second Person – a story is told by someone who is
outside the story, as if you were the main character of
the story.
Uses “you”
Example: “You go to the store and by yourself a coke when
the unthinkable happens…”
 Rare in literature, more common in songs or poetry.
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Third Person – the story is told by someone who is
outside of the story about characters who are in the
story.
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Uses they, he she
NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
Flashback – When a story jumps from the
present time to something that happened in the
past.
 Foreshadowing – A symbol or event that gives
a clue about something that will happen later on
in the story.
 Chronological order – When a story is told in
the order it actually happened.
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VIDEOS ON FORESHADOW, FLASHBACK
Foreshadowing – Garfield in Peace and Quiet
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPccL-0F4SQ
Flashback - Harry Potter
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5OfSami1jA
CHARACTERS
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Protagonist – The main character of a story
Antagonist – The character who causes the
conflict for the main character.
PLOT / CONFLICT STRUCTURE
Introduction- the beginning of a story, where
the author sets up the characters, and the setting
of the story.
 Rising Action – the conflict of the story starts to
develop
 Climax – the highest point of conflict in the story
 Falling Action – the conflict is starting to
decrease as the characters begin to solve their
problem.
 Resolution – the solving or elimination of the
conflict in the story.
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PLOT / CONFLICT MAP
Climax
Falling Action
Rising Action
CONFLICT!
Introduction
Resolution
VIDEO TO FIND PLOT STRUCTURE
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Matter and the Ghost Light
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Pixar DVD volume one
MAJOR TYPES OF CONFLICT
(THERE CAN BE OTHERS)
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Man vs. Man – The main character’s conflict is with
another character in the story.
Man vs. Self – The main character’s conflict is with
him/herself (emotions, conscience, decisions).
Man vs. Nature – The main character’s conflict is
with elements of the natural world (weather, wild
animals, landscapes).
Man vs. Society – The main character’s conflict is
with the way society or the community functions or
the things they believe in.
Man vs. Machine – The main character’s conflict is
with technology (any man made technology, not just
computers or robots)
Man vs. God – The main character’s conflict is with
God (agreeing or disagreeing with God, trying to
understand God)
GROUP WORK- DISCUSS:
1) WHAT TYPES OF CONFLICT DO YOU SEE IN
THE VIDEO? (THERE IS MORE THAN ONE
ANSWER)
2) WHAT CLUES IN THE VIDEO SUPPORT YOUR
ANSWER?
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Pixar – One Man Band
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xH8r7flfIm4
THEME
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The message about life that the story is trying to
communicate
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“Do your best”
“Never give up”
“You get what you deserve”
“Love hurts”
There are an infinite number of examples!
GROUP WORK- DISCUSS:
1) WHAT IS THE THEME OF THE VIDEO?
2) WHAT CLUES IN THE VIDEO SUPPORT
YOUR ANSWER?
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Pixar – For the Birds
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e70NIYIfiTc
TONE
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Describes the attitude of the author towards the
story.
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Formal vs. Informal
Familiar vs. Unfamiliar
Sarcastic vs. serious
Agreeable vs. Disagreeable
…and many others
GROUP WORK- DISCUSS:
1) WHAT IS THE TONE?
2) WHAT WORDS IN THE VIDEO DID YOU USE AS
A CLUE TO THE TONE?
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Walt Disney Bio
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hXsLTcgmLQ
The Dark Side of Disney (Videos 1 and 2, 16
minutes)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Anxoxx2KTNI&li
st=PLF9204977D56E8B78
GROUP WORK- DISCUSS:
1) WHAT IS THE TONE?
2) WHAT WORDS IN THE VIDEO DID YOU USE AS
A CLUE TO THE TONE?

Toy Story 3 Original Trailer
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNMpa5yBf5o
Toy Story 3 Horror Trailer Remix
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuJZ8kIISI4