Year 3 English: Planning a story: setting, characters and plot
Part of the Year 3 English writing stories chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Planning a story: setting, characters and plot
Writers plan a story before they write it. A plan has four parts:
- The setting is where and when the story happens.
- The characters are the people or animals in the story.
- The problem is what goes wrong.
- The resolution is how the problem is put right.
The plot is the order of the events in a story. It builds from the problem to the resolution. The table shows a plan for The Lost Kite, which you will read in section 10.2.
| Part of the plan | Question it answers | The Lost Kite |
|---|---|---|
| Setting | Where and when does it happen? | A windy Saturday in a park |
| Characters | Who is in the story? | Ruby (the main character), Kofi (her friend) and Mrs Hall (the park keeper) |
| Problem | What goes wrong? | The kite is tangled in a tree |
| Resolution | How is the problem put right? | Mrs Hall lifts the kite free with a long pole |
Key ideas
- A story plan has a setting, characters, a problem and a resolution.
- The setting tells the reader where and when the story happens.
- A character is a person or an animal in the story.
- The plot is the order of the events, from the problem to the resolution.
- A story needs a problem, or there is nothing for the reader to wonder about.
Method. Find the words that tell where the story happens.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: setting.setting
- Find the words in the text that answer it. The text says:In a quiet village by the sea
- Write the answer. In a quiet village by the sea
Check. The words tell us where the boat is kept. ✓
Method. Find the people who do the action.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: characters.characters
- Find the words in the text that answer it. The text says:Leo and his grandad
- Write the answer. Leo and his grandad
Check. Leo and his grandad are the people who built the sandcastle. ✓
Method. Find what goes wrong, then find how it is put right.
- Find the problem. A problem is what goes wrong: the bike had a flat tyre.Tom's bike had a flat tyre
- Find the resolution. The resolution is how it is put right: his dad pumped the tyre up.His dad pumped the tyre up
- Write the answer. Problem: a flat tyre. Resolution: his dad pumped the tyre up.
Check. Tom can race once the tyre is pumped up. ✓
Watch out. The resolution does not have to be perfect; it must put right the problem.
Watch out
Watch out: a problem is not the same as a description. "The park was big" is a setting, not a problem. "The kite was stuck in the tree" is a problem.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Ask your child to tell you the setting, the characters, the problem and the resolution of a favourite story, in that order. Then ask them to plan one new story in the same four parts.
Exercise 10A Practice: planning a story
Method. Find the words that tell when.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: when.when
- Find the words in the text that answer it. The text says:On a cold winter morning
- Write the answer. On a cold winter morning
Check. The words say when the walk happened. ✓
Method. Find the people in the sentence.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: characters.characters
- Find the words in the text that answer it. The text says:Leo and his grandad
- Write the answer. Leo and his grandad
Check. Leo and his grandad are the characters. ✓
Method. Find the place where the fox is.
- Find the key words in the question. These words tell us where to look: setting.setting
- Find the words in the text that answer it. The text says:the dark forest
- Write the answer. the dark forest (also accept: the forest)
Check. The fox is in the dark forest. ✓
Method. Look for what goes wrong.
- Find what goes wrong. The bike had a flat tyre, so it cannot race well.had a flat tyre
- Name the problem. The problem is the flat tyre.a flat tyre
- Write the answer. a flat tyre
Check. The flat tyre is the problem. ✓
Watch out. Also accept: a flat tyre just before the race.
Method. Think about the order of the plot.
- Find the first event. The story starts with the kite flying high.The kite flew high above the trees.
- Find the problem. Next, the kite is caught in a tree: this is the problem.The kite was caught in a tree.
- Find the resolution. Last, the kite is put right, so this is the resolution.Mrs Hall lifted the kite free.
- Write the answer. The kite flew high above the trees. The kite was caught in a tree. Mrs Hall lifted the kite free.
Check. The problem comes before the resolution. ✓
Method. Think about how the problem could be put right.
- Think about the problem. The fox wants the grapes but cannot reach them.cannot reach the grapes
- Think about a way to put it right. The fox can jump higher, or give up and go home.jump higher; give up
- Write the answer. Accept any sensible resolution, for example: The fox jumped higher and ate the grapes. Also accept: The fox gave up and walked home.
Check. The resolution puts the problem right. ✓
Method. A setting has a place and a time.
- Choose a place. The story needs somewhere the puppy could be lost.a busy market
- Choose a time. The time tells the reader when the story happens.on a Saturday morning
- Write the answer. Accept any place and time, for example: a busy market on a Saturday morning.
Check. A place and a time make a setting. ✓
Method. A character is a person or an animal in the story.
- Think about each word. Forest, shop and field are places, so they are settings.forest; shop; field
- Find the person. Kofi is a name for a person, so Kofi is a character.Kofi
- Write the answer. Kofi
Check. Only Kofi is a person. ✓
Method. Think about what keeps a reader reading.
- Think about the reader. A reader wants to know how the problem will end.how the problem will end
- Think about the plot. The plot moves from the problem to the resolution.problem to resolution
- Write the answer. Accept any: so the reader wants to find out what happens next, and the plot has something to solve.
Check. Without a problem there is no plot to follow. ✓
Watch out. Also accept: so there is something for the characters to put right.
Method. Check the plan against the four parts.
- Check the parts. The plan has a setting and characters, but not a problem or a resolution.missing: problem, resolution
- Decide. Without a problem and a resolution there is no plot, so the plan is not complete.not complete
- Write the answer. No. Accept any answer that says a plan needs a problem and a resolution to make a plot.
Check. A complete plan has all four parts. ✓
Method. Write one labelled line for each part.
- Write the setting and the character. The story needs a place, a time and a person.a windy playground; Sam
- Write the problem and the resolution. The problem is what goes wrong, and the resolution puts it right.hat blows away; friend catches it
- Write the answer. Accept any plan with four labelled lines, for example: Setting: a windy playground at school. Character: Sam. Problem: Sam's hat blows away. Resolution: Sam's friend catches it.
Check. Each of the four parts has its own line. ✓