Story Structure

Select a picture book that the students are familiar with. Read the book to the students paying attention to both the text and the images. Discuss the story structure and the five elements that make a story: characters, setting, plot, conflict and resolution. Discuss how all of these components work together to tell the story. Ask the students to write down the five elements and identify them in relation to the book selected.

Illustrations

Look at the illustrations and discuss whether the words and images are symmetrical interactions or enhancing interactions. Ask the students to draw a picture from the book and decide if the picture tells the same story as the words, or if the picture tells more of the story than the words.

Narrative

Discuss narrative style and ask the students if the story that was read was written in first-person narrative, second-person narrative, third-person narrative or alternating-person narrative. It may be helpful to show students examples of each narrative style.

Book Covers

We are told that we should not judge a book by its cover, but we all do! Ask students to think about why a book cover is so important. Discuss what it is that a book cover does: such as telling the reader what the book is about, giving an example of the illustration style and setting the tone for the story inside the book. Explain what a synopsis is and ask students to write a synopsis for this book.

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