Curriculum › Grade 1 › English Language Arts

Who, Where, What Happens

  • Grade 1
  • English Language Arts
  • RL.1.3
  • Reading: Literature
  • Free lesson

Aligned to RL.1.3 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.

What this lesson teaches

Every story has characters (who), a setting (where), and events (what happens). We can tell about all three.

Worked examples

Example 1

A cat named Pip sat on a warm rug. Then Pip chased a red ball. Pip is the character, the rug is the setting, and chasing is the event.

Example 2

A boy named Theo waited at a bus stop. Then the bus splashed him. Theo is the character, the bus stop is the setting, the splash is the event.

Example 3

The setting can change. Theo starts at the bus stop and ends up at school — two settings in one short story.

Practice questions

  1. Name one character in a story you like.
  2. Tell where the story takes place.
  3. Tell one big thing the character did.

Watch the lesson

Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.

▶ Watch this lesson

En español

Quién, Dónde, Qué Pasa

Cada cuento tiene personajes (quién), un lugar (dónde) y sucesos (qué pasa). Podemos contar los tres.

Ejemplo 1: Una gata llamada Pip se sentó en una alfombra calientita. Luego Pip persiguió una pelota roja. Pip es el personaje, la alfombra es el lugar y perseguir es el suceso.

Ejemplo 2: Un niño llamado Teo esperaba en la parada del autobús. Luego el autobús lo salpicó. Teo es el personaje, la parada es el lugar, la salpicada es el suceso.

Ejemplo 3: El lugar puede cambiar. Teo empieza en la parada y acaba en la escuela — dos lugares en un cuento corto.

More Reading: Literature lessons

Retelling Stories and the Central MessageRL.1.2Who? What? Where?RL.1.1Feeling WordsRL.1.4Story or Facts?RL.1.5Who Is Talking?RL.1.6Look at the PictureRL.1.7

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