Story Structure: Beginning, Middle, End
Aligned to RL.2.5 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
What this lesson teaches
Stories have a beginning that introduces characters, a middle with a problem, and an end that solves it.
Worked examples
Example 1
Beginning: a girl gets a new kite. Middle: it gets stuck in a tree. End: her brother helps get it down.
Example 2
Beginning: a boy finds a stray dog. Middle: no one claims it and his family cannot keep it. End: a neighbor adopts it and he visits every week.
Example 3
The middle is where the problem lives. A story with a beginning and an end but no problem in the middle is just a list of events.
Practice questions
- What is introduced at the beginning of a story?
- What problem happens in the middle?
- How is the problem solved at the end?
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 lessonEn español
Estructura de un cuento: principio, desarrollo y final
Los cuentos tienen un principio donde se presentan los personajes, un desarrollo con un problema y un final donde se resuelve.
Ejemplo 1: Principio: una niña recibe una cometa nueva. Desarrollo: se queda atorada en un árbol. Final: su hermano la ayuda a bajarla.
Ejemplo 2: Principio: un niño encuentra un perro callejero. Desarrollo: nadie lo reclama y su familia no se lo puede quedar. Final: una vecina lo adopta y él lo visita cada semana.
Ejemplo 3: El desarrollo es donde vive el problema. Un cuento con principio y final pero sin problema en medio es solo una lista de sucesos.
More Reading: Literature lessons
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