Elements of Fiction Overview

The goal of our MITTEN project was to find an interesting and comprehensive way to teach the elements of fiction (i.e. setting, characters, plot, problem, resolution, and theme) to our third graders.  

We began by using the shared reading strategy of Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. This book was chosen because it is a Newberry Honor book, and we felt the content would be comforting to several students in our class. 

We started with a brief overview discussion using a transparency on the overhead. The transparency showed the elements of fiction in the form of a story map.  It was made using Kidspiration. As a class we discussed what each element of fiction meant.

In lesson one students used Kid Pix to create a setting from the book.  This lesson taught setting.  

In lesson two the students successfully used the "character traits" template from Kidspiration to map out the traits of any one of the characters from the book.  This lesson taught character traits.  

Prior to lesson three the grade students at Long helped to familiarize our 3rd graders with
story mapping on Kidspiration using a Dr. Seuss story.  Lesson three involved our students working cooperatively with a partner to create a story map of Because of Winn Dixie.  This lesson utilized all of the elements of fiction.  

For lesson four we decided to have a Because of Winn Dixie Friendship Party.  This party would be a recreation of the party setting that happened in the story.  The students used CardShop Plus to make invitations to send to people of different ages and from all different walks of life.  The party was an example of both setting and a reinforcement of the theme.

Our final lesson involved character analysis of our pet tortoise, Gwenivere.  We chose this activity because Gwen is our special school pet just as Winn-Dixie was India Opal's special pet in the story.  Students planned and assisted in the recording of short movie clips
which were then shown to the students in sequential order using a digital projector. Students watched the movies and wrote their own stories about a day in the life of Gwen using Appleworks. 

Upon the completion of our project, our students exhibited a strong understanding of the elements of fiction. 

Technology used in the lessons includes: Kidpix, Kidspiration, Appleworks, CardShop Plus, Kritter USB webcam, digital camera, digital image projector, a laptop computer, and desktop computers.