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Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters or plot).
Standard #: LAFS.7.RL.1.3Archived Standard
Standard Information
General Information
Subject Area: English Language Arts
Grade: 7
Strand: Reading Standards for Literature
Cluster: Key Ideas and Details
Date Adopted or Revised: 12/10
Content Complexity Rating: Level 3: Strategic Thinking & Complex Reasoning - More Information
Date of Last Rating: 02/14
Status: State Board Approved - Archived
Assessed: Yes
Related Courses
Related Resources
Lesson Plans
  • Analyzing Themes and Story Elements in the Classic Love Story, "Pyramus and Thisbe" #

    "Pyramus and Thisbe" is a tragic love story in which two lovers are separated by forces seemingly beyond their control. This lesson guides students through an analysis of the story elements and how they function together to create a theme. A plot diagram helps students to analyze this classic story after the teacher models analysis using the familiar children’s story, Cinderella. Students will write a response analyzing how the plot elements and symbols develop the story's themes.

  • One Wicked Walrus, a Careless Carpenter, and Oblivious Oysters # This is lesson two in a three-part series on "The Walrus and the Carpenter" by Lewis Carroll. Students will analyze how the setting and character attributes develop the plot.
  • Characterization and Social Media # This lesson guides students as they analyze character development in the literature they have read, and then develop a Facebook page based on one of the characters.
  • Close Reading Exemplar: As You Like It # The goal of this two day exemplar is to give students the opportunity to use the reading and writing habits they've been practicing on a regular basis to unpack the meaning of Jacques' soliloquy from William Shakespeare's As You Like It. By reading and rereading the passage closely and focusing their reading through a series of questions and discussion about the text, students will be able to understand the structure and purpose of this particular soliloquy and how it delves into universal themes regarding the human condition. When combined with writing about the soliloquy, students will discover how much they can learn from even a very short selection of a text.
  • "A Retrieved Reformation" by O. Henry -Comparing Themes # Students will read O. Henry's "A Retrieved Reformation" and an additional O. Henry selection to compare the themes of love and redemption. They will identify supporting details of the themes in each text and use them to support their analysis in a short written response.
  • Literary Analysis of "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" and Narrative Writing Activity # In this lesson, students will be able to analyze how Rudyard Kipling uses theme and short story elements to create the classic story, "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi." Students will engage in various pre-reading activities to scaffold background knowledge, vocabulary, and ability to identify theme. Working in cooperative groups will allow students to discuss and evaluate their learning in a non-threatening environment. At the conclusion of the lesson, students will write an original narrative using what they learned in this lesson to create their own story.
  • Jabberwocky - Is it all a bunch of nonsense? # Students will read and analyze the poem "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll as they focus on how the nonsense words and use of figurative language create tone and meaning. They will use context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases and explore how Carroll’s use of figurative language affects the tone.
  • Close Reading Exemplar: Tom Sawyer # The goal of this one day exemplar is to give students the opportunity to use the reading and writing habits they've been practicing on a regular basis to discover the rich humor and moral lesson embedded in Twain's text. By reading and rereading the passage closely, and focusing their reading through a series of questions and discussion about the text, students will explore the problem Tom Sawyer faced and how he "solved" his conundrum. When combined with writing about the passage, students will learn to appreciate how Twain's humor contains a deeper message and derive satisfaction from the struggle to master complex text. At the end of the lesson, students are provided two writing prompts to constructive a narrative inspired by Twain's text.
  • Setting and Plot in "The Devil's Arithmetic" # Students will have read chapter 1 of The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen. Throughout the reading of chapters 2-4, students will analyze why and how the setting supports characterization and plot development.
Original Student Tutorials
  • In the Driver's Seat: Character Interactions in Little Women # Study excerpts from the classic American novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott in this interactive English Language Arts tutorial. Using excerpts from chapter eight of Little Women, you'll identify key characters and their actions. You'll also explain how interactions between characters contributes to the development of the plot. 
  • Analyzing Setting, Plot, & Character Development in “To Build a Fire” # Learn to analyze the interaction among setting, character development, and plot using the classic short story "To Build a Fire." Examine how a story's setting frames the events of the entire story with this interactive tutorial.
  • The Power to Cure or Impair: The Importance of Setting in "The Yellow Wallpaper" -- Part One # Learn to identify aspects of setting and character as you analyze several excerpts from “The Yellow Wallpaper," a chilling short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman that explores the impact on its narrator of being confined to mostly one room. You'll also determine how the narrator’s descriptions of the story’s setting better reveal her emotional and mental state. This interactive tutorial is Part One in a two-part series. By the end of Part Two, you should be able to explain how the narrator changes through her interaction with the setting. Click below to launch Part Two. The Power to Cure or Impair: The Importance of Setting in 'The Yellow Wallpaper' -- Part Two 
  • The Power to Cure or Impair: The Importance of Setting in "The Yellow Wallpaper" -- Part Two # Continue to examine several excerpts from the chilling short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, which explores the impact on its narrator of being confined to mostly one room. In Part Two of this tutorial series, you'll determine how the narrator’s descriptions of the story’s setting reveal its impact on her emotional and mental state. By the end of this tutorial, you should be able to explain how the narrator changes through her interaction with the setting. Make sure to complete Part One before beginning Part Two. Click HERE to launch "The Power to Cure or Impair: The Importance of Setting in 'The Yellow Wallpaper' -- Part One." 
  • Analyzing the Beginning of The Red Umbrella – Part Two: How Setting Influences Characters # Continue to examine how setting influences characters in excerpts from The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez with this interactive tutorial. This is part 2 in a two-part series. Make sure to complete Part One first. Click HERE to launch "Analyzing the Beginning of The Red Umbrella -- Part One: How Setting Influences Events." 
  • Analyzing the Beginning of The Red Umbrella – Part One: How Setting Influences Events # Explore excerpts from the beginning of the historical fiction novel The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez in this two-part series. In Part One, you'll examine how setting influences events. In Part Two, you'll examine how setting influences characters. Make sure to complete both parts! Click HERE to launch Part Two.
  • How Setting Develops Character in Little Women # Examine how the story elements of plot, setting, and character interact in an excerpt from the novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott with this interactive tutorial.   
Teaching Ideas
  • Active Reading through Self Assessment # This activity aids students' reading comprehension and is an investigation of meaning in any short story through peer collaboration. Students work independently to choose quotations that exemplify significant events of the text, come to a consensus about the quotations' significance in collaborative groups, and then formulate analytical quiz questions for peers to answer. A final reflection writing ties all parts of the activity together at the end.
  • Doodle Splash Using Graphics to Discuss Literature # Students read a short story of high interest and doodle in either a journal or using an online tool, responding in images, symbols, shapes, and colors. Students have to include the plot, characters, point of view, and theme. Then students work in small groups to construct graphics for the story. Each group then presents to the class. The presentations can be displayed on a class bulletin board or scanned into a Web page.
Unit/Lesson Sequence
  • Petey: Overcoming Adversity # Petey is the story of a man who was born with cerebral palsy in 1922 and lived in institutions his entire life. In this unit, students will learn about important challenges individuals with severe disabilities may face and the importance of regarding persons with disabilities with respect and dignity as they cite textual evidence to support analysis of the text, analyze how particular elements of a story interact, and write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and evidence.
Original Student Tutorials for Language Arts - Grades 6-12
  • Analyzing Setting, Plot, & Character Development in “To Build a Fire” # Learn to analyze the interaction among setting, character development, and plot using the classic short story "To Build a Fire." Examine how a story's setting frames the events of the entire story with this interactive tutorial.
  • Analyzing the Beginning of The Red Umbrella – Part One: How Setting Influences Events # Explore excerpts from the beginning of the historical fiction novel The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez in this two-part series. In Part One, you'll examine how setting influences events. In Part Two, you'll examine how setting influences characters. Make sure to complete both parts! Click HERE to launch Part Two.
  • Analyzing the Beginning of The Red Umbrella – Part Two: How Setting Influences Characters # Continue to examine how setting influences characters in excerpts from The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez with this interactive tutorial. This is part 2 in a two-part series. Make sure to complete Part One first. Click HERE to launch "Analyzing the Beginning of The Red Umbrella -- Part One: How Setting Influences Events." 
  • How Setting Develops Character in Little Women # Examine how the story elements of plot, setting, and character interact in an excerpt from the novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott with this interactive tutorial.   
  • In the Driver's Seat: Character Interactions in Little Women # Study excerpts from the classic American novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott in this interactive English Language Arts tutorial. Using excerpts from chapter eight of Little Women, you'll identify key characters and their actions. You'll also explain how interactions between characters contributes to the development of the plot. 
  • The Power to Cure or Impair: The Importance of Setting in "The Yellow Wallpaper" -- Part One # Learn to identify aspects of setting and character as you analyze several excerpts from “The Yellow Wallpaper," a chilling short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman that explores the impact on its narrator of being confined to mostly one room. You'll also determine how the narrator’s descriptions of the story’s setting better reveal her emotional and mental state. This interactive tutorial is Part One in a two-part series. By the end of Part Two, you should be able to explain how the narrator changes through her interaction with the setting. Click below to launch Part Two. The Power to Cure or Impair: The Importance of Setting in 'The Yellow Wallpaper' -- Part Two 
  • The Power to Cure or Impair: The Importance of Setting in "The Yellow Wallpaper" -- Part Two # Continue to examine several excerpts from the chilling short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, which explores the impact on its narrator of being confined to mostly one room. In Part Two of this tutorial series, you'll determine how the narrator’s descriptions of the story’s setting reveal its impact on her emotional and mental state. By the end of this tutorial, you should be able to explain how the narrator changes through her interaction with the setting. Make sure to complete Part One before beginning Part Two. Click HERE to launch "The Power to Cure or Impair: The Importance of Setting in 'The Yellow Wallpaper' -- Part One." 
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