Subject: ESL
Setting
Background Information & Activities
Setting is the time and place in which a story occurs. A setting of a story, poem, or play can be anchored to a specific time and place, such as on the Oregon Trail in the 1800s, or it can be fictitious, such as a faraway kingdom or in outer space. Whether or not the location is real or fantastical, characters interact with the setting to show and tell a story. We recommend watching the Character movie together as a review.
Most stories have several settings. In Homer’s The Odyssey, the main character goes through a journey filled with obstacles and danger in order to return home to his family. The setting constantly changes and the characters are forced to confront and adapt to these changes. Other stories, such as fables, have one setting in which the characters grow and change. Encourage your child to point out different settings as he or she reads.
One important element of setting is time. The period of time in which a story takes place dictates how the characters act, talk, react to each other, or even travel. For example, a story that takes place in the South today would be drastically different from a story that takes place in the South in the early 1800s.
Encourage your children to think about setting whenever they read or write. How might the story be different if the setting were changed? Setting contributes not only to the plot, but also to the mood. For example, the setting of a story about vampires could be an old, dark mansion tucked away in a foggy bayou. This setting lends an air of suspense and uneasiness to the plot and characters. If the setting were the busy streets of New York City, there would be a different mood.
Many authors might not explicitly tell the reader about the setting. Readers must use clues to infer the time and place. Encourage your children to look for clues about the setting as they read. How do the characters travel? How do they dress? How do they talk? Encourage your children to ask questions as they read, an important step to reading well.
Setting Teacher Activities
What might happen?
Together with the class, read and discuss a fairy tale or fable, such as “The Three Little Pigs.” How might the story be different if it took place in a different time or place? What if the three little pigs lived in different types of houses? What if the story took place in the distant future? What might change? What might stay the same? Lead a discussion and write students’ ideas on the board or have students write their ideas in their notebooks.
To extend the activity, have students write or act out their own modified fairy tale or fable. Students can write their stories and illustrate them to create a book or they can break up into groups and perform their story in front of the class.
Setting Improv
Explain to students that improv is a form of comedy in which actors and actresses create skits off the top of their heads. Many improv shows begin with a specific time and place, which is agreed upon by audience members. Some improv shows may also begin with specific characters in a situation. For example, one idea might be The Boy Who Cried Wolf and his mother going to the grocery store together. Invite volunteers to come up and do improv comedy in front of the class. Other students can be audience members and call out ideas or you can put ideas in a hat or box to draw from.
To change up the activity, you can add twists to the improv sketches. For example, you can call out “Freeze!” right in the middle of a sketch and then name a different situation in which the actors and actresses must adapt to or students can yell “Freeze!” and tag out one of the actors or actresses to finish off the scene.
Setting Skit
Settings can inspire people to write. Together with the class, pick one setting, such as a haunted house, old castle, circus, farm, or park. Then break the students up into small groups and have each group create a skit that works in the setting. Encourage them to be creative when they write a script or story in which the characters interact with the setting. Each group can then draw or paint a backdrop for their skit and collect or make props as needed. Then have students perform their skits in front of the class. Students will be able to see how different stories can occur in the same setting and how characters can react differently to the same setting.
Art Connection
Paintings offer rich settings that can spark some imaginative storytelling. Find a reproduction of a painting that has a detailed setting, like a landscape. Post the picture in a place where all students can see it (or provide a different picture for each table of students.) Ask students to come up with a story that takes place in the setting they are viewing. Depending on their abilities, students can tell their partners their stories or write them down. Be sure to save room for some share time as these are bound to be creative!
Setting Family Activities
On the Set
If possible, take your child to see a play or musical. Check your local listings for productions of plays or musicals at community centers, local theaters, area junior high and high schools, or even elementary schools. After the performance, discuss the setting with your child. When and where did the play take place? What clues did your child use to find out about the setting? Why is the setting important to the play? What might have happened if the setting were different?
Puppet Show
Have your child perform a puppet show for friends and family. First help your child pick a story and find puppets or dolls to use as characters. You’re your child write a script under your guidance. How many settings will be in the puppet show? What should the setting look like? Encourage your child to make sketches or create lists to design his or her sets. Then have your child create the sets by decorating cardboard boxes. You can add a curtain to the set by draping a towel or cloth napkin over the boxes.
Setting Memory Game
Create several flash cards with descriptions of settings on one card and the name or picture of a character on another. For example, one card might describe a castle and a pumpkin carriage, while the other card might have a picture and name of Cinderella. Your child can match the setting to the character and then create more cards to add to the game. As your child matches up each pair of cards, ask him or her how she knows that the two go together.
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