Setting Plot

The setting of a story is:

• Time and place where the action occurs

• Character changes by the end of the story

• Interrupt the normal sequence of events to tell about something that happened in the past (or future)

• Story is written the order the events actually occurred

Setting can symbolize, or stand for, other elements of a story. For example, when setting changes, a character might change. Setting can also symbolize what a character is feeling in a particular scene. Setting can also help us understand the choices that characters make.
Read the following passage:
Gilberto had been excited to go to the beach but when he got there and saw how crowded it was, he became annoyed. The sun twinkled in the sky, a warm yellow globe. The sound of the ocean drummed in his ears and the sand itched his ankles and feet. Beside him, his sister slurped loudly on an ice cream cone. “Could you not?” Gilberto asked.
Which detail about the setting tells us that Gilberto is annoyed?

• “The sound of the ocean drummed in his ears and the sand itched his ankles and feet.”

• “The sun twinkled in the sky, a warm yellow globe.”

• “Beside him, his sister slurped loudly on an ice cream cone.”

• “Gilberto had been excited to go to the beach...”

What is the setting of the passage below?

• winter in a train station of a busy city

• a hospital in the future

• a summer morning in a castle

• a grocery store in the 1980s

In the passage below, what can you infer about Randolph using clues from the setting?

• Randolph is a mean person.

• Randolph is a prince or king.

• Randolph has an older sister.

• The setting doesn’t give us any clues about Randolph.

If the passage below were set at Lena’s birthday party, what could you infer?

Lena laughed loudly. “I can’t believe you did that!” she said, smiling.

• Lena might have received an unexpected present.

• Lena might be a very selfish character.

• Lena might be mad at her best friend.

• Lena might be talking to her uncle.

In the passage below, what can you infer about the setting of the story? When the men reached Oregon, they stepped out of their wagons and embraced. The journey was long and dangerous, but they made it. Soon, their families would follow their trail in their own wagons, leaving their homes in the East to meet them in this brand new land: the West.

• The story might take place on a different planet.

• The story might take place in the past.

• The story might take place in a desert.

• We can't make any inferences about the setting from this passage.

While no one was looking, Dana took a piece of candy out of her brother's lunchbox and put it in her pocket.

What might this character do next?

• Find a place to eat the candy.

• Take out her sandwich and sit down.

• Ask her mom to have lunch with her.

Plot is:

•  Hint/clue about what might happen later in the story

•  A feeling of excitement of tension

• Describes the events happening within a story

• A person (or animal) in a story

What is the primary function of the setting in a story?

• To establish the time and place of the story

• To introduce the main character

• To create conflict

• To resolve the plot

Which of the following best describes the relationship between setting and plot?

• Setting is irrelevant to the plot

• Setting can influence the plot's development

• Plot determines the setting

• Setting and plot are the same