1. KickStarter – 9/16
Please pick up one of the “Short Story Vocab” packets in the front.
THEN
Write a (very) short fictional story about anything. 5-7 sentences.

2. 7th Grade English Language Arts
Elements of a Short Story
Ms. Roussin
7th Grade English Language Arts

3. Definition of a Short Story
Tells about a single event or experience
Fictional (not true)
500 to 15,000 words in length OR usually short enough to read in one sitting
It has a beginning, middle, and end
Creates an impression on the reader

4. Some Elements of a Short Story
Character
Setting
Plot
Conflict
Theme
Mood
Tone
Point of View
Foreshadowing
Style
Symbol
Irony

5. Short Story Vocabulary
Character: The person, animal, or thing that “acts as a person”
Can you think of a cartoon that has an unusual character?
How many characters do you see?

6. Short Story Vocabulary
PROTAGONIST:
The main character
in a story
ANTAGONIST:
The character
who opposes
the protagonist
A groovy example

7. Short Story Vocabulary
STATIC: A
character who
stays the same
during the story
DYNAMIC:
A character
who changes
2 Very different brothers

8. Short Story Vocabulary
SETTING: Tells the reader where and when the story takes place. Setting often creates mood.
“During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country.”
“The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe
What kind of a mood does this setting create?

9. Short Story Vocabulary
Plot: A series of events through which the writer reveals what is happening, to whom, and why
A familiar plot

10. Short Story Vocabulary
Exposition: the start of the story-- which includes character and setting
Sets up the story to be told

11. Short Story Vocabulary
Rising Action: the series of conflicts leading to the climax

12. Short Story Vocabulary
Climax:
When the action comes to the HIGHEST
POINT
of conflict

13. Short Story Vocabulary
Falling Action:
All of the action
which follows
the climax and leads to the resolution

14. Short Story Vocabulary
Resolution: The end or “conclusion” of the story where the problems are
solved
also called dénouement

15. Short Story Vocabulary
Conflict: the struggle between two forces in a story. Without conflict, there is
no plot.

16. Short Story Vocabulary
TYPES of Conflict Person vs. Person Person vs. Nature Person vs. Self Person vs. Society

17. Person vs. Person Stop Early

18. Person vs. Self Be you...or not

19. Person vs. Nature Jaws

20. Person vs. Society Rosa Parks

21. Short Story Vocabulary
Theme: The central idea or “message” of the story.
What is the theme of this classic story?

22. Short Story Vocabulary
Mood: the feeling you get in a story or the emotion you get while reading

23. Short Story Vocabulary
Tone: The writer’s attitude as revealed
through the writer’s words
These men are drinking pop.

24. Madam and the Rent Man
The rent man knocked. He said, Howdy-do? I said, What Can I do for you? He said, You know Your rent is due. I said, Listen Before I’d pay I would rather Rot away!
The sink is broke, The water don’t run, And you ain’t done a thing You promised to’ve done.
Back window’s cracked, Kitchen floor squeaks, There’s rats in the cellar, And the attic leaks.
He said, Madam,
It’s not up to me.
I’m just the agent,
Don’t you see?
I said, Naturally,
You pass the buck.
If it’s money you want
You’re out of luck.
I ain’t pleased!
I said, me neither
So we agrees.
Mood: nervous and afraid like something is about to happen
Tone: mad, angry, sarcastic

25. Short Story Vocabulary
Point of view: narrator who is telling the story

26. Short Story Vocabulary
1st Person
Point of View:
The narrator tells the story using “I”
“I told Snoopy that there
was nothing better than a
day at the lake.”

27. Short Story Vocabulary
3rd Person Limited
Point of View:
The narrator tells
the story like a
reporter
(he, she, they…)
They sat on the dock and looked out at the calm blue water.

28. Short Story Vocabulary
Omniscient
Point of View:
The narrator is
all knowing and
can enter the minds
of the characters
“Charlie Brown was enchanted
by the calm blue water while
Snoopy dreamed of the fish
that got away.”
The narrator is an all-knowing outsider who can enter the minds of more than one of
the characters.

29. Short Story Vocabulary
Foreshadowing: a hint or clue of what is
to come

30. Short Story Vocabulary
Flashback:
A scene in the story
that goes back to a
previous event or
memory
Skip 32 seconds in

31. Short Story Vocabulary
Style: the way a writer writes

32. Short Story Vocabulary
Symbol
A symbol has meaning in itself but also has another level of meaning. Think of a symbol as a word that has a dictionary meaning and also a second meaning that represents something deeper.

33. Short Story Vocabulary
A journey might be a symbol for life.
Water might be a symbol for a new beginning.
Black can represent evil or death.
A lion might be a symbol of courage.

34. Short Story Vocabulary
Irony:
when a twist or
the opposite of
what is expected
occurs

35. SHORT STORIES Great writers are able to use the literary
elements with such precision that the
reader is caught up in the action of the
story. This is a mark of a great story!