How to Teach Details of the Setting in Elements of Fiction or Short Stories

Elements of fiction and short stories in the Middle School English Language Arts classroom provide countless ways to teach, re-teach, and spiral some of the most-needed standards and skills. 

If you’ve felt overwhelmed or confused about what it means to teach details of the setting in works of fiction—as far as what to actually focus on, or what skills or concepts to teach—then you’re in the right place! 

Now if you need ideas for titles of short stories, check this out: 

Otherwise, let’s get into how to teach the importance of details of the setting, and what skills or standards within that to focus on: 

1. It’s not just knowing that plot consists of:

• Exposition (The time & place ~ the setting that we learn about)
  • Inciting Incident (a little incident or accident or situation that causes all the problems and all the drama throughout the rest of the story)
• Rising Action (Various problems, conflicts, and challenges that come next)
• Turning Point (The worst of the worst problem–there’s no going back!)
• Falling Action (The “fallout” or immediate results of the turning point)
• Resolution (The end, where loose ends are tied up or concluded)

For Middle Schoolers, details of the setting help them analyze the “how” behind how authors craft their stories. 

Think of it like this: 

^ Those are hypothetical questions, but the point is that the answer to those questions often will involve a close reading of the details in the short story’s setting. 

For Common Core, the 7th grade standard states that students must be able to “Analyze how particular elements of a story or drama interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters or plot).”

In another example, Texas TEKS for 7th grade states that students must be able to “Analyze how the setting influences character and plot development.” 

And the WAY we help our students do that is to help them learn to pay attention to the details of the setting AND to help guide them to make logical inferences about what they observe. 

But that’s tough when you’re not even sure how to articulate it yourself, much less if you’ve been “voluntold” to teach ELA this year after having taught math or something before. It happens!

2. It’s also knowing the role that setting plays in the development of the plot. The details of the setting are important for students to notice. The author puts them there for a reason. We see this in what we binge on Netflix because it’s what gives each scene its unique impression upon us. . . The way items are set up, organized, or positioned is all there for a reason. They subconsciously tell us a lot about the people in the scene, and they create the vibe of the scene, too. But in a short story, for instance, we have to rely on the descriptions or casual mentions of the author. 

3. The setting is arguably the MOST important part of a story. Whether you’re reading a story or writing one yourself, the setting actually DRIVES the action, the characters, and the conflicts.

4. Think about how a story could turn out completely different if just a few details in the setting changed.

5. EXAMPLE: Imagine a setting where it’s this year and you accidentally got separated from your family on vacation at the beach. You’d just text them or at least borrow a phone to text them. What else could you do?

Now imagine ^that same scenario—lost at the beach on a family vacation— 100 years ago. How would the plot change just by altering the time period by 100 years?

6. Here’s another one: Pretend you’re on vacation with your family and you get separated, but this time it’s December of this year. It’s snowing outside and you’re in the mountains on a hike. You’ve spent your whole life growing up in a big city. What would your options be? What could happen in a plot like this? 

Using the same scenario, how could things be different in the plot if the only thing we change in the story is that you’ve grown up in the mountains and your dad is a mountain man survivalist who taught you how to live off the land? How could the plot be totally different?

7. Here are a few snippets from YouTube I’ve used before to help students see and hear the importance of setting to the plot of a story: 

• A Fun Animation Showing How the Setting Impacts a Story
• Golden Fairy Tale Classics – Jack and the Beanstalk
• 15th Anniversary Special! – Simon’s Cat 

What I do with each of ^those video clips is I have students write and discuss –

How the setting (time & place) impact the following: 

And finally . . . From there, we’re ready to apply the same line of thinking and analyzing to just about any short story we want to move onto as a class. 

Get ALL the Elements of Fiction & Short Stories Resources You Need for Middle School ELA by clicking here for the Organized by Genre Essentials Bundle.