Story Structure Elements worksheet - Free Printable

Let's solve this step-by-step by analyzing both fictional passages and sorting the underlined words/phrases into the correct story elements: Characters, Setting, Problem, and Solution.

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🔍 Step 1: Understand the Story Elements

- Characters: The people or creatures in the story.
- Setting: The time and place where the story happens.
- Problem: A challenge or difficulty the character faces.
- Solution: How the problem is resolved.

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📖 Story 1: *The Fastest Rider in Town*

> Alicia was the fastest bike rider in town. No one could beat her in a race. She won every trophy. But one day, Alicia was riding at the park. She was speeding on the trail, and she put her head back to feel the wind on her face. Just then, her front tire hit a rock and her bike began to wobble. Alicia fell off her bike and landed on the sidewalk. Her knees were scraped and her elbow was hurt. Her friend helped her back on the bike, and they rode slowly and safely out of the park.

#### Underlined phrases:
- Alicia was riding at the park
- She was speeding on the trail
- her front tire hit a rock and her bike began to wobble
- Alicia fell off her bike and landed on the sidewalk
- Her knees were scraped and her elbow was hurt
- Her friend helped her back on the bike

Now sort them:

| Characters | Setting | Problem | Solution |
|----------------|-------------|-------------|--------------|
| Alicia | the park | her front tire hit a rock and her bike began to wobble → she fell and got hurt | Her friend helped her back on the bike, and they rode slowly and safely out of the park |

Wait — we need to only use underlined phrases. Let’s check which ones are underlined.

Looking at the original text (based on formatting), the underlined parts are likely:
- Alicia was riding at the park
- She was speeding on the trail
- her front tire hit a rock and her bike began to wobble
- Alicia fell off her bike and landed on the sidewalk
- Her knees were scraped and her elbow was hurt
- Her friend helped her back on the bike

So now let's classify each underlined phrase correctly:

- Alicia was riding at the park → Setting (tells us where)
- She was speeding on the trail → Setting (part of the location/activity)
- her front tire hit a rock and her bike began to wobble → Problem (the cause of trouble)
- Alicia fell off her bike and landed on the sidewalk → Problem (result of the issue)
- Her knees were scraped and her elbow was hurt → Problem (consequence)
- Her friend helped her back on the bike → Solution (how it was fixed)

But wait — characters aren't underlined. So how do we get "characters"?

Ah! We need to identify characters from the story. Even if not underlined, we can list them based on who appears.

So:

- Characters: Alicia, her friend
- Setting: the park, the trail
- Problem: Her bike hit a rock, she fell, got hurt
- Solution: Her friend helped her back on the bike and they rode safely

But the directions say: “sort the underlined words and phrases.” So only underlined parts go into the chart.

Let’s assume these are the underlined ones:

From *The Fastest Rider in Town*:
1. Alicia was riding at the park → Setting
2. She was speeding on the trail → Setting
3. her front tire hit a rock and her bike began to wobble → Problem
4. Alicia fell off her bike and landed on the sidewalk → Problem
5. Her knees were scraped and her elbow was hurt → Problem
6. Her friend helped her back on the bike → Solution

But “characters” must be listed too. Since none of the characters are underlined, perhaps we infer them.

Wait — maybe the names are not underlined, but the actions are. So we can write the characters separately.

Let’s look at the second story.

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📖 Story 2: *The Dictionary Kid*

> Caden knew how to spell big words, and he knew what the words meant. When he took the vocabulary test in class last week, he was the first kid in the class to finish. He turned it in quickly and didn't check his work.
> When the teacher told him his grade, Caden's face turned bright red. He had failed. She told him that he could retake it.
> Caden took his time and checked his work. When the teacher gave him his grade, it was a perfect score, just like he wanted.

Underlined phrases:
- He turned it in quickly and didn't check his work
- Caden's face turned bright red
- He had failed
- She told him that he could retake it
- Caden took his time and checked his work

Now sort these:

- He turned it in quickly and didn't check his work → Problem (why he failed)
- Caden's face turned bright red → Problem (shows reaction to failure)
- He had failed → Problem (the main issue)
- She told him that he could retake it → Solution (opportunity to fix it)
- Caden took his time and checked his work → Solution (what he did to fix it)

And characters: Caden, the teacher

Setting: class, last week (time and place)

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✔ Final Sorting Table

We now fill the chart with only the underlined phrases, sorted correctly.

| Characters | Setting | Problem | Solution |
|----------------|-------------|-------------|--------------|
| Alicia, her friend<br>Caden, the teacher | the park, the trail<br>class, last week | her front tire hit a rock and her bike began to wobble<br>Alicia fell off her bike and landed on the sidewalk<br>Her knees were scraped and her elbow was hurt<br>He turned it in quickly and didn't check his work<br>Caden's face turned bright red<br>He had failed | Her friend helped her back on the bike<br>She told him that he could retake it<br>Caden took his time and checked his work |

But wait — the characters are not underlined, so we can’t include them in the table unless they’re underlined. But the instructions say: “sort the underlined words and phrases.”

So only underlined items go in the table.

Therefore, the Characters column should only include names if they are underlined. But looking at the passage, no names are underlined.

So perhaps the characters are inferred, and we list them separately.

But the worksheet has a blank for Characters — so we can still write them in.

Let’s re-read the directions: “sort the underlined words and phrases into the correct column of the chart.”

So only underlined things go in the chart.

So:

- Characters: Not underlined → cannot be placed in chart, but we can list them as part of understanding.
- Setting: Only underlined setting phrases go here.
- Problem: Underlined problem phrases.
- Solution: Underlined solution phrases.

So final chart entries:

| Characters | Setting | Problem | Solution |
|----------------|-------------|-------------|--------------|
| (not underlined) | Alicia was riding at the park<br>She was speeding on the trail | her front tire hit a rock and her bike began to wobble<br>Alicia fell off her bike and landed on the sidewalk<br>Her knees were scraped and her elbow was hurt | Her friend helped her back on the bike |
| | He turned it in quickly and didn't check his work<br>Caden's face turned bright red<br>He had failed | She told him that he could retake it<br>Caden took his time and checked his work |

Wait — but the chart has four columns and two stories. It seems designed to have both stories' elements in the same table.

So we need to combine both stories’ underlined phrases into the appropriate columns.

Final Answer:

| Characters | Setting | Problem | Solution |
|----------------|-------------|-------------|--------------|
| Alicia, her friend<br>Caden, the teacher | Alicia was riding at the park<br>She was speeding on the trail<br>class, last week | her front tire hit a rock and her bike began to wobble<br>Alicia fell off her bike and landed on the sidewalk<br>Her knees were scraped and her elbow was hurt<br>He turned it in quickly and didn't check his work<br>Caden's face turned bright red<br>He had failed | Her friend helped her back on the bike<br>She told him that he could retake it<br>Caden took his time and checked his work |

But again — only underlined phrases should be in the table.

So the Characters column cannot contain underlined phrases, so it might be left blank — but that doesn’t make sense.

Alternatively, perhaps the names are not underlined, but we are allowed to list characters based on context.

Given that the worksheet asks to “sort the underlined words and phrases,” and characters aren’t underlined, we may only fill in the other three columns with underlined content.

But the Characters column is empty — so we must list the characters.

Best interpretation: The Characters column is for naming the people, even if not underlined. The rest are for underlined phrases.

So:

✔ Final Chart:

| Characters | Setting | Problem | Solution |
|----------------|-------------|-------------|--------------|
| Alicia, her friend<br>Caden, the teacher | Alicia was riding at the park<br>She was speeding on the trail<br>class, last week | her front tire hit a rock and her bike began to wobble<br>Alicia fell off her bike and landed on the sidewalk<br>Her knees were scraped and her elbow was hurt<br>He turned it in quickly and didn't check his work<br>Caden's face turned bright red<br>He had failed | Her friend helped her back on the bike<br>She told him that he could retake it<br>Caden took his time and checked his work |

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⭐ Think About It!

How were the characters the same in both stories?

Both characters:
- Are students (Alicia is a kid, Caden is a student)
- Are skilled in something (Alicia is fast on a bike, Caden knows big words)
- Face a problem due to rushing (Alicia speeds, Caden turns in quickly without checking)
- Learn from their mistake (Alicia rides safely after, Caden checks his work)
- Have a positive outcome because of help or effort

Answer:
The characters were the same because they both faced a problem because they rushed, and they both learned to slow down and fix their mistakes, leading to a better outcome.

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✔ Final Answer Summary:

#### Chart:

| Characters | Setting | Problem | Solution |
|----------------|-------------|-------------|--------------|
| Alicia, her friend<br>Caden, the teacher | Alicia was riding at the park<br>She was speeding on the trail<br>class, last week | her front tire hit a rock and her bike began to wobble<br>Alicia fell off her bike and landed on the sidewalk<br>Her knees were scraped and her elbow was hurt<br>He turned it in quickly and didn't check his work<br>Caden's face turned bright red<br>He had failed | Her friend helped her back on the bike<br>She told him that he could retake it<br>Caden took his time and checked his work |

#### Think About It!
The characters were the same because they both made a mistake due to rushing, faced consequences, and learned to take time and care to succeed.