Washington, D.C. - Lesson 3.01:
The Components of a Children's Short Story

• Introduction
• Protagonists and Antagonists
• Timeline of Events
• Using Dialogue
• Task

Following successful completion of this lesson, students will be able to: Learn the components of a Children's Short Story.

Introduction

In the previous unit, we learned the four basic components of short stories:

• Exposition – The beginning of the story where the characters and setting are revealed to the reader.

• Conflict – This is one of the most important parts of the plot.  The conflict is simply the struggle between opposing forces.  This conflict could be either external or internal.  An example of an external conflict is man vs man.  An example of an internal conflict is man vs himself.

• Climax – This is the highest point of action in a story.  The reader wonders if the conflict will be resolved, or not.  The climax is the highest point of action in the story, or the turning point in the plot.

• Resolution – This is the final outcome of the story or the way the events unfolded.

Next, we are going to add to this list by learning what makes children's short stories unique from other short stories. At the end of this lesson, you are going to write a classic children's short story that features a protagonist and an antagonist.  You may choose to have your short story set in the city of Washington D.C., but you are not limited to that city as a setting location.