Elements of Story
Each story that your students decide to tell will be different and they all don’t need to
conform to a basic story outline with plot, rising action, and a conclusion. Some stories
may be shaped by all the elements below, other stories may have a strong plot, but not
have a surprise. Others will be a detailed look at a single culture element and have no
explicit plot. In others the actual geographic setting may be the character and not an
actual person.
Some elements to consider when helping students construct their stories:
o Character. A viewer should connect with the character. Some stories develop
one strong main character whose point of view and actions helps guides viewers
through the story and develop a connection to the story being told. Viewers need
to care about the characters telling them the story. One way to do this is by having
characters share specific details about their lives, how they feel about certain
issues, and sharing anecdotes that communicate their values, humanity, or their
unique characteristics.
o Element of Surprise. Some stories use the element of surprise to engage viewers.
This may mean presenting a commonly accepted idea and then challenging it so
viewers are surprised about the outcome. It may mean having a character whose
experiences or ideas are surprising in contrast to how they initially appear to the
viewer.
o Element of Change. Some stories use the element of change to create plot in
their story. For example students may follow the change in their community’s
downtown area to communicate how they feel about their own economic
opportunity.
o Detail. Detail is one of the most important tools in transforming a topic into a
story. Encourage students to be specific (just as in the craft of writing) in
gathering images, constructing their story narrative, and interviewing. Through
details viewers will connect emotionally with the stories being told and recognize
elements of their own experiences even with different geographic, cultural,
religious, and ethnic identities.
o Emotion. Students should seek to capture how people feel about the different
questions they raise and stories they tell, so they are able to transform a topic into
something that viewers experience as relevant and important to the communities
and cultures that are represented.
o Plot. Some stories have a clear plot with a beginning, middle, and end, and with a
conflict, rising tension and then a resolution. Not every story produced by your
students needs to be structured this way, but they all need to have some kind of
theory behind their structure and how information is introduced to the audience.
Students should consider the order of how they will tell their story, introduce their
characters, and reveal interesting pieces of information.
o Point of View. Stories should have a point of view, something that communicates
values, messages, and gives emotion through the story being told. Students need
not be omniscient narratives or seek to be objective journalists. The point of view
can be one tool to connect the viewer to the story being told because it provides a
framework for the viewer to understand and care about the story they are being
told.
o Setting. Students are sharing their stories with people from all different places.
They should try to communicate how it feels to live in their community with
visual and narrative elements as much as possible. The setting is an important
character in creating a relationship between the viewer and the story being told –
sometimes it is the most important character.
o Themes. Students should raise different critical questions or themes in their
stories that help connect their local stories to global experiences, trends, and
concepts. Themes will provide a way to provoke dialogue and generate discussion
of unresolved or complicated stories.
o Economy. Encourage students to edit, cut, and shorten their stories so that their
story is clear, easy to engaged with, and does not repeat information or
experiences that have already been established or shared earlier in the piece.
o Dramatic Question. Just communicating a message or a point does not make as
story interesting or help the viewer care about what they are watching. If your
story is going to excite people, interest them or generate critical dialogue it needs
to have a dramatic question. Some stories have an easily identified dramatic
question because it is part of the action in the plot. Others are more subtle and
may be tension points in the subject matter. Dramatic questions should challenge
stereotypes and viewers’ expectations, or provide open-ended questions for the
audience to consider.
Each story that your students decide to tell will be different and they all don’t need to
conform to a basic story outline with plot, rising action, and a conclusion. Some stories
may be shaped by all the elements below, other stories may have a strong plot, but not
have a surprise. Others will be a detailed look at a single culture element and have no
explicit plot. In others the actual geographic setting may be the character and not an
actual person.
Some elements to consider when helping students construct their stories:
o Character. A viewer should connect with the character. Some stories develop
one strong main character whose point of view and actions helps guides viewers
through the story and develop a connection to the story being told. Viewers need
to care about the characters telling them the story. One way to do this is by having
characters share specific details about their lives, how they feel about certain
issues, and sharing anecdotes that communicate their values, humanity, or their
unique characteristics.
o Element of Surprise. Some stories use the element of surprise to engage viewers.
This may mean presenting a commonly accepted idea and then challenging it so
viewers are surprised about the outcome. It may mean having a character whose
experiences or ideas are surprising in contrast to how they initially appear to the
viewer.
o Element of Change. Some stories use the element of change to create plot in
their story. For example students may follow the change in their community’s
downtown area to communicate how they feel about their own economic
opportunity.
o Detail. Detail is one of the most important tools in transforming a topic into a
story. Encourage students to be specific (just as in the craft of writing) in
gathering images, constructing their story narrative, and interviewing. Through
details viewers will connect emotionally with the stories being told and recognize
elements of their own experiences even with different geographic, cultural,
religious, and ethnic identities.
o Emotion. Students should seek to capture how people feel about the different
questions they raise and stories they tell, so they are able to transform a topic into
something that viewers experience as relevant and important to the communities
and cultures that are represented.
o Plot. Some stories have a clear plot with a beginning, middle, and end, and with a
conflict, rising tension and then a resolution. Not every story produced by your
students needs to be structured this way, but they all need to have some kind of
theory behind their structure and how information is introduced to the audience.
Students should consider the order of how they will tell their story, introduce their
characters, and reveal interesting pieces of information.
o Point of View. Stories should have a point of view, something that communicates
values, messages, and gives emotion through the story being told. Students need
not be omniscient narratives or seek to be objective journalists. The point of view
can be one tool to connect the viewer to the story being told because it provides a
framework for the viewer to understand and care about the story they are being
told.
o Setting. Students are sharing their stories with people from all different places.
They should try to communicate how it feels to live in their community with
visual and narrative elements as much as possible. The setting is an important
character in creating a relationship between the viewer and the story being told –
sometimes it is the most important character.
o Themes. Students should raise different critical questions or themes in their
stories that help connect their local stories to global experiences, trends, and
concepts. Themes will provide a way to provoke dialogue and generate discussion
of unresolved or complicated stories.
o Economy. Encourage students to edit, cut, and shorten their stories so that their
story is clear, easy to engaged with, and does not repeat information or
experiences that have already been established or shared earlier in the piece.
o Dramatic Question. Just communicating a message or a point does not make as
story interesting or help the viewer care about what they are watching. If your
story is going to excite people, interest them or generate critical dialogue it needs
to have a dramatic question. Some stories have an easily identified dramatic
question because it is part of the action in the plot. Others are more subtle and
may be tension points in the subject matter. Dramatic questions should challenge
stereotypes and viewers’ expectations, or provide open-ended questions for the
audience to consider.
