✏️ WritingLevel 1Lesson 19
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Writing a Short Story

Lesson preview: the Mini Lesson and Vocabulary are open to everyone. Guided practice, exercises, the parent checklist and the printable PDF worksheet come with full access (free 7-day trial or membership).

Learning Objectives

  • 1Write a short story with a clear beginning, middle, and end
  • 2Identify the four story ingredients: character, setting, problem, and solution
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Mini Lesson

Think about your favorite book. It does not just start and stop randomly — it has a shape. Every story, long or short, has three parts that work together to make it complete.

Part 1 — The Beginning

  • Introduce your character — who is the story about?
  • Set the scene — where and when does it happen?
  • Example: One sunny day, a little rabbit sat by the river.

Part 2 — The Middle

  • Tell the problem or the main event that happens.
  • This is the exciting part — something changes or goes wrong!
  • Example: Suddenly she saw a big fish jump out of the water.

Part 3 — The End

  • Tell how the problem is solved or how the story finishes.
  • The character should feel something at the end.
  • Example: The rabbit clapped her paws and laughed with joy.

Four story ingredients

  • Character — who the story is about.
  • Setting — where and when it happens.
  • Problem — what goes wrong or what the character wants.
  • Solution — how it ends.
Story planner webA story planner web showing the character in the center connected to three outer bubbles: setting, problem, and solution — all the parts needed to plan a story.Story PlannerCharactera rabbitSettingby the riverProblembig fish!Solutionshe laughed!
Plan your story: character in the middle, setting, problem, and solution around.
Three-panel comic strip: beginning, middle, endA three-panel comic strip showing a short story. Panel 1 shows a rabbit sitting by a river. Panel 2 shows a fish jumping out of the water. Panel 3 shows the rabbit laughing with joy.A Rabbit Story1 · Begin2 · MiddleSplash!3 · End**joy!Rabbit by river → Fish jumps → Rabbit laughsThree panels = one complete story.
A short story told in three panels: beginning, middle, and end.
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Ask yourself: "Does my story have a beginning, a middle, and an end? Does the reader know who, where, and what happened?"

Vocabulary
Character
Who the story is about — the person or animal the reader followse.g. a little rabbit
Setting
Where and when the story happense.g. by the river, one sunny day
Problem
What goes wrong or what the character wants or needse.g. a big fish jumped!
Solution
How the story ends and how the problem is fixede.g. the rabbit laughed with joy
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← Lesson 18: Writing About My DayLesson 20: Beginning, Middle, and End →