Charts allow students to keep track of story elements in a visual manner as they read. Give your students blank charts with boxes labeled for character details, setting details, the primary conflict and major plot events. Alternatively, focus on one story element at a time, such as characters. Pass out charts with spaces labeled for character names, appearance details, behavior details and overall impressions. Instruct students to fill out their charts as they read through the story.
Emphasize the various elements of a story by comparing and contrasting one story with another. Choose stories that share some similar elements while varying in others. For example, pick two short stories with a theme about keeping secrets. Instruct students to read both stories and ask them to identify the shared theme. As a class, part of a small group or in an individual writing assignment, have your students explain how both stories approached this theme, paying special attention to other elements such as character, setting and conflict. Other possible shared elements include setting -- two stories taking place at the same place and time -- and characters -- two stories as part of a series with the same protagonist.
Creative writing assignments help students build an appreciation for story elements by working with them directly. Instruct students to write a short story, ranging from one to four pages. Give them guidelines concerning different story elements. For example, instruct students to write a story about friendship that takes place in a modern day setting and includes two major characters and one minor character. Students must follow the guidelines you set; set loose guidelines to allow for variation from story to story. Read all or a few of the stories aloud in class to demonstrate how much variation still exists in spite of using shared story elements.
Help students understand the significance of specific elements to a specific story by instructing them to analyze what might occur in the story if those elements varied. Prepare a set of written questions for your students to respond to, each asking how a particular change would affect the story as a whole. For example, if a character has two siblings who both play a vital role in the story, ask how the plot might vary if the character only had one sibling or was an only child. If the story takes place in modern day America, ask students how the same story might change if it took place in another culture or era.