Determine the level your middle school students comprehend story elements by reviewing the basics. Ask students to list the four main categories (characters, setting, plot/conflict and theme.) Using a simple and well-known story, such as a nursery rhyme, ask the class to identify those elements in the story. Hand out a chart worksheet for students to complete with details from the selected story.
Once the basics are reviewed, take it to the next level. Students can utilize their worksheets from the previous review lesson to note the more advanced elements. Explain the more in-depth terms such as exposition, antagonist, moral and climax and ask students to select each basic element within the worksheet example. Students can draw a new chart that organizes the basic and advanced terms to keep as a study guide for the remainder of the lesson period.
Many believe teaching is the best way to learn. So, sit back and let the students be the teachers for a day. Break the class into groups of three or four students and assign each group a short story to dissect and teach to the rest of the class. The groups will first read their stories together and then devise a way to teach their assigned stories to the class. You can then ask the group to take turns reading the story aloud or have the class read each story silently. The groups must teach the rest of the class based on the presentation each devised.
Nothing drives home the importance of literary elements like writing a story. Students must create an original piece of writing and then highlight and label examples of each element throughout the story. Additionally, you can require students to include an essay explaining why each of those highlighted sections is an example of the specified element. Students can also swap stories, highlighting and explaining the elements in a classmate's story.