Reading Comprehension Lesson Plan - Setting

Teaching a child how to read for information is an important part of their education. This subject, called reading comprehension, has many aspects that should be covered. This article explains how a teacher or homeschool parent can teach a child about setting in fiction and non-fiction stories.

Reading Comprehension - Explanation

Explaining what setting is to your student is the first step. Basically put, the setting in a fiction story is where or when the story takes place. For example, the setting for Little Red Riding Hood is both in the forest and at Granny's house. Sometimes a reader does not get both the where and the when. Sometimes one or the other is just implied. Explain to the student that setting can be found by context clues in the fiction story.

Reading Comprehension - Examples

Perhaps the best way to teach a child about setting in reading comprehension lesson plan is to give them lots of examples. Begin with well-known fairy tales or favorite stories. Simply ask where and when the story takes place. Have your student explain what types of clues he can find that will tell them when or where. Bright sun, birds chirping, and warm breezes can indicate a spring or summer day. Tall trees, dry leaves crunching underfoot, and scampering squirrels can put the characters in a wooded setting.

For more practice in finding the setting from context clues, make up several short passages or fiction stories.

Example: John walked through the field and was surprised to see twenty cows. As the sun sank over the hills, he wondered why they were still in the field. At this time of day, the cows were usually back in the barn.

Using small fiction stories like this can help your student practice their reading comprehension. First, ask them where they think the story takes place. Then have them identify what clues they used. The should be able to tell you that the story takes place on a farm. The cows and field are the clues. Repeat to find when the story takes place.

Teaching students how to find the setting in a fiction story is an important part of reading comprehension. While it can be fun and help you enjoy fictional stories more, finding the setting is also vital to non-fiction reading. By learning how to use clues to figure out where and when a story takes place, the student will better understand the story.