How to Identify a Fairy Tale’s Plot and Main Events

After reading a fairy tale, a child may remember its characters and vivid moments very well, yet feel stuck when asked, “What is the plot of this tale?” They may want to retell every sentence from beginning to end, or offer just a phrase: “about friendship,” “about a clever fox,” or “about a magical journey.”

But the plot is not a topic and not a complete retelling. Simply put, the plot of a fairy tale is a chain of related events that lead the hero from the initial situation to the final. It is through these events that a problem arises, the hero does something, encounters obstacles, makes a decision, and then the story comes to a resolution.

To determine the plot, you do not need to write each scene. You need to see the "bone of the story": what started the events, what was the most important thing in their development, where the turning point came from, and where it all ended.

Below is a way to do this without complicated theory and without ready-made answers for the child.

What is a story plot in simple words

In teaching materials, plot is often explained as the sequence of events in an artistic work through which the characters, conflict, and content of the story are unveiled.

For a child, it's even easier to say:

Plot is what happened to the characters and how one important event led to the next.

For example, the phrase:

> "A girl set out to find her lost brother, completed three difficult tasks along the way, got help from a magical bird, and finally found her way home."

already describes the plot framework.

And the phrase:

> "It's a fairy tale about love for loved ones and perseverance"

speaks more about the topic and main message, but not about the plot.

The plot is always connected with movement: something has happened, which forces the character to act, his actions have consequences, and the situation changes.

Plot, topic, outline and summary - what is the difference

These concepts are easy to confuse because they all relate to the same story.

Topic answers, "What is this tale about?"

Topic calls the subject of the story very briefly.

For example:

- about a boy who is looking for his way home;

- about two sisters with different personalities;

- about animals learning to act together.

Topic does not list all events.

The plot answers, "What happened and how did things unfold?"

There is an important connection between the events.

Not just "the hero met the bear", but: why he met the bear, what happened after that meeting, and how it changed the story.

Outline is the list of items that we build around the text

Outline helps to divide the story into parts and give each a short title.

For example:

1. An unusual find in the forest.

2. A dangerous promise.

3. Three trials.

4. Help the bird.

5. Going home.

Outline can display a plot, but outline and plot are not the same. Outline is a way to organize the material, and plot is the actual movement of events.

Summary is a concise retelling

In summary we already tell the story in sentences, but we leave only the main point.

Therefore, it is convenient to remember the following:

- topic — about what;

- plot — what and how it happened;

- outline - how to outline events

- summary — how concisely retell these events in your own words.

What parts of plot are searched for in school analysis

In school materials, the familiar scheme is often used: exposition, ending, development of action, climax, resolution. In different textbooks and tasks, the titles and number of items may vary slightly, and a very short story does not always have each part in a distinct way.

Therefore, it is not necessary to forcefully "paste" text into the scheme. First understand the events, then choose the time.

Exposure

This is an initial acquaintance with the world of history: who the heroes are, where they live, what the situation was before the main problem.

For example:

"In a small village lived a brother and sister who helped their grandmother in the garden every day."

In some tales, the exposition is very short, and sometimes the story almost immediately moves to the problem.

Zavyazka

The ending is the event after which the story really starts moving.

Something changes, a problem arises, a task, a desire or a danger.

For example:

- an important item disappears;

- the hero gets an unusual task;

- Someone gets into trouble;

- the hero sets out on a journey;

- a ban appears, and someone breaks it.

Useful question: "If this event had not happened, would the main story have begun?"

If the answer is no, you probably found the clue.

Action Development

This is the main part, where the character acts, makes mistakes, encounters obstacles, receives help, makes choices, and approaches the solution of the problem.

This is where most of the events usually take place.

For fairy tales, repetition is characteristic: three roads, three tasks, three meetings, several attempts to fulfill a condition. Not every iteration needs to be described in detail if the task only requires a short plot.

Climax

Climax is the most tense or turning point, after which it becomes clear where the story will turn.

It's not necessarily the scariest scene.

Climax may refer to:

- duel;

- important choice;

- detection of fraud;

- execute the last task

- the moment when the hero finally dares to act;

- The meeting that determines the final.

A good question: "After what event can the situation no longer remain as it was before?"

Solving

The solution shows where the main problem ended.

The hero returned home, found what was lost, reconciled with a friend, exposed deceit, received a reward, abandoned a wrong decision, or simply understood something important.

A solution does not always mean a happy ending. Its task is to end the main conflict or show its consequences.

How to determine the plot of a story step by step

If literary terms are confusing, start with simple questions instead.

Step 1. Tell me in one sentence what the situation was at the beginning

Who is the hero and what do we know about him before the main events begin?

You don't have to describe the appearance, all the relatives and every detail. Only what's important next.

Step 2. Find the event that changed everything

What made the hero do something?

This is where the trick often lies.

Step 3. Describe 3-6 main steps of the hero

Not all the scenes, but those without which the plot would fall apart.

Ask:

- what the hero did first;

- what was the main obstacle;

- Who or what helped;

- What decision changed the situation.

Step 4. Find the most important break

Where is the tension highest? What event decides whether the hero will achieve his goal?

It's a climax candidate.

Step 5. Tell us where the main problem ended

Not just "everybody lived happily ever after", but what exactly was solved.

For example:

"The girl returned the magic key, freed the garden from the spell and was able to return home."

Step 6. Check Causal Relationship

Read your plot and think between the paragraphs the words "therefore", "because of this", "after this".

If events really lead to each other, the framework works.

If it's just a collection of random scenes, you should look again at which ones are really the main ones.

How to find only the main events, not retell everything

The most common difficulty is that the child remembers many details and does not know what can be discarded.

Here's a simple filter. An event is likely to be a main event if it:

- triggers the problem;

- changes the hero's goal;

- creates a new important obstacle;

- gives the hero a help or a way to act;

- force the hero to make a decision;

- dramatically changes the situation;

- bring to climax;

- resolves the underlying conflict.

Here are some details that can often be left out of a plot short description:

- long descriptions of the terrain;

- recurrence if they do not change events;

- secondary conversations;

- random items that no longer affect the story

- details of clothing, food or weather, if they don't play a plot role.

Useful test:

"If I remove this scene from my short description, the reader will still understand why the next important event happened?"

If so, the scene may not need to be included in the plot frame.

An example based on a fictional tale

Let's imagine a fairy tale "The Key to the Star Garden".

Marko lived with his grandfather near an old garden that had not blossomed for many years. One night, a boy found a silver key under an apple tree. It turned out that he was opening a small gate in the garden, but behind it all the trees were frozen to sleep. To wake the garden, Mark had to bring water from three springs. In the first he helped a wounded bird, in the second he refused a light but unfair hint, and in the third he got to the bird he saved. When the boy gathered the water, the gardener appeared and offered to leave the magic key for himself. Marco decided to return the garden key. The ice melted, the trees blossomed, and the gates disappeared.

Now we define the plot.

Initial position

Marco lives near a garden that hasn't blossomed for a long time.

Zavyazka

Marco finds a silver key and opens the gate to the enchanted garden.

Action Development

He learns about three springs, passes the trials, helps the bird and collects water.

Climax

The Guardian offers Mark to leave the magic key, but the boy has to decide what is more important: to possess the spells or to free the garden.

Solving

Marco returns the key, the garden wakes up and blooms.

A short plot can be formulated as follows:

A boy finds the key to the enchanted garden and goes to get water from three springs to wake him up. After passing the trial and getting the help of the rescued bird, he refuses to leave the magic key to himself, returns it to the garden and lifts the spell.**

Note: we didn't retell every scene, but we kept the logic of the whole story.

What to do if the story is too short or has an unusual structure

Not all fairy tales are like a long magical adventure.

A short story about an animal can have only a few steps:

1. Heroes are in the situation.

2. One of them did something or said something.

3. The other answered.

4. The result showed what it led to.

It's not necessary to look for five large parts from the textbook.

There are also tales with a repeating plot: the hero meets different characters several times or performs similar tasks. In this case, the repetitions can be combined into one stage: "on the way the hero asked for help three times, but received it only from...".

There are stories with a frame, a dream, a story within a story or an open ending. It is especially important not to fit the text into a template, but to explain which events really lead the main story.

How to explain plot to a child without complicated terms

For younger children, the words "exposure" and "climax" can only be disturbing.

Five simple questions are enough to start:

1. How did it all start?

2. What is the problem?

3. What did the hero do to solve it?

4. What was the most important moment?

5. What happened?

When the child is confident in this logic, you can add literary names:

- initial situation - exposure;

- the event that triggers the history is a binding

- Further attempts and obstacles - the development of the action;

- head fracture - climax;

- the problem is solved.

That way, the deadlines are based on the story, not hanging in the air.

Typical mistakes

1. Retell a story almost literally

If the plot description takes up as much space as the short story itself, the main events are not yet separated from the details.

2. Confusing the Topic with the Plot

"This is a tale of friendship" - topic.

The plot must show what happened between the characters.

3. Mistaking the Loudest Scene for the Climax

The brightest moment is not always the turning point. It matters if he really changes the course of history.

4. Find the same pattern in every story

Some works are very short or constructed in an unconventional way. Terms should help understand the text, not force you to invent parts that are not there.

5. Mistake plot with moral

Plot describes events. The moral or main message is about the sense that we see in these events.

6. Imagine events that are not in the text

Sometimes a child remembers another version of a familiar fairy tale, cartoon or retelling. The assignment must be based on the text that was read.

Template for notebook

If you need to write the plot of a story quickly, you can use the following form:

Name of the story:...

Protagonist:...

Starting position: …

Binding: …

Main events: 1) … 2) … 3) …

Climax: …

Resolution: …

Plot in one paragraph: …

For younger children, it's even easier:

- First...

- Then there was a problem...

- The hero decided...

- The most important thing happened when...

- At the end...

How to help parents without doing the chores for their child

When a child says, "I don't know what the plot is", it is very easy to begin dictating a ready-made answer.

It's better to ask short questions that bring her back to the text.

Instead of:

"The end is here when the hero goes into the forest"

you can ask:

"What happened that started the whole adventure?"

Instead of:

"This is the climax"

ask:

"When was it decided whether the hero would succeed in achieving his goal?"

If the child named ten events, suggest:

"Which three of them can't be removed, or we'll stop understanding history?"

Thus, the child does not just get an answer, but learns to see causal links between events.

If the task is school and the teacher gave a specific scheme, then focus on it first. Different classes may require different numbers of elements and different levels of detail.

A quick tip: how to determine the plot of a story

If you need to remember everything in a minute, use seven questions:

1. Who is the main character?

2. What was the situation at the beginning?

3. What event triggered the main story?

4. What did the hero want or had to achieve?

5. Which 3-6 events were really major?

6. Where was the turning point?

7. How did the main problem be solved?

Then try to compose 3-5 sentences in which events logically lead to each other. This will be the short description of the plot.

You do not need to guess the plot. It is already in the text. The reader’s task is to notice which events hold the story together, and why it would become a different tale without them.