Kindergarten · English language arts · 20 minutes

Meet story characters

Read the rabbit-and-fox story aloud. Characters are the people or animals in a story.

Mr. S Teaches · Starter mini-lesson · elem-k-meet-story-characters

Learning objective

Explain and practice meet story characters using the activity and evidence, then show the reasoning behind an answer.

Gather your materials

Paper and pencil or dictation support
The short text provided in this lesson
Optional drawing supplies

Use the items named in the teaching steps; paper models or adult-prepared photographs can replace physical equipment.

Common Core skill focus

RL.K.3

Identify story characters, setting, and major events with support.

Read the official standard ↗

Code and grade verified 2026-11-03. This mini-lesson addresses a selected skill, not the entire standard.

Teach it step by step

Read the rabbit-and-fox story aloud.
Ask who acts in the story and point back to the words.
Identify the lost hat as an object, not a character in this story.
Prompt for where the event could occur and what happened first.

Watch, notice, discuss

Video choices for this lesson

2 choices

Preview a video, then choose what fits your learners. “Show to class” opens a larger view; use the player’s play and full-screen controls when you’re ready.

Teacher preview needed. Check the language, level and length before showing. YouTube may show ads or related videos.

OPTION 1 · YOUTUBE

Story Elements Part 1: Characters, Setting, and Events | English For Kids | Mind Blooming

By Mind Blooming

Connect this video to the lesson on meet story characters. Pause to try an example together.

Open on YouTube: Story Elements Part 1: Characters, Setting, and Events | English For Kids | Mind Blooming (opens a new tab) ↗

OPTION 2 · YOUTUBE

Story Elements for Kids | Characters, Setting, Plot, Conflict & Solution in Minutes 📚✨

By Mindful Moments Kids

Connect this video to the lesson on meet story characters. Pause to try an example together.

Open on YouTube: Story Elements for Kids | Characters, Setting, Plot, Conflict & Solution in Minutes 📚✨ (opens a new tab) ↗

After watching

Who is a character, where does the story happen, and what does the character do?

An external player loads only after you choose Preview or Show to class. Playback connects to YouTube. Videos belong to their creators; availability and embedding can change.

Make the thinking visible

Example to work through together

The rabbit loses a hat; the fox helps find it. The rabbit and fox are characters because they act in the story.

Try the starter activity

Read aloud: A rabbit lost a hat. A fox helped find it. Ask who is in the story.

Student practice

Draw both characters, then dictate one sentence about the main event.

Quick check for understanding

Who are the characters?

Sample answer and teacher guidance

Sample answer: The rabbit and the fox; offer prompting as needed.

Listen or look for: Accept the two animals and an event grounded in the read-aloud; provide prompting as needed.

Invite the learner to explain, demonstrate, draw or dictate their reasoning. Revisit a teaching step when the explanation is unclear.