Worksheets › Story Elements (Grades 1-3)

Free Printable Story Elements Worksheets (Grades 1-3)

A child who can retell a story in order has understood it. These sheets work through who the story is about, what happened first and last, the problem and how it was solved, and finally the hard one: a summary is not a short retelling, and knowing what to leave out is the skill.

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Story Elements and Summary - Grades 1-3

Who the story is about

Story

The First Snow

Biscuit is a small brown dog. He was born in the summer.

One morning in December he woke up and the yard was white.

He would not go outside. He stood in the doorway and stared.

Then a snowflake landed on his nose. He sneezed. He tried to bite the next one.

By lunchtime nobody could get him to come back in.

1.

Who is this story about?

2.

What kind of animal is Biscuit?

3.

What happened last in this story?

First, next, and last

Story

Home from the Park

Milo put on his red mittens. He went to the park with his sister Ada.

They built a snowman. It took a long time. Milo used both hands to roll the big ball.

When they got home, Milo had only one mitten.

He looked in his coat. He looked in his boots. He looked under the bed.

Then Ada laughed. She pointed out the window. The snowman was wearing the other mitten on his hand.

4.

What happened first?

5.

What did Milo do right after he got home?

Finding the problem

Story

Six Plants Along the Fence

In the spring, Grandpa planted six tomato plants along the fence.

He watered them all summer. He tied the tall ones to sticks so they would not fall over.

By August every plant was heavy with red tomatoes. There were far more than one family could eat.

Grandpa gave some to the neighbors. He still had too many. He put some in the freezer. He still had too many.

So he filled a basket, set it by the front gate, and taped up a sign. The sign said FREE. By evening the basket was empty, and three people had stopped to say hello.

6.

What is the problem?

7.

What is the problem?

8.

What did Grandpa get that he was not looking for?

9.

What did Grandpa get that he was not looking for?

Summarizing a story

Story

The Borrowed Bike

Dev borrowed Nina's bike to ride to the library. She said yes right away, because she always did.

On the way back, the chain slipped off and jammed. Dev got it back on, but there was a long black scrape down the frame where it had caught.

He thought hard about saying nothing at all. The scrape was on the side you do not see from the front. Nina might not notice for weeks.

He rode to her house instead. He turned the bike so the scrape was facing her, and he told her what happened.

Nina looked at it for a second. Then she shrugged and said the chain had done that to her twice. She showed him how to hold it so it would not slip again.

10.

Which summary misses the point of the story?

Story

The Knocking at Six

Every morning at six, something knocked on the tree outside Priya's window. Knock knock knock knock.

At first it woke her up and she was grumpy. She put her pillow over her head. It did not help.

One morning she gave up and looked out. A bird with a red head was hammering the trunk. It was a woodpecker.

She watched it every day after that. She learned that it was looking for insects under the bark.

Now Priya sets her alarm for a quarter to six, so she does not miss him.

11.

Which is the best summary?

Answer Key

1.A dog named Biscuit
2.A small brown dog
3.Biscuit would not come in
4.Milo put on his mittens
5.He looked for the mitten
6.Grandpa has too many tomatoes
7.Grandpa has too many tomatoes
8.Three people stopped to talk
9.Three people stopped to talk
10.Dev borrowed a bike and the chain came off on the way home.
11.A woodpecker woke Priya, and now she wakes early to watch it.

Want practice that adapts to your child?

These printables come straight from Lit Ladder - an adaptive K-12 reading program that gives your child a quick placement check, finds exactly where they are (not just their grade), and moves them up one skill at a time - from hearing the sounds in a spoken word to weighing evidence in a nonfiction text.

It's free during our beta, with no ads and no third-party trackers - kid logins are username-only and parent-managed.

Frequently asked questions

Are these story elements worksheets free?
Yes - view, print, and share every sheet for free, with no account and no signup.

Do they include an answer key?
Every worksheet has a full answer key at the bottom of the page.

What grades are these story elements worksheets for?
They are designed for grades 1 to 3.

Does my child need to read the questions alone?
No. Print it and read the instructions aloud if that is what the sheet needs - at these ages the point is the skill, not whether they can decode the directions.

Can I get a different worksheet?
Yes - click “Generate a new sheet” and a fresh set of problems (with a matching answer key) is created instantly.