Who, Where and What Happened
A 30-minute Kindergarten lesson on naming the characters, the setting and the main events of a story, and telling them apart.
Who, Where and What Happened is a free 30-minute Kindergarten English lesson plan for Common Core standard RL.K.3 — say who is in the story, where it happens, and what happens. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the mathematics, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.
- Grade:
- Kindergarten
- Length:
- 30 minutes
- Standard:
- RL.K.3
Kindergarten · Reading: Literature
RL.K.3
With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.
Objective
Students will be able to name the characters, the setting and one major event in a story.
Students are successful when they can
- Names who is in the story.
- Names where and when it happens.
- Names something that happens, rather than something that is.
What you need
- A picture book with a clear setting
- Three labelled hoops or columns: WHO, WHERE, WHAT HAPPENED
- The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan
The lesson
Warm-up — three questions
4 min- Put up the three labels. Read them together.
- Use a story they know and fill one card into each column.
Teach — sorting what you notice
10 min- Read the book. Stop after the first two pages.
- Ask for one thing they noticed. Whatever they say, ask which column it goes in.
- Do this six times, filling the columns as you go.
- Deliberately offer something hard: 'it was raining'. Is that where, or what happened? Let them argue.
- Finish the book and fill in the last event.
“Every single thing in a story is either a who, a where, or a thing that happened. Which is this one?”
Guided practice — sort it yourselves
8 min- Give pairs six cards of details from the story to sort into the three columns.
- Circulate and ask for reasons rather than corrections.
- Bring the class back and settle any card that split the room.
Independent practice
6 min- Students complete the who-and-where page.
- The passage is on the sheet. Read it aloud twice.
Close
2 min- Name a character, a setting and an event from the book, in that order, as a class.
- Three words is enough for each.
What goes wrong, and why
Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.
Names an object as a character — 'the bucket' is in the story.
Why: The child is listing what is in the story, which is a reasonable reading of 'who is in it' when 'who' has not been distinguished from 'what'.
Fix: Ask 'does it do anything, or does it get done to?' A character acts. Test it on the bucket and then on the dog.
Gives a description instead of an event — 'the dog was brown'.
Why: 'What happened' and 'what was there' are both answers to a loose question, and being brown is easier to see than an event.
Fix: Ask for a sentence with a doing word in it. 'The dog ran' passes; 'the dog was brown' does not.
Says the setting is 'the book' or 'a story'.
Why: The question has been heard as being about the object in their hands rather than about the world inside it.
Fix: Ask 'if you could step inside, where would you be standing?' That question cannot be answered with 'a book'.
If they are not there yet
- Sort with pictures rather than words.
- Do one column at a time across three sessions rather than all three at once.
If they finish early
- Ask which event mattered most and why.
- Ask how the story would change if the setting were different.
- Ask for a character who is mentioned but never appears.
Exit ticket
Name one character, say where the story happened, and say one thing that happened.
What to look for: A description offered as an event — 'the dog was brown' — means the doing-word test needs another session.
Printable practice for RL.K.3
Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.
- Who Is in the Story?Read the story, then answer the questions.
Questions about Who, Where and What Happened
How long does the Who, Where and What Happened lesson take?
30 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 4 min, teach 10 min, guided practice 8 min, independent practice 6 min, close 2 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.
Which standard does Who, Where and What Happened teach?
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3 — RL.K.3, Reading: Literature for Kindergarten: “With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.” In plain terms, say who is in the story, where it happens, and what happens.
What do I need to teach this lesson?
A picture book with a clear setting, three labelled hoops or columns: WHO, WHERE, WHAT HAPPENED and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.
What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?
Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: names an object as a character — 'the bucket' is in the story; gives a description instead of an event — 'the dog was brown' and says the setting is 'the book' or 'a story'. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.
How do I know whether the lesson worked?
The exit ticket asks: “Name one character, say where the story happened, and say one thing that happened.” A description offered as an event — 'the dog was brown' — means the doing-word test needs another session. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.
Is there a worksheet to go with Who, Where and What Happened?
Yes — 1 printable RL.K.3 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.
Is Who, Where and What Happened free to use?
Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on 7 September 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.
Last reviewed 2026-09-07. Aligned to RL.K.3 of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts.