A chronicle simply recounts events in the order they occurred, while a story provides context about why events happened and what they may signify. A story can reorder events for dramatic purposes and to convey its themes. A chronicle lists two deaths, while a story may explain that the king died of grief after the queen and develop the plot further. Ordering events differently allows a story to explore causes and meanings beyond a basic chronology.

1. chronicle and story
A chronicle is a retelling of events in the order that they
happened.

2. chronicle and story
A chronicle is a retelling of events in the order that they
happened.
A story recounts events such as to indicate why they
happened as they did (the causes and reasons) and what they
might mean.

3. chronicle and story
A chronicle is a retelling of events in the order that they
happened.
A story recounts events such as to indicate why they
happened as they did (the causes and reasons) and what they
might mean.
Because a story indicating causes, reasons, and
meanings, it might recount events in the order that they
happened or it might not. The order of events (or plot) is
determined by the story’s dramatic and thematic needs. (See
below.)

4. chronicle and story
• chronicle
The queen died. The king died.

5. chronicle and story
• chronicle
The queen died. The king died.
• story
The queen died. The king died of grief.

6. chronicle and story
• chronicle
The queen died. The king died.
• story
The queen died. The king died of grief. The prince
nearly died of laughter.

7. chronicle and story
• chronicle
The queen died. The king died.
• story
The queen died. The king died of grief. The prince
nearly died of laughter. The princess had always liked her
brother, but not now.

8. chronicle and story
• chronicle
The queen died. The king died.
• story
The queen died. The king died of grief. The prince
nearly died of laughter. The princess had always liked her
brother, but not now. Now she loved him.

9. chronicle and story
• chronicle
The queen died. The king died.
• story
The queen died. The king died of grief. The prince
nearly died of laughter. The princess had always liked her
brother, but not now. Now she loved him.
In the village, Michael, the orphan boy who worked
for the blacksmith, knelt down, said a prayer for the king
and queen, and wept.

11. Drama, theme, & plot:
Writing history

12. Drama
• The specific conflict that motivates the action, assigns roles to
characters, and gives the story its shape.

13. Drama
• The specific conflict that motivates the action, assigns roles to
characters, and gives the story its shape.
Theme
• The “big idea” that gives the text a shape and a purpose; it’s
deeper meaning.

14. Drama
• The specific conflict that motivates the action, assigns roles to
characters, and gives the story its shape.
Theme
• The “big idea” that gives the text a shape and a purpose; it’s
deeper meaning.
Plot
• The selection and sequencing of details.
• Through plotting, the text’s dramatic conflict is developed and
its theme unfolded.

15. Historical narrative
• Discovers the “big picture” within the “small,” a community-
wide theme within a personal drama, a large-scale
transformation in power relations played out in an individual-
level conflict/resolution.