Plot/Story Arc in Short Stories

AMS 2013-2014

Aim: What are the elements of a story and how do we identify each of them?

Do Now:

The plot of the book I read was very exciting because the ideas were creative, the action was exciting and the mystery of the whole thing had me guessing up until the end.

Part of speech

Context Clues

Definition

Your own sentence

Independent Reading: Students will read independently for 15 – 20 minutes.

Procedure:

For this lesson, the mini-lesson will be the lesson itself. Teacher will show students how to plot the different events of the story arc after completing the story. After today’s lesson, students will be expected to do it on their own.

Together, teacher and students will read ‘The Stranger’.

Throughout the story, there are numbers that corresponds to comprehension questions on the worksheet all students will have. After completing the paragraph next to each number, the story will be paused until students answer the question and then share their answers.

Once the story is complete, teacher and students will work together on completing the story arc. A brief explanation of these parts is necessary, and they include:

  • Setting – Start of the story
  • Rising Action – before reaching climax.
  • Climax – Hottest moment in the whole story/
  • Falling action – Action starts to fall we are about to reach the end.
  • Resolution – How was the big problem solved in the story.

Afterwards students will be ready to plot the points on the line.

I try:Teacher will point out to students that in order to understand plot we should look for the climax or “hottest moment” in the whole story first, after that everything falls in to place. The teacher will find this climatic moment in the plot list. The teacher will also find the setting at the start of the plot chart and its importance.

We try:All together the teacher and students will find some rising action events.

They try:Independently the students will find some falling action events and the resolution.

When the students finish plotting all the points on the plot line they will return to their worksheet to complete some follow up questions that deal specifically with the story arc.

Name______Date______

‘The Stranger’

1)What do you think the author meant when he stated in the story that the “headlights clung to the trees”?

______

2)What do you think the man notices as he touches her? Why do you think that?

______

3)Why do you think the author decided to point out to the reader what a letter jacket is?

______

4)What do you think this passage is mostly about? Underline the evidence that supports your main idea.

______

5)What does the fact that he let the girl keep his letter jacket suggest to you? What evidence from the text supports your answer?

______

6)What is the definition of gasped in this sentence? How do you know that is definition?

______

After Completing the Story Arc for ‘The Stranger’

7)Write in what the climax of the story is.

______

8)Why do you think this is the climax or hottest moment? Explain your answer.

______

9)Why do you think the author of this story ended the story in the way that he did?

______

10)After you finish reading the story, give the story a title. Why do you think your title is good for this story? Use specific detail from the text to support your title.

______

Aim: What are the elements of a story and how do we identify each of them?

Do Now:

The plot of the book I read was very exciting because the ideas were creative, the action was exciting and the mystery of the whole thing had me guessing up until the end.

Part of speech

Context Clues

Definition

Your own sentence

Story Arc for ‘The Stranger’

These are not in the correct order!
Write them in on the story arc, based on where you think they belong.
  • 1 Late one night, a young man was driving down a deserted road and saw a young woman by the road.
  • 5The young man found the tombstone of the young woman.
  • 3The young man went to the girls house; her mom told him she had been dead for a year.
  • 4The young man left the girls house in shock.
  • 2The young man noticed the girl felt cold; she asked him to take her home.

Story Arc for ‘The Stranger’

These are not in the correct order!
Write them in on the story arc, based on where you think they belong.
a) Late one night, a young man was driving down a deserted road and saw a young woman by the road.
b)The young man found the tombstone of the young woman.
c)The young man went to the girls house; her mom told him she had been dead for a year.
d)The young man left the girls house in shock.
e)The young man noticed the girl felt cold; she asked him to take her home.