Figure 5. Plotting Plot Points 12th Grade Language Arts Lesson Plan
Day 16
Teacher: Ms. Shauna Kopp
Grade Level: 12th Grade
Lesson Duration: 50 minutes
Title/Concept: Plotting Plot Points
Rationale/Goals:
Students will be writing their own short stories at the end of the unit. This lesson will help them understand one of the primary part of a story, the plot, and it will provide different options for how to organize the events in their stories.
Objectives (Learning Outcomes):
Students will:
· Know the definition of plot.
· Identify several different types of plot sequences.
· Outline the plot sequence of a story.
Anticipatory Set:
§ When students enter the room, they will see several drawings on the chalkboard, an upside-down V, an M, a backslash, and a regular V. These will be explained later, but should cause immediate curiosity.
§ The class will begin with a five question reading quiz for the story “Yesterday’s Future Came Today” by Michelle Stimpson, which students should have read overnight for homework. The quiz will remind them of the story and get them to begin thinking about the events that took place in the young man’s life.
Methods/Activities (Instructional Procedure):
Teacher Input:
I will open class by asking students what they thought of the story. Hopefully this will immediately develop into a whole-class (teacher included) discussion of the main points of the story. If not, then I will have a list of questions to guide the students in that direction, such as “How did Michael end up being the only one of his group of friends still around?” After the main events are talked about, I will explain to students that the order of events in the story is called the story’s plot, and give them a definition of “plot” to write in their notebooks.
Guided Practice:
§ Students will get into groups of three or four and create a timeline of the main events in the story. Each group will decide which events are the main events. They will then decide at which point the climax, or most important event, of the story took place. They will circle the event on their timelines.
§ Once the groups are quieted down and focused back up front, I will have each group share at which point in the story the group felt that the climax happened. Most of the groups will say the climax happened somewhere in the middle or right at the end. I will explain that on the board, lines that slant upwards signify a rise in action, and lines that slant downwards signify a fall in action. The highest point is the climax of the story. I will point out that the most common plot sequence looks like the upside-down V: the rise in action, a climax, and the fall in action. The second most common plot sequence looks like the backslash, with the climax right at (or very near) the end. However, a story can have more than one climax (the M), or even start at the climax and then explain how the characters got to that point (the V).
§ As a class, students will brainstorm stories they’ve read and movies they’ve seen with these different plot sequences. I will choose one example they come up with for each type of sequence and write it on the board under the appropriate picture.
§ I will say, “What if the plot line of a story looks like this?” and draw a straight horizontal line. When students respond that it would be boring and they wouldn’t want to read it, I will tell them to ensure that they have some kind of rise in action and at least one climax in their stories.
Independent Practice:
For tomorrow, students will draw and label the plot sequence they plan on using for their stories. The labels can be extremely vague. For example, students can write “death” at the climax instead of “Harry dies in a car accident because he was drunk.” They must label the starting point, ending point, and climaxes in this way, and are welcome to add ideas along the rise(s) and fall(s) in action if they wish. These are not set in stone, but are a guide to help students organize the ideas they have.
Checking For Understanding/Assessment:
The main assessment for this lesson will be done when students turn in their stories at the end of the unit. They will have applied one of these types of plot sequences, and have the events in their stories ordered in a clear and appropriate manner. Also, throughout the lesson I will be asking questions and gauging students’ responses in order to be sure that they understand.
Closure:
Students will have whatever class-time is left (if any) to work on their next day’s homework. They will receive the short story assignment handout which will allow them to begin thinking about their largest project of the unit, as most of the daily homework this week should work directly into their stories.
Required Materials:
§ A copy of “Yesterday’s Future Came Today” by Michelle Stimpson.
§ Discussion Map
Courtesy of Shauna Kopp, Montana State University-Bozeman, Department of Education, Graduate