Understanding plot structure

Context of the Activity

This lesson is designed for a fourth grade class who has already had some experience with working with and understanding typical plot structures in literature. Students will have already read a fable as a class and discussed where certain plot structures show up within the story. At the start of the lesson, they will watch an Edpuzzle video that reviews plot structure.

Instructions

The students will begin by watching the Edpuzzle and answering the questions integrated in the video. Afterwards the class will have a discussion about the different questions. Then, the teacher will pass out a worksheet which has a clear visual that represents a typical plot diagram, with blank spaces next to key moments on the diagram. They will then fill in key moments from the story that relate to each spot on the graph (setting, rising action, climax, falling action, etc.). Having a clear visual to show them the literal rising and falling action will be much more useful than simply having them write out the order of events in the story.

Link to Edpuzzle if embed isn’t working: https://edpuzzle.com/media/623b6ff4d66b484291e9959d