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Dana Alexander
Plot Diagrams Lesson Plan

Academic Standards/ Assessment Anchors:
Standard 1.3.9.C - Analyze the use and effectiveness of literary elements used by one or
more authors, including characterization, plot, theme, point of view, tone, mood, and style.
R11.B.1: Understand components within and between texts.
R11.B.2: Understand literary devices in fictional and nonfictional text.

Instructional Objectives:
1. Given presentation, students will label and define (write) the elements of plot: setting,
rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution, with no more than 1 error.
2. Given a plot diagram and a short story, students will label and define each element
found in the story, with no more than 1 error.

Content:
Introduction/ Motivational Device
Write question on the board, How many elements of a plot are there and how many
can you name?
Have students discuss with a partner and write down their responses.
Call on students to volunteer to read their answers aloud to the class.
Subject Content/ Topic
Tell students:
Today we are going to learn about Literary Analysis through Plot Diagrams
Plot diagrams allow the reader to easily organize the different plot elements of a
story.
Learning Activities/ Procedure
Direct Instruction:
Tell students: A plot diagram is an organizational tool used to map the events in a
story.
Inform students of important key terms and have them write them down...
Plot- All the events that happen within a story
Conflict- A struggle.
Prediction- a guess about what might happen based on prior events and
knowledge
Draw on the white board what a plot diagram looks like so students get a visual
Have students copy what you drew on board and have them draw the plot diagram in
their notebooks
Define/ explain each piece of the plot diagram to the class while labeling the
different parts of the diagram on the board. Have students follow along as they label
and define the terms on their individual plot diagrams.

Exposition- The introduction/ beginning of a story where background
information such as setting, characters, and main conflicts are introduced to the
reader.
Commented [1]:
This is extremely important for the writing process. If
students do not understand the elements of the plot of a story
they will not be able to create their own stories at a later
time. It is important for students to master these skills early
on so that they can apply what they know to their own
writing, which allows for them to meet their full potential
and write effectively.
Commented [2]:
Teaching students the process of a story can be reflective of
Chris Ansons ideas of the importance of process pedagogy.

2
Rising Action- The round characters are developed and events that increase
the conflict and motives are introduced. Major part of the story.
Climax- The high point of a story where major conflicts erupt in a very
tense, emotional moment.
Falling Action- The events that immediately follow the climax. The clean-
up
Resolution- The ending or conclusion. Closure of the story. The reader may
be asked to think about what would happen next.
Cooperative Learning
Split class up into groups of 4-5 students
Hand out one plot diagram per student
Directions to tell class:
As a group, discuss where to label all the elements on the plot diagram
Each student will write information on their own plot diagram
Then read The Lady or the Tiger by Frank Stockton as a
group.
Using the information from the short story, the group will determine
which details correlate to each part of the plot diagram and write it on
the paper provided.
Constantly walk around during this activity to make sure students are on task and
grasping the concepts. Ask them questions that lead to the answers if they are having
difficulty. Reread short story with them if they are struggling.

Air correction procedures
The air correction procedures will include, guiding back to the lesson and reteaching
parts of the plot diagram that seem to confuse the student. Also I will restate the
definitions of each element of a plot diagram. If these definitions seem to confuse the
students, I will re-word them to make their meanings more simple.

Closure
Collect plot diagrams from each student
Call on a student to draw a plot diagram on the board and to label the five elements
Call on a 5 students to each define one of the elements of a plot diagram:
exposition
rising action
climax
falling action
resolution


Differentiated Learning Activities:
Tiers: Process
Tier 1. (Low Level)
Direct instruction
Reading assignments - low level, easy to read, easy to understand. (The Tell Tale
Heart)
Commented [3]:
collaborative writing- rebecca moore howard & krista
kennedy express the importance of having students work
collaboratively in groups. Peter Elbow also discusses the
value and benefits of having students work in small groups.
In every education class i have every had at this university
we are constantly told to have our students work in small
groups because they get so much more out of small group
collaboration then they do with working independently.
Students not only get the opportunity to bounce information
off of one and other and feed off of each other ideas, but they
are also learning social skills and learning how to work with
others, which will be extremely valuable for their future lives
in the work place. Collaborative group work also engages
students, which is extremely important.
Commented [4]:
Understanding that students are all at different levels of
proficiency is extremely important as an educator. No two
students are on the exact same level when it comes to
reading and writing. While creating this lesson plan I took
into consideration the different reading levels at which my
students will most likely be at. I did research and
deteremined which short story would be the most appropriate
for which level of students. When applything this to my real
classroom in the future I will determine students levels of
reading and writing proficiency and then place them with
students who are at or near the same level as them. This
allows students to get the most out of each lesson, while
having other students doing the same work as them so that
students can work collaboratively.

3
Graphic Organizer- Print out copy of plot diagram so student has it in front of them
Advanced Graphic Organizer- Provide easy to understand definitions of each
element.
Guided notes
Multimedia resources

Tier 2. (Middle Level)
Direct Instruction
Reading assignment- Middle level, challenging to a degree (The Lady or The Tiger)
Graphic Organizer- Print out copy of plot diagram so students have it in front of them

Tier 3 (High Level)
Direct Instruction
Reading Assignment- High Level, challenging, includes interpretation and analysis
(The Monkeys Paw)

Cooperative Learning:
Split class up into groups of 4-5 students based on reading level (lower level
students together, higher level students together, etc)
Assign each group a short story
Low level- The Tell Tale Heart - Edgar Allen Poe
Middle Level- The Lady or the Tiger - Frank Stockton
High Level- The Monkeys Paw- W. W. Jacobs
Technology: none

Formative assessment:
In order to determine if the objectives are met, I will collect the plot diagrams filled out
by each student.

Reflection:
Was the objective met?
If the lesson were repeated, what would I change?
What is the direction for the next lesson?
Commented [5]:
After reading Howard and Kennedys work, as well as
Pascopella and Richardson, I understand the importance of
incorporating technology in the classroom. If I had the
chance to revise this lesson plan I would choose to
incorporate technology.
Commented [6]:
As an educator is it extremely important to reflect on the
days lesson as well as the effectiveness you have had as a
teacher. After reviewing students formative assessments
teachers must determine if students grasped the concepts
taught during the lesson. If students have not sufficiently
understood the material, it is important for the teacher to
reteach areas in which students had trouble. If students do
not understand the basics of writing and reading they will
never reach their full potential.