Teaching Elements of Plot

Elements of Plot

Teaching the elements of plot is one of the most impactful things a reading teacher can do for their students. Explicitly teaching elements of plot help students to have better comprehension of fictional stories. This helps them make a mental map of what to expect in the structure of any story.

Plot is the sequence of events in a story. When teaching elements of plot make sure to:

define story words- protagonist, antagonist, types of conflict, exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution
Clarify that plot is for fictional stories (made up stories)

Plot Diagram

I love Lovin Lit’s Free Plot Diagram Template. I don’t know her personally but have been a big fan of her TPT materials for years. The visual organization of this diagram clarifies where the important parts of the story are happening. I love the little explosion for the climax, what a great way to show ‘THE MOST EXCITING PART.’

What are the Elements of Plot?

Exposition

FYI: I only endorse things that I've personally used or have come highly recommended from my teacher friends and family and think they may be helpful to you. If you buy anything mentioned using my Amazon referral links, I may get a small commission at no extra cost to you.

The exposition is a great time to discuss the narrator and conflict in the story. This is the first part of the plot and is where the characters, setting and basics of the story are learned.

For example, in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the exposition is the first 40ish pages of the book. This sets the stage for the entire series, first learning about the downfall of Voldemort from Vernon Dursley’s perspective. We then learn about the challenges of Harry’s life living with the Dursleys in the cupboard under the stairs.

Inciting Incident

The inciting incident is the event that sets the story in motion. In the Wizard of Oz it’s Dorothy’s house landing on and killing the Wicked Witch of the East. Spiderman gets bit by a spider and any other Marvel or DC superhero becomes a superhero.

Using a superhero origin movie as an example can help clarify the exposition and the inciting incident. Peter Parker was a regular high school student until one fateful day and field trip gone wrong. This is why so much of a superhero’s first movie takes so long to go over the origins. The origin of the super hero is typically the inciting incident, which for some reason seems to take 45 minutes to go over in a movie.

For Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone it’s the letters that keep showing up inviting Harry to Hogwarts, wrapping up with Hagrid’s iconic words, “You’re a Wizard Harry.”

Rising Action

This is where most of the story takes place, suspense builds and conflict grows. It moves the plot along toward the main conflict of the story. Other complications and smaller conflicts can pop up, especially in longer texts. This makes a story more interesting. If a character didn’t have conflict, their story wouldn’t be very interesting. “My life was perfect, the end.”

Going back to our Sorcerer’s Stone example, this is where we learn about the Mrs. Norris, Filch and Quidditch and Draco Malfoy and Snape. These are all examples of complications and added conflict to Harry’s main conflict of Voldemort. They make the story more interesting as Harry works towards his showdown with Voldemort.

Climax

This is the most exciting part of the story. This is where the protagonist faces the antagonist and there is often the conclusion of the story’s main conflict. Be careful to note that for a series, each book needs to be taken into consideration individually for the plot diagram.

While Voldemort does not die at the end of Sorcerer’s Stone, the conflict for Harry in the first book has been resolved in the fact that Quirrel is killed and Voldemort disappears for a bit.

Falling Action

Conflicts start to wrap up, but this is not always a guarantee. Some conflicts may be left conflicted. Story events that follow the climax are part of the falling action. This is the part where the protagonist needs to essentially clean up the mess the conflict of the climax made.

In Sorcerer’s Stone the falling action would include the time at the infirmary and the House Cup.

The falling action can even introduce a new conflict. When reading a series this will often set up the next book. Catching Fire, the second book in the Hunger Games series, sets up new unresolved conflict at the end of the book- The destruction of district 12 and the separation of Peeta.

Resolution

Sometimes called the Dénouement, the resolution is the final part of the story that can show you a glimpse into the main character’s new normal. Depending the genre of the story, the resolution is generally the happily ever after for the main character.

The post credit scenes in any Marvel movie could be considered a denouement.

Resources for Teaching Elements of Plot

I have purchased a few resources from Teachers Pay Teachers over the years that I have found are really helpful for my students understanding elements of plot.

Reading Interactive Notebook: Literature Activities by Lovin Lit has a great product for teaching many literature concepts, but the Story Vocabulary and Elements of Plot lessons are ones that I use every year. Honestly, I use most of the resources and notes from this product. The links for related videos and teacher notes are really helpful for bringing Elements of Plot to life.
Less Mess Fiction by Peanut Circus is another resource that I have found helpful to add to my repertoire of resources for teaching fiction. This resource is great for taking notes but doesn’t waste time cutting out all of the intricate shapes you might find in other interactive notebooks. Instead this focuses on the main point- elements of plot and other reading skills needed for reading fiction.
Fairy Tales- Pick any fairy tale your class is familiar with and you can practice going over how to fill out a plot diagram. These are nice because they save time since the majority of your class should be familiar with Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella and Goldilocks.
Reading Vocabulary Word Search– I created this product as a way to introduce and review key reading vocabulary throughout the year. Some examples of word searches in this product include elements of plot, narrator & point of view, types of characters and literary genres to name a few. You can also check out my Reading Vocabulary Crack the Code as well.

Check out my post on Creative Narrative Story Writing and How to Successfully Teach it!

Student Confusion While Teaching Elements of Plot

Having taught Elements of Plot for many years there are some common points of confusion that tends to come up each year- Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Scary Stories.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is tricky because it is most likely the one book that the majority of students have all actually ready. This book is really successful in getting readers, especially reluctant readers to pick up a book and enjoy the story. The reason that Wimpy Kid can cause confusion for students is that the book is more of a collection of short stories instead of one main conflict. I find that it is helpful to talk about this book because Wimpy Kid is one that, while many students truly enjoy, may cause some plot confusion.

The other clarification to discuss with students is the structure of a short scary story. Many short stories, especially scary stories, end at the climax. Think about many horror movies that end on a questionable note- did the main character survive? These stories are fun and exciting to read because they are fast paced. They are so fast paced because, if they end on a cliffhanger, they have most likely skipped the falling action and resolution.

Check out my post on Teaching Story Elements and Plot Structure and How to Successfully Teach it!

Reading Teacher Fun Stuff

Looking to add to your teaching wardrobe via fun reading t-shirts and sweatshirts? Check out some of these fun ones! Don’t forget to check out Piper and Ivy. They have some really fun book and reading t-shirts and sweatshirts.

I Want To Be A Schwa T-Shirt

Phonemes, Morphemes and Caffeine T-Shirt

Teaching the Elements of Plot

Taking the time to explicitly teach the elements of plot is time well used in the classroom. I find that the students have a better understanding of where a story is going and leads to increased comprehension and a better enjoyment of a story when thinking about the structure of the story.