Storyboarding is an excellent way to focus on types of literary conflicts.
Having students create storyboards that show the cause and effect of different types of conflicts strengthens analytical thinking about literary concepts. Have your students choose an example of each literary conflict and depict them using the storyboard creator. In the storyboard, an example of each conflict should be visually represented, along with an explanation of the scene, and how it fits the particular category of conflict.
Meg struggles to get along with her peers. On the way home from school, she gets into a fight with a classmate who calls Charles Wallace "dumb".
Meg struggles with self-doubt. She believes she is a failure academically and socially. When she is called upon to face IT on Camazotz, she must overcome her doubts in order to succeed.
On Camazotz, all citizens are expected to act and think the same. The young boy who bounces his ball out of rhythm is forced to practice bouncing it properly at CENTRAL Central Intelligence. With each bounce, he feels a stab of pain as punishment.
The Murrys, Calvin, and the three Mrs. W's are all fighting an evil supernatural force. Throughout the book, this evil is represented in multiple ways: the Dark Thing, the Man with the Red Eyes, and IT. The protagonists use love and hope to fight this evil, but they cannot destroy it completely.
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Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that shows at least three forms of literary conflict in A Wrinkle in Time.
Start your lesson by asking students to share recent disagreements or challenges they've faced (anonymously or in small groups). Connect these real-life situations to the concept of conflict in stories, helping students see how literary conflict mirrors their own experiences. This builds engagement and makes the topic relatable from the beginning.
Read a short excerpt from A Wrinkle in Time aloud. Think aloud as you identify the type of conflict and explain your reasoning. This demonstration gives students a clear process to follow when analyzing other story moments.
Pair students and assign each pair a different chapter or scene. Ask them to find at least one example of conflict and decide together which type it is. This approach encourages discussion, teamwork, and critical thinking.
As a class, list each type of literary conflict on chart paper or a whiteboard. Add student examples from the book under each category. Refer back to this chart during future lessons to reinforce understanding and vocabulary.
At the end of the lesson, ask students to write one sentence about which type of conflict they find most interesting and why. This reflection helps consolidate learning and gives you insight into student understanding.
A Wrinkle in Time features several types of literary conflict, including Man vs. Man (Meg vs. her peers), Man vs. Self (Meg's self-doubt), Man vs. Society (characters resisting conformity on Camazotz), and Man vs. Supernatural (the fight against IT and the Dark Thing).
Use storyboarding activities to help students visualize and explain different conflicts in the story. Have students pick examples of each conflict type, illustrate them, and write brief descriptions to reinforce their understanding.
Meg experiences a Man vs. Self conflict as she struggles with self-doubt and must overcome her insecurities to confront IT and save her brother.
Teaching literary conflict helps students develop analytical thinking, recognize character motivations, and understand deeper themes in literature. It also improves comprehension and discussion skills.
Assign students to create a storyboard depicting at least three types of conflict from the novel, including visual scenes and short written explanations for each example.