Students can create and show a storyboard that captures the concept of the Five Act Structure by making a six-cell storyboard, like the one below. For each cell, have students create a scene that follows the acts in order: Prologue, Conflict, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Denouement.
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a visual plot diagram of Julius Caesar.
(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)
| Proficient | Emerging | Beginning | Try Again | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Descriptive and Visual Elements | Cells have many descriptive elements, and provide the reader with a vivid representation. | Cells have many descriptive elements, but flow of cells may have been hard to understand. | Cells have few descriptive elements, or have visuals that make the work confusing. | Cells have few or no descriptive elements. |
| Grammar/Spelling | Textables have three or fewer spelling/grammar errors. | Textables have four or fewer spelling/grammar errors. | Textables have five or fewer spelling/grammar errors. | Textables have six or more spelling/grammar errors. |
| Evidence of Effort | Work is well written and carefully thought out. Student has done both peer and teacher editing. | Work is well written and carefully thought out. Student has either teacher or peer editing, but not both. | Student has done neither peer, nor teacher editing. | Work shows no evidence of any effort. |
| Plot | All parts of the plot are included in the diagram. | All parts of the plot are included in the diagram, but one or more is confusing. | Parts of the plot are missing from the diagram, and/or some aspects of the diagram make the plot difficult to follow. | Almost all of the parts of the plot are missing from the diagram, and/or some aspects of the diagram make the plot very difficult to follow. |
Introduce the five act structure by making a comparison between roller coasters and literary writings. Explain how stories feature times of thrilling building and fall, just like a roller coaster ride. This enables pupils to comprehend the organic flow of conflict and resolution in a tale. Students can also draw a picture of a roller coaster to make comparisons with important elements of the story.
Pick a popular story/ novel or film that most students have heard of and are interested in. Dissect the story's major moments and show how the Five Act Structure is adhered to. Showcase the happenings of each act with visual assistance like a timeline.
Separate the class into groups. Give each group a special narrative prompt that promotes imagination and adheres to the Five Act Structure. Students can choose their own topics or teachers can provide them with a list of interesting and thought provoking topics to choose from. Ask each group to come up with ideas and produce a quick skit that adheres to the Five Act Structure. Encourage them to include tense situations and conclusions.
Encourage a class discussion after each group has performed its skit. Ask the students to consider their feelings about the tension increasing and the most thrilling moments. Encourage the students to relate this knowledge to narratives they like to read, watch, or hear.
The play's first act acts as an introduction, laying the groundwork for the narrative. The struggle starts to take shape as the personalities are presented and the political unrest in Rome is developed. It is also the protasis stages that introduces the audience to the main characters and the setting of the play.
Act 2's growing action is where the conflict and tension become more intense. It contains crucial incidents including the conspiracy to kill Caesar, the planning of the conspirators, and the conflict between Brutus and Cassius.
Even though it's a typical storytelling structure, not all plays precisely follow the Five Act Structure. Some plays could have fewer or more acts or strange structural arrangements. The Five Act Structure, however, is still a helpful tool for examining many great plays, including "Julius Caesar."
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