A common use for Storyboard That is to help students create a plot diagram of the events from a story. Not only is this a great way to teach the parts of the plot, but it reinforces major events and help students develop greater understanding of literary structures.
Students can create a storyboard capturing the narrative arc in a work with a six-cell storyboard containing the major parts of the plot diagram. For each cell, have students create a scene that follows the story in sequence using: Exposition, Conflict, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution.
(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 ”Icarus and Daedalus”.
Encourage students to write and perform short dialogues between characters from “Icarus and Daedalus.” This sparks creativity and deepens understanding of character motivation.
Ask students to consider how each character feels during key plot events. This helps students empathize and connect with the story on a personal level.
Demonstrate how to convert narrative moments into back-and-forth conversations. This makes abstract events more concrete and supports oral language skills.
Organize students into pairs or small groups to act out their dialogues. This builds confidence and creates a collaborative classroom atmosphere.
Lead a discussion about what the dialogues reveal about the story’s themes, such as ambition or obedience. This reinforces critical thinking and helps students connect plot to larger ideas.
A plot diagram for 'Icarus and Daedalus' visually outlines the story's key events, breaking them down into exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution to help students understand the narrative structure.
To create a storyboard plot diagram, divide 'Icarus and Daedalus' into six main parts: exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. For each part, design a scene and write a brief description, using tools like Storyboard That for visuals.
Teaching plot structure helps middle school students recognize how stories are built, improves reading comprehension, and strengthens their ability to analyze and write narratives.
The six parts of a plot diagram are: exposition (introduction), conflict (problem), rising action (events leading up), climax (turning point), falling action (events after climax), and resolution (conclusion).
An example assignment is having students create a six-cell storyboard for 'Icarus and Daedalus', with each cell representing a stage in the plot and including both images and descriptions for each event.