"If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth…" Plot Diagram

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.

This sample lesson plan, 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.

"If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth…" Plot Diagram

Exposition

Marvin is ten years old, and his father is taking him through the different levels of the Colony to a place he’s never been before: Outside. They hop into a little scouting vehicle with a pressurized cabin and take off away from the Colony.

Conflict

Marvin has never before seen the Outside, and he wonders where his father is taking him. Everything he knows about the Outside has come from books. He wonders why an old book of his father’s has the rhyme, "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are" in it when the stars are steady specks of light.

Rising Action

As Marvin and his father leave the plateau with the Colony on it behind, they enter a darkened world surrounded by high mountains. Marvin is nervous as they pass a crashed rocket and darkened paths. He observes that his father is driving like he’s trying to escape from something.

Climax

Finally, after hours of driving, Marvin sees something strange. A silver crescent floats over the horizon, and it is not the sun. Marvin realizes that this is Earth, and it is awash in the glow of the sun; he is seeing Earth from the moon. However, there is also a glow in the darker parts of the Earth from the nuclear war that destroyed it.

Falling Action

Marvin’s father tells him the story about the days of despair that followed the war, when the people of the Colony realized they were alone. As he speaks, Marvin realizes that the people of the Colony bring their children there for a purpose: to show them that eventually, one day, after the nuclear fallout has decayed, they need to return home.

Resolution

As they drive back to the Colony, Marvin can’t look behind him. He feels the desolation of exile because he knows he will never get to go home; however, he also understands his purpose: to have children, to show them Earth, and to eventually get the human race back home.

Student Instructions

Create a visual plot diagram of "If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth…".

1. Separate the story into the Exposition, Conflict, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution.
2. Create an image that represents an important moment or set of events for each of the story components.
3. Write a description of each of the steps in the plot diagram.