Creating a plot diagram not only helps students learn 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. In this activity, students will create a visual plot diagram of major events in Midnight Without a Moon. Students should identify major turning points in the novel such as the Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action and Resolution.
Exposition: Rose lives with her mean grandmother Ma Pearl, grandfather Papa, brother Fred Lee, and cousin Queen in Mississippi in 1955. While she works in the cotton fields during the day, she dreams of a better life up North, as injustice and danger happens all around her.
Rising Action: One of Mr. Robinson’s workers, Levi, is shot and killed when he tries to register to vote.
Climax: Emmett Till is brutally murdered a few towns over for allegedly whistling at a white woman.
Falling Action: The white men who killed Emmett Till are found not guilty. Rose feels defeated and sad.
Resolution: Aunt Belle and Monty invite Rose to come and live with them in St. Louis, where she can get a good education and get away from Mississippi. Rose decides to stay and be a part of something bigger: justice for all people.
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Due Date:
Objective: Create a visual plot diagram of Midnight Without a Moon.
Student Instructions:
Ask the students to carefully read the text and have them look for possible themes in the text. The author's overall concepts or statements are known as themes. Themes can be more contextually particular to the narrative or universal ideas like justice, power, and love. Students can note down these central ideas from the plot to track how they have been implemented throughout the narrative.
Ask students to summarize the story's main points in a plot summary. This will provide a starting point for comprehending the evolution of topics. Students can also draw a plot diagram and divide the plot into sections so it is easier to track the progression of the themes through the different sections of the plot.
While analyzing the development of the plot, ask the students to keep other aspects of the plot in mind such as the characters, figurative language, and the setting. All of these aspects are interconnected with the development of the themes and the plot. Ensure that students are considering the impact of these aspects in their analysis.
Ask students to illustrate the progression of ideas in the plot with a timeline or other visual aid. Diagrams, graphs, and charts can be used for this. Students can also add their analysis of theme development overlapping with the plot diagram as it can provide a more comprehensive understanding and even back their analysis with the help of references from the text.
Encourage students to contribute their questions, perspectives, and insights throughout class discussions. The concepts can be better understood by this cooperative approach and students will get a chance to participate in the class activities.
The pivotal moment in the book occurs at the climax. In "Midnight Without a Moon," it might be a crucial scene where Rose Lee must make a choice or a momentous occasion that advances the plot toward its denouement. For instance, the main event here is the murder of Emmett Till which gives Rose a gist of reality.
The novel's resolution, which ties up any loose ends, provides readers with a conclusion and mostly answers the conflicts. The conclusion of "Midnight Without a Moon" might highlight Rose Lee's journey and the results of the Civil Rights Movement in her neighborhood.