Activity Overview
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 will really have to think carefully about which events are major turning points in the plot.
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.
In this example, the story is shortened to end BEFORE Romulus commits fratricide. Depending on your focus, you may want to consider expanding the story to include the events that led up to the Sabine War.
"Romulus and Remus" Plot Diagram Example
Exposition
Amulius overthrows his brother Numitor and becomes king of Alba Longa. Numitor’s daughter, Rhea Silvia, bears twin sons from Mars, god of war. These male heirs threaten the position of her uncle.
Conflict
Amulius wants the two boys killed. A servant sets the two boys in a basket and lets it float on the Tiber River. Their basket is saved and runs aground.
Rising Action
A she-wolf finds the crying babies and feeds them with her own milk. A woodpecker brings them food to eat. A shepherd soon discovers them and brings the two infants home to his wife. They raise them as simple shepherds, naming them Romulus and Remus.
Climax
Remus is imprisoned after an argument with the king's shepherds. Romulus gathers others to help rescue his brother. Amulius is killed and the brothers discover their true identities.
Falling Action
Their supporters wish to crown them as joint kings, but Romulus and Remus reinstate their grandfather, Numitor, as king of Alba Longa.
Resolution
The two brothers decide to found a new city along the Tiber River, near where the she-wolf found them. This city would later become the great city of Rome.
Template and Class Instructions
(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 the Romulus and Remus myth.
- Click "Start Assignment".
- Separate the story into the Exposition, Conflict, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution.
- Create an image that represents an important moment or set of events for each of the story components.
- Write a description of each of the steps in the plot diagram.
Lesson Plan Reference
- [ELA-Literacy/RL/6/2] Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments
- [ELA-Literacy/RL/6/3] Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution
- [ELA-Literacy/RL/6/10] By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 6–8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range
Rubric
(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)
| Proficient 33 Points | Emerging 25 Points | Beginning 17 Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plot Images | Cells include images that convey events in the corresponding stage of the plot. The images represent an important moment and exemplify the descriptions below them. | Cells include one or two images that convey events from an incorrect stage of the plot. Most images represent an important moment and exemplify the descriptions below them. | Cells include three or more images that convey events from an incorrect stage of the plot. Images depict minor and inimportant moments or do not reflect the descriptions below them. |
| Plot Text | The storyboard correctly identifies all six stages of the plot. The text for each of the six cells correctly breaks down the plot events into appropriate stages. The text gives a logical overview of the plot and includes the most significant events of the book. | The storyboard misidentifies one or two stages of the plot. The text for each of the six cells breaks down most of the plot events into appropriate stages. The text gives a logical overview of the plot, but may omit some significant events of the book. | The storyboard misidentifies three or more stages of the plot. The text for each of the six cells does not correspond to the events of that stage. Overall plot description is not logical. |
| Spelling and Grammar | Spelling and grammar is exemplary. Text contains few or no mistakes. | Text contains some significant errors in spelling or grammar. | Text contains many errors in spelling or grammar. |
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Romulus and Remus
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