A common use for Storyboard That is to help students create a plot diagram of the events from a novel. 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 of The Giver 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 the 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 The Giver.
Students will likely find the book enjoyable to read but could still use some help understanding the main points of action in the story. Scaffold for students as you help them to do this.
After students understand what the main points of action are in the story, they can place them on a storyboard to depict the narrative arc. For struggling students, you can have the events labeled for them and they simply need to manipulate them where they belong.
Students should describe and illustrate each moment of the narrative arc to complete their storyboard. Help students as needed.
The narrative arc is the flow of the plot line in a story. Just what it sounds like, it starts at the bottom, and flows up the mountain as the action heats up. The story reaches the top with the climax, and then goes back down the hill as the action subsides and the conflicts are all resolved.
Using a plot diagram or storyboard, students can explore the exposition and rising action up the mountain, put the climax at the top, and then the falling action and resolution go down the other side.
Although all of the elements of the narrative arc are important, the climax is the most important because after this moment nothing else is the same for the characters.