Activity Overview
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, including five act structure.
Students can create a storyboard capturing the narrative arc in a novel 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.
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 "Tell-Tale Heart".
- 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/9-10/1] Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text
- [ELA-Literacy/RL/9-10/2] Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text
- [ELA-Literacy/RL/9-10/5] Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise
Rubric
(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)
| Proficient 25 Points | Emerging 21 Points | Beginning 17 Points | Try Again 13 Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Descriptive and Visual Elements | Cells have many descriptive elements, and provide the reader with a vivid representation. | Cells have many descriptive elements, but flow of cells may have been hard to understand. | Cells have few descriptive elements, or have visuals that make the work confusing. | Cells have few or no descriptive elements. |
| Grammar/Spelling | Textables have three or fewer spelling/grammar errors. | Textables have four or fewer spelling/grammar errors. | Textables have five or fewer spelling/grammar errors. | Textables have six or more spelling/grammar errors. |
| Evidence of Effort | Work is well written and carefully thought out. Student has done both peer and teacher editing. | Work is well written and carefully thought out. Student has either teacher or peer editing, but not both. | Student has done neither peer, nor teacher editing. | Work shows no evidence of any effort. |
| Plot | All parts of the plot are included in the diagram. | All parts of the plot are included in the diagram, but one or more is confusing. | Parts of the plot are missing from the diagram, and/or some aspects of the diagram make the plot difficult to follow. | Almost all of the parts of the plot are missing from the diagram, and/or some aspects of the diagram make the plot very difficult to follow. |
How To Structure The Plot To Write an Interesting Story
Come Up With a Story Line
Ask the students to come up with an interesting storyline to write their stories. Teachers can give students some common themes to work on as this will give students a starting point and help teachers assess the creativity level of each student.
Give the Story a Structure
Once the students have a basic idea of what they want to work on, ask them to develop their stories and give them some structure. Students can advance the plot line by deciding the motivations and goals of their characters and some important parts such as the climax, conflicts, and resolution.
Introduce a Specific Plot Structure
Teachers can introduce many different plot structures that students can use to give their plot shape. The most common and frequently used plot structure includes six stages. Teachers can introduce and explain these stages in detail before or after the development of the plot line so the students can shape their stories according to this structure.
Discuss Some Examples
Teachers can also discuss some examples pertaining to this plot structure with the students so students can have some idea as to how they can make their stories more interesting and give out their intended message to the readers.
Set Clear Objectives
Ask the students to set some clear goals regarding their stories. They should not change any part just because it does not fit the structure rather they can modify a few things and be a little flexible. Encourage the students to be creative and experimental with their stories and use the concept of plot structure to make their stories more interesting.
Frequently Asked Questions About "The Tell-Tale Heart" Plot Diagram
Which conflict dominates "The Tell-Tale Heart"?
Internal and psychological conflict is the main problem in the story. The story centers around the narrator's obsession with the old man's eye and how he went insane after killing him. We can also see that the narrator wants to prove his sanity yet does the exact opposite which makes him even more interesting.
How is the story made more interesting and suspenseful because of the point of view of the narrator?
The story's storyline revolves around the unreliable narrator's point of view. As the reader attempts to distinguish between what is true and what is a result of the narrator's worsening mental condition, it raises suspense and doubt. The narrator also seems to be going through some psychological issues that only the readers can identify after reading his thoughts.
What does "The Tell-Tale Heart"'s falling action entail?
As he continues to hear the heartbeat, the narrator becomes more and more desperate and uneasy, which is represented by the dropping action. He gradually grows to believe that because it is getting louder, their wrongdoing will be exposed which is an interesting bridge to the resolution.
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