"The Tell-Tale Heart" Plot Diagram

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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.





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Template and Class Instructions

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Student Instructions

Create a visual plot diagram of "Tell-Tale Heart".


  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.



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How To Structure The Plot To Write an Interesting Story

1

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.

2

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.

3

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.

4

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.

5

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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Tell-Tale Heart, The



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