Un viejo que leía novelas de amor Plot Diagram & Summary

Q: How long does the Un viejo que leía novelas de amor plot diagram activity take?

Plan for 45 to 60 minutes for the storyboard and 10 minutes for sharing. Because the novel has only eight chapters, the activity works well as an end-of-book review. If your classes are short, split it into two sessions: chapters 1–4 at the halfway point and chapters 5–8 when students finish the book.

Q: What discussion questions work with the plot diagram?

Three that spark good debate: Where is the climax: when Antonio José kills the wounded male, or when he faces the ocelot? Why does the author interrupt the story in chapters 3 and 4 to tell the old man's past? Is the ending a happy one? Have students back up each answer with a cell from their storyboard.

Un viejo que leía novelas de amor - Plot Diagram Example

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Lesson Plan Overview

Template and Class Instructions

Lesson Plan Overview

One of the best ways to help your students follow a novel is to have them track its main events. In this activity, each student creates a six-cell storyboard that breaks Un viejo que leía novelas de amor into the parts of a plot diagram: exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

The novel is short (eight chapters), but it isn't linear: chapters 3 and 4 jump back in time to tell the story of Antonio José Bolívar Proaño's past. Putting the events in order on a diagram helps students separate the main story, the hunt for the ocelot, from the protagonist's memories.

Using the template, students complete one cell for each part of the plot, with an illustration and two or three sentences. If your class needs more support, provide the cell titles already filled in and a word bank. With advanced students, ask them to justify, with a quote from the text, why they chose that moment as the climax.

Before You Begin

Suggested timing: after finishing the novel, or in two parts (chapters 1–4 and 5–8).
Time needed: 45 to 60 minutes for the storyboard and 10 minutes for sharing aloud.
Assessment: check that each cell correctly identifies the part of the plot, that the image matches the event, and that the description uses concrete details from the novel.

Example Summary of Un viejo que leía novelas de amor

Exposition

In El Idilio, an isolated village on the banks of the Nangaritza River in the Ecuadorian Amazon, the dentist Rubicundo Loachamín treats his patients on the dock while he waits for the boat Sucre to leave. Antonio José Bolívar Proaño, an old man who lived for years with the Shuar, waits for the romance novels the dentist brings him.

Conflict

A group of Shuar arrive by canoe with the body of a gringo. The mayor, whom everyone calls "the Slug" (la Babosa), accuses them of the crime, but Antonio José proves it was a female ocelot (la tigrilla): the gringo had killed her cubs and wounded her mate, and he was carrying the pelts in his backpack.

Rising Action

The ocelot keeps attacking. The gold prospector Napoleón Salinas is found dead, and the mayor organizes an expedition into the jungle and forces Antonio José to join it. The expedition finds two more men killed by the animal.

Climax

The mayor returns to the village and pays Antonio José to hunt the ocelot alone. The old man finds the wounded male and kills it to end its suffering. Then the female begins to stalk him.

Falling Action

After a tense night, the ocelot confronts him and Antonio José kills her. He feels admiration for the animal and shame for what he has just done.

Resolution

The old man pushes the ocelot's body into the river and returns to his hut in El Idilio and to his romance novels, which let him forget, for a while, the barbarity of men.

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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 plot diagram of Un viejo que leía novelas de amor.

Click "Use This Template" from the assignment.
Separate the story into the exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
Create an image that represents an important moment in each part of the plot, using appropriate scenes, characters, and items.
Write a two- to three-sentence description below each cell.
Save and submit your storyboard.

Un viejo que leía novelas de amor - Plot Diagram Template

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Copy This Storyboard

Lesson Plan Reference

Grade Level 9-12

Difficulty Level 2 (Reinforcing / Developing)

Type of Assignment Individual

Type of Activity: Plot Diagrams and Narrative Arcs

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Lesson Plan Overview

Before You Begin

Suggested timing: after finishing the novel, or in two parts (chapters 1–4 and 5–8).
Time needed: 45 to 60 minutes for the storyboard and 10 minutes for sharing aloud.
Assessment: check that each cell correctly identifies the part of the plot, that the image matches the event, and that the description uses concrete details from the novel.

Example Summary of Un viejo que leía novelas de amor

Exposition

Conflict

Rising Action

Climax

The mayor returns to the village and pays Antonio José to hunt the ocelot alone. The old man finds the wounded male and kills it to end its suffering. Then the female begins to stalk him.

Falling Action

After a tense night, the ocelot confronts him and Antonio José kills her. He feels admiration for the animal and shame for what he has just done.

Resolution

The old man pushes the ocelot's body into the river and returns to his hut in El Idilio and to his romance novels, which let him forget, for a while, the barbarity of men.

Copy Activity

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 plot diagram of Un viejo que leía novelas de amor.

Click "Use This Template" from the assignment.
Separate the story into the exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
Create an image that represents an important moment in each part of the plot, using appropriate scenes, characters, and items.
Write a two- to three-sentence description below each cell.
Save and submit your storyboard.

More options

Copy This Storyboard

Lesson Plan Reference

Grade Level 9-12

Difficulty Level 2 (Reinforcing / Developing)

Type of Assignment Individual

Type of Activity: Plot Diagrams and Narrative Arcs

Copy Activity

How to Guide the Un viejo que leía novelas de amor Plot Diagram

Separate the main story from the flashbacks

Before students open the template, have them mark on a timeline chapters 3 and 4, which tell Antonio José Bolívar Proaño's past, and the rest of the novel, which follows the ocelot. The diagram is built from the present-day story; the flashbacks serve as context for the exposition.

Model the first cell with the whole class

Spend about 10 minutes filling in the exposition together: El Idilio, the dentist Rubicundo Loachamín on the dock, and the old man waiting for his novels. Students see how much text and what kind of image you expect in each cell before they work on their own.

Hold a short debate about the climax

In pairs, ask: Is the climax when Antonio José kills the wounded male, or when the ocelot confronts him? There's no single right answer; what matters is that students defend their choice with a quote from the novel. The debate sets up the climax and falling action cells.

Adjust support for each group

For Spanish language learners, provide the cell titles and a word bank (tigrilla, alcalde, muelle, acechar). For heritage speakers, ask for descriptions in the past tense with connectors such as primero, después, finalmente. For advanced students, require one quote from the text per cell.

Grade with three shared criteria

Before students start, show the class the criteria: the plot part is correctly identified, the image matches the event, and the description uses specific details from the novel. Check all three in each cell, and close with 10 minutes of sharing a few storyboards aloud.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Un viejo que leía novelas de amor Plot Diagram

How long does the Un viejo que leía novelas de amor plot diagram activity take?

Plan for 45 to 60 minutes for the storyboard and 10 minutes for sharing. Because the novel has only eight chapters, the activity works well as an end-of-book review. If your classes are short, split it into two sessions: chapters 1–4 at the halfway point and chapters 5–8 when students finish the book.

How do I grade the plot diagram for this novel?

Check three criteria in each cell: the plot part is correctly identified, the image matches the event, and the description includes specific details such as characters and places (El Idilio, the river, the jungle). In AP Spanish or heritage-speaker classes, add a fourth criterion: correct use of the preterite and imperfect, along with accent marks.

How do I adapt the activity for Spanish language learners?

Hand out the template with the six cell titles already filled in, plus a word bank from the novel (tigrilla, alcalde, dentista, canoa, cacería). Accept one-sentence descriptions and offer a sentence starter such as “En la exposición, Antonio José…” The illustrations let students show they understand the plot even before they write fluently.

What changes when I teach heritage speakers?

Many heritage speakers follow the novel easily but have less practice writing in Spanish. Ask for three-sentence descriptions with time connectors (primero, mientras tanto, finalmente) and an accent check before they turn it in. They can also compare the jungle vocabulary Sepúlveda uses with the words their own families use.

What discussion questions work with the plot diagram?

Three that spark good debate: Where is the climax: when Antonio José kills the wounded male, or when he faces the ocelot? Why does the author interrupt the story in chapters 3 and 4 to tell the old man's past? Is the ending a happy one? Have students back up each answer with a cell from their storyboard.