The Plot Thickens

Today's revisit with Plot was fantastic! Students were engaged, and were able to play the Plot scramble well, identifying the elements/stages of plot well. I had them view a PowerPoint, and review their notes from a previous viewing, in order to ensure that they had the appropriate details for the test noted.

Students worked hard, listening with a purpose. We then moved to the Plot Map, as I told them about a movie I saw this weekend, The Chaos Experiment. I moved through the Plot Map, telling the movie details, with the stages in mind, and parts of a story. I tied in their Personal Narrative, so that they could see that storytelling and moviemaking are all connected into the Personal Narrative written products.

After that, I had my High Schoolers use story books of their choosing, and for a grade, complete a graphic organizer Plot Map from children's literature SSR bins. The students were spread out all over the room, quietly reading high interest children's literature, ranging from DR. SUESS's Butter Battle Book, to The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, to Epposomondus Saves the Say. It was a long assignment, and they didn't all complete it, because they were tied up in detials, and how to manage the graphic organizer. Some did a great job, and others were excited to be able to sit and just read a kids' book.

In the end, it was a great class, because they gained a review of Plot, an application to relevant text, and a fun way to use their knowledge in context.

Tomorrow, we move on to a review of Conflict.