1. Identifying the Elements of A Plot Diagram Student Notes

2. Plot Diagram 2 1 3 4 5

3. Plot (definition) Plot is the organized pattern or sequence of events that make up a story. Every plot is made up of a series of incidents that are related to one another.

4. 1. Exposition This usually occurs at the beginning of a short story. Here the characters are introduced. We also learn about the setting of the story. Most importantly, we are introduced to the main conflict (main problem).

5. 2. Rising Action This part of the story begins to develop the conflict(s). A building of interest or suspense occurs.

6. 3. Climax This is the turning point of the story. Usually the main character comes face to face with a conflict. The main character will change in some way.

7. 4. Falling Action All loose ends of the plot are tied up. The conflict(s) and climax are taken care of.

8. 5. Resolution The story comes to a reasonable ending.

9. Putting It All Together 1. Exposition 2. Rising Action 3. Climax 4. Falling Action 5. Resolution Beginning of Story Middle of Story End of Story

10. Theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4qME 64SkxMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4qME 64SkxM A common thread or repeated idea A thought or central idea the author presents to the reader that may be deep, difficult to understand, or even moralistic. Generally, a theme has to be figured out as the reader explores the passages of a work. The author utilizes the characters, plot, and other literary devices to assist the reader.

11. Figuring out the Theme Ask yourself questions such as this: What do you learn after reading/listening to Where the Wild Things Are? What is the author’s message to the reader? What is the central purpose of the story? What is the moral of the story? What is the main idea

12. Theme for Finding Nemo While the story is about a father's search for his son, it's also about the son's journey towards manhood. Both have to overcome substantial obstacles and, in doing so, both achieve their goals. Marlon finds his son, but it is a very different son from the one at the beginning of the movie. Nemo finds strength of character beyond his greatest expectations. The love the two share is stronger than ever, but now there is also mutual respect. A thematic statement could reflect how the power of love can lead to self- discovery.

13. Theme for Frozen Elsa never expresses an interest in finding a man to marry, even though she is the queen. Instead, the focus of Frozen is more on discovering one’s individual identity than on meeting a knight in shining armor who can give one’s life meaning. -

14. Theme for The Hunger Games The Hunger Games is a novel about those who "have" and those who "have not" – that is, the people who have money and the people who don't. The Capitol has money. Gobs of it. While the Capitol is wealthier than all of the districts, some districts are more privileged than others, so they can train their tributes to do well in the Hunger Games – a competition they see as a way to gain glory and fame. The poor districts? Well, not much of an advantage there. District 12, Katniss's district, is an impoverished coal mining region that never stands a chance in the Games. They view the Games as a punishment that must be endured – something that robs them of their children. The novel asks you, then, to think about how money can change things for you – and change how you see the world.

15. Theme for Divergent Besides getting into Dauntless and stopping a war, Tris's other big adventure in Divergent is figuring out who she is. But identity isn't just about what's inside Tris (ew, organs)—it's also about her relationships with family, friends, and society in general. A big part of identity here is figuring out where you fit in and what you are capable of when pushed to the breaking point; usually that is when our true selves emerge.

16. Theme for The Fault in Our Stars The Necessity of Suffering Hazel, Augustus, and Isaac all endure quite a bit of physical and emotional pain. These types of pain are simply a part of living, a side effect of it as Hazel might put it. That doesn’t mean they’re desirable, just that they’re inevitable. But the most thematically significant type of pain in the novel is that caused by the death of a loved one, and it’s this variety that the novel suggests is the most necessary. Hazel worries a great deal about inflicting this kind of suffering on those around her when she dies, leading her to come up with the metaphor of the grenade that explodes and injures everyone nearby. It turns out she becomes the victim of this kind of pain when Augustus begins to weaken and finally succumbs to his cancer. What Hazel comes to understand is that this type of pain can’t be avoided. Since dying is certain and universal, all people will experience it. But as Hazel comes to recognize over the course of the novel, it isn’t necessarily something one should avoid. She wouldn’t take back the love she feels for Augustus for anything, even though that love is the precise cause of her pain. It’s a blessing and a curse, so to speak. The reason, as Augustus suggests in his letter to Van Houten that Hazel reads at the end of the novel, is that the pain you cause others when you die is a mark that you mattered. Augustus says happily that he left his “scar” on Hazel, meaning he hurt her but he also had an effect on her life that she’ll carry with her always. That type of pain, the novel suggests, is necessary, and in fact it’s a part of joy. Hazel touches on this idea in her eulogy for Augustus. The first thing she says to the gathered crowd is that there’s a quote hanging in Augustus’s that always gave the two of them comfort: “Without pain, we couldn’t know joy.”