1. Plot, Setting, and CHARACTER
7th Grade Language Arts
Mr. Boyle

2. Part 1: What Drives a Story?
Please open to Page 28 and open your Literature notebook to a new page (probably the first page!)
We will be discussing setting, characters, conflict, and plot together as well as in partners and/or small groups
Please pay attention to directions as I give them … ONLY WRITE DOWN WHAT IS ON THE SLIDES IF I TELL YOU TO
Later, you will do an homework assignment – alone -- based on what you learned
The homework assignment will be collected and graded for accuracy
Part 1: What Drives a Story?

3. Problem: The time and place of a story’s plot are not always clearly stated
We will use this activity to demonstrate how readers must “add up” details about setting
On the blank page in your Lit. notebook, write a list of details about a familiar setting, such as this classroom, a room at your home, or a local park
Keep the name of the place a secret please!!!
You have 60 seconds!!!
Now, turn to the person next to you and take turns reading the details you wrote – without naming the place – until each of you guesses the other’s place
Follow-up questions (please feel free to share):
How did your view of the setting change with each detail given?
How would your mental image of the setting change if certain details were left out?
Setting

4. Characters
Characters might tell about themselves through their appearance, speech, thoughts, and actions
Some characters are complex and change during a story, while others have only a few traits and do not change

5. Problem: A story might contain several conflicts, but it is the main conflict that ties events together and keeps the action moving forward
For this activity, we are going to answer some questions about a story we all agree on (I will take suggestions in a moment)
Use the same notebook page from before
Who is the main character?
What problems or conflicts does this character face? List as many as you can.
Which conflict is most important?
Is the main conflict inside the character’s mind (internal), or between the character and an outside force (external)?
Conflict

6. Part 2: Plot Development
Benefit to you!: Listing the major events in a story as well as details related to the plot development can be a helpful technique to understanding a story
Problem: Authors use devices to add complexity to a story’s plot
A story might begin in the middle of the action, revealing details about the setting and characters as the events unfold
The sequence of events might be interrupted to tell about an event in the past or to hint about something that might happen in the future
A story might include one or more subplots that make the main plot more interesting or complicated
A climax might occur at or near the end of the story, leaving the reader with unanswered questions about the character and conflict
Part 2: Plot Development

7. Part 2: Plot Development
Remember the story we used to talk about conflict? (hint: 2 slides ago!)
Turn the page to Page 30
Look at the plot diagram
Could you break down our story into the five stages of plot?
Try to do that on the same page in your Lit. notebook (or a new page if you’ve run out of room!)
Follow-up questions (please feel free to share):
Did the story fit neatly into the diagram?
Did the author use any of the devices mentioned on the previous slide (beginning in the middle of the action, flashbacks, etc.) to make the plot more complex?
How would the story be different if the events were arranged differently?
Part 2: Plot Development

8. Review time!
Please use Pages 28 and 30 to help you take notes on Plot, Setting, and Character
My best advice on how to do this: Match a phrase or a sentence on the outline to a phrase or a sentence in the textbook, then find what you need to fill in the blank
After I return them, keep these notes in your Literature folder – you can refer back to them during our first unit
These notes also will be posted on the 7th grade page at