ALEX Learning Activity

  

Practicing With Plot (Part 2)

A Learning Activity is a strategy a teacher chooses to actively engage students in learning a concept or skill using a digital tool/resource.

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  This learning activity provided by:  
Author: Lisa Wilson
System:Phenix City
School:Lakewood Elementary School
  General Activity Information  
Activity ID: 2758
Title:
Practicing With Plot (Part 2)
Digital Tool/Resource:
Pixar Animated Short Videos From YouTube and Plot Diagram
Web Address – URL:
Overview:

Resources include: 

1. YouTube Videos: Pixar Animated Shorts to use with the students. The animated shorts tell a story focusing on the elements of plot (characters, setting, conflict, rising actions, climax, falling actions, and resolution).

2. Plot Diagram 

Students will watch a Pixar Short video and complete the attached plot diagram that focuses on characters, setting, conflict, rising actions, climax, falling actions, and resolution. Students will demonstrate their understanding of the plot in the video by completing the attached plot diagram.

Students will summarize the Pixar Short video story, describing how the plot unfolds, and how the characters respond to challenges/problems using visual evidence.

This activity results from the ALEX Resource Development Summit.
  Associated Standards and Objectives  
Content Standard(s):
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 5
17. Demonstrate comprehension of text by asking and responding to questions about literary elements used in the text.

Examples: theme, plot, point of view
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
17.
  • Demonstrate
  • Comprehension
  • Literary elements
Knowledge:
17. Students know:
  • Literary elements within a story include the theme, plot, and point of view.
  • Comprehension can be demonstrated by asking and answering questions about a text.
Skills:
17. Students are able to:
  • Ask questions about literary elements used in the text to demonstrate comprehension.
  • Respond to questions about literary elements used in the text to demonstrate comprehension.
Understanding:
17. Students understand that:
  • They can show they understood a story they read by asking and answering questions about specific literary elements.
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 5
23. Determine and analyze themes of various culturally-diverse literary texts, supporting analysis with textual evidence.

a. Analyze common themes of diverse texts with support from textual evidence.

b. Summarize a story or drama, describing how the plot unfolds and how characters respond to challenges or change their thoughts and actions and citing textual evidence.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
23.
  • Determine
  • Analyze
  • Themes
  • Culturally-diverse literary text
  • Textual evidence
23a.
  • Theme
  • Diverse texts
  • Textual evidence
23b.
  • Summarize
  • Plot
  • Characters
  • Thoughts
  • Actions
  • Citing
  • Textual evidence
Knowledge:
23. Students know:
  • Theme is the main, recurring idea in a text.
  • An author develops a theme by including specific details in the text to help the reader identify and understand the theme.
  • There are common, or universal, themes that frequently appear in literary text.
23a.
  • There are common, or universal, themes that frequently appear in literary text.
23b.
  • A summary of a story or drama is a short statement that describes the main events of the plot and the actions of the primary characters.
Skills:
23. Students are able to:
  • Identify the themes of various culturally-diverse literary texts.
  • Analyze the themes of various culturally-diverse literary texts using text evidence.
23a.
  • Identify common themes in diverse texts.
  • Analyze the meaning of common themes from diverse texts using textual evidence.
23b.
  • Create a summary of a story or drama that includes the main plot events and describes how characters external or internal actions.
  • Cite textual evidence to support summary statements.
Understanding:
23. Students understand that:
  • Literature often includes universal (common) themes, and the author suggests the theme of the text by including particular details about characters or events.
  • They can demonstrate they understood the theme of a story by using text evidence to support their identification.
23a.
  • Literature often includes universal (common) themes, and they can show they identified the theme by supporting their analysis with text evidence.
23b.
  • A summary is a short explanation of the most important elements from a text, and statements in a summary should be supported with textual evidence.
Learning Objectives:

Students will demonstrate their understanding and comprehension of a video by identifying and explaining the parts of plot.

Students will summarize a story by describing how the plot unfolds throughout the video using visual evidence.
  Strategies, Preparations and Variations  
Phase:
During/Explore/Explain
Activity:

1. Teacher and students will watch a Pixar Short video the teacher chooses using the YouTube link above. (Teacher can present video to the class.) 

2. Pass out or open the plot diagram attached above. You can open the plot diagram attachment in Kami or print it for students to use in class. 

3. Watch the Pixar Short video again, stopping at each part of the plot and filling in the plot diagram as you go. The teacher and students will complete the plot diagram together. 

4. Teacher will walk around to ensure students have completed their plot diagrams over the Pixar Short video.

5. Teacher will then pass out/or have students open the $5.00 Summary. 
Assessment Strategies:

The teacher will review the parts of plot (characters, setting, conflict, rising actions, climax, falling actions, and resolution).

The teacher will instruct the students to complete the $5.00 Summary of the Pixar Short video using the information on their plot diagram. 

Students will demonstrate their understanding of the video by completing a $5.00 Summary using the elements of the plot. 

Students must complete the following:

  • Identify the problem 

  • Explain the character rising actions that led to the climax

  • Explain the climax

  • Identify and explain the falling actions that led to the resolution
Advanced Preparation:

1. Look at the YouTube site provided and choose a video to use from the Pixar Short videos available.

2. Make copies of the Plot Diagram sheet attachment above.

3. Make copies of the $5.00 Summary.
Variation Tips (optional):
 
Notes or Recommendations (optional):

If you are interested in other parts of the lesson I have included links for Part 1 and Part 3.
  Keywords and Search Tags  
Keywords and Search Tags: literary elements, plot, plot diagram, summarize