A Basic Review of Plot Elements (Starring Spongebob Squarepants)
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This learning activity provided by:
Author:
Jacy Douglas
System: Cullman County School: Cullman County Board Of Education
General Activity Information
Activity ID:
2852
Title: A Basic Review of Plot Elements (Starring Spongebob Squarepants)
Digital Tool/Resource: ELA Basic Literary Terms for Plot
Web Address – URL:
Overview: This learning activity is an engaging teacher-created Google Slides presentation with basic definitions of literary terms illustrated with examples (gifs and videos) featuring a student favorite, Spongebob Squarepants. This activity includes a link to a Quizlet flashcard set.
This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.
Associated Standards and Objectives
Content Standard(s):
English Language Arts 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.
Learning Objectives: Students will demonstrate an understanding of academic terms of literary elements used to describe or discuss the plot of a story.
Strategies, Preparations and Variations
Phase: Before/Engage
Activity: Students will participate in a teacher-led discussion of eighteen terms commonly used in literary analysis and discussion. There are included gifs on each slide (and two video examples) that relate to the term on the slide.
As the teacher goes through the slide deck, share the terms with students, and ask them to volunteer their own examples from other stories/movies/tv-shows/novels. This can be done through turn-and-talk, think-pair-share, or as a whole group.
The terms included are:
Characters
Protagonist
Antagonist
Setting
Exposition
Characterization
Direct Characterization
Indirect Characterization
Plot
Conflict
External Conflict
Internal Conflict
Inciting Incident
Rising Action
Complication
Climax
Falling Action
Resolution
After reviewing & discussing the terms in the slideshow, students can utilize this Quizlet Flashcard Set for Plot to review the terms. With these flashcards, students can also play a matching game. The teacher can also assist students in playing an interactive team-based game called Quizlet Live.
Assessment Strategies: The teacher will listen as students make suggestions for examples of the terms to ensure they understand the concept behind each term.
The teacher will review students' scores on the Quizlet matching game or Quizlet Live to see who is struggling. The students struggling may need to be pulled into small groups and retaught the lesson.
Advanced Preparation: The teacher will need to preview the slide show.
The teacher will need to decide if he/she wants students to take notes of the slides or if the notes will be printed out as handouts for the students to paste into notebooks. The teacher can also provide them with a digital copy of the slideshow.
The students can play with Quizlet flashcards individually, in pairs, or as a station activity.
Variation Tips (optional): The teacher can ask students to fill in these terms on a blank plot diagram.
The teacher can show a short video (Pixar shorts are good for this and can be found on YouTube) and ask students to identify the elements they see.
Students can write down their own examples.
Notes or Recommendations (optional): Students needing additional reading support can use Quizlet's audio function to read the terms and definitions.
This can be used as a review for older students at the beginning of the year if they need a refresher on these terms.
This activity can stand alone or be used as a Before/Engage activity for the following learning activities:
Using Picture Books to Identify Plot Elements (during activity)
Applying Plot Terms to a Short Story (after activity)
Keywords and Search Tags
Keywords and Search Tags:
academic vocabulary, antagonist, characterization, characters, climax, complication, conflict, exposition, falling action, literary elements, literary terms, plot, protagonist, resolution, rising action, setting
