Teaching plot may seem like a basic concept, but even our middle school and high school English Language Arts students can use a refresher and some engaging activities to help them think about plot in fresh ways. Students are never too old to review and make new applications to literary elements. Being grounded in these basics can help students study more complex aspects of literature. Below I outline six tips for teaching plot in the secondary ELA classroom.
1. Use animated shorts
Make use of the plethora of Pixar shorts to review or reteach plot. The concise visual storytelling makes them perfect for practicing identifying plot points. Don’t feel like you need to be limited to Pixar – there are many short animations to choose from. One of my favorites is “The Gift” (you can find it on YouTube here) – it’s also perfect for the holiday season.
2. Have students work in pieces
This is one of those activities that will get students up and moving. Use the plot lines from recognizable works (or works you have read in class so far) and put each piece of the plot on their own piece of paper. Once each student has a piece, they must find their group and arrange themselves in the correct order. You can even have them mix and match to come up with their own crazy stories and turn it into a creative writing assignment.
3. Plan a mini lesson
If you’re looking for some meatier activities, try a focused session by using my Plot Mini-Lesson Activity. This resource helps students focus on the basics of plot and the structure of the plot diagram. There are five interactive activities included and you can use this both as a printable version in class or digitally for hybrid learning.
4. Tell students to find the best part
The climax of any story is the “crème de la crème” for me. It’s the highest point of tension and drama, or when we finally see the possible solutions. Your students may find it easier to find the climax and fill in a plot diagram around that. Ask them to find the hype of the story and work from there. Start with works they are really familiar with, like fairy tales and films, to make it easier to identify all the pieces.
5. Use an engaging movie
Film can be a powerful way to highlight important plot features. Use a high-interest, fast-paced movie like Enola Holmes to review or re-teach plot development. I have this (FREE!) engaging activity is a great, quick resource that will ask your students to detail major events in the film, then critique and create a starred review. You could even use this as an option for a standby substitute plan should you need one.
6. Bring out the picture books
This has great potential to develop into a bigger project. Bring in picture books and have students identify the plot points of the story. Using these super simple stories can help students identify elements of plot without a lot of “extra” to the story to weed through. If you want to beef up this assignment, you can have students create their own picture story, or host a reading day with your local elementary kids.
What have been your favorite activities to reinforce plot? If you use any of the above options, let me know how they worked out and what you most enjoyed. Share your fave with a comment below or keep up with the conversation on Facebook and Instagram.
Happy teaching!
