Summer Reading– Plot

6th Grade

Directions: Identify the parts of plot in one of the novels you read this summer. For this assignment, you will need to write THREE paragraphs (5-12 sentences each). I recommend that you focus on the exposition in the first paragraph, the rising action in the second, and the climax, falling action and resolution in the third. Since this is your first writing assignment, I have provided you with an outline; please see below.

  1. First Paragraph – Exposition
  2. Main character(s)
  3. Setting
  4. Conflict(s)
  1. Second Paragraph – Rising Action
  2. Attempts to solve the conflict(s)
  3. New problems or complications
  1. Third Paragraph – Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution
  2. How the conflict is resolved (the climax)
  3. Events directly after the climax
  4. Conclusion or “ending”

Helpful Hints:

  • When writing about literature, you MUST reference the author and the title of the work.

In The Giver by Lois Lowry, the main characters…

Wringer by Jerry Spinelli explores…

  • Use/reference the literary terms we discussed in class.

The climax of the novel is…

In the rising action, Jonas tries to solve…

The story concludes with…

The main conflict is…

  • Do not use first-person pronouns (EVER again); this includes I, me, we, us, etc.
  • You don’t need to retell the entire story; only include the main events.

Student Sample (unedited):

In the novel, Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements, there are two main characters each with a certain disadvantage. The first main character is an innocent teenage boy named Bobby Phillips who has the disadvantage of being invisible. The second main character is a sweet girl, also in her teenage years, named Alicia Vandorn who is blind. The setting of the novel takes place in present day Chicago. The main conflict of the novel begins when Bobby Phillips wakes up one February morning not as himself, but as no one at all; he wakes up as an invisible boy. Being invisible definitely interferes with his life, he can’t go to school, or meet up with his friends, or even just leave the house. Quickly Alicia and Bobby learn that they are more alike than one can imagine.

In the novel, finding the answer to Bobby’s invisibility is the rising action of the story. Bobby and Alicia’s fathers work together and figure out the reason for Bobby’s invisibility, which turns out to be an electric blanket that Bobby sleeps with on a daily basis. But they could not discover how to switch Bobby back. With the information that Bobby and Alicia’s fathers figure out, Bobby and Alicia want to prove their parent’s hypothesis correct. Bobby uses his invisibility power to steal a list of returns for the electric blanket to see if anyone else has any similar problems. Bobby makes calls to all the unhappy customers and finally finds someone of the same problem. A new complication that appears is the length of time he is absent from school. Social Services comes to the Phillips household to uncover the reason for his absence, but the Phillips are unable to explain Bobby’s absence.

The conflict is resolved when Bobby and Alicia realize how to switch Bobby back. Alicia realizes that two negatives make a positive. So Bobby thinks to sleep with the electric blanket a second time to turn him back. In the early morning, Bobby is interrupted in his sleep by Social Services. Bobby hides from them beside his bed hoping that they will not come near him. As they walk towards him, he backs up closer to the wall and social worker stares Bobby right in the eye. Now Bobby realizes that he has turned visible again. In the conclusion, Bobby and Alicia’s relationship grows stronger. Bobby reveals his true feelings to Alicia and she shows her feelings toward as well.