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Types of Plot
Types of Plot
Types of Plot
Plot – the structure of the action of a story. In conventional stories, plot has three main parts:
rising action, climax, and falling action leading to a resolution or denouement (Harris &
Hodges, 1995, p. 189).
“Plot is a sequence of events that occurs to characters in situations in the beginning, middle, and
end of a story” (Hancock, 2004, p. 136).
There are four primary types of plots (modified from Anderson, 2006, & Lukens, 2007):
1. Linear – plot is constructed logically and not by coincidence. There are three major
parts to a linear plot:
Beginning – the characters and setting are introduced, and the central
conflict/problem of the story is revealed. Usually the main character sets a goal
to overcome the conflict/problem, or s/he may set a goal that creates a
conflict/problem.
Middle – the main character participates in a series of events or attempts to reach
the goal that leads to a resolution of the conflict/problem.
End – the main character may or may not reach his/her goal, thus resolving the
conflict/problem. The linear plot is common in folktales, such as Goldilocks and
the Three Bears, as well as realistic fiction (e.g., Make Way for Duckling,
McCloskey, 1941) and fantasy (e.g., The Rainbow Fish, Pfister, 1992).
Teachers should select books with linear plots when teaching narrative comprehension.
Linear plots usually include several episodes within the story. A good source for these
types of stories is found in many folktales and fictional books, such as the ones mentioned
above.
Picture books, not novels, should be used to provide explicit instruction in narrative/story
structure. Novels are very complex stories that have many linear and episodic plots embedded in
them. However, novels may be used to provide opportunities for students to apply, analyze, and
synthesize what they know about narrative/story structure in order to make predictions,
inferences, and draw conclusions about these complex plots.
3. Cumulative – plots with lots of repetition of phrases, sentences, or events with one
new aspect added with each repetition. The Gingerbread Man and The Great, Big,
Enormous Turnip are examples of cumulative plots.
4. Circular – the characters in the story end up in the same place that they were at the
beginning of the story. Examples of circular stories are If You Give a Mouse a
Cookie (Numeroff, 1985) and Where the Wild Things Are (Sendak, 1963).
Stories with cumulative or circular plots should NOT be used to teach the comprehension of
narrative text, because they do not provide a complete narrative/story structure.
Conflict is the interaction of plot and character or the opposition of two forces. There are four
primary types of conflict:
Lukens (2007) defines the following terms associated with narrative text:
Climax - action that precipitates resolution of conflict (p. 353)
Resolution - falling action following climax (p. 357)
Theme - statement giving the underlying truth about people, society, or the human condition,
either explicitly or implicitly (p. 358)
Plot: “a sequence of events that occurs to characters in situations in the beginning, middle, and
end of a story” (Hancock, 2004, p. 136).
Beginning Beginning
setting setting
characters characters
Plot: Plot:
initiating event initiating event
conflict/problem character goal(s)
conflict/problem
Middle Middle
Plot: Plot:
turning point character goal(s)
crisis character attempts to reach his/her goal(s)
rising action
climax – action that precipitates resolution of Note: The character may initially fail to meet
conflict (Lukens, 2007) his goal (failed outcome), and thus may drop
subplot the goal and move to the end of the story; try
parallel episodes to achieve the original goal with different
attempts; or begin a new episode with a new
goal. Once the goal is reached, the plot moves
to the end of the story.
End End
Plot: Plot:
resolution – falling action following climax outcome
(Lukens, 2007) ending
denouement
falling action
ending
Theme: Statement giving the underlying truth about people, society, or the human condition,
either explicitly or implicitly (Lukens, 2007).
Narrative-Text
Story-Grammar Components
Story-grammar components, based on the research of Mandler and Johnson (1977), Rumelhart
(1977), Thorndyke (1977), Stein and Glenn (1979), and Trabasso and van den Broek (1985),
define the typical structure of a fiction story. In studies of retellings, story events were found to
occur in a similar pattern from story to story. The elements of story grammar are listed and
defined below.
SETTING: The setting provides the reader with relevant information about the location and
time of the story. The author usually gives a description of the time and place. A discussion of
the setting is important to prepare the readers for the story.
CHARACTERS: At the beginning of the story, along with the setting, the main characters are
introduced. The goals of the main characters drive the plot of the story (i.e., goals,
attempt/actions, and outcomes).
INITIATING EVENT: The transition from the initial setting occurs when an initiating event
causes a change of state in the story. If the initiating event did not occur, the story would stay in
the setting. Each narrative contains an initiating event.
The goal, attempt, and outcome sequences form the episodes of the story.
GOAL: The goal is a reaction of the main character to the initiating event. The goal is what the
character desires in the story. A character’s goal may be unstated. Also, more than one character
will have goals in the story. The conflict between characters’ goals is what gets the story
moving.
OUTCOMES: Following the attempts, an outcome will occur. The outcome signals if the
character has reached his/her goal. If goal success is reached, the story will end or a new goal
will be set. If the outcome signals goal failure, the character may abandon the goal, make
additional attempts to reach the goal, or create a new goal.
STORY ENDING: Students may confuse the outcome with the story ending. The ending
follows the goals, attempts, and outcomes and brings closure to the story. This category may be
added at the end to separate the outcome and story ending.
Goal-Structure Mapping
Simple graphic organizers to help students map stories using causal chains or the goal-attempts-
and-outcome format were developed by Sundbye (1998) and Coffman and Oliver (1997). This
graphic organizer was designed to help teachers show students how to make connections
between events in a narrative in order to focus attention on both the pattern of story events and
the relationships that connect the story events to one another. There is research evidence that
teaching students about these story parts (i.e., goals, attempts, and outcomes) can improve
reading comprehension (Idol, 1987; Spiegel & Fitzgerald, 1986).
It is important to make sure that the graphic organizers that you choose represent the research
that has been done with story grammar. Sometimes you will find graphic organizers that may
not include character goals or present the elements of narrative as separate entities rather than in
cohesive representation of the story. One should look carefully at the graphic organizer that
s/he has decided to use to make sure that it is consistent with narrative-text research. In
addition, teachers in a school should make an effort to ensure that the terminology used for
narrative-text structure is consistent from classroom to classroom and grade level to grade level.
Map the stories yourself or meet with colleagues to discuss the stories and create models
of maps before teaching a story to students.
Identify major and minor characters. Major characters are linked to each other through
causal relationships and the causal chains or links that occur between the characters’
goals, attempts, and outcomes. Major characters have a goal, make attempts to reach the
goal, and have an outcome that determines goal failure or goal success. Therefore, we
represent these transitions in the narrative with the colors of the stoplight: the goal
(green), the attempts (yellow), and the outcome (red). Minor characters do not have
goals in the story.
Start with the setting, initiating event, and the character. Remember that the maps
should be created interactively between characters as their attempts and outcomes appear
in the story, not linear with the focus on one character at a time.
Encourage students to question the thinking that goes into constructing the map. If the
class is having difficulty deciding what to put on the map, students should take a vote
and go with the consensus. The teacher should ask students to look back in the text to
defend their reasoning.
Handout 2 (3 of 4)
Main Character
Relationships
Goals
Outcome
Ending
Handout 2 (4 of 4)
Narrative Text
Story-Focused Questions for Text Analysis
Title of Book
Time:
Place:
As you look at the list of characters, determine whether the characters have a goal and attempt
to reach the goal. Make sure to include all characters that are needed to make the story unfold
and come to life.
Outcome: Did reach his/her goal? If yes, how was this accomplished?
(You will need to consider this for each main character.)
To have
Grandma To have
for a tasty Little Red
Visit Grandma
snack for a tasty
and bring her
snack
treats
No
Threw empty
ginger-ale keg
at the Wolf No
Yes
Offered Wolf
all the ginger
ale he wanted
Story Ending: “So, from then on, each
week on his way to Grandma’s, Little
Red left a keg of ginger ale in the forest
for the wolf, who drank it down
eagerly, in spite of its embarrassing
aftereffects!” (p.31)
Yes
Goal-Structure Mapping
General Teaching Sequence
1. (What) Tell the students that you are going to show them how to put the information
from a story into a map. Explain that this type of map shows the names of main
characters, the characters’ goals, and how the characters try to reach their goals.
2. (How) Model for the students how to complete each part of the Goal-Structure Map. For
younger students, model and practice only one portion of the map at a time. It may be
helpful to demonstrate to younger students a map of a real-life incident (i.e., the student
wanted a new video game, saved her allowance, bought the game) to get a better idea of
how the map works. The parts of the Goal-Structure Map should be reviewed often.
Identify the initiating event. The transition from the initial setting occurs when an
initiating event causes a change in the story. If the initiating event did not occur, the
story would stay in the setting.
Determine the main characters. The names of the main characters go on the top lines
in a story map. Main characters are going to show up throughout the story.
Identify the relationships among the characters. A dashed line is drawn between the
characters with a word written on it that describes the relationship (i.e., friends,
neighbors, sister). Keep in mind that the relationship may need to be inferred.
Identify the goal or goals of the main characters. The goals of the main characters are
placed in the ovals (circles). Remember that the goals are what the main characters
want or desire to reach in the story.
Discuss the narrative with the students, identifying and adding the attempts to the
Goal-Structure Map as they happened in the story. The attempts are written in the
rectangles. There may be one attempt or several attempts to reach the goal. Be
careful not to include minor details. The point is to map the most important parts of
the story.
Make a statement about the outcome of the attempts to reach the goal. Ask the
students if the attempt produced what was wanted. Outcomes may be “yes,” “no,” or
even “yes/no” if there were elements of both success and failure to the outcome.
“No” outcomes can lead to new goals. Outcomes are written in the triangles.
Draw cause-effect lines to connect one episode of the story to another. Help the
students link the events together (causal chain) by asking “why” questions about
elements in the story. For example, “Why did the girl save her allowance?”
Practice with simple stories.
3. (Why) Tell the students that learning how to make goal-structure maps can help them
think about and understand a story. Explain that maps may be constructed during reading
or after reading.
Adapted from Coffman and Oliver (1997); Spiegel and Fitzgerald (1986); Sundbye (1998); Trabasso, van den
Broek and Liu (1988).
Narrative text tells a story. Cue cards can be used selectively during teacher read alouds. Later,
as students begin to read independently or with a partner, they can use the cards to help them
understand narrative texts. (Students orally respond to the questions.)
Before reading a text, place the green cards in a pocket chart. (Students place them
on their desks.)
Touch each green card, read it, and ask students to respond.
Place the yellow cards in the pocket chart. (Students place them on their desks.)
Stop periodically. Touch each yellow card, read it, and ask students to respond.
Move the card from the left side of the pocket chart to the right side as each
question is answered. (Students move the cards on their desks.)
When all the cards have been moved from the left to the right side, students know
they have found answers to all the questions.
Touch each red card, read it, and ask students to respond.
Cards for students to use at their desks are included in the handout.
#2
©2010 Kansas Reading Academy 12
KU SOE: Strategies for Educational Improvement
June 11, 2010
Handout 5 (4 of 14)
Handout 5 (6 of 14)
©2010 Kansas Reading Academy 14
KU SOE: Strategies for Educational Improvement
June 11, 2010
Why did . . .?
1
2
4 5
6 7
8 9
What was the outcome of the How did the story end?
story?
10 11
12 13
Card 6 What happened to make the story start (i.e., the initiating event)?
Little Red starts down the path to Grandma’s house.
Card 8 What attempts or actions did the character(s) take to reach his/her
goal?
Little Red: To reach Little Red’s first goal: (1) Skips along the path to
Grandma’s house. (2) Stops to pick apples for Grandma.
To reach his second goal: (1) Offers the Wolf ginger ale. (2) Throws the
empty ginger-ale keg at the Wolf. (3) Offers the Wolf all the ginger ale he
wants.
Wolf: to reach the Wolf’s first goal: (1) Dresses up like Grandma. (2)
Tells Little Red he wants to eat him.
To reach his second goal: (1) Steals Little Red’s coat. (2) Goes to
Grandma’s house. (3) Swallows grandma.