Plot & Charcterization

Every story has some kind of conflict—without it, you have no plot! The conflict is a struggle or problem that characters must face.

The conflict usually introduced in what part of the story?

• Falling Action

• Climax

• Inciting Incident

• Resolution

Read the following passage from a story. Identify which statement best describes the conflict of this passage.

Shivani pulled the last of the weeds from the garden bed and stood, putting her hand to her back. She was not done weeding, but she could see, at the very far edge of the sky, the fist of an angry storm cloud forming. She had a few more rows to work, but she wasn’t sure if she would get to them before the rain began. Last week, there’d been a rainstorm, but it had been quiet and gentle, a welcome shower that encouraged the tomato plants and the eggplant blossoms to open. Maybe, her plants wouldn't survive.

Which statement best describes the conflict of this passage?

• A gardener is working in her garden.

• Spring rain makes crops grow.

• A storm cloud is forming in the sky.

• A coming storm could destroy a gardener’s vegetables.

What is the climax of a story?

• The turning point of the story

• The struggle between two characters

• The beginning of the story

• The point when the conflict is resolved

Interest and suspense are built during which part of the story?

• Introduction

• Rising action

• Climax

• Falling action

Choose the two words that best complete the sentence.

During the exposition, it is important to introduce the ________ and the ________.

• characters, setting

• characters, falling action

• climax, conflict

• conflict, resolution

Which list shows the plot elements in the correct order?

• inciting incident, falling action, exposition, climax, rising action, conclusion

• falling action, rising action, inciting incident, climax, resolution, exposition

• exposition, rising action, inciting incident, climax, falling action, resolution

• exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution

Read the passage. Which plot element is shown in the underlined section?

It was dark and a little eerie by the campfire where Jonas and his friends were huddled. They were telling ghost stories, and each boy tried to make his story scarier than the last. Jonas looked around to see if his dad was anywhere nearby. Suddenly, they heard a loud crack and rustling in the nearby woods. "What's that?" whispered Jonas to the boy next to him. He didn't want to admit it, but he was downright scared now. His heart was racing. He could see a large shadowy figure approaching, holding something that looked like a knife. "Thought you might want to toast some marshmallows," said Jonas's father as he stepped into the light of the fire. He held up a bag of marshmallows in one hand and metal skewers - not a knife - in the other. Jonas and his friends breathed sighs of relief. His father taught the group a secret trick for making toasted marshmallows, and they each ate about fifteen.

• climax

• conclusion

• falling action

• rising action

Read the passage. Which plot element is shown in the underlined section?

The wolf was frustrated that he couldn't blow down the house of the third little pig, so he tried instead to get the pig by climbing through the chimney. Surprise! He fell right into a pot of water that the little pig had on for supper. "Yum!" said the little pig. The pig invited his two brothers over. They ate a delicious wolf stew for dinner and lived happily ever after.

• climax

• rising action

• exposition

• resolution

The sequence of events in a story or novel is called the ________.

• action

• conflict

• plot

• setting

Read the passage. Which plot element is shown in the underlined section?

It was dark and a little eerie by the campfire where Jonas and his friends were huddled. They were telling ghost stories, and each boy tried to make his story scarier than the last. Jonas looked around to see if his dad was anywhere nearby. Suddenly, they heard a loud crack and rustling in the nearby woods. "What's that?" whispered Jonas to the boy next to him. He didn't want to admit it, but he was downright scared now. His heart was racing. He could see a large shadowy figure approaching, holding something that looked like a knife. "Thought you might want to toast some marshmallows," said Jonas's father as he stepped into the light of the fire. He held up a bag of marshmallows in one hand and metal skewers - not a knife - in the other. Jonas and his friends breathed sighs of relief. His father taught the group a secret trick for making toasted marshmallows, and they each ate about fifteen.

• climax

• exposition

• falling action

• rising action