Story Elements Quiz

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 introduction, it is important to introduce the _______ and the _______.

• characters, conflict

• characters, falling action

• climax, conflict

• conflict, resolution

Which list shows the plot elements in the correct order?

• falling action, climax, rising action, conclusion

• falling action, rising action, climax, conclusion

• rising action, climax, falling action, conclusion

• rising action, falling action, climax, conclusion

Read the passage. Which plot element is shown in bold?

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 bold?

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 all lived happily ever after.

• climax

• conclusion

• introduction

• rising action

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

Read the passage. Which plot element is shown in bold?

Eva had always felt that her older sister, Milena, got more of her parents' attention. Though she pretended to be upset, Eva was secretly glad when Milena went away to college. However, Milena was scheduled to come back home for the summer. As June approached, Eva's parents began planning a surprise party for Milena. Eva got more and more upset. On the day of Milena's arrival, Evan ran upstairs and locked herself in her room. When her parents asked her to come out, she threw her stuffed animal against the door.

• climax

• conclusion

• rising action

• falling action

Which sentence is the best example of the introduction of this passage?

• And when the noise stopped, he smiled to himself and thought his imagination had gotten the best of him.

• On a summer night, Nate wakes up in his bedroom to the sound of scratching noises on the roof.

• Against the advice of his older sister, he had stayed up late watching a few scary movies.

• Just then, right above him, he heard the slightest scratch.

Which sentences can best identify the rising action of this passage? [Choose all that apply.]

• Standing perfectly still in the middle of the room, he felt the pounding of his heart and his knees began to shake.

• Up on the rooftop was a small branch of a large oak tree rubbing gently against the house.

• The scratching seemed to grow louder and louder.

• He was too embarrassed to go downstairs and tell his parents.

• Nate sprang from his bed.

The climax of this passage is that Nate opens the window. What is the conclusion of this passage?

• Nate reached out the window to look at the ground below and fell, but woke up and realized it was all a dream.

• Nate went back to bed, and he realized he was always going to be afraid of tree branches.

• Nate sees a small branch rubbing against the roof of the house, and he realizes that was the noise he heard.

• Nate sighs with relief and returns to bed, and he decides to ask his father to cut down the tree.