What makes a
story last
forever?
What do you think?
• Take a moment
and turn to your
neighbor.
Brainstorm five
things you think
make a story
last forever.
A few quick vocab terms to help us…
•
•
•
•
•
•
Plot: What happens in the story
Theme: A big idea repeated throughout a story
Conflict: The major problem in a story
Protagonist: The main “good” character
Antagonist: The main “bad” character
Universal: Understood, seen, or experienced
everywhere, by everyone
The Great Journey
• The hero starts out at
home, gets some kind
of call (or reason) to go
on an incredible
adventure, and then
takes off into the
unknown where he or
she encounters all
kinds of craziness.
Loss of Innocence
o This can be sad and difficult
(like in the books we just
read) or totally and
completely inappropriate
(think American Pie), but
it’s always a popular story!
The Great Battle
• We LOVE war
movies, war
stories, and
battles of good
vs. evil.
Noble Sacrifice
• Everyone
loves a
hero…How far
would you go
to help
someone?
The Power of Love
(and Friendship)
•“Chick flicks” and
love stories…they
always seem to
have an audience
Revenge
• If somebody does
something mean,
you have to get
them back, right?
The Big Trick
• Someone (or a group of people)
spends most of the story trying
to trick everyone else…and
usually it works!
The Big
Mystery
• everyone
always
loves
the
suspense
of
solving a
mystery
And now…
• With a partner, try to remember as many of these
as you can. Brainstorm as many books, movies,
children’s stories, etc. that fit these themes!
And because it’s almost
Halloween…
• Here’s a poem that seems to
have endured forever…most of
us have heard of it, even if we
don’t know it well. It has love,
suspense, mystery, all kinds of
exciting things in it. And it’s
being told by the incredibly
popular characters of the longest
running cartoon of all time.
•
http://www.fanpop.com/spots/halloween/videos/2450364/title/si
mpsons-version-poes-raven
Conflict
A story’s conflict always follows this pattern
Climax
Rising Action
Establishment of
conflict
Falling
Action
Resolution
Establishment of Conflict
• In the beginning of the story, we
meet the protagonist and
antagonist and learn what the
problem is. We also encounter
what’s called the inciting event
which is an event that starts
things rolling.
Establishment of Conflict
• A good way to think about this is that each protagonist (and
antagonist) has an objective, something he or she wants, and
an obstacle, something that’s in the way. The conflict is that
battle between objective and obstacle. In the establishment
of conflict, we learn what these things are.
Rising Action
• Once the inciting event happens, the protagonist experiences a series
of adventures where he or she battles with the obstacle and usually the
antagonist. This part usually lasts for most of the book or movie.
Rising Action (Continued)
• How good a story is depends on
how well its rising action is
developed. The rising action is
what keeps the audience
interested—if we don’t know
what’s coming, we’re more likely
to keep reading (or watching).
Climax
• This is the turning point of the
story, where we figure out
whether the protagonist will get
what he or she wants (achieve
their objective) or whether the
obstacle and/or antagonist will
defeat him or her.
Climax (Continued)
• We often think of the climax as
the most important part. That’s
true in a lot of cases, but it’s best
to think about it in terms of that
moment we learn whether the
protagonist “wins” or “loses.”
Falling Action
• What happens right after the climax: does the protagonist realize the
obstacle isn’t so bad? Does the antagonist feel bad about his or her
actions?
Resolution
• Do they live happily ever after? Is
it all a dream? Does everyone
die? Does anyone learn an
important lesson? Basically, how
does it all end up?
And now…
• Pick a book or movie. With a partner, map out that book or movie’s
conflict, being sure to include everything: protagonist, antagonist,
establishment, inciting event, rising action examples, climax,
falling action, and resolution!